Securing the Cloud

Shreyas Lele (MSAI ‘22) joined cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks in April as an artificial intelligence (AI) product manager. He currently is leading a portfolio of generative AI, classical machine learning, and agentic features within Prisma Cloud, the company’s flagship cloud security solution that protects its clients’ cloud-based applications and data.

To succeed, Lele applies the lessons he learned in Northwestern Engineering's Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence (MSAI) program.

“The value of MSAI is not just the courses,” Lele said. “They are great, yes, but on top of it, it’s the way you collaborate and have discussions with professors and fellow students that is very important.”

Important, Lele said, because of how crucial AI is to cloud security when it comes to detecting threats, forming mitigation plans, and automating the task to secure customer environments proactively. This eventually ensures smooth and secure operations of global businesses. Palo Alto Networks has more than 80,000 enterprise customers worldwide, including ADT, Salesforce, and Southwest Airlines

As software applications and data at the core of the world’s economy have grown in sophistication and size – and as workforces have expanded from local teams to international cohorts – the vital components to business success are increasingly housed in the cloud.

That transition from on-premise to cloud has improved ease-of-access and scalability to foster organizational growth. But it also puts important data in an increasingly vulnerable centralized place.

“It’s very difficult for one human or a set of humans in a security team to make sure that this entire cloud posture is always safe,” Lele said. “You need an AI approach to counter the rapidly increasing cyber threats and mitigate every possible loophole in your environment. You need to leverage data and machine learning models to proactively spot and resolve risks."

Lele turned to the MSAI program because he wanted to steer his career toward AI product management and strengthen his AI knowledge. MSAI’s core AI courses gave him a strong technical foundation that he enhanced with product management electives through Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management.

Opportunities available outside classroom instruction – including internships and external industry-specific projects – played a pivotal role in preparing him for his work today.

“If you want to get into this industry, there is a lot more than just saying ‘Hey, I completed the MSAI program,’” he said. “You need to get hands-on so you have end-to-end insight on how business works.”

Part of that business insight includes understanding how to use AI to augment human talent, not just view it as a turnkey solution for business problems. There is a right time to use AI, he said, and other times when it doesn't make sense.

“Don't use AI simply because you want to use AI. You need to go with a problem-first approach and use AI if you see there is a use case and it is going to help you,” Lele said. “AI can't blindly solve everything.”

Lele is learning that firsthand at Palo Alto Networks. He enjoys the responsibilities of his new role largely because he understands its importance to the company and its clients.

“This is the entire end-to-end execution. I'm launching this product from zero to one,” he said. “With AI increasing, you have bad actors using it to create malware attacks and trying to gain access to something they shouldn't. We have to protect against this.”