Real Risks: Agents Accessing Sensitive Data

In this video David speaks to Peter Bailey (SVP and GM of Cisco’s Security business). AI agents are moving fast inside enterprises, and CISOs are hitting the brakes for one reason: the attack surface is expanding at machine speed. In this interview, we break down how agentic AI changes security, why MCP servers and agent tool access create new risks, and what a zero trust approach looks like when the “user” is a non-deterministic agent. We cover real-world problems like shadow MCP servers, agents touching sensitive systems and PII, and why traditional perimeter controls and firewalls are not enough when traffic is encrypted and actions happen too quickly downstream. You’ll also hear what Cisco is doing across the AI lifecycle: AI Defense for model scanning, provenance and guardrails, plus new protections focused on agent identity, dynamic authorization, behavior monitoring, and revocation. On the networking side, we discuss how SD-WAN and secure access (SASE) can add visibility and policy control for AI usage, including prioritizing latency-sensitive AI traffic while still enforcing security. If you’re a security engineer, network engineer, or CISO trying to move from AI hype to safe deployment, this video gives you a practical mental model and the controls to start building now. Big thank you to ‪@Cisco‬ for sponsoring this video and for sponsoring my trip to Cisco Live Amesterdam. // Peter Baily’ SOCIALS // LinkedIn: / peterhbailey Guest Bio: https://newsroom.cisco.com/c/r/newsro... // David's SOCIAL // Discord: discord.com/invite/usKSyzb Twitter: www.twitter.com/davidbombal Instagram: www.instagram.com/davidbombal LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/davidbombal Facebook: www.facebook.com/davidbombal.co TikTok: tiktok.com/@davidbombal YouTube: / @davidbombal Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/3f6k6gE... SoundCloud: / davidbombal Apple Podcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... // MY STUFF // https://www.amazon.com/shop/davidbombal // SPONSORS // Interested in sponsoring my videos? Reach out to my team here: sponsors@davidbombal.com // MENU // 0:00 - Coming Up 0:30 - Introduction 01:15 - CISOs Problems with AI 02:35 - Real Issues with AI Agents 04:29 - Growth of the Attack Surface 05:34 - Concern of Poisoned AI and MCP 08:09 - What is the Kill-chain 10:16 - AI with Built-in Security 11:56 - Best Practises for AI Security 14:08 - Cisco Innovations for AI 16:48 - Cisco’s Red Team for own AI 18:27 - Secure AI in Public Places 20:09 - Should You get into Cyber Security 21:26 - Advice To Your Younger Self 22:29 - Outro Please note that links listed may be affiliate links and provide me with a small percentage/kickback should you use them to purchase any of the items listed or recommended. Thank you for supporting me and this channel! Disclaimer: This video is for educational purposes only. #cisco #ciscoemea #ciscolive