AI Security: Patricia Titus on Shadow AI, Non-Human Identities, and AI Defense

AI security is not showing up as one clean problem. 

It is showing up across governance, risk, productivity, identity, API security, and defense. 

In this episode of ClearTech Loop, Jo Peterson talks with seasoned CISO Patricia Titus, about shadow AI, non human identities, AI agents, APIs, and what AI defense means when organizations are trying to move quickly without losing control. Patricia brings more than 25 years of cybersecurity leadership experience across public and private sectors, including financial services, technology, and government.  

Patricia’s take is practical: shadow AI is both an IT and security issue, but it is also a governance, risk, and productivity problem. If organizations want employees to use AI responsibly, the approved path has to be easier than the workaround.  

What You’ll Hear in This Episode 

• Jo and Patricia discuss: 
• Shadow AI as a governance, risk, productivity, and security issue 
• Why visibility has to come before control 
• How CISOs and CIOs can create approval lanes that are easier than going rogue 
• Why AI agents are becoming a new control plane 
• How non human identities, service accounts, bots, and APIs are changing the access conversation 
• Why AI defense is less about novelty and more about applying fundamentals at a new scale and speed 

Key Insight 

• AI defense is not just about buying new tools. 
• It is about understanding what AI connects to, what data it consumes, how agents behave, and whether the organization can prove access is controlled. 
• That makes this episode especially relevant for CIOs, CISOs, IT leaders, security leaders, and enterprise teams trying to manage AI adoption inside real environments. 

Timestamps 

00:00 Introduction to Patricia Titus 

01:34 ClearTech Loop hot take format and AI security focus 

02:25 Shadow AI as both an IT and security problem 

03:03 Visibility, safe paths, and enforceable guardrails 

05:17 AI agents as a new control plane 

06:06 Why emerging AI agent behavior creates new concerns 

08:46 Jo on executive awareness and evidence 

10:33 Non human identities and how CISOs and CIOs are enabling them 

12:34 Least privilege, zero trust, and proving agents are turned off 

14:27 APIs as part of the non human identity conversation 

15:25 AI defense as fundamentals at a new scale and velocity 

16:12 Closing thoughts 

Guest Bio 

Patricia Titus is a seasoned Chief Information Security Officer. She is a global cybersecurity executive with more than 25 years of experience leading security organizations across financial services, technology, government, and other highly regulated sectors. 

She has held C level and executive positions at Booking Holdings, Markel Corporation, Freddie Mac, Symantec, Unisys, and the TSA. Patricia also serves on the Board of Directors for Black Kite and on advisory boards for several organizations focused on cybersecurity, technology, and risk. 

Her work focuses on resilience, risk management, AI driven security, business alignment, and helping organizations understand how cyber risk affects operations and leadership. 

Resources 

• If Every User Needs an Identity, Why Don’t Our APIs? by Patricia Titus
  https://abnormal.ai/blog/user-identity-apis 
• Preparing for AI Regulation: What CISOs Can Do Now by Patricia Titus
  https://abnormal.ai/blog/preparing-for-ai-regulation-what-cisos-can-do-now 
• Building a Culture of Proactive Threat Defense by Patricia Titus
  https://abnormal.ai/blog/building-a-culture-of-proactive-threat-defense 
• Season 1 ClearTech Loop
  https://www.buzzsprout.com/2248577 

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