BCW Hosts Conference on AI in Cybersecurity at Pace

The BCW recently hosted a conference on cutting-edge advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and its transformative role in fortifying cybersecurity measures at Pace University.

As part of the BCW’s yearlong AI Alliance 360° program, the May 23 conference was the fifth in the series and it examined advances in artificial intelligence and how it is impacting the world of cybersecurity in business and academia within the context of Westchester County.

The panel consisted of business leaders, cybersecurity experts, and faculty from the Seidenberg School of CSIS, including: Vipul Nagrath, senior vice president of product development for ADP; Robert Cioffi, CTO and co-founder of Progressive Computing; Antony K. Haynes, partner for Dorf Nelson & Zauderer LLP; Jonathan Hill, dean of Seidenberg School of CSIS;  Joe Acampora, clinical assistant professor of information technology and director of Pace Cyber Range; Li-Chiou Chen, professor of information technology and executive director of Pace Cyber Center.

“Our reliance on digital infrastructure increases every day, making cybersecurity more important than ever,” said BCW president and CEO Marsha Gordon, who moderated the panel. “The BCW is proud to lead these critical discussions on AI’s role in cybersecurity, especially for the business community.”

Marvin Krislov, president of Pace University, said the event continues a fruitful partnership with the BCW. ”AI is changing the ways in which we do work and we’re constantly identifying ways to harness it on behalf of our students. With our cutting-edge research, exceptional & dedicated faculty, and world-class facilities like our Cyber Range, we are prepared for what the future holds and are ready to lead the way in this field,” said Krislov.

On the Pleasantville campus, Pace operates the Cyber Range, a state-of-the-art computer science lab where students learn how to identify and defend against cybersecurity attacks in real-time through interactive, simulated platforms.

“Here at Pace, we’re blessed with a deep bench of faculty and staff doing exceptional work on the frontlines of AI and cybersecurity,” said Hill. “At the same time, there are very intelligent people working to undermine those efforts.”

Chen said that AI can be used as a tool to defend our technological systems, but it can also be used and exploited to attack them. “How we train, reinforce, and maintain the AI systems that we use to protect our cybersecurity will ultimately determine their success,” said Chen.

Acampora said that cybersecurity must be in a constant state of monitoring and upgrading because hackers are quickly evolving their attacks. “AI is an amazing thing, but we have to remember that it’s not a set and forget technological solution for cybersecurity,” said Acampora.

Cioffi said all businesses must train their staff to spot cyber-attacks. “We’re seeing real-world examples of AI being used very effectively in cyberattacks,” said Cioffi. “As these techniques evolve, we each have a responsibility to remain vigilant and maintain the ‘human firewall’ that our knowledge and instincts create.”

Nagrath said that employees will always be critical to the effective use of AI in business. “We need to move past the idea of AI or humans. It needs to be AI and humans,” said Nagrath.

Haynes noted that the U.S. government has been slow to protect the public from the abuse of A.I. or its failure. “In the United States’ approach to regulation, we wait for the disaster to happen, and then after the disaster has happened, we’ll pass laws,” said Haynes, using the example of who is to blame for a fatal accident with a self-driving vehicle. “These are open issues that we need to think about as a society.”

Sachs said that privacy and security with AI are the issues that keep him up at night. “If I’m working on a document and I want Copilot to help me with that document…where is all that data going? What if I want to get it back?” said Sachs. “This all started in November of 2022. That’s 18 months ago. If that were a baby, would you trust it with your company documents?”

The next AI Alliance 360° program is Healing Horizons: Navigating AI in Healthcare’s Transformative Technologies on June 17. Click here to register.