Does artificial intelligence improve cybersecurity or is it potentially exposing sensitive data?
The 夜色视频 Cybersecurity Center explores that question in its 2026 conference, Cyber-AI vs. AI-Cyber, Oct. 29 on the University campus. The conference is free and open to the public; registration is required.
Cybersecurity expert and author Heather Case-Hall will deliver the keynote address “AI didn’t break in. We let it in,” examining how organizations inadvertently expose sensitive information by giving AI access to poorly governed data.
“Let’s be honest, sensitive data has a way of hiding in plain sight,” Case-Hall wrote in a LinkedIn post promoting her 2026 book, “Data in Plain Sight.” “Sometimes it is in the obvious systems. Sometimes it is in forgotten shares, old exports, collaboration tools, spreadsheets, or places no one has looked at in years. And with AI moving fast, 'we probably know where our data is’ is not a strategy.”
University faculty will also present at the conference. Computer science and engineering Assistant Professor Ankita Shuka will deliver the talk “Can we trust AI with the keys?” and electrical engineering Associate Professor Hao Xu will offer “The hidden cyber risks of commercial and consumer drones.” Speakers from Crytica Security, CarbonHelix Cyber and BlueRock, Viakoo and Microsoft also will discuss the use of AI in cybersecurity.
The conference is organized by the University’s Cybersecurity Center, a group of interdisciplinary faculty members working with industry partners to develop holistic solutions to cybersecurity challenges. The annual event is in its seventh year. The Cybersecurity Center participates in the cybersecurity M.S. degree program (both online and on-site); two undergraduate minors; and a cross-disciplinary graduate certificate in cybersecurity. The College of Engineering’s Bachelor of Science in computer science and engineering with a minor in cybersecurity is recognized by the National Security Agency as a Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (CAE-CD).
