Zero-Trust Authentication vs AI Hackers: A New Approach to AI Improves Users’ Safety

Generative AI is a valuable asset to cybercriminals, but Lakshmi Popury can respond in kind. She designs systems that incorporate protection and fraud detection at every phase, across the interfaces and architecture, to leave hackers with no space to move.

In 2025, the world publicly entered a new age of digital transformation that faced AI hacking. A report from the World Economic Forum found that companies reviewed the security of their AI tools only 37% of the time and thus maddeningly found that only 47% of companies that examined generative AI believed that the dangers from generative AI were the leading risk. Experts have pointed to a new level of AI being adapted, not only by developers and organizations, but it is almost like people could see it was already being exercised by cyber criminals, perp walking wordfully, as they push social engineering to its limits – examples include sophisticated phishing attacks, rapidly uncovering vulnerabilities, and deflecting current threat protection.

To avoid AI hacks embedded in the company’s architecture, it is necessary to implement new, more secure versions. Sree Rajya Lakshmi Popury, Senior Engineer Consultant, Systems Engineering for Verizon Communications, is an expert at Systems Engineering. She is implementing a Zero-Trust approach and a modern enterprise service architecture. She is an active IEEE member and long-time hackathon participant. Moreover, she recently won the BrainTech Award, and she also has a participation as a judge at the Aitex Summit. Sree Rajya Lakshmi Popury knows how to turn the chaos in the “age of AI hackers” into systemic changes that set new standards for users’ security at all levels. Now Sree Rajya Lakshmi Popury is a sought-after specialist, because her track record includes solid defensive architectures and international competitions and awards.

The path to understanding user safety

Five years ago, AI in business mainly was about productivity – automating workflows and saving time. Yet even then, experts warned: the same technology could be used to attack, not just to help. The problem was that many companies still relied on the old authentication methods, which open access to intruders. Sree Lakshmi Popury, at that time, began her career working in front-end development, where developing interfaces for users was assumed to be simple and fast, but even then, she faced a dilemma: convenience or safety? This choice was an experience that laid the groundwork for her rationale – security must be built-in, not optional. Users and systems should be safe if a company decides to implement a new AI.

“When developing interfaces, I realised that if security is not built into the design from the beginning, the user always chooses convenience, even at the expense of protection,” Lakshmi Popury shared.

To gain a deeper understanding of corporate systems and their potential vulnerabilities, Lakshmi Popury joined Verizon Communications, one of the largest telecommunications and digital solutions providers in the world, serving millions of customers and producing authoritative cybersecurity reports. There, she was involved in the modernization of legacy systems by transferring them from outdated technologies to the modern stacks, allowing for the integration of current security protocols and reducing risks. This experience showed her that even minor vulnerabilities can become entry points for hackers, and that the fight against attacks must be built into the architecture from the beginning.

Defence against hackers begins at the development stage

To ensure that the system was secure from the very beginning, Lakshmi Popury proposed the principle of Zero-Trust authentication. Zero-Trust authentication is a cybersecurity AI model based on the principle of “do not trust anyone by default”. Founded on this principle, she created the ForgeRock platform for authenticating Verizon corporate customers.

“We have used various types of two-factor authentication scenarios: through SMS, email, tokenised links and PIN codes, and have also adapted these to different types of devices. We adapted these mechanisms based on different types of users too, increasing the complexity of attacking the system. As a result, the system has become more stable,” Popury commented on her work.

Sree Lakshmi and her team are executing multifactor login scenarios. In addition, it is connected to the life cycle of digital identities, and creates fewer opportunities for hacks at all levels. The processes that have been built allow Verizon to decrease incident response time and reduce repeated vulnerabilities. Moreover, her processes have now become a standard for the whole company, because other teams are applying patterns and utilities that her group has created.

“Code organisation and reuse increased, following a consistent pattern of development for both backend and UI logic, which expedited development and reduced friction between engineering and stakeholders. We accomplished a great deal of work,” Lakshmi Popury shared.

In an age of AI hacking, these types of solutions are indeed the first line of defence. When algorithms begin to learn to be like a human being, the authentication must be smarter than an attack. Sree Lakshmi Popury’s approach is that security should be checked at every stage of development, and not integrated into the system after the fact.

It is not just about experience when dealing with threats

To prevent cybercriminals from hacking the embedded AI system, the engineer who developed it must have high competencies. That is why Sree Rajya Lakshmi Popury is an active IEEE member and long-time hackathon participant, where engineers are forced to deliver non-standard solutions under extreme time pressure – exactly the conditions faced in real cyberattacks.

Today, Sree Rajya Lakshmi Popury continues to share her experience, already as a jury: she participated as a jury member at Cases&Faces Award 2025, where experts are tasked with evaluating the most complex cases on information security and innovations. She can teach participants how to make quick decisions and act based on safety principles for customers and the entire system, where engineers implement their tools.

In a world where new threats are evolving faster than ever, engineers are becoming the ones who keep the balance and set the benchmarks. Their influence confirms that the era of AI hackers has not only risks, but also a chance for the technological society to become stronger. For Lakshmi Popury, the lesson is clear: hackers bring not only risks, but also the opportunity to build stronger systems and communities. Create user safety above all else; that is what she does.