Simply Defensive

Episode Show Notes S6:E3 - Tom Dejong - Inside the BHIS SOC: Triage, Curiosity, and Career Growth Episode Summary In this episode of Simply Defensive, hosts Josh Mason and Wade Wells sit down with Tom Dejong, Triage Lead at Black Hills Information Security (BHIS). Tom shares his unconventional path into cybersecurity — from a South Dakota apprenticeship scholarship to becoming one of the most deta...

John Hammond on Security Research, Storytelling, and Deception for Defenders In this Simply Defensive episode, hosts Josh Mason and Wade Wells interview John Hammond, a Huntress security researcher, YouTuber, and educator, about his career path and defensive research. Hammond explains he has never worked as a penetration tester, SOC analyst, or detection engineer, instead “falling into” security r...

In this episode of Simply Defensive, Josh Mason and Wade Wells sit down with Jason Haddix — CISO veteran, AI security thought leader, and founder of Arcanum Information Security — for a wide-ranging conversation on where AI is actually headed in cybersecurity, and what blue teamers need to know right now. Jason shares what he's learned from running AI scaling assessments inside major enterprises,...

In this episode of Simply Defensive, Josh Mason and Wade Wells sit down with Josh Stroschein — aka The Cyber Yeti — a former professor turned reverse engineer now working on one of the largest malware analysis teams in the world. Josh shares his unconventional path through .NET development, credit card processing security, and academia before landing at Google. He opens up about teaching reverse e...

In this episode of Simply Defensive , hosts Josh Mason and Wade Wells welcome Yuriy Tsibere, Product Manager at ThreatLocker, for a behind-the-scenes look at how security products actually get built. Yuriy's path to cybersecurity started in Ukraine, where he worked in telecom during sophisticated APT campaigns that lasted over a year. Now at ThreatLocker, he shapes the tools defenders use daily—fr...

From teaching AP art history to brokering cyber insurance deals. 🎓➡️🛡️ In this episode of Simply Defensive , Josh Mason and Wade Wells sit down with Andy Runyan from Yukon to break down everything blue teamers need to know about cyber insurance — before an incident happens. Andy shares his unconventional journey from fourth-generation educator and baseball coach to becoming a cyber insurance spec...

Josh Mason and Wade Wells sit down with Brian Carrier, the creator of Sleuth Kit and Autopsy, two of the most widely used digital forensics tools in the world. They dig into how Brian got his start in the early days of computer forensics, how open source shaped his career, and what he’s building now with Cyber Triage. From stories about government funding and tool rewrites to the evolving balance...

In this episode of Simply Defensive, host Josh Mason and co-host discuss their experiences and challenges in cybersecurity, along with guest Victoria, a student and SOC analyst at UNLV. The conversation covers the complexities of building a Security Operations Center (SOC) and compares academic learning with real-world applications. Victoria shares insights from her studies and practical work, inc...

What happens when you go from fixing executives’ laptops at Goldman Sachs to defending against cyber threats in a SOC? In this episode of Simply Defensive, hosts Josh Mason and Wade Wells sit down with Kevin Apolinario — better known as KevTech — to unpack his journey from IT support to cybersecurity analyst, all without a single certification. Kev gets real about what it’s actually like to land y...

In this episode of Simply Defensive, we sit down with JB, a Senior Cybersecurity Engineer working in detection engineering. JB shares his journey from SOC analyst to detection engineer, diving deep into the challenges of cloud-native security, Kubernetes logging, and building a sustainable career in cybersecurity. What We Cover: What detection engineering actually means in 2025 Working with dual-c...

In this episode of Simply Defensive , Josh Mason and Wade Wells sit down with Markus Schober , founder of Blue Cape Security, to talk all things digital forensics, incident response (DFIR), and why hands-on training beats theory every time. We dig into:  🔹 The hidden value of building your own cyber range  🔹 How IR pros train using real attacks (and why they need red team skills)  🔹 Eric Zimmer...

From Army recon missions to building Morado, COO Jordan Kalm reveals how military intelligence tactics translate into modern cyber threat intelligence . In this Simply Defensive episode, Josh Mason and Wade Wells dive into what really works for blue teams and SOC analysts — and what’s just noise. 👉 If you’ve ever wondered how to turn raw intel into actionable defense, this conversation is packed...

From the streets to the SOC. 💻 In this episode of Simply Defensive, Josh Mason and Wade Wells talk with Andrew Crotty — aka Ginger Hacker. A former detective turned Tier 3 SOC analyst and Army reservist, Andrew shares his journey into cyber, the struggles of breaking in, and the lessons he’s learned (including the rookie mistake that accidentally dosed the DMV 👀). What you’ll hear: 🔹 Andrew’s p...

Automation is changing the way defenders work. In this episode of Simply Defensive, we sit down with Kevin Mata, Director of Cloud Operations at Swimlane, to talk about his journey from flipping burgers at In-N-Out to flipping SOC alerts with automation, SOAR, and AI. Kevin shares how he got started in cybersecurity, how Swimlane helps Blue Teams save time and reduce alert fatigue, and where AI is...

Ready to level up your defensive cybersecurity skills? In this episode of Simply Defensive , Josh Mason and Wade Wells sit down with Dan Regalado and Belem — the founders of Hack Defender Academy — to explore how they’re using CTF-style challenges, real malware cases, and gamification to prepare the next generation of defenders. 💡 We cover: Why gamified, CTF-style learning works better than tradi...

In Season 4, Episode 4 of Simply Defensive, hosts Josh Mason and Wade Wells sit down with Rob Allen, Chief Product Officer at ThreatLocker, to dive deep into the world of Zero Trust security, proactive cybersecurity strategies, and ransomware prevention. Rob shares expert insights on: Proactive vs. Reactive cybersecurity — why a balanced security stack matters How Zero Trust infrastructure can sto...

What if GitHub sucks for security detections—and AI is finally good enough to replace it? Join Josh Mason and Wade Wells as they sit down with Aaron Mog, the outspoken founder of Detections.ai, to unpack why detection engineering is broken—and how his new platform signed up 4,000+ users in just two weeks. Aaron doesn’t hold back. From ranting about GitHub’s failures to sharing how AI is now actual...

How does a Navy fire control tech who once wrangled a six-barrel death robot become the head of security operations at Jack in the Box? In this episode of Simply Defensive , we sit down with Chris Julio — SOC Manager, veteran, and self-proclaimed lover of both metrics and munchie meals. Chris shares his journey from Windows NT and dot-matrix printers to modern InfoSec leadership, explains what he...

SOC analysts, detection engineers, and pentesters—you’re not imagining it: software supply chain security is a dumpster fire 🔥. In this episode of Simply Defensive, we sit down with Kyle Kelly, engineering manager at GitHub and author of Crime Hacks, to unpack the chaos. We cover: - Why malicious packages are sneaking past defenders - The truth about SBOMs (and what most orgs are doing wrong) - H...

In the final episode of Season 3 on Simply Defensive, hosts Josh Mason and Wade Wells welcome John Liliston, the Product Director at ThreatLocker. John shares his journey into cybersecurity, his role at ThreatLocker, and his thoughts on the evolution of security solutions. He discusses ThreatLocker's approach to zero trust, the impact of AI on cybersecurity, and the unique integration of applicati...

Join hosts Josh and Wade as they sit down with Charles (Chuck) Sapp, a seasoned cybersecurity expert and security awareness specialist. In this episode, Chuck shares his unique journey from serving in the Marine Corps to becoming an influencer in the cybersecurity community. Gain insights into his military background, his passion for educating others about cybersecurity, and engaging stories from...

Welcome to another episode of Simply Defensive! In this installment, hosts Josh Mason and Wade Wells are joined by cybersecurity expert James Bierly. James shares his unique journey from a submarine sonar technician in the Navy to founding his own security firm, Secure Point Solutions, which specializes in helping small businesses tackle cybersecurity threats. They discuss the vital steps and stra...

Join hosts Josh Mason and Wade Wells as they sit down with David French for an insightful episode of Simply Defensive. Discover David's journey from coding CCTV systems to becoming a staff security engineer at Google Cloud. Explore their discussion on detection as code, automation, detection testing, and relevant tools like Dorothy and Atomic Red Team. Learn why coding skills are crucial for moder...

In this episode of Simply Defensive, hosts Josh Mason and Wade Wells welcome Mitch Cohen, privacy and OPSEC expert from flare.io. Mitch shares his journey to becoming a 'digital ghost' and offers valuable insights into operational security (OPSEC) and privacy practices. He discusses the importance of securing personal information, the risks associated with poor OPSEC, and provides actionable steps...

Navigating the Cybersecurity Landscape with Edna Johnson: From Developer to Threat Hunter Join hosts Josh Mason and Wade Wells as they welcome Edna Johnson, a vibrant and passionate cybersecurity engineer, to Simply Defensive. Edna shares her journey from initially wanting to be a developer to diving deep into the world of cybersecurity, attending and volunteering at major conferences such as Defc...