As artificial intelligence reshapes the internet, trust has become one of the most fragile and most valuable commodities in the digital economy. Ugochukwu Ike Okoli, founder of TrustCirc, is a cybersecurity professional with over a decade of experience across security operations, cloud security, threat hunting, and incident response. His research on artificial intelligence and emerging AI-driven cyber threats has been cited more than 400 times globally. In this conversation, he shares his perspective on deepfakes, synthetic identities, and why trust must be treated as infrastructure, not an afterthought.
Q: What was your early relationship with technology like?
Ugochukwu Ike Okoli:
From a young age, I was fascinated by computers and what they were capable of. Like many people, my first real exposure came through games, but curiosity quickly turned into experimentation. I enjoyed understanding how software worked and sometimes how it broke. One of the earliest discoveries I remember was realising that changing a system’s date and time could extend the free trial period of certain applications. It was a small moment, but it sparked a much deeper interest in how systems are designed, where their weaknesses lie, and how rules can be enforced or bypassed.
Q: How did that curiosity translate into your formal education?
Ugochukwu Ike Okoli:
That early curiosity led me to study computer engineering at Enugu State University of Science and Technology. At the time, I had ambitions that extended beyond academics. I hoped to study and play basketball in the United States. When that path did not materialise, technology became the one constant in my life, and I decided to commit fully to it and see how far that focus could take me.
Q: What was the turning point that led you into cybersecurity specifically?
Ugochukwu Ike Okoli:
After university, I chose to specialise further in software development and took up an internship opportunity in India. Almost by chance, my direction shifted there. On my first day, I walked past a class on network security and ethical hacking. I stopped to listen and never really left. Seeing tools like BackTrack, now known as Kali Linux, and understanding their purpose was a defining moment. It introduced me to a field that was not just about building systems, but about protecting them, testing them under pressure, and thinking like an adversary.
Q: How did that moment shape the rest of your career path?
Ugochukwu Ike Okoli:
That experience fundamentally reshaped how I thought about technology. I formally switched my focus to network security and ethical hacking, driven by a desire to understand both sides of the equation, creation and compromise. Over time, that interest matured into a broader view of cybersecurity as a discipline, especially around trust, identity, and human behaviour in digital systems. That journey has stayed with me ever since and continues to shape how I approach security today.
Q: AI deepfakes and synthetic identities are becoming more convincing. How serious is this threat today?
Ugochukwu Ike Okoli:
It is already a serious problem, not a future one. We have reached a point where synthetic identities can pass traditional verification checks, especially on digital-first platforms. The real danger goes beyond fraud. It is the erosion of trust. Once users begin to doubt whether they are interacting with real people, platforms lose credibility very quickly. What concerns me most is that many systems are still built around static checks, while attackers are dynamic and adaptive.
Q: Many platforms rely heavily on identity verification tools. Why are these no longer sufficient on their own?
Ugochukwu Ike Okoli:
Most verification tools answer only one question: “Is this document real?” They do not answer the more important question: “Is this interaction trustworthy over time?” Trust is not a one-off event. It is behavioural, contextual, and progressive. A user might pass onboarding checks and still become risky later. That is where many platforms are exposed today. They treat trust as a checkbox instead of a continuous process.
Q: You often talk about human-centric security. What does that mean in practice?
Ugochukwu Ike Okoli:
Human-centric security starts with the understanding that people are both the strongest and weakest part of digital systems. Instead of assuming perfect behaviour, systems should be designed around how humans actually interact emotionally, socially, and sometimes impulsively. In practice, this means building security that adapts to context, behaviour, and intent, rather than forcing users through rigid processes that attackers have already learned to bypass.
Q: How should this thinking influence the way modern security products are built?
Ugochukwu Ike Okoli:
Security products need to move from static protection models to adaptive trust models. That means combining identity signals with behavioural patterns and real-time risk context. The goal is not to make systems more intrusive, but more intelligent. When security aligns with how users naturally behave, you get stronger protection and a better user experience. That balance is something the industry is still learning to get right.
Q: You bridge academic research and real-world security systems. Why does that matter?
Ugochukwu Ike Okoli:
Research helps us identify patterns, risks, and emerging threats before they become mainstream problems. But research only creates impact when it is applied. One of the biggest gaps in cybersecurity is that strong academic insights often stop at published papers. Bridging that gap means translating proven ideas into products and systems people actually use. That is where real change happens.
Q: What role does AI play in both the problem and the solution?
Ugochukwu Ike Okoli:
AI is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it powers deepfakes, automated fraud, and large-scale attacks. On the other, it enables defenders to analyse behaviour, detect anomalies, and respond faster than human-only systems ever could. The key is responsible application. AI should not replace human judgment. It should enhance decision-making within security systems.
Q: Are regulations and platform policies keeping up with these risks?
Ugochukwu Ike Okoli:
Regulation almost always lags behind innovation, and that is understandable. But platforms cannot wait for regulation to solve trust problems. Responsibility starts at the design stage. If a platform facilitates human interaction, it has a duty to consider abuse, impersonation, and manipulation from day one. Security and trust should be foundational, not reactive add-ons.
Q: You recently launched a platform focused on trust and verification. What gap were you trying to address?
Ugochukwu Ike Okoli:
The biggest gap was the assumption that verification equals trust. It does not. I wanted to explore how trust can be built progressively in ways that reflect real human interactions. The focus was not simply on blocking users, but on enabling safer and more transparent interactions over time. It is an area where the industry has barely scratched the surface.
Q: Which industries are most vulnerable to trust-related failures right now?
Ugochukwu Ike Okoli:
Any platform built around human interaction is vulnerable. Online dating, peer-to-peer marketplaces, fintech, and professional networking platforms all face this challenge. Anywhere identity and intent matter, trust failures can lead to emotional, financial, or even societal harm. As digital interactions increasingly replace physical ones, trust becomes infrastructure, not just a feature.
Q: Looking ahead, what should founders and product leaders prioritise when building secure platforms?
Ugochukwu Ike Okoli:
They need to stop treating security as a compliance requirement and start seeing it as a product principle. Trust is a competitive advantage. Platforms that get this right retain users longer and avoid costly reputational damage. The future belongs to systems that are secure by design, adaptive by default, and respectful of the humans using them.
