Paul Mote, Author at Synack

Paul Mote

VP of Solutions Architects at Synack

Paul Mote is Vice President of Solutions Architects at Synack, the leading platform for human and agentic AI-powered penetration testing. With over 15 years of experience in offensive security, advanced malware detection, and incident response, he helps organizations leverage Synack's unique combination of AI-powered coverage and elite human testing to uncover real-world attack paths and stay ahead of evolving threats. Throughout his career, Paul has worked across the full spectrum of cyber defense, from hands-on computer network defense and host-based security system operations, to supporting federal and DoD missions, to threat response architecture at FireEye. Today, he and his team guide Synack’s clients through the full testing lifecycle, from attack surface mapping and vulnerability disclosure to scalable penetration testing.

Recent research

The Hugging Face Breach Lesson on Autonomous AI Attacks
On July 16, an autonomous AI agent breached Hugging Face's production infrastructure end to end. When Hugging Face tried to investigate, the same guardrails built to stop AI attackers blocked their own responders from analyzing the evidence. Here's what that means for security teams building on AI, and what to test before a breach happens.
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Considering Build vs. Buy for AI Pentesting? Top 5 Questions to Ask
Boards and CIOs are pushing security teams to build internal AI pentesting tools, but is it worth it? This piece walks through the five questions security teams should ask when deciding between build vs buy for AI pentesting.
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More research by Paul Mote

How Accenture Turned Penetration Testing Into a Force Multiplier for Security
At Accenture’s scale, training alone cannot solve every security problem. That was the reality facing Kris Burkhardt, Global CISO at Accenture. With a workforce of more than 800,000 people, close to 80,000 new hires each year, and a sprawling global attack surface, traditional penetration testing was no longer enough.
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