Securing the Energy Grid from Cyber Threats with Duke Energy CSO Martin Strasburger

On the 30th episode of Enterprise AI Defenders, hosts Mike Britton and Evan Reiser talk with Martin Strasburger, Senior Vice President and Chief Security Officer at Duke Energy. Martin shares how Duke, serving over 11 million customers across the Southeast, protects vital physical and digital infrastructure in a time of accelerating energy demand and technological change. He emphasizes the critical role of intelligence‑driven defense in both cyber and physical spheres. From ballistic attacks on substations to AI-driven grid resilience and deepfake threats, Martin offers a nuanced perspective on how modern security challenges require both technological expertise and human intelligence.Quick hits from MartinOn his protective mission at Duke: "Being able to protect… our people, our data, our systems, keep that power on… that's a satisfying feeling when you're successful."On AI’s impact across the industry: “We’re piloting technology that can look across multiple facilities… and try to identify a group that is surveilling our facilities, doing pre-operational surveillance for a future attack, and intervene, interdict, and prevent an attack.”On deepfake and phone‑based threats: "The use of AI in social engineering is my biggest concern. So much of that is outside of my control as the security leader… When you’ve got a bad actor doing a call to somebody's mobile device, my only line of defense in that case is that person. Have we trained them? Are they aware that they shouldn’t fall for that phishing call?"Recent Book Recommendation: The Phoenix Project by Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, and George SpaffordLike what you hear? Leave us a review and subscribe to the show on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube.Enterprise AI Defenders is a show where top security executives share specific ways AI changes the threat landscape and the defenses that hold up in real environments.Find more great insights from technology leaders and enterprise software experts at https://www.enterprisesoftware.blog/Enterprise AI Defenders is produced by Abnormal Studios.