In this episode of the Be Fearless Podcast, Dan Lohrmann, Field CISO for Public Sector, Presidio, sits down with SquareX Founder's Office's Aleksandra Melnikova to discuss how AI agents, browser-based threats, deepfakes, and shadow AI tools are reshaping the attack surface—and why CISOs must be embedded in AI governance early. They also touch upon what truly differentiates public-sector cybersecurity, from election cycles and budget whiplash to centralized security governance and trust-based leadership.

00:00 Introduction and when Dan almost got fired over Wi-Fi
8:57 What makes public sector security different from the private sector
13:21 Being Michigan's first ever CISO
22:39 Inside a $28 million ransomware negotiation
28:48 Emerging threats and securing AI
32:37 Advice for CISOs in 2026
35:42 Browser security in AI age and malicious extensions
43:04 People remember stories, CISOs need to earn trust

🔔 Follow Dan and Aleksandra on:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/danlohrmann/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/aleksandra-melnikova-1012/

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Deployed as a lightweight extension, SquareX turns any browser, on any device, into a secure enterprise browser. Find out more about SquareX at https://hubs.la/Q03rPcbf0