Hacker Valley Studio

Today’s guests are our very own hosts!  Ron and Chris.  Together they tackle everything that surrounds threat intelligence by answering both the hard and easy questions. Between the stories they share about past experiences, and the facts behind threat intelligence, you will learn something new, and that’s a promise! In essence, threat intelligence is taking the information about threats or things...

Today in the studio, we have Olivia Herriford, whose great and exceptional work is focused on equity in technology.  Olivia is the Regional Director and Employer Engagement at Bay Area Community College Consortium.   Olivia’s background is in technology, and with the Bay Area Community College Consortium, they support 28 community colleges in the San Francisco Bay region.  She often tells people s...

Welcome back to the Hacker Valley Studio podcast. I'm sure you've heard of the term personal brand, and maybe you've asked yourself, what does it mean and how do I promote it. In this episode, we speak to someone that helps others develop their personal brand. We speak to Stephen Hart, entrepreneur, marketer, and brand strategist. We've known Stephen since way back. He's been a huge supporter, and...

It has been way too long in the making. But it's finally here! We have Hacker Valley merchandise available!  We have shirts, we have hats, we have sweatshirts that you can purchase.  You are in the Hacker Valley Studio with your hosts Ron and Chris. Welcome back to the show.  Today in the studio, we've brought in Nikki Ivey. Nikki is a B2B revenue growth and startup culture leader. She's recognize...

Today in the studio, we have Alexis Robertson, Director of Diversity and Inclusion at a large law firm and a recovering lawyer.  Alexis kicks in with a bit about herself, and shares “I am director of diversity inclusion at a large law firm but spent the first 10 years or so of my career dedicated to laws, going to law school and practicing as a lawyer for about seven and a half years before leavin...

In this episode, we talk to our special guest, Natasha Barnes. Natasha is the Associate Director and the CEO Action for Racial Equity Fellow of Protiviti. She is a certified mindfulness workplace facilitator and mindfulness-based stress reduction.  Natasha is part of a movement to answer the question of does corporate America have a role to play in advancing racial equity within our nation, and es...

In this episode, we've brought in a special guest, Kelsey Hightower.  Kelsey is Principal Engineer at Google, and also co-author of Kubernetes: Up and Running: Dive into the Future of Infrastructure.  To start the show, Kelsey shares he considers himself a self-taught engineer. He started his life out as a small business owner and then moved to a system administrator. Now, he is at Google. Kelsey’...

In this episode, have James Hadley, CEO of Immersive Labs, and we talk about the best ways to learn in cybersecurity.  James starts the show with his background and what he is doing today, which is Immersive Labs.  But, he spent a lot of time in different organizations prior to that.   When it came to education, James found he had quite a poor memory, so he would always learn better through doing...

In this episode, we brought back fan-favorite, John Strand.  He is owner of Black Hills Information Security, a SANS instructor, and a mentor to many in the industry.  Johns starts the show sharing a little bit about his background and what he is doing today. Ron and Chris dive a little bit deeper into John’s earlier life asking what his personal superpower, personal or professional, and when did...

This is the finale of Know Thyself. What an incredible journey, we feel like this entire experience flew by so fast, we got to talk to so many incredible people about knowing yourself, knowing your team, knowing your tech stack, knowing your environment, and even knowing your story. Make your organization better make your security posture better, strive for impact, what are the most high leverage...

In this masterclass of HVB season 2 we brought in a master story teller in Kevin Allison. The biggest thing is to get a person to understand, don't just summarize, don't just walk us through a Wikipedia like where you're just giving us a broad overview. And you're explaining; it’s important to remember sensory details that will help us see almost like movie scenes, what was happening between peopl...

If want to get into computer security, you're going to learn to love it, you're going to have to be successful, because a lot of computer security isn't just about bits and bytes, it's really about effectively communicating what needs to be done to the right people. In this episode wet have the incredible John Strand. Organizations need to become more proactive, and see where those weak spots are...

In this episode, we brought in two exceptional guests that are no stranger to chaos. In fact, they've identified ways to engineer for chaos. In the studio, we have Aaron Rinehart, CTO, and founder at Verica. We also have Jamie Dicken, former manager of applied security at Cardinal Health and current director at Resilience. These two are also authors of Security Chaos Engineering. If you haven't re...

In this episode, we brought back our good friend Lenny Zeltser.  Lenny is Chief Information Security Officer at Axonius.  He's developed a mindset of looking at security components as building blocks to create a holistic security environment. To this day, even while operating as an executive, he has wisdom that anyone can learn from. Quite often, the less sexy aspects of information security are i...

In this episode of Hacker Valley Blue, we brought in a guest who has been on a journey of transformation of self and technology.  Our guest is Chani Simms, managing director of Meta Defence Labs.  We talk about what is essential for cybersecurity.  If there was a magic box that could solve an issue, what problem would Chani want solved? “People!”  They need to be trained, and care, and have buy in...

Know thy organization is key! Wise words from the powerful Marcus J. Carey.  Don’t be afraid to admit the bad stuff and be honest about the situation.  Most of the time people get fired because they are scared to admit the failure.   You have to build a tight network of people you trust who will be brutally honest with you.  You need those people who are going to tell you the truth.  Other people...

Welcome to Hacker Valley Blue Season 2 “Know Thyself”. Instead of focusing on the enemy – threat intelligence and environment, we are focusing on knowing yourself and security stack. You need to know the business, but also the fundamentals of security landscape. Without the fundamentals, you cannot reach the level of success you desire. Getting laser sharp on computer networks and how computers sp...

Imagine, for a moment, you’re driving for Uber, and one of your riders changes your life forever! That’s the story we are sharing with you. It's all about Kendrick Trotter, the entrepreneur that has had an incredible journey in technology. Kendrick talks to us about that and the relationship between sales and engineering.   Ron and Chris are glad to be back with Kendrick Trotter who is helping div...

In this episode, we have the powerful Tamas Henning, Director of Security Engineering at Marqeta and also Trust and Safety Advisor for XR Safety Initiative.  Tamas got started in technology at a very young age and that is credited to his dad.  In the Early 90s his dad built a software company, and he was a super curious kid. By 6th grade, he learned trigonometry just so he could recreate Tetris. ...

In this episode, we welcome Chani Simms, Managing Director of Meta Defence Labs as well as Founder and Chief Architect of She Ciso Exec.  Chani tells us the story of her rise from tragedy during childhood to being triumphant today.   0:00 Intro 1:03 In this episode with Chani Simms 2:22 Chani shares a bit about her background 3:35 Exposure to IT 5:24 First cold call experience 6:24 Chani’s early y...

Vote here:  https://www.hackervalley.com/vote It might seem impossible... but we need an incredible amount of votes to have a shot to win this People's Choice Webby. Who would have thought that two black cybersecurity professional with home studios, would have a shot against these huge media companies. But this prize is more than the trophy or the title. We are representing cybersecurity. We are r...

In the studio today is Jimmy Sanders, a mentor, technician and all-around leader.  Jimmy is the head of information security at Netflix DVD where he secures data and systems from cyber threat while building resilient compliance programs across technology, financial services, and healthcare organizations. Jimmy is here to talk about what we are worth in technology and cyber security.  He is always...

In this special announcement, we talk about the Webby's, the incredible honor it is, and the stiff competition we are up against.   Vote and help make our dream become reality here: https://hackervalley.com/vote

In this episode, we welcome Gabriela Ariza, a cybersecurity practitioner, influence, and wealth builder.  We talk about her incredible story and how she got into social media influencing.  Gabi started her IT journey in web development and then decided to transition to cybersecurity.  She now works in protecting and analyzing government infrastructure for state and county governments across the Un...

In this featured episode of Hacker Valley Studio podcast, Ron and Chris are joined by Sarah Groen, founder and CEO of Bell & Bly Travel, a luxury travel advisory firm. Bell & Bly Travel helps executives, entrepreneurs, and their families take a holistic view of their vacation planning, allowing them to save time, enjoy amazing experiences they can't plan on their own, and make lasting memories wit...