Artificial intelligence and the modern cybersecurity landscape – Silicon Republic

by Laura Varley
5 May 2026
Experts from TCS and Rent the Runway discuss how AI is impacting the ever evolving cyber space.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has the power to impact careers in the cybersecurity sector in a number of ways. From the potential to reduce workload and ease burnout, to increasing jobs displacement and negatively affecting the uptake of new skills, it is fair to say that the use of organisational AI has its pros and cons. 
For Rehan Jaddi, the vice-president of engineering and chief information and security officer at Rent the Runway, the rapid adoption and integration of AI represents a key cybersecurity challenge. 
He said, “While AI presents tremendous opportunities for innovation and efficiency, it also introduces new and complex risks. To address this, we are proactively developing a comprehensive AI governance and risk management framework. This isn’t just about blocking threats, it’s about enabling the business to innovate securely.”  
To mitigate risk and ensure best practice, he explained Rent the Runway works to define risk tolerance to guide AI adoption strategy, establish clear principles and policies for the ethical and secure use of AI, evaluate and implement new security technologies designed to protect AI systems, adapt IT and security teams’ skillsets to meet the demands of this new landscape and take a strategic and proactive stance to safeguard data. 
It is a risky landscape at points, agreed Jennifer Scott, the head of cybersecurity delivery and operations at TCS’ global delivery centre, Letterkenny.
She said, “While the advent of AI has the potential to significantly mature and improve security operations centres and security information and event management capabilities, it can also have an adversarial impact, enabling attackers to more easily find gaps, expose and precipitate human error.  
“Human error and susceptibility to AI driven vishing and phishing attacks is therefore a growing challenge. User education about AI enabled vishing and phishing remains extremely important in preventing potential high cost compromising of client systems.”
Of the skills and qualifications most suited to a cybersecurity role in modern-day organisations, Scott said, particularly at TCS, experts skilled in incident management, threat hunting and forensics are in high demand. 
She said, “OT security is also in growing demand. Industry recognised certs in demand include, OSCP (offensive security certified professional), CISSP (certified information systems security professional) and CISM (certified information security manager).
Jaddi noted that while the demand for traditional cybersecurity skills remains high in 2026, Rent the Runway is increasingly looking for professionals with a blend of technical expertise and business acumen. 
He said, the most sought-after qualifications in the organisation today fall into three main categories, which are AI and machine learning security, cloud and application security and lastly, risk management and communication. 
In AI and machine learning security, Jaddi explained as AI is further integrated into workplace operations, Rent the Runway needs qualified experts who understand the unique vulnerabilities of machine learning models and are equipped with the skills needed to build security into the entire AI lifecycle.
He added, “With the proliferation of SaaS applications and our cloud infrastructure, we need professionals who can secure our data and applications in a distributed and dynamic environment. This includes expertise in container security and identity and access management.”
Jaddi is of the opinion that it is no longer enough for an employee to be a technical expert in their field. Rather, security professionals are operating in a space where they need to be able to translate complex technical risks into business terms, communicating effectively with stakeholders across the organisation.
He said, “Ultimately, we’re looking for security leaders who can think strategically and act as partners to the business, enabling innovation while protecting the organisation.”
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In-Depth: Cybersecurity Focus, Employer
Related: Rent the Runway, risk and compliance, AI, TCS, skills, cybersecurity, Employers
Laura Varley is the Careers editor at Silicon Republic. She has a background in technology PR and journalism and is borderline obsessed with film and television, the theatre, Marvel and Mayo GAA. She is currently trying to learn how to knit.
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