Google Cloud’s New CISO Chris Betz on Integrating AI in Cyber Defenses
Google Cloud’s New CISO Chris Betz on Integrating AI in Cyber Defenses
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/interviews/google-cloud-new-ciso-chris-betz/
Publish Date: 2026-07-07 04:30:00
Source Domain: www.infosecurity-magazine.com
Chris Betz has officially taken the helm as the new CISO of Google Cloud. Transitioning from his previous role as Google’s VP of infrastructure security, Betz is stepping up to lead the company’s security posture at a critical turning point in the industry.
In his very first interview since assuming the CISO title, he shared his vision on the role generative AI will play in defending global enterprises.
Coinciding with his transition, Betz published a key blog post on the Google Cloud blog titled Cloud CISO Perspectives: The 4 lessons that guided AI threat defense. In the article, he lays out Google’s playbook for using AI to defend against AI, advocating for a multi-model approach, robust security harnesses and the irreplaceable value of human expertise in modern cyber defense.
Under his leadership, Google Cloud’s Office of the CISO reports directly to him. This organizational alignment places Betz at the center of both Google’s internal security engineering efforts and its customer-facing security advisory initiatives.
Betz previously served as the CISO of Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Capital One. He has also held senior security engineering and response roles at Microsoft, Apple and CenturyLink. His career began in the US Air Force, followed by intelligence and security work at the National Security Agency (NSA).
Infosecurity Magazine: You have recently moved jobs within Google Cloud, from VP of infrastructure security to CISO. What does it change in your daily missions?
Christ Betz: In practice, it is simply a title change and very much the continuation of the work I’ve been doing since I joined Google in 2025, only I get to do even more customer engagement now, especially on AI threats and the transformations we’re seeing in that space.
I’ve been leading the Google Cloud CISO team for a year now. I get to spend a lot of time with engineering groups across Google Cloud and inside of the CISO team.
I’m also responsible for the security of…
