AI adoption in cybersecurity is accelerating—but is governance keeping pace? In this Millennium Live episode, Chris Cochran, Field CISO and Vice President of AI Security at SANS Institute, is here to explore the widening gap between how quickly organizations are adopting AI and how prepared they are to secure, govern, and challenge it. Drawing on insights from the 2026 SANS AI Survey and AI Security Maturity Model, Chris examines the rise of AI-enabled attacks, shortcomings in threat detection, workforce readiness, accountability for autonomous systems, and why foundational defenses may matter more than an AI-vs.-AI arms race. He also introduces the “Principle of Least Agency” and shares a practical 90-day sequence leaders can use to move from AI governance uncertainty toward meaningful action.

Reference Links: https://www.sans.org/white-papers/2026-sans-ai-survey-insights
https://www.sans.org/mlp/2026-ai-security-maturity-model-ebook

Chris Cochran is the Field CISO and Vice President of AI Security at the SANS Institute, where he stands at the intersection of frontier AI innovation and real-world cybersecurity defense. A Marine Corps veteran and former leader at organizations like Netflix, Mandiant, the U.S. House of Representatives, Axonius, and NSA, Chris has spent his career translating complexity into clarity, whether guiding organizations through emerging AI threat landscapes, pioneering defensive AI workflows, or shaping the next generation of AI-security practitioners. His work blends deep operational cyber experience with cutting-edge research in AI governance, model risk, multi-agent systems, and adversarial AI, positioning him as one of the few leaders equally fluent in shaping AI strategy and securing it. Known for his storytelling, community leadership, and ability to distill fast-moving technical shifts into actionable insight, Chris is helping build the future where AI systems are both powerful and safe.

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