In the fast-paced world of cybersecurity, where data is the new currency, the constant evolution of technology is raising the stakes. More than ever, it’s become imperative for companies to pay unwavering attention to their threat postures.

Visual content is one of the most consumed goods in today’s world and, by its very data-intensive nature, a prime target for malicious cyberattackers. What, then, is the technological approach of a large-scale market player like Prime Video to counter these threats?

“We’re excited about Thursday night football starting — so we have a lot of customers coming in to enjoy that content,” said Brian Lozada (pictured), chief information security officer for Prime Video & Studios at Amazon.com Inc. “From a security perspective, our focus is to ensure that streams stay available and stay ready for our customers and that the customers can [always] enjoy the content.

Lozada spoke with theCUBE industry analyst John Furrier at the “Cybersecurity” AWS Startup Showcase event, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed how organizations are addressing security concerns, the role of startups in the industry and the impact of artificial intelligence and machine learning. (* Disclosure below.)

Dealing with exploding data velocity

The security problem is primarily a data problem. But, more specifically, it’s being exacerbated by the expanding velocity at which data is accumulated and moved across expanding hybrid and multicloud infrastructures. In an era where data is the lifeblood of businesses, organizations must invest in securing it while fostering innovation.

The data-centric approach in cybersecurity focuses on securing not only the data itself, but also the critical paths through which data flows into and out of organizations. There’s a need to align security with the entire data lifecycle, from collection to utilization, according to Lozada.

For a media and content company, keeping security airtight means securing every aspect of content delivery, including minute details, such as external scoreboard tampering in the case of live sporting events.

“The broadcast itself, anything that we’re doing with our partners, the game itself … like altering the scoreboard or something like that, it impacts how customers are enjoying that content or it can impact what customers are doing with that content as well,” Lozada explained. “Things that we just optimized for and ensure that we’re taking care of … from camera all the way to the consumer.”

How startups and AI fit into the cybersecurity puzzle

With cyber threats on the rise and budgets remaining relatively stagnant, there’s an important role for automation and partnerships with startups to address these challenges. Startups are catalysts for accelerating cloud adoption while integrating security effectively. They can also address pain points that organizations face during cloud migration and build solutions that streamline the process, according to Lozada.

“I think startups can help organizations drive their cloud adoption or drive their cloud migration quicker, and with security built-in — or enable them to build that security in,” he said. “There’s a huge market still for a lot of organizations to move to the cloud or continue innovating with the cloud. And they need startups to help get them there and jumpstart them into that phase.”

Additionally, startups are a crucial piece for companies to build streamlined technology stacks that align with today’s cybersecurity needs, Lozada added.

“Startups should focus on how their products or solutions can fit seamlessly into an organization’s existing tech stack,” he said. “Building design partnerships with startups enables practitioners to provide feedback and helps startups fine-tune their offerings to align with real-world security needs.”

Artificial intelligence is moving rapidly. And as it brings breakthrough advancements to the human experience, it’s also equipping cyber attackers with advanced tools to ply their malicious trade. A diligent approach is therefore needed to apply AI to cybersecurity, according to Lozada.

“It has to be used with that lens of the diligence that you put into the AI technology and where you’re going to use that tech within the tech stack,” he stated. “It can’t be something that it’s a broad stroke that’s just going to help you solve a problem. You really need to do diligence on the particular problem that you’re solving across the stack, what AI solution or tool you want to throw at that problem [and] how you’re going to apply it in your build and remediation phases.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the “Cybersecurity” AWS Startup Showcase event:

(* Disclosure: Amazon Web Services Inc. sponsored this segment of theCUBE. Neither AWS nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE