The Cyber Ranch Podcast

Joining Allan today are two folks who are passionate about leadership – not just practicing good leadership, but instilling good leadership in future generations.  Joey Rachid is CISO in the ecommerce and financial services industry, is on advisory boards, has worked for the Big Four, and more importantly is a former US Marine (although all the Marines will tell you there is no such thing as a for...

This week Allan is joined by Nipun Gupta, and industry veteran who has been a consultant, practitioner, vendor, advisor and investor. The topic is "What are we really protecting in cyber?" and the nuances of that question are explored in depth - as well as the interrelationships. Is "protect the business" a guardrail statement while "protect data and people" is the mission? How do we tie protectin...

This week, Allan is joined by Peter Schawacker, CEO @ Nearshore Cyber, former CISO, advisor to MSPs, etc.  Another one of Allan's illustrious guests with 25 years in cyber.  (https://www.linkedin.com/in/schawacker/).  The topic started as all that the two have learned outside of cybersecurity that has helped them in cyber.  But it gets way more esoteric than that, and quickly.  Detailed show notes...

This episode is jam-packed with wisdom that is delivered at a rapid pace.  Some folks will find themselves rewinding and taking notes.  Luis Valenzuela, Director of Data Loss Prevention and Data Governance at InComm Payments, joins Allan Alford to talk about managing careers - how to manage your own, and, for leaders, how to help your team manage theirs.  Topics include: - Pivotal career transitio...

To celebrate the 100th episode, Allan decided to let the audience participate in the show.  21 people called in and answered a wide variety of questions about cybersecurity.  It is a fantastic show and it is very fun to hear all the different perspectives from folks who have just about every role in cybersecurity you can imagine: 00:00:58 - Brent Deterding - What can practioners do to show more lo...

This is another "'E' for explicit" show as this one is another LIVE! show from the CISO XC conference in Dallas-Fort Worth. Why the 'E'?  Because halfway through Allan Alford's conversation with Andy Ellis (CISO at Orca, Operating Partner at YL Ventures, former CISO at Akamai), Chris Roberts (CISO at Boom Supersonic) joins the stage with some fine whisky and his own clever takes on measuring risk....

In this episode, Allan Alford plays Devil's advocate - challenging the practitioner community to refute the idea that we should quit trying to make the organization care and simply make suggestions and accept the organization's level of risk tolerance. Allan posted this topic on LinkedIn and it created quite a buzz. The show features quotes from Simon Goldsmith, Kevin Pope, Malcolm Harkins, and ot...

Scott Schindler, veteran CISO, vCISO, and adjunct professor joins Allan at the ranch to talk about how to build, strengthen, participate in, contribute to and benefit from a cybersecurity community. Allan chose Scott for this show because of his incredible community focus and the high level of participation and engagement he demonstrates in his own career. How can we, as privacy and security profe...

Dan Holden, a 20+ year industry veteran, former vendor, and current CISO at Big Commerce joins Allan Alford at the ranch to talk about the BIG picture.  Join them on this wild trail ride that goes as far back as the Monroe Doctrine of 1823, the pre-cursors to WWI, Regan-era cyber doctrine, cyber and modern warfare, lessons learned from the COVID economy (hint: GDP is now part of critical infrastru...

This week Allan Alford is joined by Duane Gran, Director of Information Security at Converge Technology Solutions to discuss three different aspects of the CISO craft -- and to offer practical, concrete guidance on how to achieve the right outcomes: Eliminating the culture of "No!" Managing Third-Party Risk Building a "No Blame" Culture The common thread behind all of these themes is relationship...

In this week's show, Allan and his guest Andy Bennett (a very clever CISO with a heck of a pedigree) decide to tackle some thought exercises with a series of questions that all start with "Should the CISO...?" Should the CISO be the one to decide whether to report breaches? Should the CISO own the SOC? Should the CISO report to the CIO? Should the CISO have an MBA? Should the CISO be mentoring ind...

Once again, Allan, Rich, and Michael dissect topics in our community that are, well, tired. Topics are brought up to spur online debate, but for which a conclusion is never reached. Topics that bifurcate our community without moving our industry forward.  Topics that cause us to overly rotate on the wrong areas. In this show we address: Defining terms: zero trust, ML, AI, hacker vs. cracker, cyber...

We have all seen the conversations on LinkedIn where someone starts with a hotly debated topic, and the debate goes on and on, nothing is concluded, and then the next week, someone else posts the same topic and starts the gerbil wheel spinning again. We have seen this phenomenon with common complaints too. These are, in short, tired conversations. Join Allan Alford, Rich Mason, and Michael Santarc...

CISOs and other security executives have relied on spreadsheets to perform a great deal of the management functions of their programs. What if there was a better way?  Derly Gutierrez is back on the ranch for a third time now to discuss his alternative - the humble ticketing system.  It might seem obvious in some cases, but Derly has pushed the use cases far beyond what you might imagine.  Topics...

Josiah Dykstra, Cybersecurity Technical Fellow at the NSA and Author, kicks up the dust off some previous topics discussed on the Ranch and deepens the conversation on cybersecurity myths and behavioral economics. Prior to the release of his latest book, Cybersecurity Myths and Misconceptions, Josiah breaks down some biases, fallacies, myths, and magical thinking that cybersecurity practitioners f...

Christian Espinosa, Author, Speaker, and CEO, comes down to the Ranch to talk about the journey of starting, growing, selling, and moving on from the business he created, Alpine Security. From correcting the problems with his high IQ staff to unshackling himself from the golden handcuffs of a business sale, Christian breaks down the specific conflicts he faced on his entrepreneurial journey— and r...

Chuck Herrin, CTO at Wib, came down to the Ranch to explain the risks and threats currently facing APIs, or application programming interfaces. Simply put, APIs facilitate people and applications in communicating with other applications, but Chuck sees the lack of protocols, regulations, and security plans laid out for these APIs as a massive security threat. Breaking down the process using an API...

Matthew Lang, former CISO at SECU, former CISO of 3D Systems, and former Chief Petty Officer in the US Navy, comes on down to the Ranch to talk about what it really means to be a CISO. Many folks wear the title of CISO, but the role itself is still often considered a confusing mixed bag when talking about what it entails and who should have this role. Matthew walks through what a CISO is, what a C...

Leon Ravenna, CISO & CIO at KAR Global, former VP of Security & Compliance at Interactive Intelligence joins Allan this week to talk about the increases in cybersecurity threats and risks - increases in breadth and depth of various attacks and increases in our own problems in dealing with those attacks. It has implications for all of us, as we have not necessarily seen an increase in the right def...

Yaron Levi, current CISO at Dolby and former CISO at Blue Cross Blue Shield in Kansas City, comes down to the Ranch to talk about the March 2022 proposal from Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Titled the Cybersecurity Risk Management Strategy: Governance and Incident Disclosure, this report has huge implications for cybersecurity in any publicly-traded company. Yaron walks through his rese...

Allan Alford, CISO/CTO and host of the Cyber Ranch podcast, resumes his session of AMA, or “ask me anything,” to cover the remaining questions left by curious cybersecurity practitioners on his LinkedIn. Previously, Allan posed two questions: If you could ask a 5-time CISO any question, what would it be? How about a cybersecurity startup CTO? Using the responses he received, Allan continues to wal...

Allan Alford, CISO/CTO and host of the Cyber Ranch podcast, changes things up this week with a session of AMA, or “ask me anything”. Instead of hosting a guest, Allan takes center stage. On LinkedIn, Allan posed two questions: If you could ask a 5-time CISO any question, what would it be? How about a cybersecurity startup CTO? Using the responses he received, he walks through every topic under the...

Cybersecurity practitioners give back to the community by recording Youtube videos, interviewing in magazines, or creating podcasts— just like this one. However, books remain a fantastic method of delivering info and impacting lives that shouldn’t be forgotten with the rise of social media. Allan tallied it up and thus far, nine of his friends have written books. He has been approached about writi...

Drew Simonis, CISO at Juniper Networks, discusses the debate of doing more by doing less. So often in cybersecurity, practitioners think they have to do it all and view themselves as the smartest people in the room. The fact of the matter is that none of us are the smartest in the room and we have to learn to trust each other. Drew believes a collaborative, trusting environment will bring us to a...

Sonja Hammond, Vice President & CISO at National Veterinary Associates, brings her love of animals and more importantly her love for security basics down to the Ranch this week. The buzz around new cyber technology and security protocols can easily warp our perspective on what’s most important for CISOs. Sonja spends some time in this episode explaining why cybersecurity organizations instead need...