Yaki Faitelson on AI risk
From Yaki Faitelson: Lessons from Leading a Public Cybersecurity Giant | In Conversation S1 E3 · · Saepio Information Security
“Copilot is like a Pac-Man from hell — by design it's using everything it can get, and the first time we saw people use it they were getting data they didn't need; it's an accident waiting to happen.”
On , Yaki Faitelson, CEO Chairman & Co-Founder at Varonis Systems, spoke about AI risk during Yaki Faitelson: Lessons from Leading a Public Cybersecurity Giant | In Conversation S1 E3 on Saepio Information Security.
About Yaki Faitelson
Yaki Faitelson, co-founder and CEO of Varonis, has been discussing the impact of generative AI on data security in a series of interviews in 2025. He has described AI tools like Microsoft 365 Copilot as a "Pac-Man from hell" that can access and condense large amounts of data, creating new security risks. Faitelson stated that "bad actors — they're not breaking in, they're logging in," and argued that organizations need to focus on protecting data directly rather than relying solely on perimeter security. He said Varonis aims to automate data protection through a "find fix alert" approach, and that with its cloud architecture, "99% they will never have a data breach." Faitelson also reflected on his 20-year journey building Varonis, which he co-founded in 2005 and took public on NASDAQ in 2014. In a conversation with Deloitte, he discussed surviving the 2008 market crash by cutting salaries rather than laying off employees, and credited meditation with helping him manage anxiety during that period. He emphasized the importance of conviction, finding the right partners, and building a platform that can automate data security at scale.