The RSA Conference has long served as a meeting point for innovation and collaboration in cybersecurity—and in this pre-RSAC episode, ITSPmagazine co-founders Marco Ciappelli and Sean Martin welcome Akamai’s Rupesh Chokshi to the conversation. With RSAC 2025 on the horizon, they discuss Akamai’s presence at the event and dig into the challenges and opportunities surrounding AI, threat intelligence, and enterprise security.

Chokshi, who leads Akamai’s Application Security business, describes a landscape marked by explosive growth in web and API attacks—and a parallel shift as enterprises embrace generative AI. The double-edged nature of AI is central to the discussion: while it offers breakthrough productivity and automation, it also creates new vulnerabilities. Akamai’s dual focus, says Chokshi, is both using AI to strengthen defenses and securing AI-powered applications themselves.

The conversation touches on the scale and sophistication of modern threats, including an eye-opening stat: Akamai is now tracking over 500 million large language model (LLM)-driven scraping requests per day. As these threats extend from e-commerce to healthcare and beyond, Chokshi emphasizes the need for layered defense strategies and real-time adaptability.

Ciappelli brings a sociological lens to the AI discussion, noting the hype-to-reality shift the industry is experiencing. “We’re no longer asking if AI will change the game,” he suggests. “We’re asking how to implement it responsibly—and how to protect it.”

At RSAC 2025, Akamai will showcase a range of innovations, including updates to its Guardicore platform and new App & API Protection Hybrid solutions. Their booth (6245) will feature interactive demos, theater sessions, and one-on-one briefings. The Akamai team will also release a new edition of their State of the Internet report, packed with actionable threat data and insights.

The episode closes with a reminder: in a world that’s both accelerating and fragmenting, cybersecurity must serve not just as a barrier—but as a catalyst. “Security,” says Chokshi, “has to enable innovation, not hinder it.”

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Keywords: RSAC 2025, Akamai, cybersecurity, generative AI, API protection, web attacks, application security, LLM scraping, Guardicore, State of the Internet report, Zero Trust, hybrid digital world, enterprise resilience, AI security, threat intelligence, prompt injection, data privacy, RSA Conference, Sean Martin, Marco Ciappelli

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Guest: Rupesh Chokshi, SVP & GM, Akamai
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rupeshchokshi/

Hosts:

Sean Martin, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine [@ITSPmagazine] and Host of Redefining CyberSecurity Podcast [@RedefiningCyber] | On ITSPmagazine: https://www.itspmagazine.com/sean-martin

Marco Ciappelli, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine [@ITSPmagazine] and Host of Redefining Society Podcast & Audio Signals Podcast | On ITSPmagazine: https://www.itspmagazine.com/itspmagazine-podcast-radio-hosts/marco-ciappelli

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This Episode’s Sponsors

AKAMAI:
https://itspm.ag/akamailbwc

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Resources

Learn more and catch more stories from RSA Conference 2025 coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/rsa-conference-usa-2025-rsac-san-francisco-usa-cybersecurity-event-infosec-conference-coverage

Rupesh Chokshi Session at RSAC 2025
The New Attack Frontier: Research Shows Apps & APIs Are the Targets - [PART1-W09]

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Catch all of our event coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/technology-and-cybersecurity-conference-coverage

To see and hear more Redefining CyberSecurity content on ITSPmagazine, visit: https://www.itspmagazine.com/redefining-cybersecurity-podcast

To see and hear more Redefining Society stories on ITSPmagazine, visit:
https://www.itspmagazine.com/redefining-society-podcast

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