Today’s enterprises are pouring resources into data security, yet many still can’t answer a fundamental question: Where is my sensitive data?
In a recent episode of the Tech 2 Exec podcast, hosted by VLCM CEO Mike Linton and VLCM CIO Josh Linton, the hosts were joined by Karthik Krishnan, Founder and CEO of Concentric AI, to talk about why the data discovery process is broken, how most “AI” solutions still rely on outdated rule engines, and what it takes to actually operationalize data security at scale.
The Broken State of Data Security
Despite years of investment, most organizations struggle to locate and protect their most sensitive data. Karthik shared a sobering example: a CISO three years into a data security overhaul still couldn’t confidently identify where sensitive data resided—despite spending $5 on people for every $1 on tooling.
The root cause? Legacy tools focus on pattern-matching and rigid rules. They lack context and nuance, forcing companies to overinvest in manual processes while still leaving gaps.
Operationalizing Data Security: From Discovery to Action
Concentric AI’s mission is to help enterprises operationalize data security. That means:
- Discovering sensitive data with context, not just regex.
- Monitoring how it’s accessed, shared, and potentially exposed.
- Remediating risks automatically to bring environments back into compliance.
Why Context Matters: AI That Actually Understands
Some vendors say they use AI, but under the hood, it’s just rule engines in disguise. Concentric AI takes a different route. Karthik and his co-founder built custom language learning models (pre-ChatGPT) to understand documents semantically—just like a human would.
Rather than flagging every 9-digit number as a Social Security Number, Concentric AI’s models read the full document and understand the context, identifying whether it’s PII, a utility pole ID, or something else entirely. That precision translates directly to better remediation and fewer false positives.
Least Privilege Isn’t Optional Anymore
Data breaches often stem from overexposed data, not just malware. If a sensitive file is accessible to 500 employees instead of the 50 who need it, the attack surface expands dramatically.
Concentric AI helps shrink that surface by ensuring least privilege access and identifying when sensitive data ends up in unauthorized places. The platform can map who has access to what, identify access drift and privilege creep, and fix misconfigurations and policy violations—fast. That foundation is critical, especially when dealing with insider threats, careless users, or compromised accounts.
When the Audit Comes (or the Breach Hits)
Karthik shared a story of a mortgage company that lost millions of sensitive records. Within the first week of the breach, the cost of remediation hit $50 million with total damage projected to exceed $200 million. That totaled to $30 to $100 per record.
By comparison, Concentric AI helps organizations proactively identify and reduce risk at a fraction of that cost. According to Karthik, their platform has been used to secure hundreds of millions of records for less than a cent per record, including discovery, monitoring, and remediation.
The Takeaway for CISOs
If you're not confident you can answer where your sensitive data lives, who has access to it, or how it’s exposed—you’re not alone. The discovery process has been broken for a long time, and most solutions weren’t built to fix it.
But the stakes haven’t changed. You're still responsible for reducing risk, proving control, and preparing your team to respond to what’s coming next—whether that’s an audit, a renewal meeting with your insurer, or an actual breach.
So the question becomes: Do you have what you need to see clearly and act quickly?
If the answer is no, it’s time to rethink what you're relying on to get there.
We want to thank Karthik for joining Tech 2 Exec and sharing how Concentric AI is helping teams take control of their data security.
Watch or listen to the Tech 2 Exec podcast on YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.
