

Three Buddy Problem
Security Conversations
The Three Buddy Problem is a popular Security Conversations podcast that goes beyond industry talking points to discuss what others won’t -- nation-state malware, attribution, cyberwar, ethics, privacy, and the messy realities of securing computers and corporate networks.
Hosted by three veteran security pros -- journalist Ryan Naraine and malware paleontologists Costin Raiu and Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade -- the weekly show attracts a highly engaged audience of security researchers, corporate defenders, CISOs, and policymakers.
Connect with Ryan on Twitter (Open DMs).
Hosted by three veteran security pros -- journalist Ryan Naraine and malware paleontologists Costin Raiu and Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade -- the weekly show attracts a highly engaged audience of security researchers, corporate defenders, CISOs, and policymakers.
Connect with Ryan on Twitter (Open DMs).
Episodes
Mentioned books

Apr 14, 2020 • 31min
Jaime Blasco, AT&T Cybersecurity
AT&T Cybersecurity's Jaime Blasco talks about falling in love with security as a high-school student in Spain, finding a career path in pen-testing and offense, shifting to building defensive technologies and his current passion for exploring the value of machine learning. Links:AT&T AlienLabsFollow Jaime on TwitterOpen Threat Exchange (OTX)

Apr 4, 2020 • 33min
Collin Mulliner, Security Engineer, Cruise
Mobile security pioneer Collin Mulliner talks about the early days of hacking PalmOS devices, the current state of smartphone platforms, his work on securing self driving cars, and why he built and open-sourced a firmware analyzer tool. Links:Firmware Analyzer — FwAnalyzer is a tool to analyze (ext2/3/4), FAT/VFat, SquashFS, UBIFS filesystem images, cpio archives, and directory content using a set of configurable rules. Collin's blogPDF: Continuous Automated Firmware Security Analysis

Mar 30, 2020 • 33min
Michael Piacente, Principal, Hitch Partners
Hitch Partners principal Michael Piacente dishes on the cybersecurity job market during an economic crisis, the intricacies of recruiting top-flight security talent, the high rate of turnover among CISOs, and why companies should spend more time on writing better job descriptions.Links:WSJ: CISOs stay on the job less than three years, compared with nearly seven years for CEOsExploring the CISO's personal brand

Mar 23, 2020 • 38min
Dave Aitel, Founder and CEO, Immunity
Security industry pioneer Dave Aitel dishes on entrepreneurship, fostering a "one team, one parking lot" culture, how lessons from his time at the NSA still guides his decisions, and his approach to blunt, honest marketing. We also discuss a shared passion for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and his work supporting Project Grapple in Miami. Links:Project Grapple, The Jiu-Jitsu Non Profit Changing LivesAitel FoundationInfiltrate ConferenceDaily Dave (mailing list)

Mar 17, 2020 • 36min
Sounil Yu, Cyber Defense Matrix
Former Chief Security Scientist at Bank of America, Sounil Yu, explains why he created the Cyber Defense Matrix framework and how organizations are using it to drive visibility and security decisions in multiple places. We discuss securing "cattle vs pets," the next era of security innovation, and the increasing security poverty line that hurts small- and medium-sized businesses. Links:Cyber Defense Matrix — The Cyber Defense Matrix helps us understand what we need organized through a logical construct so that when we go into the security vendor marketplace, we can quickly discern what products solve what problems and be informed on what is the core function of a given product. In addition, the Cyber Defense Matrix provides a mechanism to ensure that we have capabilities across the entire spectrum of options to help secure our environments.Cyber Defense Matrix Reloaded — This is an update to the Cyber Defense Matrix briefing given at the 2019 RSA Conference. Cybersecurity practitioners can use this to organize vendors, find gaps in security portfolios, understand how to organize security measurements, prioritize investments, minimize business impact, visualize attack surfaces, align other existing frameworks, and gain a fuller understanding of the entire space of cybersecurity.

Mar 11, 2020 • 32min
Andy Ellis, Chief Security Officer, Akamai Technologies
In an industry where 10-15% of staff are women, Akamai's security team is 40% women and growing. Chief security officer Andy Ellis joins the podcast to share lessons on practical things -- some subtle, some major -- that pushed real diversity on Akamai's security team.Links:One company’s successful approach to gender balanceVideo: 20 Years In: Security’s Grand Challenges, Then and NowAndy Ellis: Humans are Awesome at Risk Management

Sep 3, 2018 • 51min
Costin Raiu, Global Director, GReAT, Kaspersky Lab
Veteran malware hunter Costin Raiu talks about writing his own an anti-virus program as a teenager in Romania, his work tracking advanced threat actors globally, and why he assumes his computer is compromised by at least three APT groups.Links:"Equation Group" ran the most advanced hacking operation ever uncoveredThe adventures of lab ED011 — One Romanian campus computer lab both pentested the world and eventually helped protect itCostin Raiu on TwitterThe "Red October" Campaign

Aug 28, 2018 • 32min
Josh Lefkowitz, Founder and CEO, Flashpoint
Flashpoint chief executive Josh Lefkowitz talks about how his previous work as a counter-terrorism analyst underscored the value of contextual threat-intelligence, his company's approach to gathering and analyzing data, and his mission to be an extension of a client's security team.Links:Flashpoint - Library'7 Minutes' with Flashpoint CEO Josh LefkowitzVideo: Josh Lefkowitz on AlphaBay's demise

Aug 6, 2018 • 28min
Christine Gadsby, Director of Product Security Operations, BlackBerry
BlackBerry security response executive Christine Gadsby joins the podcast to talk about tough decisions around shipping secure software, the challenges of securing supply chain dependencies, BlackBerry's new ransomware recovery feature, and her upcoming Black Hat 2018 presentation.Links:Black Hat 2018: Stop that Release There's a Vulnerability!Christine Gadsby on TwitterBlackBerry Enterprise Software - Security & Management for the Enterprise of ThingsChristine Gadsby on LinkedIn

Jul 31, 2018 • 53min
Chad Loder, co-founder and CEO, Habitu8
Cybersecurity industry veteran Chad Loder talks about his time as co-founder of Rapid7, the decision to acquire Metasploit, lessons learned from moving to the CISO chair and why the industry still struggles with security awareness training.Links:About Habitu8Chad Loder on TwitterRapid7 Acquires Metasploit