{“lastseen”:”2025-09-25T12:24:31″,”description”:”AJ Debole is Field CISO at Oracle, but her journey began far from the corporate boardroom.\\n\\nAfter starting out in law and government, she moved into healthcare and cyber defense, where she led teams through ransomware crises. \\n\\nIn this spotlight, she explores the next wave of challenges \u2013 aligning security with business incentives, taming AI sprawl, and securing the APIs that connect it all. \\n\\n# From Public Service to the C-Suite: The Story so Far\\n\\nEarly in her career, prior to working in cyber, AJ immersed herself in blockchain technology, found Ethereum, and became drawn to the idea of programmable money and smart contracts. This passion caught the attention of a mentor, who helped her land a role in the newly created cyber unit in the Massachusetts Army National Guard. Breaking into the corporate sphere, however, was no easy feat. \\n\\n\u201cI was spraying and praying my resume. I was desperate to get anyone to read my resume and talk to me because I felt as though as I was a good interviewer,\u201d she said.\\n\\nPart of the problem, she believes, is that the people who are hiring for roles are rarely the same people who are writing job descriptions and crawling through resumes. \\n\\n\u201cThere\u2019s a gap there,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen I was hiring, I wanted to look at the resumes. And I didn\u2019t know what I was looking for, but if anyone looked interesting, I wanted to interview them, even if they weren\u2019t perfect on paper and they didn\u2019t have the right education or buzzwords.\u201d\\n\\n# CISO Expertise: The Technical vs. Business Acumen Trade-Off\\n\\nLooking ahead, AJ expects the CISO role to become \u201cmore business-y,\u201d with more \u201cMBA types.\u201d She understands the logic behind this trajectory: translating business objectives and ensuring security programs align with them is becoming more important. \\n\\nHowever, she\u2019s concerned that this focus will make people care more about business and compliance than substantive security \u2013 and organizations will suffer for it. \\n\\n\u201cThe problem is that substantive security requires more technology experience, more nuance, and even more importantly, one could argue, enough curiosity about that technology to actually know about it and care about it,\\” she said. \\n\\nThat said, she recognizes that needs differ between teams and organizations. Some organizations need a technical CISO, some don\u2019t; but they all need technical expertise at some level of the hierarchy. \\n\\n\u201cWhen I was working for the state, I was considered a technical deputy for my CISO, because he was less technical than I was,\u201d she said. \u201cBut then when I became a CISO, I was insecure about my technical ability, so I made sure to find someone with a deep technical background as my deputy.\u201d \\n\\nUltimately, AJ believes that some of the best CISOs are those that know about both the business and technical aspects of their organization. For her, these people know how to communicate with leadership, translate requirements, and ensure that the people reporting to them can direct their efforts for maximum impact, avoid burnout, and stick to a clear mission. \\n\\n# Tailor Your Messaging: Gain Leadership Buy-In\\n\\nOn the topic of communicating with leadership, AJ believes that a tailored approach will always be the most effective. Each board, and every board member, is different, and CISOs must adjust their style accordingly. \\n\\n\\”One thing I\u2019ve noticed is that conversations about engaging with boards are often framed as if all boards are the same, as if one approach works everywhere,\u201d she said.\\n\\nAccording to AJ, it\u2019s important to remember that \u201ceach board member has had different experiences, they’ve been burned by different things, they’ve been rewarded from different achievements.\u201d \\n\\nUnderstanding those perspectives helps tailor messaging and secure buy-in. \u201cIf you can connect with board members,\u201d AJ argues, \u201cyou can effectively advocate for what you need, whether that\u2019s resources or a particular type of program. You can\u2019t get somebody to see your perspective if you don\u2019t understand theirs.\u201d\\n\\n# Money Talks: Aligning Security Initiatives with Business Goals\\n\\nAligning security initiatives is one of the single most important aspects of communicating with leaders. And, for AJ, everything begins with incentives. \\n\\n\u201cAt the end of the day, it all comes down to money. People are bonused off certain things. Organizations incentivise certain behaviors. The problem is that many organizations\u2019 bonus structures are misaligned with what they\u2019re trying to achieve, and security can\u2019t fix that,\u201d she said.\\n\\nWhen incentives and goals do align, however, security priorities are clearer. \\n\\n\u201cIf you\u2019re fortunate enough to be in an organization that has consciously built financial incentives around business goals, it should be easy to understand what people care about and focus on that,\u201d AJ explained.\\n\\nHistorically, security focused on critical assets, protecting high-value applications first. But as AJ pointed out, attackers take a different view, diving down into applications to understand their architecture. That\u2019s how they find shadow APIs or exploit broken object-level authentication. \\n\\nThe solution, according to AJ, is to shift perspective. \\n\\n\u201cIt shouldn\u2019t be just about assigning values to assets,\u201d she said. \u201cIt needs to be more about understanding attack chains, how they apply to your architecture, and how you can detect and contain them once they start.\u201d \\n\\nSuccess, she argued, requires partnering with engineering teams and looking at applications through a business logic lens. \u201cThat\u2019s how you build stronger defenses.\u201d \\n\\n# Military Precision: Prepping a Team for a Data Breach\\n\\nEven the best CISO in the world will eventually face a data breach. How prepared they are is what separates the wheat from the chaff. \\n\\nAJ recalled one particularly \u201cgnarly\u201d ransomware attack that sticks in her memory: \\n\\n\u201cIt was healthcare, it was COVID, it was my first CISO role. You can imagine the stress of moving to remote work while also spinning up applications to support millions of people.\u201d \\n\\nFortunately, AJ had leaned on her military experience to prepare.\\n\\n\u201cWe would run huge exercises with blue teams and red teams. At the end of the day, everyone would come together \u2013 defenders would explain what they were looking for, attackers would explain what they were doing. Seeing both sides helped us piece together what worked as defenders, what didn\u2019t, and how we could identify and disrupt attacks more proficiently. Doing exercises like that over and over again enabled us to build the muscle memory to adapt under pressure.\u201d \\n\\nWhen the ransomware incident hit, that preparation meant that her team could interrupt the attack and, ultimately, avoid making major news headlines. \\n\\n\u201cWithout it, we would have had a really bad time,\u201d she said. \\n\\nHowever, AJ recognizes that not everyone can draw on military experience, so points to Purple Teaming as a practical alternative. \\n\\n\u201cEverybody does their annual pen test, but after a few of those it almost feels like going through the motions. You\u2019ve got to kick it up to the next level and say, \u2018as this pen test is taking place, can my defense team spot it?\u2019\u201d AJ said. Put your defenders in a position where they can get meaningful practice in your environment using your tools and processes.\\n\\nThe benefits of this approach are twofold: organizations test tools under realistic conditions and train people to tell the difference between suspicious activity and normal business operations. \\n\\nIn fact, AJ is so confident in this approach that she argues that compliance standards should incorporate it. \\n\\n\u201cIt would be nice if, every few years, organizations were required to do a red team-blue team exercise. If we have any chance at disrupting attacks and protecting the businesses we\u2019re charged to protect, that\u2019s the key ingredient,\u201d she said. \\n\\n# AI Impacts\\n\\nAJ is excited to see how AI tools and capabilities can be thoughtfully leveraged by businesses to grow but expressed concern about security risks based on how various tools are implemented, documented, and monitored. \\n\\n\u201cI’d say a lot of businesses just want to use AI because they want to say they’re using AI and that will make their shareholders happy, but they don’t really care what they’re doing or how they’re doing it. And I think that is very dangerous,\u201d she said. \\n\\nShe sees AI for what it is: another tool in the toolbox, one that can accelerate business, help cut costs, and increase revenue. But she also argues that implementing thoughtlessly can be messy, undisciplined, and like anything else, difficult to understand, control, and defend. \\n\\nFor AJ, aligning AI initiatives with business objectives and security strategies is critical. \\n\\n\u201cIf your AI initiatives aren\u2019t aligned with business objectives, they won\u2019t integrate into the business strategy, or the security strategy that should follow from it. Instead, they become a separate issue, lacking the context to understand the true importance of the data and the systems these agents interact with,\u201d she said. \\n\\nThat said, AJ has seen useful AI applications. \\n\\n\u201cSome organizations are building AI-driven SOCs that use deep learning and data mining to identify attack patterns, escalate them to Tier 2 or 3 analysts, and then leverage an LLM to explain what\u2019s happening along with possible response options. From there, AI agents can carry out those actions. I see that as really great,\u201d she said. Many technologists also struggle with writing reports and documentation. That is another area where LLMs can lighten the load on our security teams and give them back time to focus on higher-impact activities.\\n\\n# AI Sprawl: Why API Security is So Important\\n\\nAJ is clear-eyed on the enormous importance of API security \u2013 particularly as it relates to AI implementations. \\n\\n\u201cAPIs and AI agents are the connective tissue that lets business communicate, automate, and standardize process to work faster and more efficiently. The problem is they\u2019re also far too easy to spin up, sometimes in large numbers, and often automatically by other programs,\u201d she said.\\n\\nAJ argued that this kind of sprawl can be difficult to understand and monitor, especially as architectures become more complex and intertwined. \\n\\nIf something goes wrong in the chain, that can impact other aspects of architecture and unexpected dependencies, creating threats to confidentiality, integrity, and availability. \\n\\n# API Security: Best Practices\\n\\nSo, what does AJ suggest organizations do to secure their APIs? For her, two things matter most: \\n\\n * **Visibility:****** You must know what you have in order to defend it. \\n * **API Lifecycle:** Define when and why APIs are created, how they are built, when you no longer need them, and how to ensure they are properly retired. \\n\\n\\n\\nWithout that discipline, AJ warned, old connections may linger long enough for attackers to discover them. \\n\\nWant to find out more about how Wallarm\u2019s approach aligns with AJ\u2019s vision for API security? \\n\\nThe post CISO Spotlight: AJ Debole on the Business-Tech Divide, Breach Readiness, and AI Risks appeared first on Wallarm.”,”published”:”2025-09-25T11:00:00″,”modified”:”2025-09-25T11:00:00″,”type”:”wallarmlab”,”title”:”CISO Spotlight: AJ Debole on the Business-Tech Divide, Breach Readiness, and AI Risks”,”source”:””,”references”:””,”id”:”WALLARMLAB:E4F1693CA4CB1D679354D69D0105B90C”,”bulletinFamily”:”blog”,”cwe”:null,”cvelist”:[],”sourceData”:””,”sourceHref”:””,”cvss”:{“score”:0,”severity”:”NONE”,”vector”:”NONE”,”version”:”NONE”},”cvss2″:{},”cvss3″:{“version”:””,”vectorString”:””,”baseScore”:0,”baseSeverity”:””,”attackVector”:””,”attackComplexity”:””,”privilegesRequired”:””,”userInteraction”:””,”scope”:””,”confidentialityImpact”:””,”integrityImpact”:””,”availabilityImpact”:””,”cvssV3″:{“version”:””,”vectorString”:””,”baseScore”:0,”baseSeverity”:””,”attackVector”:””,”attackComplexity”:””,”privilegesRequired”:””,”userInteraction”:””,”scope”:””,”confidentialityImpact”:””,”integrityImpact”:””,”availabilityImpact”:””}},”href”:”https:\/\/lab.wallarm.com\/ciso-spotlight-aj-debole-business-tech-divide-breach-readiness-ai-risks\/”,”category_name”:”News”,”post_link”:””,”product”:””,”version”:””,”vendor”:””,”ai_description”:””,”ai_severity”:””,”ai_vendor”:””,”ai_product”:””,”ai_version”:””,”ai_score”:0}<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
{“lastseen”:”2025-09-25T12:24:31″,”description”:”AJ Debole is Field CISO at Oracle, but her journey began far from the corporate boardroom.\\n\\nAfter starting out in law and government, she moved into…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[6,8,12,13,33,7,11,5,105],"class_list":["post-18997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-category_news","tag-cve","tag-cvss","tag-exploit","tag-news","tag-none","tag-security","tag-tapic","tag-vulnerability","tag-wallarmlab"],"yoast_head":"\n