Afternoon Cyber Tea with Ann Johnson Nasrin Rezai on the Frontlines of Cybersecurity
Aug 5, 2025
Nasrin Rezai, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer at Verizon, dives into the critical world of cybersecurity. With her extensive experience, she highlights practical defense strategies for legacy systems and the urgency of adopting zero trust architectures. Nasrin discusses the rising threats from nation-states, the impact of AI on vulnerability exploitation, and emphasizes that cybersecurity is a shared national defense responsibility. Despite the challenges, she conveys optimism about innovation and the next wave of cyber leaders shaping a safer future.
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Nation-State Threat Landscape
- Nation-state actors like China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea use cyber operations for espionage, sabotage, and financial gain across critical infrastructure.
- Exploited vulnerabilities, stolen credentials, and living-off-the-land techniques drive most breaches and infrastructure attacks.
Ransomware And Early AI Threats
- Ransomware payments decreased: more victims now refuse to pay and invest in recovery instead.
- AI-driven attacks currently focus on phishing and misinformation rather than complex breaches at industry scale.
Telecom Incident Example
- Nasrin described a recent telecom incident where attackers used valid stolen credentials and modified device configurations to evade detection.
- The attackers focused on network devices rather than databases, highlighting infrastructure-specific tradecraft.