Trellix is leaning into AI-driven cybersecurity and its partner ecosystem to bring advanced defenses to more organizations. Michael Green, the company’s new Chief Information Security Officer, has spent his career in critical and highly regulated sectors. In this conversation with MSSP Alert, he talks about how Trellix is approaching AI, what needs to change in incident response, the role of MSSPs, and why cyber inequity has to be part of the discussion.
MSSP Alert: Trellix positions itself as an AI-powered cybersecurity leader, and you’re stepping into this role right as that vision accelerates. How do you see AI really changing the way security is built and run, both within Trellix and for the customers you serve? And what guardrails do you think are needed to make sure AI is both trusted and effective? Michael Green: What excites me most about joining Trellix is that we've been pioneering AI in cybersecurity for years. Our customers consistently report that deploying Trellix AI capabilities expands their security operations capacity by ten times, while reducing the impact of inconsistency and staff turnover. For guardrails, we've developed comprehensive guidance frameworks that prevent AI hallucinations by drawing from hundreds of thousands of real security investigations from the past decade. Transparency is non-negotiable – we provide complete visibility into AI decision-making processes, showing all evidence and analysis, even when no action is required. Human operators must always be able to understand and explain the AI's reasoning. The market excitement around our network detection capabilities and AI foundation validates this approach.MSSP Alert:Trellix’s own research says nearly every CISO has faced an attack in the past year. As you step into the role, what’s your immediate focus for strengthening incident response? Are there areas where you think Trellix needs a tactical or strategic shift right away? Michael Green:My immediate focus is on organizational and continuous improvement in risk identification and remediation processes. Effective incident response cannot be the sole responsibility of the security team. I believe in building a risk management program that provides the appropriate line of sight to corporate stakeholders, enabling organizations to collectively tackle risk decisions for remediation. The strategic evolution we need is transforming how we approach cyber incidents organizationally. Rather than security teams handling zero-day patches or third-party breaches in isolation, we need to weave these responses into the fabric of existing business operations – connecting with asset management workflows, change control procedures, and other operational processes. This creates distributed ownership, where every relevant department has a stake in managing cyber risk.MSSP Alert: Part of your job isn’t just running security inside Trellix, it’s also influencing the products themselves. With your experience across critical and highly regulated sectors, where do you think current security tools are still missing the mark for CISOs? And where do you see Trellix filling that gap? Michael Green:Having worked in highly regulated environments, I've seen firsthand how fragmented security tools can create operational complexities for CISOs that create churn in resources where most organizations cannot afford the bandwidth hit. The gap isn't just about having multiple point solutions – it's about having solutions that can optimize time to mitigate, adapt to different skill levels, different zones of protection and organizational maturity. What Trellix offers is comprehensive coverage that actually works together. Our partners can further develop technical specializations across endpoint security, network detection and response, extended detection and response, data security, and email and collaboration security. More importantly, they're better positioned as trusted advisors who are fully capable of solving increasingly complex cybersecurity challenges.MSSP Alert:Trellix now secures a broad surface – ARM-based devices, databases, cloud environments. That’s a lot of moving parts. How do you think about governing security across such a hybrid mix, and where’s the opportunity to simplify things for leaders who are struggling with complexity? Michael Green: Managing diverse environments requires shifting from point-solution approaches to comprehensive data integration and management. The key differentiator is continuous reassessment of security events as context changes, rather than being constrained by traditional resource limitations. Managing this complexity isn't simple – evolving procedures and reporting can overwhelm organizations. However, our integrated platform approach enables our broad solution set to work cohesively across the entire Trellix Security Platform, rather than as disparate components.
MSSP Alert:Trellix has also raised the idea of cyber inequity – that smaller or under-resourced organizations are at a disadvantage. From your seat as CISO, how do you want to tackle that? What role can Trellix play in making security more accessible across the ecosystem? Michael Green: Our primary objective is to enable companies with limited security expertise to achieve nation-state-level defensive capabilities without prohibitive costs. We're addressing the skills gap through AI that is sophisticated enough to serve as a training platform, helping to develop beginner analysts into intermediate practitioners and graduate them to higher-value tasks and results. Beyond technology, I believe in community-driven approaches. Industry-specific groups and specialized communities offer invaluable insights for smaller organizations that lack extensive internal resources. I advise CISOs to seek out groups that prioritize value-driven exchanges with established norms for secure information sharing. We've also simplified our training programs to align with partner operations, making it easier to deliver security services to organizations of all sizes – regardless of their in-house technological expertise.MSSP Alert:Trellix works closely with MSSPs who are on the front lines for many customers. From your perspective, what role do MSSPs play in extending Trellix’s security strategy, and how do you plan to support them as threats evolve and customer expectations rise? Michael Green: MSSPs are essential for extending advanced security capabilities to organizations that couldn't otherwise access them. Strong vendor partnerships are crucial for managing security platforms effectively, as partners become familiar with operations while protecting sensitive information. We've reimagined our partner support through enhanced programs providing more engagement opportunities, training content, and technical specializations. We bring partners more profound collaborative experiences with improved profitability and increased value through expanded rebates and go-to-market support. We're dedicating significant resources to collaborative business planning, ensuring we understand our partners' objectives and deliver the specific enablement they need.MSSP Alert:When you look back a year from now, what will tell you you’ve been successful at Trellix? What outcomes matter most to you as CISO? And if there’s one message you’d want to send to your peers in cybersecurity, what would it be? Michael Green: As CISO, I aim to foster genuine shared trust and understanding across the entire organization – through regular communication of our cybersecurity posture, potential risks, and the tangible impact of security initiatives. Data does drive better-informed decision-making. Integrating solutions and reporting helps demystify cybersecurity and creates authentic shared accountability, rather than leaving the burden solely on security teams. From a leadership sustainability perspective, success requires building practices that prevent CISOs and their teams from burnout, through transparency and effective delegation across the organization. While cultivating strong relationships with executive leadership and board members is critical, equally important is genuinely engaging and empowering technology leaders, product owners, and employees throughout the organization.My message to fellow CISOs centers on keeping focus on developing the next generation of cybersecurity leaders. Continue to prioritize teaching cybersecurity and technology, foundational operational controls and best practices. Cross-train and educate engineers on GRC and organizational engagement, building trust with peers across diverse industries, and most importantly, focusing on learning and converting that knowledge into actionable intelligence. These are the foundational skills that future cyber and technology leaders absolutely must develop.
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Suparna is the Senior Managing Editor for CyberRisk Alliance’s Channel Brands, including MSSP Alert and ChannelE2E. She manages content development, sharpens editorial workflows, and ensures storytelling is tightly aligned with audience needs. With a background in technology, media, and education, she combines strategic insight with creative execution.
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