ROB T. LEE
ROB T. LEE
TITLE: CHIEF AI OFFICER AND CHIEF OF RESEARCH
COMPANY: SANS INSTITUTE INDUSTRY: CYBERSECURITY LOCATION: DENVER, US
Rob leads AI security governance and research on Shadow AI, develops the SANS Secure AI Blueprint and advances frameworks for safe, scalable AI-driven cyber defence and organisational resilience.
This timeframe has dipped from 2.6 years back in 2018, to mere hours in 2026.
“ Autonomous attack chains move laterally from initial access to objective completion at a pace human defenders weren’ t designed for,” Rob continues.
“ If your defensive teams aren’ t using AI agents, they can’ t match the speed of AI-augmented threats regardless of their technical skill.”
The solution Rob notes is to:“ Point AI agents at your own code and find the vulnerabilities before attackers do. That is Priority Action one.”
“ Even with active human defenders and alerts, the speed asymmetry is what should keep you up”
Rob T. Lee Chief AI Officer and Chief of Research SANS Institute