CISO Series Podcast

All links and images for this episode can be found on CISO Series. What happens when you want to adhere to more secure behavior, but the tool you're using forces you to be less secure, solely because they didn't architect in more stringent security when they created the program. This week's episode is hosted by me, David Spark (@dspark), producer of CISO Series and Mike Johnson. Our guest is Terrance Cooley, CISO, Air Force JADC2 R&D Center. Thanks to our podcast sponsor, Varonis Everyday, your employees share thousands of sensitive files with too many people, exposing data to the entire organization – or even the entire internet. Varonis monitors sharing link activity and intelligently eliminates links that aren't needed – reducing your risk on a continual basis. Discover more at www.varonis.com/cisoseries. In this episode: What is the worst security behavior you've seen from an IT vendor? Are you applying talent-to-value recruiting techniques to reduce corporate risk? What are your predictions for the evolution of cyber threats?

All links and images for this episode can be found on CISO Series. There is a lot unknown before, during, and after a merger and that can make employees very susceptible to phishing attacks. But, at the same time, the due diligence that goes into an M&A can often open up signs of previous or active compromise, noted Rich Mason of Critical Infrastructure. What does a proposed merger do to a security program?" This week's episode is hosted by me, David Spark (@dspark), producer of CISO Series and Andy Ellis (@csoandy), operating partner, YL Ventures. Our guest is Nicole Ford (@nicoledgray), global vp and CISO, Rockwell Automation. Thanks to our podcast sponsor, Pentera Pentera is the category leader for Automated Security Validation, allowing every organization to test with ease the integrity of all cybersecurity layers including their ransomware readiness, unfolding true, current security exposures at any moment, at any scale. In this episode: As a security leader, how does your security posture change when you know given your assets you are a specific target vs. just an opportunity? Could similar critical infrastructure agencies be grouped together and therefore share cybersecurity resources? What does a proposed merger do to a security program?

All links and images for this episode can be found on CISO Series. "Does anyone else feel like the security field is attracting a lot of low-quality people and hurting our reputation," asked a redditor on the cybersecurity subreddit who remembers a time when security personnel were seen as highly experienced technologists. But now they believe people view cybersecurity as an easy tech job to break into for easy money. This week's episode is hosted by me, David Spark (@dspark), producer of CISO Series and Andy Ellis (@csoandy), operating partner, YL Ventures. Our guest is Stephen Cicirelli, CISO, American Bureau of Shipping. Thanks to our podcast sponsor, Stairwell The standard cybersecurity blueprint is a roadmap for attackers to test and engineer attacks. With Inception, organizations can operate out of sight, out of band, and out of time. Collect, search, and analyze every file in your environment – from malware and supply chain vulnerabilities to unique, low-prevalence files and beyond. Learn about Inception. In this episode: Does anyone else feel like the security field is attracting a lot of low-quality people and hurting our reputation? Do people view cybersecurity as an easy tech job to break into for easy money? With all this talk of needing more cyber talent, are we attracting quality or just quantity?

All links and images for this episode can be found on CISO Series. It appears our security awareness training is working, up to a point. Most people are well aware of the need for secure passwords, but they don't actually create secure passwords. This week's episode is hosted by me, David Spark (@dspark), producer of CISO Series and Andy Ellis (@csoandy), operating partner, YL Ventures. Our sponsored guest is Patrick Harr, CEO, SlashNext. Thanks to our podcast sponsor, SlashNext With today's transition to hybrid working, phishing attacks are becoming more prevalent than ever. Mobile phishing and credential harvesting are exploding and affecting business reputations, finances and most importantly, data loss. With new methods of phishing attacks appearing year over year, enterprises need more robust phishing protection to better protect this expanding attack surface and companies' most valuable assets. Check out the report. In this episode: Why does it seem like our security awareness training is only working up to a certain point? Most people are well aware of the need for secure passwords, but why don't they actually create secure passwords? Is it true that, "people are not the weakest link, they're just the top attack vector?"

All links and images for this episode can be found on CISO Series. It appears we're not providing security awareness training fast enough. That's because hackers are specifically targeting brand new employees who don't yet know the company's procedures. Illicit hackers are discovering they're far easier to phish. This week's episode is hosted by me, David Spark (@dspark), producer of CISO Series and Mike Johnson. Our guest is Gene Spafford (@therealspaf), Professor, Purdue University. Gene's book available for pre-order Cybersecurity Myths and Misconceptions: Avoiding the Hazards and Pitfalls that Derail Us. 25th anniversary of CERIAS Thanks to our podcast sponsor, Lacework Lacework offers the data-driven security platform for the cloud and is the leading cloud-native application protection platform (CNAPP) solution. Only Lacework can collect, analyze, and accurately correlate data — without requiring manually written rules — across an organization's AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and Kubernetes environments, and narrow it down to the handful of security events that matter. Security and DevOps teams around the world trust Lacework to secure cloud-native applications across the full lifecycle from code to cloud. Get started at lacework.com/cisoseries. In this episode: Is cybersecurity awareness a long term marketing effort? Where are we making progress with the general populous when it comes to improving the human aspect of cybersecurity? How difficult and how long can it take to discover what a company's crown jewels are, and what needs to be done?

All links and images for this episode can be found on CISO Series. That headline is not a joke. An actual job listing on LinkedIn requested just that. We're all hoping this was an error. Regardless, the community response to it was truly overwhelming, speaking much to the frustration of green and junior cybersecurity job seekers who are truly looking for entry level jobs. This week's episode is hosted by me, David Spark (@dspark), producer of CISO Series and Andy Ellis (@csoandy), operating partner, YL Ventures. Our guest is Bryan Willett, CISO, Lexmark. Thanks to our podcast sponsor, AuditBoard CrossComply is AuditBoard's award-winning security compliance solution that allows organizations to build trust and scale their security compliance program with a connected risk platform that unifies SOC 2, ISO 2700x, NIST, CMMC, PCI DSS, and more across your organization. In this episode: Why do some job listing seem to have unrealistic requirements for entry level job-seekers? Who needs 15+ years experience in practically anything? What is the value of security operations if you're not detecting and dealing with incidents? What do you think cybersecurity awareness month should accomplish?

All links and images for this episode can be found on CISO Series. CISOs and other security leaders have a lot of stress. But so do other C-level employees. Why does a CISO's stress seem that much more powerful? Is it that their job is still in constant development, or is the "C" in their name just in title, but not authority? This week's episode is hosted by me, David Spark (@dspark), producer of CISO Series and Andy Ellis (@csoandy), operating partner, YL Ventures. Our guest is Aman Sirohi (@amangolf), CISO, People.ai. Thanks to our podcast sponsor, AuditBoard CrossComply is AuditBoard's award-winning security compliance solution that allows organizations to build trust and scale their security compliance program with a connected risk platform that unifies SOC 2, ISO 2700x, NIST, CMMC, PCI DSS, and more across your organization. In this episode: Why does a CISO's stress seem that much more powerful? Is it that their job is still in constant development, or is the "C" in their name just in title, but not authority? What part of the supply chain security effort is truly building trust in your supplier and having ongoing reassurances that that trust is being maintained?

All links and images for this episode can be found on CISO Series. "The biggest threat to national security is that many of the most vital systems on the planet CURRENTLY run on outdated and insecure software," said Robert Slaughter of Defense Unicorns on LinkedIn. That's at the core of the third-party security issue. This week's episode is hosted by me, David Spark (@dspark), producer of CISO Series and Andy Ellis (@csoandy), operating partner, YL Ventures. Our sponsored guest is Richard Marcus, vp, InfoSec, AuditBoard. Thanks to our podcast sponsor, AuditBoard CrossComply is AuditBoard's award-winning security compliance solution that allows organizations to build trust and scale their security compliance program with a connected risk platform that unifies SOC 2, ISO 2700x, NIST, CMMC, PCI DSS, and more across your organization. In this episode: How big of a problem is outdated software in our industry? Is insecurity just the result of a lack of efficient process? How much does a company's transparency before, during, and after a breach tell us about their corporate character? What's the behavior after a breach you want to see that reaffirms your commitment to doing business with a vendor?

All links and images for this episode can be found on CISO Series Security leaders will often ask challenging or potentially gotcha questions as barometers to see if you can handle a specific job. They're looking not necessarily for a specific answer, but rather a kind of answer and they're also looking to make sure you don't answer the question a specific way. Don't get caught in the trap. This week's episode is hosted by me, David Spark (@dspark), producer of CISO Series and Andy Ellis (@csoandy), operating partner, YL Ventures. Our guest is Quincy Castro, CISO, Redis. Thanks to our podcast sponsor, Okta Auth0 is the leading provider of customer identity solutions. Watch Jameeka Aaaron, CISO for Auth0, explain how to balance security with friction to create a safe authentication experience without compromising on privacy. In this episode: What parts of cybersecurity can you comfortably outsource? What parts of cybersecurity do you want to outsource, but can't? One of the major arguments for outsourcing is "Finding cyber talent is really tough." Do you agree with that rationale to outsource? When building a security program for a startup, how do you establish scope and requirements?

All links and images for this episode can be found on CISO Series If you know a difficult concept very well and you're incapable of explaining it simply to others who don't understand it, it's known as the "curse of knowledge." It is for this reason far too many talented cybersecurity professionals struggle to educate others. This week's episode is hosted by me, David Spark (@dspark), producer of CISO Series and Mike Johnson. Our guest is Okey Obudulu (@okeyobudulu), CISO, Skillsoft. Thanks to our podcast sponsor, Trend Micro Trend Micro Cloud One, a security services platform for cloud builders, delivers the broadest and deepest cloud security offering in one solution, enabling you to secure your cloud infrastructure with clarity and simplicity. Discover your dynamic attack surface, assess your risk, and respond with the right security at the right time. Discover more! In this episode: How important is knowing the crown jewels in your security program? Wouldn't a "crown jewel"-focused security program be myopic? Have you been guilty of "curse of knowledge" when you tried to explain something and what did you do to improve? How often does a security leader come into a program and have the sense they're starting out at square one?