Secured by Galah Cyber with Cole Cornford

Episode Summary Every role in cybersecurity is changing fast, but most practitioners are still treating AI like a glorified search engine. In this solo episode of Secured, Cole Cornford shares his unfiltered take on three things on his mind right now: entrepreneurship in a tough market, the growing threat to SaaS product businesses from roll your own culture, and why the cyber industry needs a fun...

Episode Summary Vibe coding is here and most organisations are nowhere near ready for what it means for security. In this episode of Secured, Cole Cornford sits down with Patrick Collins and Simon Harloff, founders of Dam Secure, to unpack how AI is reshaping software development and why the old AppSec playbook is not keeping up. They cover the shift from artisanal to factory model engineering, wh...

Episode Summary When Sam Fariborz moved to Australia from Iran, she had been working as an IT manager. While she had plenty of experience and strong technical skills, the move to Australia was challenging, and in this episode Sam discusses some of the barriers to entry she faced. By attending cybersecurity events and reaching out to people on LinkedIn, Sam found mentors and peers who helped progre...

Episode Summary The ISM has been updated again, and this time AI is front and centre. In this episode of Secured, Cole Cornford is joined by returning guest Toby Amodio, Practice Lead at Fujitsu Cybersecurity Services, for another instalment of Policy Wonks and Gronks, cutting through the vendor noise to talk about what the March 2026 update actually means in practice. They explore where AI is gen...

Episode Summary Tara Whitehead is Security Engagement Manager at MYOB. Prior to becoming a cybersecurity specialist, Tara had an eclectic career, including working in advertising and international relations. In this episode Tara chats with Cole about how her non-technical background has in many ways been an asset working in security, leading change management in large enterprises, the importance o...

Episode Summary Artificial intelligence is dominating headlines in cybersecurity, but how much of it holds up under scrutiny? In this solo episode of Secured, Cole Cornford, founder and CEO of Galah Cyber, shares his unfiltered take on three of the biggest AI narratives making waves in the AppSec space right now. Cole breaks down the Claude Code security announcement and why the market reaction dr...

Episode Summary AI is starting to change penetration testing, but most people are asking the wrong question. In this episode of Secured, Cole Cornford sits down with Brendan Dolan-Gavitt, AI researcher at XBOW and former NYU professor, to unpack what autonomous pen testing really is, what it can reliably do today, and what still needs humans. They explore why AI agents are great at scaling the bor...

Episode Summary Hiring is still a human process, no matter how much AI gets injected into it. In this episode of Secured, Cole Cornford sits down with Kim Acosta, Managing Director at UCentric and former Amazon talent acquisition leader, to unpack how AI is actually changing recruitment and where it is quietly breaking trust. They explore how candidates are using AI in applications and technical a...

Episode Summary The Protective Security Policy Framework is meant to guide how government manages security risk, but constant updates make it harder to implement than to understand. In this episode of Secured, Cole Cornford is joined by Toby Amodio, Practice Lead at Fujitsu Cybersecurity Services and former senior cybersecurity leader across Australian government, to break down what actually chang...

Episode Summary Most security architects are not actually doing architecture. They are doing assurance work, following checklists, and hoping standards will save them. But as systems get more complex and attackers get faster, that approach is no longer good enough. In this episode of Secured, Cole sits down with Ken Fitzpatrick, founder of Patterned Security and creator of securitypatterns.io, a r...

Episode Summary CTFs are fun, but do they actually make developers write more secure code? In this episode of Secured, Cole Cornford is joined by Pedram Hayati (Founder of SecDim & SecTalks) to explore why most developer security training fails, and how SecDim’s “Fix the Flag” approach is changing the game. From contrived WebGoat-style examples to frameworks that quietly eradicate entire bug c...

Episode Summary The Australian Information Security Manual (ISM) just got a major update, and not everyone’s thrilled. In this special episode of Secured, Cole Cornford is joined by Toby Amodio (Head of Professional Services, Fujitsu Cyber) to break down what’s changed, what’s missing, and what it all means for CISOs, AppSec teams and public sector security leads. From the new cybersecurity princi...

Episode Summary With a career that spans mainframes, integration platforms, and developer experience, M Brennan brings a unique lens to the world of application security. In this episode, M joins Cole Cornford to unpack why integration is often the riskiest layer in software systems, how context is everything when choosing security controls, and what it really takes to build security into develope...

Episode Summary Scott Contini has a PhD in cryptography with more than a dozen research publications, and has spent the last 15 years focused on solving real-world security problems. After switching from academia to industry in 2008, Scott has identified hundreds of cryptographic implementation flaws across the world, written widely read blogs on common coding mistakes, and contributed significant...

Episode Summary Jon-Anthoney de Boer is the Product Security Lead at Transmax, overseeing security for critical infrastructure that manages traffic flow across Australia. Coming from a strong software engineering background, Jon-Anthoney shares his experience transitioning from traditional engineering into product and application security. He highlights the importance of aligning software engineer...

Episode Summary In this episode of Secured, host Cole Cornford chats with Laura O'Neill from Fujitsu Cyber. Laura shares her journey from a pure maths and cryptography background through management consulting into the world of cybersecurity. She explains how she helped grow MF&A from a small team into a 70-person company before its acquisition by Fujitsu. Cole and Laura discuss the challenges...

Episode Summary Cole Cornford speaks with Kat McCrabb, founder of Flame Tree Cyber, about navigating cybersecurity compliance and risk, particularly within education, government, and mission-driven organisations. Kat shares insights from her experience in federal government and as CISO at Brisbane Catholic Education, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of compliance frameworks like Australia...

Episode Summary Kiera Farrell, Cyber Analyst at David Jones, shares her journey from studying a Bachelor of Cybersecurity to landing a role in cybersecurity operations. She reflects on the challenges of breaking into the industry, the lessons learned from risk management, and the importance of networking in career growth. Kiera and Cole discuss the value of stepping outside your comfort zone, the...

Episode Summary In this special solo episode, host Cole Cornford reflects on the journey of the  Secured  podcast over the past two years. He shares behind-the-scenes insights, from the unexpected challenges of cicada season disrupting recordings to the podcast’s growth, hitting 45 episodes and over 7,000 downloads. Cole discusses listener feedback, format changes, and his plans to expan...

Episode Summary Madhuri Nandi is the Head of Security at Till Payments and a trailblazer in the Australian cybersecurity industry. As co-chair of the Australian Women’s Security Network, she brings decades of experience to the table, breaking barriers for women in tech and redefining what leadership looks like in cybersecurity. Madhuri shares how a love for gaming and cheat codes sparked her journ...

Episode Summary In this episode of Secured, host Cole Cornford chats with Neha Malik, Head of Product Security at REA Group, about building and scaling effective application security (AppSec) programs. They delve into the importance of empathy, communication, and relationship-building between security teams and developers. Neha shares her journey from a Microsoft graduate program, through external...

Episode Summary In this special christmas episode of Secured, Cole Cornford does something a little different to usual and answers listener questions. Lots of topics are covered, including new years resolutions, cybersecurity trends of 2024, career and life advice, and plenty more.  A huge thank you to everyone who sent in questions! We had so many responses that we weren't able to get t...

Episode Summary Elizabeth Stephens is CEO of DBS Cyber, where her team deliver IT solutions for clients in various industries. A retired Marine Corps Major and author of the book Building a Resilient Digital Future: A Comprehensive Guide to Cyber Risk Monitoring, Elizabeth draws from her diverse experience in her work. In her conversation with Cole Cornford, they discuss leveraging AI to...

Episode Summary In this episode, Cole Cornford is joined by cybersecurity experts and IRAP assessors, Kat McCrabb and Toby Amodio, to unpack the latest updates to the Protective Security Policy Framework (PSPF) for 2024. They explore the significant changes introduced in the PSPF, such as the heightened emphasis on IRAP assessments, the potential strain on resources due to increased demand for ass...

Episode Summary In this episode, Cole Cornford speaks with Anand, an API security expert at Traceable AI with over 18 years of experience in crafting innovative IT solutions. Anand's expertise spans API design, microservices architecture, cloud technologies like Kubernetes and AWS, and security architecture including IAM and OAuth. Together, they delve into the critical importance of API security...