KBKAST Episode 361: Deep Dive – Richard Stiennon | Why AI Security Will Define The Future Of Digital Defence

Date: April 1, 2026
Host: KBI.Media
Guest: Richard Stiennon, Chief Research Analyst, IT-Harvest

Episode Overview

This episode explores the seismic impact AI is having on cybersecurity, focusing on both how AI presents new security risks and how it is transforming defensive strategies. Host Karissa Breen and returning guest Richard Stiennon discuss the explosive growth in AI security vendors, the evolving dynamics of cybersecurity marketplace and guidance, shifts in buyer behaviors, the marketing landscape, and the fallacies around platformization versus point solutions. Stiennon brings a strategic lens, offering predictions and sharp critiques of industry trends and legacy players.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Two Branches of AI Security

[00:00 - 04:44]

• AI Security is Overshadowing All Other Trends:
  Security for AI: Protecting organizations from data leakage to AI and securing models against prompt injection and other manipulation attacks.
  AI for Security: Using AI to drive efficiencies and effectiveness in processes—transforming SOCs, automating triage, and super-charging defense capabilities.

  "The one is, okay, new technology, new attack surface area… But the other is, oh my God, this is changing everything." – Richard Stiennon [00:42]

• Rapid vendor expansion: From tracking 0 to 354 AI security vendors in just over a year.

• AI’s acceleration: "Foundational models double in capability every two and a half months… We’re just not used to thinking at scales like that." – Richard Stiennon [03:23]

2. Cybersecurity Vendor Landscape & Trends

[04:44 - 07:23]

• Over 4,000 vendors, not too many considering regional requirements and market fragmentation.
• "Traditionally there's about 220 startups launching every single year." – Stiennon [05:42]
• CISOs, overwhelmed by choices, are urged to consult analysts rather than complain about the crowded market.

  "On the CISO side, when the CISOs complaints, I just see it as whining, frankly." – Stiennon [06:17]

3. Evolving Ways Buyers Seek Guidance

[07:23 - 11:49]

• Shift from classic analyst firms (Gartner, Forrester) to self-directed research via LLMs like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, etc.

• LLMs offer fast, “good enough” answers that satisfy the need for speed but lack deeper experiential insight of an analyst.

• Analyst reports on large vendors remain stable; but for emerging tech, reporting lags are disconnecting analysts from the fast pace of the market.

  "Now, the challenge that the Gartners face is that people are finding that they can get good enough answers from ChatGPT." – Stiennon [08:34]

4. The Disruption LLMs Cause to Marketing & Content

[11:49 - 16:14]

• User behavior has shifted: more product research is happening through LLM queries, not direct site visits.

• Website dwell time is falling, as both humans and LLMs “harvest” information for quick answers.

• LLMs prize ideas over SEO and keywords—brands must shape messaging/content for machine comprehension and relevance.

• Media and marketers need to create high-level, idea-rich content that LLMs can reference.

  "LLMs are not interested in keywords like Google is, they are interested in ideas." – Stiennon [13:28]

5. Explosive Growth of AI Security Startups

[16:14 - 20:29]

• Stiennon highlights emerging AI agent-driven approaches: AI agents triaging SOC tasks autonomously—reducing need for human intervention.

• Examples: Startups automating triage, incident response, and even remediation. Adoption is accelerating, with some startups reaching significant ARR ($1-3M) in months.

• Even as automation surges, humans remain essential for training agents, threat intel, and other high-level tasks.

  "Once a CISO says, well I better try this out … They go, oh my God. This task over here… it did 100% completely every day, no slowing down." – Stiennon [18:59]

6. AI-Driven Efficiencies and Vendor Pricing

[22:02 - 25:38]

• Budgets won’t shrink; instead, spend will be repurposed for greater efficiency and capability.

• Protection trumps detection/response: Automating remediation reduces noise and ultimately, risk.

• Legacy vendors (e.g., Splunk) face existential threats from AI-native competitors that offer similar or better outcomes at lower operational cost and complexity.

  "There will be significant cost savings with legacy stuff." – Stiennon [25:34]

7. M&A, Legacy Players, and Platformization Fallacies

[25:38 - 35:31]

• Discussion of Cisco’s acquisition of Splunk as a sales-driven move, not true integration.

• Critique of "platform" plays: Vendors marketing a seamless ecosystem, but actual buyer needs, integration, and innovation rarely align.

• Buying centers remain fragmented; platformization is “not a trend,” and best-of-breed persists for functional reasons and risk diversification.

  "Their product lineup, the way it all fits together only exists in their marketing slides, nowhere else… They do not actually integrate their products." – Stiennon [26:54] "Platformization is not a trend, despite what you hear from everybody. It's not a trend. It's not how it works." – Stiennon [33:54]

8. The Reality of Industry Acquisitions

[35:31 - 36:22]

• Acquisitions are the way large vendors buy innovation; it’s efficient and prevalent, though not always delivering on promised integration or efficiency.

  "That is how the industry works. So I'm a fan of it. I think it's great." – Stiennon [35:40]

9. Security Marketing & Media: What's Working Now

[36:22 - 38:54]

• Tech journalism is fading; vendors must create, publish, and distribute their own compelling research and content.

• In-person events are regaining value as a forum for trusted interactions and direct judgment of vendors.

  "Tech journalism is practically gone… you gotta create your own content. You've got to make it valuable." – Stiennon [36:46]

10. What's In/Out for 2026 & Predictions

[38:54 - 42:44]

• In for 2026:

  • AI automation for SOC
  • Vulnerability management automation
  • Pen testing / red teaming automation

• Out:

  • Post-quantum cryptography as an immediate concern
  • Anything blockchain/bitcoin or web3-related in security

• Standalone AI security sector’s lifespan is limited; AI will soon be pervasive and inseparable from security as a whole.

  "I predict that by the end of 2026 you won't be able to say that there is an AI security industry because all of security will have AI embedded in it." – Stiennon [42:23]

Memorable Quotes

• On AI Security’s Impact:

  "All the trends are overshadowed by the impact of AI security." – Richard Stiennon [00:00]

• On Analysts & CISOs:

  "There's no way that you can be an expert in the cybersecurity industry. You have to seek outside guidance." – Richard Stiennon [06:29]

• On LLMs Replacing Traditional Research:

  "People are finding that they can get good enough answers from ChatGPT." – Richard Stiennon [08:34]

• On Platformization:

  "Platformization is not a trend, despite what you hear from everybody. It’s not how it works." – Richard Stiennon [33:54]

Notable Timestamps

• [00:00] – Introduction of AI security’s two branches
• [03:23] – AI’s exponential improvement rate
• [05:42] – Number of vendors/startups in cybersecurity
• [06:17] – CISO complaints and guidance
• [08:34] – LLMs disrupting market/analyst dynamic
• [13:28] – SEO vs. LLMs approach to content
• [16:14] – AI security startup growth and performance examples
• [22:02] – Cost, budget, and efficiency shifts with AI
• [25:34] – Legacy vendor cost disruption
• [26:54] – Cisco/Splunk integration fallacy
• [33:54] – Platformization as a false narrative
• [36:46] – State of tech journalism and need for original content
• [38:54] – In-person event value rebounding
• [42:23] – Prediction: AI will become inseparable from all security

Conclusion

This episode underscores the tectonic changes underway as AI becomes both a foundational threat and solution in cybersecurity. Richard Stiennon provides clear-eyed analysis of where the market is broken, who’s innovating (or not), and why the noise around trend-chasing (platforms, quantum) often misses practical market realities. The future? AI everywhere, legacy vendors struggling, best-of-breed persisting, and security practitioners demanding both substance and speed from innovation and insight.