The Future of Security Operations

In this week’s episode of The Future of Security Operations podcast, Thomas is joined by Brent Deterding. Brent has over 25 years of experience in security, both on the vendor side and now as a security leader. He spent a big part of his career with cloud-native security analytics platform SecureWorks, and he’s currently the CISO of Afni, a global provider of contact center solutions in the U.S., Philippines, and Mexico. Brent and Thomas discuss: - His unconventional path to becoming a CISO - Building a security team with zero attrition - Removing the burden of stress in incident response - Strategies for risk prioritization - Facing off against cybercriminal group Scattered Spider - Why prioritization and leadership are among security's biggest challenges - Being dubbed "the happy CISO" after reporting high levels of job satisfaction - Brent's four security non-negotiables - The right way to approach CISOs as a security vendor - Measuring success when you're metrics-averse - What the SOC will - and should - look like in five years The Future of Security Operations is brought to you by Tines, the smart, secure workflow builder that powers some of the world’s most important workflows. https://www.tines.com/solutions/security Where to find Brent Deterding: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brent-deterding/ Afni: https://www.afni.com/ Where to find Thomas Kinsella:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-kinsella/ Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/thomasksec Tines: https://www.tines.com/ Resources mentioned: How to connect with me as a vendor by Brent Deterding on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7146566282128076800/ In this episode: [01:56] Brent's unconventional path to becoming a CISO [04:10] Finding the right fit at Afni [06:09] Separating his identity from his job and removing the burden of stress [10:22] Why Brent sees risk prioritization and leadership as security's biggest challenges [13:02] Brent's first steps as CISO at Afni including deploying MFA across 10,000 employees [16:29] Going up against threat group Scattered Spider [17:43] Brent's custom risk frameworks [23:03] Measuring success as someone who's metrics-averse [26:19] How Brent developed his unique leadership style [29:13] Supporting his team to do their best work [31:55] Brent's tips for security vendors [36:07] Using AI for resilience and protection [39:20] What security could and should look like in five years [42:53] Connect with Brent

In this week’s episode of The Future of Security Operations podcast, Thomas is joined by Nicolas Chaillan. Nicolas is a security leader who has held several high-profile roles in US federal agencies including Chief Software Officer for the US Air Force and Space Force, Special Advisor for Cloud Security and DevSecOps at the Department of Defense (DOD), and Special Advisor for Cybersecurity and Chief Architect for Cyber.gov at the Department of Homeland Security. He is also the founder of no less than 13 companies, including Ask Sage, a GPT-powered platform that brings Generative AI capabilities to government teams. Nicolas and Thomas discuss: - Building the US government's first zero trust implementation - Putting Kubernetes on jets and space systems - The challenges of bringing new technologies to the federal government - How the threat landscape will continue to evolve for US federal agencies - The biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make - How cross-team collaboration helped him create meaningful change at the DOD - The future of AI in security - The inspiration behind his AI-powered platform, Ask Sage The Future of Security Operations is brought to you by Tines, the smart, secure workflow builder that powers some of the world’s most important workflows. https://www.tines.com/solutions/security Where to find Nicolas Chaillan: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolaschaillan/ Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/NicolasChaillan Nic's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt7jKHaxWS8W_4rcKGg7X9w Ask Sage: https://www.asksage.ai/ Where to find Thomas Kinsella:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-kinsella/ Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/thomasksec Tines: https://www.tines.com/ Resources mentioned: Making An Impact: Nicolas Chaillan, CEO Magazine: https://www.theceomagazine.com/executive-interviews/government-defence/nicolas-chaillan/ In this episode: [02:20] Becoming a self-taught coder at 7 and founding his first company at 15 [05:02] Shipping 187+ technology products as a founder, in verticals as varied as healthcare, retail and banking [07:08] The biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make [08:40] His latest product, generative AI platform Ask Sage [11:30] The challenges of bringing a new product to the US government [13:45] Building the first zero trust implementation in the government as Special Advisor for Cybersecurity at the Department of Homeland Security [15:20] Advocating for new technologies at federal agencies [19:40] Deploying Kubernetes on 50-year-old hardware on the F16 jet at the Department of Defense [22:02] Dealing with pushback and internal resistance to change [24:50] Recruiting internal help to establish force-wide DevSecOps at the DOD [29:00] Becoming Federal Chief Technology Officer at Qualys [30:30] Reflecting on the changes he implemented while working for the US government [33:12] Deciding which companies to work with as an advisory board member [36:40] How the threat landscape will continue to evolve for US federal agencies [40:50] TikTok as a channel for misinformation and national security weapon [44:18] Nicolas' predictions for the future of security [47: 10] Connect with Nicolas

In this week’s episode of The Future of Security Operations podcast, Thomas is joined by George Griesler. George has been working in cybersecurity since 1997, when he assumed the role of Senior Network administrator at the United States Golf Association (USGA), eventually advancing to Director of Information Security. He currently serves as the Senior Director of Cybersecurity at the National Football League (NFL), where he works to secure events like the Super Bowl, which in 2024 was the most-watched telecast ever. George and Thomas discuss: - What security operations looked like in 1997 - Protecting the secrets of regulation golf equipment at the USGA - The shift in security and privacy needs at live sports events - Securing scents, flavors, and other chemical formulations at IFF - Preparing for Super Bowl LXXVIII in the wake of the MGM Resorts cyber attack - The Super Bowl threat profile, from scoreboard hacking to stadium credentials - Collaborating with cybersecurity experts from CISA, the FBI, Caesars Palace, and the MGM Grand. - Aligning security operations with physical security - The reality of working on high-pressure events - The benefits of knowledge sharing with other teams working on live sports events - The importance of relationship building across internal security teams: - The potential of automation, orchestration, and AI in incident response The Future of Security Operations is brought to you by Tines, the smart, secure workflow builder that powers some of the world’s most important workflows. https://www.tines.com/solutions/security Where to find George Griesler: NFL: https://www.nfl.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgegriesler/ Where to find Thomas Kinsella:  Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/thomasksec LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-kinsella/ Tines: https://www.tines.com/ Resources mentioned: A Cyberattack Shuts Down MGM Resorts In Las Vegas And Other Cities: https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/2023/09/12/a-cyberattack-mgm-resorts-las-vegas/?sh=c1b5096505c0 The 1,000-ton screen bringing Super Bowl LVI to the lucky fans inside the stadium: https://edition.cnn.com/2022/02/11/sport/super-bowl-lvi-samsung-infinity-screen-sofi-stadium-tech-spc-intl/index.html In this episode: [01:50] What infrastructure management and incident response looked like in 1997 [03:30] His projects at the United States Golf Association (USGA), including securing a golf handicap information network [06:05] Witnessing the digital transformation of live sports events [08:40] Securing flavors, scents and other chemical formulations at IFF [13:20] Building a threat model for large OT environments [15:30] Increasing security awareness and culture across the organization [17:45] Moving to the NFL [21:20] How George's team prepare for the Super Bowl [24:10] Partnering with cybersecurity experts at CISA, the FBI, and local partners in Las Vegas like Caesars Palace and the MGM Grand. [27:00] The Super Bowl's threat profile, from scoreboard hacking to stadium credentials to online identities of individual players [29:20] Inside the NFL's Super Bowl command centre [30:40] Ensuring the team is supported to handle high-pressure events [32:55] Knowledge sharing with security teams on other live sports events, from The Olympics to the World Cup [37:00] Reducing risk through collaboration across the security team [38:35] AI as a defender tool and attacker tool [41:50] The future of the SOC [43:15] Connect with George

In this week’s episode of The Future of Security Operations podcast, Thomas is joined by Adam Khan. Adam is a cybersecurity and technology leader with over 25 years of experience working at Fortune 500 companies. He has a proven track record of building and managing global security teams, leading engineering, infrastructure, application, and product, and is currently VP of Global Security Operations at Barracuda. Adam and Thomas discuss: - Building discipline and resilience by working on SRE teams - How a well-known DDoS attack changed his career path - Using automation to reduce alert fatigue - Strategies for plugging the security skills gap - The potential of AI-driven XDR - How cyber attacks are evolving in the age of AI - Lessons learned from researching the history of cybersecurity - Empowering teams to do their best work - Creating a culture of continuous learning The Future of Security Operations is brought to you by Tines, the smart, secure workflow builder that powers some of the world’s most important workflows. https://www.tines.com/solutions/security Where to find Adam Khan: Adam's website: https://www.adamkhancyber.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamkhan-cyber/ Barracuda: https://www.barracudamsp.com/ and sales@barracudamsp.com Where to find Thomas Kinsella:  Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/thomasksec LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-kinsella/ Tines: https://www.tines.com/ Resources mentioned: 2023 Global Cyber Threat Report by Adam Khan: https://www.adamkhancyber.com/post/2023-global-cyber-threat-report Adam's five-part cybersecurity history series on smartermsp.com: https://smartermsp.com/author/akhan/ DarkReading: https://www.darkreading.com/ BleepingComputer: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/ In this episode: [02:10] Switching from site reliability engineering (SRE) to SecOps [03:40] How the DDoS attack on Amazon, eBay and Priceline in 2008 piqued his interest in security [04:37] Building discipline and resilience by working on SRE teams [09:05] Navigating Barracuda's acquisition of SKOUT [10:22] How growing companies can benefit from a external XDR platform [11:50] Prioritizing the alerts that matter most to customers [13:03] Using automation to enrich threat intelligence and root out false positives [14:50] The potential of AI-driven XDR [16:40] How cyber attacks have evolved as adversaries use AI tools like FraudGPT and WormGPT [19:30] Adam's three key takeaways from researching the history of cybersecurity [23:20] Strategies for tackling the talent shortage [25:15] Empowering teams to do their best work [28:10] How Adam stay on top of the latest security trends [31:35] The importance of making mistakes [32:20] Promoting a culture of blameless incident reviews [34:40] Predictions for the future [35:50] Connect with Adam

In this week’s episode of The Future of Security Operations podcast, Thomas is joined by Matt Johansen. Matt is a security veteran who has helped defend startups, the biggest financial companies in the world, and everything in between. Alongside his day job as Head of Software Security at Reddit, he teaches companies how to protect against cyber attacks, and coaches entrepreneurs and CISOs that need help with infrastructure, application, cloud, and security policies. He also writes Vulnerable U, a weekly newsletter that talks about embracing the power of vulnerability for growth. Thomas and Matt discuss: - Moving from a large security team at Bank of America to a small one at Reddit - Embracing scrappiness and doing more with less - Overcoming sunk-cost fallacy - Why the 2014 Sony hack was a pivotal time for AppSec - Running the threat research centre at White Hat - What he looks for when hiring in AppSec, the SOC and beyond - His decision to start creating content about mental health in security - Moving past imposter syndrome - Renouncing superhero culture - Paved paths and guardrails, and what comes next after "shift left" - Lessons learned from Reddit's 2023 security incident - The power of automating incident response   The Future of Security Operations is brought to you by Tines, the smart, secure workflow builder that powers some of the world’s most important workflows. https://www.tines.com/solutions/security   Where to find Matt Johansen: Vulnerable U newsletter: https://vulnu.mattjay.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/mattjay LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewjohansen/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@vulnerable_matt Reddit: https://www.redditinc.com/ mattjay.com: https://www.mattjay.com     Where to find Thomas Kinsella:  Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/thomasksec LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-kinsella/ Tines: https://www.tines.com/   Resources mentioned: The Tech Professional's Guide to Mindfulness by Matt Johansen: https://www.mattjay.com/blog/the-tech-professionals-guide-to-mindfulness Matt's piece on developer experience in the Vulnerable U newsletter: https://vulnu.mattjay.com/p/vulnu-003-courage-quit Reddit's post on a February 2023 incident: https://www.reddit.com/r/reddit/comments/10y427y/we_had_a_security_incident_heres_what_we_know/ Collaborative Incident Response Best Practices: Don't Rely on Superheroes by Matt Johansen: https://www.mattjay.com/blog/superhero-incident-response Threat modeling depression by Matt Johansen: https://www.mattjay.com/blog/threat-model-depression   In this episode: [02:14] Going from long-time Reddit user to employee [04:50] Running AppSec at Reddit [07:30] Being the internet's punching bag and boxing gloves [10:30] Building a team from scratch at White Hat and lessons learned from the 2014 Sony hack [15:10] Matt's approach to hiring [21:15] His decision to create content about mental health in security [23:20] Turning his Twitter network into his IRL network [27:55] Moving past imposter syndrome [30:00] Tools for safeguarding your mental health in incident response [36:20] Preserving work-life balance for his teams at Reddit [39:15] Moving past "shift left", and paved path to production and guardrails [47:40] Lessons learned from a February 2023 incident at Reddit [51:20] Renouncing superhero culture [52:20] Automating incident response [54:12] Connect with Matt

This week on The Future of Security Operations podcast, Thomas is joined by Prima Virani. Prima is a security engineer who worked across industries as varied as oil and gas and Fintech before becoming Principal Security Engineer at Twilio. With over a decade of experience spanning infrastructure security engineering, incident detection and response, and forensics, she's also shared insights at countless security conferences around the world, including SecTOR Canada and Agile India. In this episode, Prima and Thomas discuss: - The unique challenges of working in forensics - Her transition to detection and response and cloud security - Building a security detection framework at Segment - Reducing mean time to resolve through automation - Using data to prioritize which processes should be automated - Merging teams and technologies when Segment was acquired by Twilio - Joining the securing platform engineering team at Twilio - Designing a challenging and varied career in security - The influence of mentorship on career growth - Democratizing security through knowledge sharing - How security will change in the next five years The Future of Security Operations is brought to you by Tines, the smart, secure workflow builder that powers some of the world’s most important workflows. https://www.tines.com/solutions/security Where to find Prima Virani:  Twitter: https://twitter.com/secnerdette?lang=en LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/primavirani/ Twilio: https://www.twilio.com/en-us Where to find Thomas Kinsella:  Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/thomasksec LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-kinsella/ Resources mentioned: Hosting Fleet on AWS EKS by Prima Virani: https://segment.com/blog/hosting-fleetdm-on-aws-eks/ Fleet Device Management: https://fleetdm.com/ In this episode: [02:22] Prima's introduction to cybersecurity career opportunities as a teenager [06:30] The shift from forensics to detection and response [09:15] Gaining experience in vulnerability and patch management, and network security [14:15] Building a security detection framework at Segment using SOCless [18:10] Using automation to reduce alert noise and improve response times [20:30] The impact of automation on security team burnout [22:50] Merging security teams, practices and technologies during Twilio's acquisition of Segment [25:30] Moving to the securing platform engineering team at Twilio [27:40] Growing her knowledge of AWS, Kubernetes and GCP [32:40] Prima's plans to embrace machine learning in detection engineering [34:20] The importance of mentorship and knowledge sharing in career growth [37:30] Prima's all-time favorite projects, including hosting FleetDM on AWS EKS [39:36] The future of security operations through Prima's eyes [42:01] Prima's advice for security practitioners [43:58] Connect with Prima

On this episode of The Future of Security Operations podcast, Thomas is joined by Andrew Santell. Andrew is an experienced security leader who worked for the U.S. Navy for over a decade before moving into the private sector. In 2021, he founded the Security Operations program at Netflix, and recently, he joined edge cloud platform Fastly, where he is the Director of Security Operations and Cyber Defense. In this episode, Andrew and Thomas discuss: - Navigating the unique challenges of the Navy, from log management to prioritization - Making the leap from the Navy to tech - Building a security operations team and program from scratch at Netflix - Red teaming phishing response playbooks at Netflix to test their effectiveness - Recognizing the value of good processes - Why teams should design processes first, automate later - Creating a feedback loop between teams at Fastly - How “shifting left” has helped Andrew’s team reduce vulnerabilities - Using automation for risk assessment at Fastly - Andrew’s approach to incidents like the Log4J vulnerabilities  - Why growth in the vendor market is a good thing for practitioners  - Why automation should be a requirement, not just a best practice - What advancements in AI mean for threat detection - The importance of risk-based decision-making - The potential of self-remediation  - Why good security leadership starts with taking care of your people The Future of Security Operations is brought to you by Tines, the smart, secure workflow builder that powers some of the world’s most important workflows. https://tines.com/solutions/security Where to find Andrew Santell:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ajsantell/ Fastly: https://www.fastly.com/ Where to find Thomas Kinsella:  Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/thomasksec LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-kinsella/ Resources mentioned: Google’s SRE handbook: https://sre.google/sre-book/table-of-contents/ Netflix’s 2018 blog post on SOCless: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/socless-detection-team-netflix-alex-maestretti/ In this episode: [02:05] Andrew’s career journey so far [05:35] The unique requirements of working in the Navy [09:12] Risk-driven decision making [11:11] Self-assessing phishing response controls and mitigations at Netflix [14:28] Andrew’s decision to leave the Navy and his transition to the private sector [16:12] Comparing approaches to security at the Navy and in tech [19:26] Breaking free of bad processes [23:20] Broadening roles to include pen testing, application security, and vulnerability management  [27:27] How Andrew approaches automation at Fastly [31:56] Protecting Fastly’s infrastructure [33:57] How SecOps has changed and where it’s going next [40:18] Embracing automation for vulnerability management [42:45] Taking care of your people as a security leader [44:56] Making engineering and automation part of prioritization [47:19] Connect with Andrew

To kick off season 5 of the Future of Security Operations podcast, Thomas is joined by Mandy Andress. Mandy is the Chief Information Security Officer at Elastic, a leading platform for search-powered solutions, and has more than 25 years of experience in information risk management and security. Before Elastic, Mandy led the information security function at MassMutual and established and built information security programs at TiVo, Evant, and Privada. She also founded an information security consulting company with clients ranging from startups to Fortune 100 companies. In this episode, Mandy and Thomas discuss: - Her move from accounting to security  - Why she was drawn to Elastic's employee-centric culture - How her role at TiVo in the early '00s shaped her view of privacy - Switching from a technology-first to people-first approach to security - Recognizing the human factor in incident response  - Embracing asynchronous operations on dispersed teams - The importance of bringing your authentic self to work  - Staying technical as you move into leadership - How she puts her law degree to use as a CISO - Balancing compliance and overall security posture - Collaboration and knowledge sharing within the CISO community - Elastic's approach of knowledge sharing by default - How prioritizing analyst time will be critical in the future of SecOps - Adopting an infrastructure-as-code approach - Balancing between proactive security measures and reactive responses - Building a culture of security across the organization - Tips for surviving in security operations in tech The Future of Security Operations is brought to you by Tines, the platform that powers some of the world’s most important security workflows. https://www.tines.com/solutions/security Where to find Mandy Andress:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mandyandress/ Elastic: https://www.elastic.co/ Where to find Thomas Kinsella:  LinkedIn: https://twitter.com/thomasksec Twitter/X: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-kinsella/ Resources mentioned: Surviving Security: How to Integrate People, Process & Technology by Mandy Andress: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Surviving-Security-Integrate-Process-Technology/dp/0672321297 Mandy’s 2001 BlackHat talk on wireless LAN security: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtT2Ta87uow Elastic’s blog: https://www.elastic.co/blog In this episode: [01:57] Moving from accounting to security   [02:43] Finding a company with strong vision, culture and business foundations  [05:26] Working in network security in the early days of TiVo [07:05] What’s changed in security since 2001? [09:20] A career-long fascination with the human factor in incident response  [10:30] Embracing empathy in her leadership style [12:25] Finding a workplace where you can be your authentic self  [16:10] Exercising her technical muscles [17:45] The decision to study law [21:18] Balancing compliance and overall security posture [23:35] Knowledge sharing in the CISO community [24:22] Elastic's policy of being "radically transparent" [29:20] The future of security operations  [31:29] How her security team works with product engineering [34:03] Adopting an infrastructure-as-code approach [35:01] Building a culture of security across the organization [38:09] Her advice for others working in security in a high-growth organization [41:50] Baking off security products in her home lab [44:37] Connect with Mandy

In this episode of The Future of Security Operations podcast, Thomas interviews industry veteran Dmitriy Sokolovskiy. Dmitriy is a founding member of (ISC)2 Eastern Massachusetts Chapter, and has over 25 years of experience in the security industry, having led teams at Putnam Investments, CyberArk, and, most recently, Avid. He’s a mentor and advisor to several successful startups and sits on the advisory board of companies like Audience 1st. On this episode of The Future of Security Operations, Dmitriy discusses: His early career journey from IT support to security.Getting comfortable “losing sales on purpose” and building a cloud security program from the ground up at CyberArk.Running product security at Avid, where the customer base included Oscar-winning film editors and Grammy-winning sound engineers. A particularly memorable mistake - how Dmitriy accidentally rerouted every employee’s emails to his inbox on the first day on the job, and what that experience taught him.Learning to measure and communicate the security team’s ROI to senior leadership, with guidance from the team at Okta.Why he believes we need a new word to describe the cybersecurity industry.Dmitriy’s thoughts on the role security practitioners will play in fifth-generation warfare.  Note: this episode was recorded before the October 2023 attacks in Israel and Gaza.  Resources: LinkedIn

In this episode of The Future of Security Operations podcast, David Seidman joins Thomas to discuss their career to date and what they have learned along the way. David is currently Head of Detection and Response at Robinhood, an online brokerage firm with a mission to democratize finance for everyone.  David has almost 20 years of experience in software and security, having worked for huge names like Microsoft, Google, Salesforce, and now Robinhood.  Topics include:  David’s entry into security and their 10-year tenure at Microsoft. Dealing with the public’s and media’s interest in security incidents at global organizations like Microsoft, Google, and Salesforce.The changes that came with David’s move from large-scale organizations to Robinhood and the difference in operations and threat actors that they have seen. David’s detection strategy and how they approach the kill chain model. How David manages to keep on top of their technical capabilities while also keeping the mental health and performance of their team as high as possible. The lessons David has learned so far in their career about creating a culture of safety and high morale for SecOps teams. Decreasing friction around prioritizing between good business and good security operations.How David describes the state of security operations today.  The challenge of false positives and ways to address the stress and burnout that come with them. The need for executive stakeholder communication skills as an incident responder. Where David sees security operations and incident response going in the next five years.    Resources: LinkedIn

In this episode of The Future of Security Operations podcast, Thomas speaks to Jeff Moss, Senior Director, Information Security, at Incode Technologies. Incode is the leading provider of world-class identity solutions for the world’s largest financial institutions, governments, retailers, hospitality organizations, and gaming establishments.    Jeff has over 10 years of experience in tech and IT, moving from project and program management in areas such as construction and IT into cybersecurity, where he quickly worked his way up to becoming CISO and Senior Director of Information Security. He has countless licenses and certifications, including Certified Information Systems Auditor with ISACA, and he also has an MBA.    Topics include:  How Jeff decided to make the move from engineering to product security. His less traditional path into cybersecurity leadership and how he worked his way up to CISO in such a short space of time. The evolution of product security over the last five years. The increased attack surface within the industry and how to reduce the risks. What Jeff has learned from scaling security for numerous startups.Tips for the prioritization of initiatives that Jeff has learned as part of his MBA and his years as a project and program manager. Jeff’s approach to combining the technical and the business in his management.  The shift in organizational structure with CISOs needing to report to the board and CEO. The proposed Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rulemaking in the US and what it means for the industry.What Jeff expects to see in security operations over the next five years.    Resources: LinkedIn

In this episode of The Future of Security Operations podcast, Thomas chats with Rebecca Harness, VP and Chief Information Security Officer at Quickbase. Quickbase is a no-code database and application development platform that enables anyone to safely build, iterate, and integrate their applications. Rebecca has 25 years of experience in information technology and over 12 years of experience in security specifically. Over her career, Rebecca has launched two of her own companies; she’s led numerous high-performing cybersecurity teams through the challenges of supporting cloud-first digital transformation strategies; and she’s a board member of ISACA St. Louis. She also has a Master of Science in Information Security Engineering. Topics include:  Rebecca’s career journey from her start in IT to founding her first company, to becoming VP and CISO at Quickbase.The steps Rebecca takes to build a strong security culture within her teams.Balancing empathy and velocity as a CISO.The measures Rebecca feels best place SecOps teams to securely and safely engage with technology partners and third-party vendors.The inevitability of human error and how automation can help combat this.How Rebecca has seen SecOps evolve and the resource and skills gap being experienced across the industry and how this can be combated. How generative AI can be a key collaborator for SecOps teams. Where Rebecca sees the SecOps landscape going over the next five years. Rebecca’s experience in the MSP space and how she feels MSPs will be affected by attacks becoming less commodified and more targeted. The measures Rebecca takes to ensure her teams don’t burn out and remain passionate about their role.    Resources: LinkedIn

In the first episode of this season of The Future of Security Operations podcast, Thomas speaks to Josh Kamdjou, founder and CEO of Sublime Security, the world's first open and adaptable email security platform, preventing email attacks using Detection-as-Code and behavioral AI. Josh has more than 13 years of experience in the security industry, doing a mix of government work and private consulting before founding Sublime Security in 2019. Josh holds a B.Sc. in Computer Science from the University of Maryland and is a regular speaker at security conferences and workshops.   Topics include:  Josh’s interesting path into security started with his career working with the government.How the approach to email security has changed over the last 10 years.The gap and lack of tooling that Josh discovered in email security led to the founding of Sublime Security.The types of business email compromise fraud that are still working today and how the threat landscape has changed.Moving from consultancy to creating a product and securing Sublime’s first customers.Putting yourself in your customers’ shoes to aid discovery and build a better product.How Josh’s experience working in government and industry shaped his approach to how he builds Sublime’s product.What companies are doing to successfully defend against email threats.Where security operations might be in five years and how teams will be doing more with less.Sublime Security’s plans for the next 12 months.   Resources: LinkedIn

In this season’s finale of the Future of Security Operations podcast, Thomas chats with Yinon Costica, Vice President of Product and co-founder at Wiz, the leading cloud infrastructure security platform that enables organizations to identify and remove the most pressing risks in the cloud. Yinon has more than 15 years of experience leading cybersecurity product development teams, with expertise in the cloud security market. Yinon started his career as a software engineer at the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). After this, he was the VP of Adallom, a leading cloud access security broker, until they were acquired by Microsoft in 2015. At Microsoft, he led the Cloud Security Group product organization for four years before co-founding Wiz. Topics include:  Yinon’s journey, starting with the Israel Defense Forces, and how it led to his introduction to cybersecurity. The decision process behind building Wiz and how the original idea for the company changed and developed during this time. Yinon’s view on the changing landscape of security over the last 20 years and how it has become a C-level discussion. Measuring how mature your company’s security operations are and the process of wider teams becoming more proactive about security.The self-serve model of security used at Wiz and how companies can employ this to create a more secure environment across the enterprise. Approaching the challenge of gaining Fortune 100 customers when running a start-up and what it takes to build an enterprise-grade product. The specific challenges that those who are leading security teams in fast-growing tech startups face when approaching the cloud.Stepping back to find toxic combinations in your organization that need to be remediated first when evaluating levels of prioritization. What the security operations landscape will look like in five years and how the self-serve model will fit into this. Some lessons Yinon has learned from the close relationships that the Wiz founding members have built up over the last 20 years.Taking steps to overcome the issue of diversity and bias in the security space. Resources: LinkedIn

In this episode of the Future of Security Operations podcast, Thomas chats with Morey Haber, Chief Security Officer at BeyondTrust. BeyondTrust is a worldwide leader in Privileged Access Management (PAM), focused on addressing the most urgent cybersecurity challenges, including zero trust, ransomware, cloud security, and more. Morey has more than 25 years of IT industry experience, has authored four books, is a founding member of the industry group Transparency in Cyber, and in 2020 was elected to the Identity Defined Security Alliance (IDSA) Executive Advisory Board. Morey currently oversees BeyondTrust security and governance for corporate and cloud-based solutions and regularly consults for global periodicals and media.   Topics include:  Morey’s journey in cybersecurity, starting almost 20 years ago in a software action team.The cultural and perception shift that vulnerability management and security operations have undergone over the past 20 years.The challenges modern security operations face due to identity-based risks increasing in a remote working world. The exploitable flaws seen in two-factor authentication (2FA) and multi-factor authentication (MFA) identification. How BeyondTrust specializes in privileged access and least privilege to ensure the integrity of all transactions. The differences with implementing security disciplines in the cloud. How Morey stays on top of the latest issues and threats in the cybersecurity world. The importance of self-discipline when it comes to mental health and overcoming the risk of burnout, and how managers can best support this. Some of the most memorable security incidents Morey has come across. Morey’s stance on what security teams should be wary of when it comes to ChatGPT. What cybersecurity might look like in five years’ time with advances in AI taken into consideration.    Resources: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mjhaber/

In this episode of the Future of Security Operations podcast, Thomas interviews Arthur Barnes, Senior Director of Security Operations at Oracle – the world’s largest database management company.  Arthur is an experienced cybersecurity leader with 20 years of experience, having previously worked at Pearson, Dell, and M&S. He contributed to the ENISA Cloud Procurement Guidelines, which is a practical guide aimed at the procurement and governance of cloud services, and is currently completing an MBA in Business Administration and Management.  Topics include:  Arthur’s journey from working within government, consulting, and the private sector and how he found his way into the security space. How security has evolved over the last 10 years, including the main challenges faced by cybersecurity leaders and their teams. Solving the challenge of hiring the right people and how to identify the best candidates during the interview process.What Arthur has learned about what it takes to be a leader and how to identify good candidates for promotion to leadership positions.Approaching and dealing with mental health concerns for people working in cybersecurity.Reducing time spent on repetitive tasks and helping teams outside of the security organization to automate tasks. Cases of forensic investigations that became story-worthy. Arthur’s number one piece of advice for those leading security teams today.What security teams might look like in five years’ time.    Resources: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arthurbarnes/?originalSubdomain=uk

In this episode of Future of Security Operations, Thomas speaks with Ryan Noon, Founder and CEO of Material Security, a company that protects the email of high-risk VIPs and top global organizations. A serial entrepreneur and an expert on cloud security, Ryan previously ran infrastructure teams at Dropbox after it acquired his last company, Parastructure. Before that, he helped build a company spun out of Stanford by the Department of Defense. A graduate of Stanford, Ryan holds degrees in Computer Science and Computer Security. Topics include: Ryan’s first startup experience and the decision to launch his first company, ParastructureGetting acquired by Dropbox and what he enjoyed most about working thereRyan’s journey from a hobbyist to a thought leader and founder in cybersecurity, taking a critical eye towards every system, and why Ryan sees himself as “a builder, a creator, and an optimist than a true security engineer”How the Russian government’s interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election impacted his perspective on cybersecurity and helped him realize the power of APIsWhy email is such an excellent target for cyber attackers and how Material Security secures data within inboxesWhat founders should focus on in the first year, the importance of product management, and how Material secured its early adopters, including customers like Stripe, Databricks, and Lift, so quicklyHow to help your product to stand out, and why he believes it’s important to avoid FUD tactics in cybersecurityWhat Ryan has learned from working with the world’s leading security teams and how the best teams bridge gaps to winRyan’s thoughts on the uncertain global economic climate, its impacts, and how Material’s conservative approach has allowed them to maintain a relatively lean teamThe future of security operations and what trends Ryan believes will continue - doing more with less and leveraging better infrastructure and tools that enable you to go deeper with your existing tech stack Resources: LinkedIn

In this episode of the Future of Security Operations podcast, Thomas speaks with Diana Kelley, Chief Security Officer / Chief Strategy Officer at Cybrize, which connects organizations, security leaders, and job seekers to train and support the next generation of cybersecurity professionals.  Diana has been a trailblazer in the cybersecurity industry for over three decades. She's served as CTO for Microsoft and Global Executive Security Advisor at IBM; she was also previously VP of Burton Group (now Gartner for Technical Professionals) and a manager at KPMG. Diana volunteers with numerous organizations in her free time, including ACM Ethics & Plagiarism Committee and WiCyS (Women in Cybersecurity), all devoted to advancing diversity within this field. Topics include:  How Diana first developed a passion for computers and securityDiana's career path, from building and managing a global network to working as a consultantThe changing security landscape and how increasingly sophisticated adversaries challenge itWhy executives need to recognize compliance is not just a checkbox exercise, and how Diana helps business leaders bring compliance in as part of their toolkits to develop better security programsThe challenge of balancing security policies with different pressures within an organizationThe cybersecurity skills gap and how hiring managers can attract and retain the best candidates through DEIA, allyship, creating open-minded job descriptions, and recognizing the value of different skill setsThe importance of sizing security teams properly to prevent exhaustion and burnout, measuring the success of your security program, and communicating the value of your security teamWhy Diana believes SOCs will be more distributed in the future, why it makes sense for smaller companies to outsource, and the rise of AI and automation to support humans rather than replace humansDiana reflects on a striking security incident Resources:  LinkedIn

In this episode of the Future of Security Operations podcast, Thomas interviews Andreas Schneider - the Field CISO EMEA at Lacework. Leveraging its data-driven platform and cloud-native application protection solution, Lacework helps organizations make sense of immense amounts of security data with minimal effort.  With over two decades of experience in cybersecurity, Andreas started off as a defender working on mainframes for a financial services company before building up his first security team within the Swiss broadcasting industry. Topics include:  After discovering computer games like Risk, how Andreas found himself accidentally working in security. Building up the security team for a Swiss broadcasting company and managing large-scale environments sensitive to interruption. Why Andreas moved to Lacework after first experiencing the platform as a customer. Why Andreas feels comfortable dealing with large-scale attacks and enjoys what he does. The shift to DevOps and why security needs to evolve continuously and become more decentralized. The changing role of the lonely CISOs, the importance of culture and accountability, and how Andreas approaches his work to identify gaps. Two of Andreas' biggest failures and why he believes it's essential to talk about failure in security. Andreas' passion for the security community, how he sources new talent, and why he prioritizes listening to developers to enhance collaboration efforts. How Andreas carefully chooses vendors and security tools to help his team avoid alert fatigue and friction that slows their processes down. Why Andreas believes machine learning and automation will be a big focus in the future of security operations, and human behavior will remain the most formidable risk. Resources: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ciso-andreas-schneider

In this episode of Future of Security Operations, Thomas speaks with Jacob DePriest, VP & Deputy Chief Security Officer at GitHub, a company with a mission "to help every developer - regardless of experience level - learn, code, and ship software effectively." Before joining GitHub, DePriest spent more than 15 years as a senior executive at the National Security Agency (NSA) in the US. Topics include:  How Jacob moved from a career deep in the engineering world to security His experience working at the NSA and why curiosity led him to move to GitHub to seek out a new adventure His experience with Open Source tools and why he believes in making tools that help the security community more widely available to handle threats How GitHub's security team prioritizes their workload, thinks about risk, and builds trust with their customers The vast amount of automation in place at GitHub, what they're building, and how they bring security findings as close to developers as they possibly can How the security team influences GitHub's product roadmap and why they want to be the first customer of any new feature His experience with Log4j and why he's proud of GitHub's response to the breach Why he prioritizes his team's psychological safety and thinks empathy, diversity, and transparency are critical to success for any security team Resources:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobdepriest/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/jacobdepriest