The Wake UP X Solutions - Securing Tomorrow, Empowering Today with Efren L. Salazar

Aaron Portnoy's team at Mindgard has tested AI systems across every major industry. Their track record: 100% vulnerability rate. Every system. Every guardrail bypassed. In this episode of WakeUpX, Aaron makes a bold prediction — a major, high-profile AI application will be publicly breached this year. The industry hasn't had its wake-up call yet. But it's coming. He also breaks down wh...

Aaron Portnoy learned to hack from anonymous strangers on IRC — not in a classroom. Now he's a Hacker Fellow at Dartmouth and one of the world's leading offensive security researchers. In this episode of WakeUpX, Aaron breaks down the free, practical roadmap he'd give anyone trying to break into cybersecurity today: - Why Capture the Flag contests are the single best starting point - H...

What if the AI powering your company is about as hackable as a 1999 web server? That's the uncomfortable reality Aaron Portnoy — offensive security legend, co-founder of Exodus Intelligence, and Head of Research & Innovation at Mindgard — lays out in this episode of WakeUpX. We cover: - Why AI security mirrors the early internet era - The "hamster wheel" of repeating security tre...

Efren L. Salazar introduces “Decode: The Wake Up X Career Blueprint,” a free educational map for going from zero experience to executive-level thinking without needing a degree or connections, built from Wake Up X Podcast guest stories and public research with clear disclaimers. The blueprint outlines a six-level path (entry, fit, breadth, differentiation, ownership, executive), a career value sta...

In this episode of the Wake UP X Podcast, host Efren Salazar sits down with Devin Prasad for one of the most honest and thought provoking conversations about focus, identity and what it really means to grow on your own terms. Devin opens up about one of the boldest and most underrated decisions of his career. Leaving Facebook at 20 years old and never going back. His generation grew up with MySpac...

In this episode of the Wake UP X Podcast, host Efren Salazar sits down with cybersecurity professional Devin Prasad for a conversation about generational perspective, strategic thinking and what it really takes to pursue one of the hardest certifications in the industry. Efren and Devin open up about what it means to be part of the generation that witnessed the full transformation of technology in...

In this episode of the Wake UP X Podcast, host Efren Salazar sits down with network engineer Devin Prasad for a conversation about one of the most important mindset shifts in any tech career. Showing up hungry before anyone is paying you to be. Devin breaks down why bootcamps and certifications only get you so far. The real growth comes from volunteering, connecting with the right people and doing...

In this episode of the Wake UP X Podcast, host Efren Salazar sits down with network engineer and cybersecurity professional Devin Prasad for a conversation about what it truly means to never stop growing. Devin has watched it happen to too many people in tech. They get skilled. They get comfortable. They develop an ego. And the moment they walk into a room with someone sharper they get intimidated...

In this episode of the Wake UP X Podcast, host Efren Salazar sits down with network engineer Devin Prasad for one of the most honest and relatable conversations about breaking into tech. Devin thought hacking was going to be simple. One path. One button. Easy mode. He even took an ethical hacking course thinking he would be doing advanced cyber operations within a year. He was humbled fast. The tr...

In this episode of the Wake UP X Podcast, host Efren Salazar sits down with network engineer Devin Prasad to talk about one of the most humbling and pivotal moments in his career journey. Devin had the skills. He had the passion. He was going home every single night teaching himself. Installing software. Learning the command line. Figuring things out on his own because that is what hunger looks li...

In this episode of the Wake UP X Podcast, host Efren Salazar sits down with network engineer Devin Prasad to unpack one of the boldest and most strategic career decisions he ever made. Devin Prasad had two job offers on the table. One paid more. One had more room to grow. Every single person in his life told him to take the money. His leads. His peers. Not one person was on his side. But Devin saw...

🎙️ Cathy Stephenson did not set out to work in cybersecurity. She landed in IT almost by accident and then outworked, out-learned, and out-networked her way to Security Engineer at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, with Deputy CISO in her sights. In this episode of the WakeUpX Podcast, host Efren Salazar sits down with Cathy live at the ISACA Sacramento chapter event. Ca...

In this episode of the Wake UP X Podcast, host Efren Salazar sits down with network engineer and architect Devin for a conversation about one of the most underrated skills in all of tech. The ability to make the complex simple. Devin shares how he helped a desktop team finally understand network authentication not with a textbook or a technical walkthrough but with a nightclub analogy. Your PC acc...

In this episode of the Wake UP X Podcast, host Efren Salazar sits down with network engineer Devin for one of the most honest and practical conversations about what it actually takes to be great in tech. Spoiler. It's not just technical skill. Devin shares how showing up with empathy, humor, and genuine human connection allowed him to fix problems faster, build trust on the spot, and create la...

In this episode of the Wake UP X Podcast, host Efren Salazar sits down with network engineer Devin for a candid conversation about what it really takes to grow in the world of networking. From getting blamed for every outage to becoming a BGP expert trusted across teams, Devin's story is one every tech professional needs to hear. What we cover in this episode: 🔹 The "guilty until proven...

Larry Switzer opens this episode with a story about his grandfather, a man born in western Pennsylvania who never left except to fight World War II, and who lived to see humans walk on the moon. Larry's point is simple and powerful: the innovation cycle is only accelerating from here. At RSA 2026 in San Francisco, that acceleration was on full display. Autonomous Waymo vehicles navigating live...

A baseball player who hits .300 is a superstar. That means they fail 7 out of 10 times. In this closing segment of our RSA 2026 conversation, Larry Switzer of Ziggiz. AI shares the mindset that separates the people who make it in cybersecurity from those who burn out or give up: be comfortable with being uncomfortable. Larry breaks down why discomfort is not a problem to fix but a signal that you...

A huge thank you to ISACA Sacramento for hosting an incredible appreciation event and welcoming the WakeUpX team in to capture some amazing conversations. The energy in that room was something else, packed with passionate professionals, emerging talent, and leaders who genuinely invest in this community. We walked away with outstanding interviews and video content that we can't wait to share w...

Why can the biggest companies in cybersecurity see disruption coming and still not stop it? In this episode, Larry Switzer breaks down the innovator's dilemma and why business model is the real battleground for the next generation of cyber companies. When an incumbent is locked into how they charge customers, a startup running pure consumption pricing can win ground they simply cannot defend w...

⚡ 25 times more efficient than any SIEM. 980 times faster threat detection. Petabyte scale data ingestion at a fraction of the cost. In this episode of Wake Up X, Larry Switzer goes deep on the technology behind Ziggiz. AI and why it represents a fundamental rethinking of how cybersecurity platforms are built for the AI era. Most security platforms were designed around search. You collect logs, s...

“Trying is not failing. I don’t care what the outcome is. If you tried — you did not fail. Period.” That is how John Cuellar thinks. And after 30 years of building businesses from the ground up — through dot-com booms, market crashes, a deal that closed one month after September 11th, $130 million raised in a SaaS venture, and now an AI-driven enterprise built to solve the organizational problems...

🔐 Cybersecurity isn't just an IT problem — it's everyone's responsibility. In this episode of The Wake Up X Solutions Podcast, Efren sits down with Jorge Avila of Paleo Tech Group — recorded LIVE at RSA Conference 2025 — to talk about why protecting your data is a community effort, and how one simple LinkedIn message sparked this whole conversation. If you think cybersecurity doesn&#3...

This one is different. No studio. No prep. Just real people, real stories, and a microphone open to anyone willing to share their journey. WakeUpX host Efren Salazar showed up to the ISACA Sacramento Appreciation Day and did what he does best — started conversations that needed to be heard. He opened by sharing his own story. Growing up in West Sacramento in the 1990s surrounded by gangs. Isolated...

💡 What happens when 20 years of experience meets AI? You build a cybersecurity platform from scratch — and change your family's legacy forever. In this powerful episode of The Wake Up X Solutions Podcast, Efren sits down with Jorge Avila of Paleo Tech Group to talk about how Jorge went from working a traditional job to building his own cybersecurity software platform — powered by AI and drive...

Is your organization’s security architecture prepared for the era of AI-driven threats? In this episode of the Wake Up X Solutions Podcast, host Efren Salazar sits down with Larry Switzer, Head of North American Sales at Ziggiz, to dissect the critical flaws in legacy cybersecurity models and explore the future of cyber defense. As the cyber landscape evolves, traditional Security Information and...