CyberWire Daily

Ghost students “haunting” online colleges.

Jun 11, 2025
Guest
Matt Radolec
Matt Radolec, VP of Incident Response at Varonis, dives into the alarming trend of 'ghost students' exploiting online courses for government funds. He explores the financial impact on educational institutions and the challenges posed to academic integrity. The discussion reveals the dual nature of AI, seen as both a productivity booster and a potential threat in cybersecurity. Radolec emphasizes the need for organizations to manage data securely while integrating AI, learning from past tech implementations to prevent vulnerabilities in this new landscape.
Ask episode
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
INSIGHT

AI's Three-Faced Role

  • AI serves multiple roles: business enabler, security defense tool, and attacker’s resource.
  • Security pros must juggle these three to fully understand AI's impact.
ADVICE

Inventory Your AI Data Usage

  • Inventory your AI usage and data sharing across SaaS and cloud apps.
  • Understand if and how your data trains AI models, local or vendor-wide.
ADVICE

Protect High-Value Data First

  • Aim small: protect your highest-value data assets first, like intellectual property and customer data.
  • Ensure strict access control to limit unintended AI data exposure.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
Get the app