Matt Jezorek, CISO at Panther and a former security leader at Amazon and Dropbox, shares insights on simplifying security operations. He emphasizes focusing on identity protection, vulnerability management, and detection/response. Matt argues that human intuition remains vital, even as AI advances. He discusses navigating the complexities of security data and the importance of strategic response. Additionally, he reflects on how his farm life perspective aids in handling high-pressure situations and the importance of staying curious in both security and life.
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Matt Jezorek’s Career Journey
Matt Jezorek's path started as a software developer wanting to break things, later moving into security at Amazon and Dropbox.
His experience includes scaling security teams and adopting agile, flexible security solutions like Panther.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
From Alerts to Signals
Focus on signal collection instead of atomic alerts to reduce noise in security detection.
Aggregate signals to uncover meaningful alerts that deserve human investigation.
insights INSIGHT
Cloud Dispersion Impacts Detection
Cloud and distributed systems have fractured detection into dispersed logs across multiple systems.
Atomic alerts on single events lose context and are less effective against distributed architecture.
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In this special episode of Detection at Scale, Jack welcomes back Matt Jezorek, Panther's new CISO, for an insightful conversation about effective security strategies. Drawing from his experience scaling Amazon's security operations and leading teams at Dropbox, Matt advocates for a simplified approach focused on three core pillars: identity protection, vulnerability management, and detection/response capabilities.
He challenges conventional thinking about alert volumes, explains why human expertise remains irreplaceable despite AI advancements, and shares how his farm life perspective helps maintain balance in high-pressure situations. Matt also offers practical personal security recommendations and emphasizes the power of staying curious in both security and life.
Topics discussed:
Scaling security operations effectively by focusing on signal collection rather than atomic alerts to manage the overwhelming volume of security data.
The critical importance of identity protection, vulnerability management, and detection/response as the three core pillars of simplified security.
Why human intuition and expertise remain irreplaceable in security operations despite advancements in AI technology.
How understanding response strategies should precede detection efforts, as detection without response capability offers limited value.
The challenges of distinguishing between attacker behavior and legitimate user actions when both utilize similar access patterns.
Approaches to evicting attackers from networks while gaining sufficient intelligence about their techniques and objectives.
Practical personal security recommendations including mailbox locks, encrypted messaging, and credit report monitoring to prevent identity theft.
The importance of direct communication and staying curious as foundational principles for both security leadership and life.
Detection at Scale 