#586: Stop zero days without a patch: You need to learn eBPF
About this episode
David Bombal interviews Michael Dickman about the impact of AI on cybersecurity and network management.
How has AI changed cybersecurity and enterprise networks? In this interview, Michael (General Manager for Cisco's Campus Networking) joins David Bombal to discuss the real-world impact of agentic AI, physical AI, and modern security threats. Discover why the U.S. cybersecurity agency (CISA) reports that the mean time to exploit vulnerabilities has plummeted from 10 months to just 10 hours due to AI systems chaining CVEs together. Learn how autonomous agents are shifting campus and branch environments from traditional north-south traffic to massive east-west flows, creating up to 9x the bandwidth demand. Michael breaks down how network segmentation and "least agency" protect data, how Cisco Live Protect utilizes eBPF inside the Linux kernel to create a compensating shield before a patch is ready, and how line-rate encryption with post-quantum cryptography protects against "harvest now, decrypt later" threats. Finally, find out why network engineering remains an incredibly critical, high-demand career path in 2026. Big thanks to @Cisco for sponsoring my trip to Cisco Live Vegas 2026 // Michael Dickman SOCIAL // LinkedIn: / midickman // David's SOCIAL // Discord…
People in this episode
Host: David Bombal
Guest: Michael Dickman
Topics covered
- cybersecurity
- AI in networks
- network segmentation
- eBPF
- data protection
- career in network engineering
Keywords
- zero days
- CVE
- bandwidth demand
- autonomous agents
- east-west traffic
- mean time to exploit
- network engineering
Sponsors
Cisco
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Cisco, CISA
Products: Cisco Live Protect, eBPF, post-quantum cryptography
More episodes of David Bombal
- #592: Why most enterprise AI fails (and how to succeed)
- #591: Inside the Cisco Live 2026 NOC (exclusive tour)
- #590: CCNA 2.0: What did Cisco just remove from the exam?
- #589: How to run an AI agent INSIDE your network CLI for 2026
- #588: Which is Ethernet? What's the difference?
- #587: Agentic AI is attacking your network (how to defend it)
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