Lessons from the School of Security Hard Knocks

Today's guest is Lynn Dohm, Executive Director at Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS). In today’s episode, Lynn discusses WiCyS and her role as Executive Director, how WiCyS became a non-profit organization, how the pandemic affected the organization, WiCyS’ partnerships, whether she is optimistic or pessimistic about the future of the cybersecurity workforce, Chicago versus Detroit pizza, and as alway...

Today's guest is Scott McCrady, CEO of SolCyber. In today's episode, Scott discusses SolCyber and his role as CEO, what brings customers to MSSPs, how the security landscape has changed over the past ten years, how the attack surface and threat actor has changed in recent years, his perspective on cyber insurance, his preferred topic of conversation at a cocktail party, and as always, his toughest...

In a special edition of the podcast 'Lessons from the School of Security Hard Knocks' we delve into a compelling discussion that shines a spotlight on the incredible women who are redefining the cybersecurity landscape.  Let's dive into the incredibly intriguing subject of "Women in Cybersecurity" with the winners of the RunSafe Cybersecurity Leadership Awards: Christine Gadsby, Kiersten Todt, and...

Today's guest is Christine Gadsby, VP of Product Security Operations at Blackberry. In today's episode, Christine discusses Blackberry and her role there, what organizations should consider around software supply chain security, what Blackberry is doing about SBOM security, what advancements she has seen and hopes to see in open source software, Blackberry's role in security for critical infrastru...

Today's guest is Madison Horn, CEO of Critical Fault and former US Senate nominee. In today’s episode, Madison discusses Critical Fault and her role there, how trends in cybersecurity have changed over the past 10 years, her thoughts on the Biden administration’s National Cybersecurity Strategy, the seriousness of China’s threat on critical infrastructure, the biggest threat to our national securi...

Today's guest is Colonel Candice Frost, Adjunct Professor of Security Studies Program at Georgetown University. In today's episode, Colonel Frost discusses her transition from her military career to the private sector, serving as commander of the Joint Intelligence Operations Center for USCYBERCOMMAND, how she approaches near term threat horizons vs longer term threat horizons, lessons we can lear...

Today's guest is Teresa Shea, President of Oplnet LLC. In today's episode, Teresa shares how she got involved in signals intelligence, the role universities should play to develop future security leaders in cyber offensive and defensive domains, the differences and similarities between government-sponsored R&D and venture capital, the role threat intelligence plays in cyber operations for defe...

Today's guest is Jen Sovada, President of Public Sector at SandboxAQ. In today's episode, Jen discusses SandboxAQ and her role there, what role quantum computers can play in internet security, what surprises her about her students today, serving as chair of the board of the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum, creating a talent management framework, whether she is optimistic or pessimistic about the futur...

Today's guest is Bob Ackerman, Founder & Managing Director of AllegisCyber Capital. In today's episode, Bob discusses AllegisCyber Capital and his role there, how he got his start, the three things they look for in founders, the market of VC Capital in cybersecurity and the future for IPOs, his thoughts on the the national cybersecurity strategy, the liability shift in critical infrastructure...

Today's guest is Kiersten Todt. In today's episode, Kiersten discusses her time at CISA and her recent transition from Chief of Staff, how the industry has matured over the agency's lifetime, progress made within cybersecurity and infrastructure, the urgency of solving memory safety, how the government can encourage a liability shift from asset owner/infrastructure provider to product manufacturer...

Today's guest is Patrick O'Brien, Senior Safety and Cybersecurity Engineer at exida. In today's episode, Patrick discusses exida and his role there, the safety and cybersecurity issues facing industrial systems, the similarities and differences between threat models facing organizations, working on ISA/IEC 62443 and other standards, what role the software development plays in developing standards,...

Today's guest is Ralph Langner, founder/CEO of Langner, Inc. In today's episode, Ralph discusses Langner, Inc., his role in what happened at stuxnet, our progress over the years in terms of OT security, motivations to attack OT networks, shifting cyber liability, whether he is optimistic or pessimistic about the cyber protections for cyber physical systems, and as always, his toughest lesson learn...

Today's guest is Chris Blask, VP of Strategy at Cybeats. In this episode, Chris discusses Cybeats and his role there, his work with SBOMs, why SBOMs are a corporate asset, the importance of understanding open source software, his work as the chair of ICS-ISAC, the greatest cybersecurity threats currently facing society and why we're not ready to face them, his thoughts on the current national cybe...

Today's first return guest is Bryan Ware, CEO of LookingGlass Cyber. Today we welcome back our first returning guest, Bryan Ware! In this episode, Bryan discusses his move to CEO of LookingGlass Cyber, founding Next5, competition with China, and then Joe and Bryan dive into some Next5 Matrix Monitor highlights including: the recent Chinese spy balloon, Huawei's patent strategy, his hopes for the n...

Today's guest is Emily de La Bruyère, co-founder of Horizon Advisory. In this episode, Emily discusses Horizon Advisory, China's digital strategy, examples of China's influence on supply chain technology, new factors of production and who will benefit the most in this era of digital competition, what the US should do, the implications on China of President Biden's semiconductor ban, implications f...

Today's guest is David Weston (aka "DWIZZLE"), Vice President of Enterprise and OS Security at Microsoft. In this episode, David talks about his role at Microsoft, changes Microsoft has made over the past few years to protect software, their defense in depth outlook, how his earlier career impacts his current work, the greatest security threats facing enterprise customers, his work with TAC, how h...

Today's guest is Richard Stiennon, Chief Research Analyst at IT-Harvest. In a nod to Clausewitz and Gaddis, this episode is called On Cyber Warfare. In this episode, Richard discusses founding IT-Harvest and his current role there, the transition to data-driven research, the biggest industry shifts and trends, the threat and the current state of cyber warfare, his feelings towards cyber defense, a...

Today's guest is Dmitri Alperovitch, executive chairman at Silverado Policy Accelerator. In this episode, Dmitri discusses the story behind co-founding CrowdStrike, how threat intelligence has advanced since its founding, his non-profit Silverado Policy Accelerator, the struggle for world order, what the United States can do to reduce the threat against Taiwan, the Biden administration's semi-cond...

Today's guest is Dr. Laurie Williams, Distinguished University Professor of Computer Science at North Carolina State University. In this episode, Laurie discusses some of the programs she works in as a distinguished university professor in Computer Science at North Carolina State University, her current research projects, developers' role in fixing vulnerabilities, the future of DevOps, the effica...

Today's guest is Thomas Pace, founder/CEO of NetRise. In this episode, Thomas discusses NetRise and his role as founder/CEO, how the approach to OT security has changed, their ideal customer profile, what surprises him about current trends, SBOM, managing software supply chain risk, how he entered the field, the trials of being a founder/CEO, and as always, his toughest lesson learned.

Today's guest is José Costa, CISO at Critical Software. In this episode, José discusses Critical Software and his role as CISO, his key priorities in the development process, bridging the gap between functional safety and cybersecurity, the driving forces and security implications of the digital transformation, risks associated with APIs, software supply chain security, his optimism about the futu...

Today's guest is Brad LaPorte, Partner at High Tide Advisors. In this episode, Brad discusses High Tide Advisors and his role there, hot trends in the cybersecurity world, his biggest takeaways from working at Gartner, his previous work and military experience, attack surface reduction, the war in Ukraine, his thoughts on the future of the industry, and as always, his toughest lesson learned.

Today's guest is John Cusimano, Managing Director of Cyberstrategic Risk at Deloitte. In this episode, John discusses Deloitte and his role there, the advantages of being part of a larger firm, the most common themes across industry and use cases, CyberPHA and how can organizations apply it, how he got his start in cybersecurity, his work as a Process Safety Product Manager at Siemens, the ISA/IEC...

Today's guest is Bryson Bort, founder/CEO of Scythe. In this episode, Bryson discusses founding Scythe, their product platform, why organizations should be as sentient as their attackers, vulnerability management, building the Scythe community, the drivers for malware, how the threat landscape has changed over the past two decades, and as always, his toughest lesson learned.

Today's guest is Antoinette King, founder of Credo Cyber Consulting. In this episode, Antointte discusses founding Credo Cyber Consulting and her role there, the dangers of looking at cybersecurity as a "cost center", the connection between physical and cyber security, data privacy, her work in the Security Industry Association, her attitude towards biometrics and AI, RAD (robotics assisted device...