AI Governance, Cybersecurity & Revenue Integrity: A Practitioner’s View

Interview with Lucy Kryuchkova about AI

     Lucy is an AI, Cybersecurity Solutions Strategy & Revenue Optimization Leader. Founder of “Security for Humans” Cybersecurity  Practitioner, Early AI Adopter & Active Member of the “Cyber Breakfast Club” executive cyber leadership forum.

Janet: Lucy, The Job Forum wants to help job hunters stay ahead of the AI curve. Where is AI making the biggest impact in Cybersecurity right now?

Lucy: AI is used in Cybersecurity to make processes – especially where volume is high – more efficient. It is the new “front line” of threat detection and response monitoring. If you are applying for roles involving SIEM or SOAR tools, be ready to discuss how AI helps differentiate a normal network anomaly from a potential incident. Job seekers should be prepared to discuss how these specific tools work, where they are used, and why we use them. We use these tools to process many signals quickly, compare them to the normal standard, and decide if they are suspicious and should be acted upon. Anything with high volume where speed matters, and where new threats emerge is where machine learning and AI powered tools are implemented. It’s important to show the knowledge of why these tools make sense.

Janet: How can a candidate practically “show off” this skill set to a recruiter?

Lucy: Don’t just talk about it – show it. One of the best use cases for AI in cybersecurity, and something easy to do on your own to show off as a project on your LinkedIn, is building AI-modeled Tabletop Exercises (TTX). Instead of just describing a threat, you can show it. I’ve built several models that include:

• CEO Deepfakes & Social Engineering: Use AI media tools to create mock audio or video clips of an executive asking for an “urgent wire transfer.” This helps staff recognize the subtle markers of AI-generated fraud. To be honest, it took me 30 minutes to build a convincing deep fake using only public social media data and free tools  – I mean, use responsibly and I am a professional, but deep fake technology is moving rapidly and demonstrating you are equipped to handle it is critical.
• Automated “Crisis Injects”: Use AI to instantly draft realistic fake news headlines, frantic customer tweets, or legal demands tailored to a data breach scenario. This tests a team’s ability to handle the “noise” of a crisis.
• Code Vulnerability Simulations: I’ve used AI to take company-used code and inject vulnerabilities to show how far an attacker can move if not stopped, then use AI-assisted tools to catch them before a breach occurs, or to demo what happens at each stage of the attack, it’s very compelling.
• Table top exercises are great because they move away from just boring theory into practical demos and are a lot more memorable for everybody and impactful.

Janet: What about the ‘human’ side of AI, like privacy and ethics?

Lucy: This is a major differentiator. A huge “red flag” for companies right now is Shadow AI – employees using unapproved, personal chatbots to process confidential company data.

I come from a high-security/ confidentiality intel background, and in all executive cyber forums we currently focus on one issue specifically: rogue or shadow AI use. This is a top-tier concern for leadership. If you incorporate this into your job search strategy, it will immediately make you stand out. In an interview, explicitly mention that you focus on responsible privacy-conscious use:

• Data Hygiene: Practice security guidelines, like removing names or sensitive identifiers before running a document through a tool.
• Compliance: Show awareness of BAA-compliant tools for industries like healthcare to protect patient data.
• Policy Auditing: Use AI browser tools to examine a company’s policies and ensure they are compliant with regulations like CCPA and GDPR.

Janet: Moving to Finance – how does AI play a role in revenue integrity?

Lucy: It’s a game-changer for variance analysis. Anything that requires a large volume of data to arrive at concrete steps to improve the bottom line is a good potential use of AI.

I recently used AI to audit financial statements and discovered several thousand dollars in back-invoice overpayments going back three years. No one had checked the contracts thoroughly when paying invoices, and they were paying at a higher rate. They were also paying well above the market standard.

Janet: How can someone start learning these tools if they are new to AI?

Lucy: There are many places to take high-quality classes. I recommend looking at DeepLearning.AI, Google, Microsoft, or AWS Skill Builder. You can also do labs that include hands-on learning that mirror real workplace workflows. For example, via Google Cloud, you might use Vertex AI or BigQuery to get a chance to use tools one would use in a real workplace.

Finally, practice on yourself! Try AI on your own budget and ask for suggestions to lower expenses. Compare results across different tools. This gives you the chance to confidently state: “I identified the most efficient model for business results.” Learning a tool is an additional way to gain confidence. Knowledge is power, and AI can give us more knowledge and insight.

The Practitioner’s Philosophy: Security for Humans

Lucy: All in all, AI is a great tool and can be your friend. I believe knowledge really is power, and technology can help you feel confident. I called my own brand Security For Humans because I strongly believe that – there is enough fear-mongering going around about AI replacing everything, but it is already here and moving in.

Whether one resists it or not, fear is not helpful. Find something you personally like using AI for; it is the easiest way to turn it from threat into a helpful companion. Technology is, once again, your friend.

 

Connect with Lucy Kryuchkova: For personal suggestions or assistance with implementing Ai in business

lucy_gk@icloud.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucy-g-cybersec/