"Are we in a cyber bubble? The answer is no"
Team8’s Liran Grinberg says AI, global threats, and the evolving role of CISOs prove cyber’s staying power.
As cyber threats escalate in scale and sophistication, Liran Grinberg, co-founder and managing partner at VC Team8, believes artificial intelligence may finally tilt the balance in favor of defenders. Speaking at the Tech1 conference in Eilat, Grinberg outlined how AI is reshaping both sides of the digital battlefield, and why the cybersecurity industry is only becoming more vital.
“Historically, cybersecurity has always been reactive,” Grinberg said. “Until 2007, it was mostly about new attack techniques and the corresponding solutions to defend against them. But around 2007, something troubling began to happen with the emergence of mobile, cloud, SaaS, and other technologies. A growing gap emerged between attackers and defenders. Attackers can try endlessly, with virtually no cost for failure, while defenders must protect everything, and even one small mistake can be catastrophic. At the same time, it's incredibly difficult to recruit and train cybersecurity talent. That was the fundamental problem we faced.”
Grinberg noted that the story is now beginning to shift with the rise of artificial intelligence. “Now that both attackers and defenders are AI-powered, innovation on both sides could look very different. The cyber industry has evolved from a fragmented collection of niche solutions into the backbone of digital trust. But what will this battle between attackers and defenders look like when both sides, the dark side and the defenders, are equipped with AI-based tools? For the first time, is there a real chance to close the gap that has grown at an alarming rate over the past decade?”
While attackers are rapidly improving their tools, defenders are also making significant progress, Grinberg said. “Defensive AI agents now cover a vast attack surface, learn quickly, and can be deployed without depending on expert personnel. This isn't just about automation, it’s about comprehension. These systems can interpret, question, infer, and act.” He added: “If we look at this era of AI vs. AI, attackers will move quickly and benefit from those capabilities, but there’s also the potential for defenders to achieve comprehensive coverage. The talent gap in cybersecurity could be significantly reduced.”
Grinberg also spoke about the changing role of the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), a position first created 30 years ago at Citibank following a major attack. “At Team8, we work closely with the CISO community. That’s how we identify major pain points and co-develop new solutions. Once a technical position within IT, the CISO role has transformed into that of a senior risk manager, with growing exposure to company boards. Many CISOs are even becoming board members themselves, or progressing to broader technology leadership roles such as CIO or CTO, reflecting how central cyber has become to every technological decision. As we move toward an era of AI superintelligence, the CISO may take on an entirely new responsibility: overseeing AI agents that deviate from intended behavior. That’s a dramatic shift in scope.”
Finally, Grinberg posed a question: “Are we in a cyber bubble? The answer is no. Every time it feels like the infrastructure is finally secure and the world won’t need another 20 cyber startups, a new frontier emerges - AI, quantum computing, and more. It’s no coincidence that global investment in cybersecurity has remained strong, even during market downturns. Cyber isn’t just a trend, it’s a foundational layer of protection across every other industry. In that sense, cybersecurity is like electricity: when it works, everything is quiet. When it fails - disaster.”
