Hacker Valley Studio

Varun Badhwar, co-founder and CEO of Endor Labs, and Henrik Plate, Principal Security Researcher at Endor Labs, dive into the complexities of AI-assisted software development. They discuss the rapid adoption of MCPs and the emerging security risks, including malicious packages that exploit agents. The conversation highlights the shortcomings of traditional AppSec and argues for embedding security in IDEs. With insights from their 2025 State of Dependency Management report, they stress the importance of integrating security from the start to combat rising vulnerabilities.

What if the most dangerous hackers are the ones who never touch a keyboard? The real threat isn't just about stolen credentials or ransomware; it's about understanding how attackers think before they even strike. In cybersecurity, defense starts with offense, and the best defenders are those who've walked in the hacker's shoes. In this episode, Ron sits down with John Hammond, principal security researcher at Huntress and one of cybersecurity's most recognizable educators. John shares his journey from Coast Guard enlistee to YouTube creator, building an entire media company around ethical hacking. They dig into the balance between public research and responsible disclosure, the rise of AI-augmented attacks, and why identity is now the biggest attack surface in modern enterprises. Impactful Moments: 00:00 - Introduction 01:00 - AI weaponized in cyber espionage 05:00 - Learning by teaching publicly 09:00 - Balancing curiosity with responsible disclosure 13:00 - Building a creator company 16:00 - Identity as the new frontier 20:00 - AI agents running breach simulations 22:00 - Predictions for cybersecurity in 2026 25:00 - Ron's hacking habit confession   Links: John Hammond LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnhammond010/ John Hammond Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@_JohnHammond Article for Discussion: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-defense-firms-targeted-by-hackers-using-ai-other-tactics-2025-12-19/ Check out our upcoming events: https://www.hackervalley.com/livestreams Join our creative mastermind and stand out as a cybersecurity professional: https://www.patreon.com/hackervalleystudio Love Hacker Valley Studio? Pick up some swag: https://store.hackervalley.com Continue the conversation by joining our Discord: https://hackervalley.com/discord Become a sponsor of the show to amplify your brand: https://hackervalley.com/work-with-us/

Three banks in four days isn't just a bragging right for penetration testers. It's a wake-up call showing that expensive security tools and alarm systems often fail when tested by skilled operators who understand both human behavior and technical vulnerabilities. Greg Hatcher and John Stigerwalt, co-founders of White Knight Labs, talk about their latest physical penetration tests on financial institutions, manufacturing facilities protecting COVID-19 vaccine production, and why their new Server 2025 course had to rewrite most common Active Directory tools. They share stories of armed guards, police gun draws, poison ivy reconnaissance, and a bag of chips that saved them from serious trouble. The conversation reveals why EDR alone won't stop ransomware, how offline backups remain the exception rather than the rule, and what security controls actually work when attackers bring custom tooling. Impactful Moments: 00:00 - Intro 01:00 - New training courses launched 03:00 - Server 2025 breaks standard tools 05:00 - COVID facility physical penetration 07:00 - Armed guards change the game 10:00 - Police draw guns on operators 13:00 - Bag of chips saves the day 15:00 - Nighttime versus daytime physical tests 18:00 - VIP home security assessments 20:00 - 2026 threat predictions 22:00 - Why EDR doesn't stop ransomware 27:00 - Low cost ransomware simulation ROI 29:00 - Three banks in four days 32:00 - Deepfake as the new EDR Links: Connect with our guests –  Greg Hatcher: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregoryhatcher2/ John Stigerwalt: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-stigerwalt-90a9b4110/ Learn more about White Knight Labs: https://www.whiteknightlabs.com Check out our upcoming events: https://www.hackervalley.com/livestreams Join our creative mastermind and stand out as a cybersecurity professional: https://www.patreon.com/hackervalleystudio Love Hacker Valley Studio? Pick up some swag: https://store.hackervalley.com Continue the conversation by joining our Discord: https://hackervalley.com/discord Become a sponsor of the show to amplify your brand: https://hackervalley.com/work-with-us/

When your firewall forgets to buckle up, the crash doesn’t happen in the network first, it happens in your blindspots. In this episode, Ron is joined by returning guest Chris Hughes, Co-Founder of Aquia and host of the Resilient Cyber podcast. Chris helps reframe vulnerability work as exposure management, connect technical risk to human resilience, and break down the scoring and runtime tools security teams actually need today. Expect clear takeaways on EPSS, reachability analysis, ADR, AI’s double-edged role, and the one habit Chris swears by as a CEO. This episode fuses attack-surface reality with mental-attack-surface strategy so you walk away with both tactical moves and daily practices that protect systems and people. Impactful Moments: 00:00 - Intro 02:00 - Breaking: Fortinet WAF zero-day & visibility lesson 05:00 - Meet Chris Hughes: CEO, author, Resilient Cyber host 08:00 - Mental attack surface explained and why it matters 18:00 - From CVSS to EPSS, reachability, and ADR realities 21:00 - AI as force-multiplier for attackers and defenders 24:30 - Exposure vs vulnerability naming, market trends 26:00 - Chris’s book & how to follow his work 30:00 - Ron’s solo: 3 pillars to patch your mindset 34:00 - Closing takeaways and subscribe reminder Links: Connect with our guest, Chris Hughes, on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/resilientcyber/ Check out the article on the Fortinet exploit here: https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2025/11/14/fortinet-fortiweb-zero-day-exploited/  Check out our upcoming events: https://www.hackervalley.com/livestreams Join our creative mastermind and stand out as a cybersecurity professional: https://www.patreon.com/hackervalleystudio Love Hacker Valley Studio? Pick up some swag: https://store.hackervalley.com Continue the conversation by joining our Discord: https://hackervalley.com/discord Become a sponsor of the show to amplify your brand: https://hackervalley.com/work-with-us/  

In this conversation, Daniel Miessler, a cybersecurity and AI expert and founder of Unsupervised Learning, explores the evolving landscape of work in an AI-dominated era. He argues that human labor itself may be an economic bubble, highlighting how businesses are thriving with fewer workers. Daniel discusses his experiences at Apple and the importance of building careers around problem-solving. He emphasizes context management in AI's potential and shares inspiring stories of youthful innovation, pointing toward a future where adaptation is key.

AI agents aren't just reacting anymore, they're thinking, learning, and sometimes deleting your entire production database without asking. The real question isn't if your AI agent will be hacked, it's when, and whether you'll have the right hooks in place to stop it before it happens. In this episode, Ron breaks down the ChatGPT Atlas vulnerability that shocked researchers, revealing how malicious prompts can turn AI assistants against their own users by bypassing safeguards and accessing file systems. He presents his new talk "Hooking Before Hacking," introducing a framework for applying EDR principles, prevention, detection, and response, to AI agents before they execute unauthorized commands. From pre-tool use hooks that catch malicious intent to one-time passwords that put humans back in the loop, this episode shares practical security controls you can implement today to prevent your AI agents from going rogue.   Impactful Moments: 00:00 - Introduction 02:00 - ChatGPT Atlas vulnerability exposed 04:00 - AI technology outpacing security guardrails 05:00 - Guardrail jailbreaks and prompt injection 06:00 - AI agents deleting production databases 07:00 - EDR principles for AI agents 09:00 - Pre-tool use hooks catch intention 11:00 - User prompt sanitization prevents leaks 14:00 - One-time passwords for agent workflows 16:00 - Automation mistakes across 10 years   Links: Connect with Ron on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronaldeddings/ Check out the entire article here: https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/cybersecurity-experts-warn-openai-chatgpt-101658986.html  GitHub Repository: https://hackervalley.com/hooking-before-hacking  See Ron's "Hooking Before Hacking" presentation slides here: http://hackervalley.com/hooking-before-hacking-presentation Check out our website: https://hackervalley.com/ Upcoming events: https://www.hackervalley.com/livestreams Love Hacker Valley Studio? Pick up some swag: https://store.hackervalley.com Continue the conversation by joining our Discord: https://hackervalley.com/discord Become a sponsor of the show to amplify your brand: https://hackervalley.com/work-with-us/ Join our creative mastermind and stand out as a cybersecurity professional: https://www.patreon.com/hackervalleystudio    

What if your security team never missed a single alert and actually had time to think strategically? In this episode, Ahmed Achchak, CEO and Co-Founder of Qevlar AI, reveals how autonomous SOCs are reshaping security operations worldwide. From tackling alert fatigue to empowering analysts with intelligent AI-driven investigations, Ahmed shares the inside story of building a system that can act on threats faster than any human alone. Learn how Qevlar’s innovative approach is giving organizations clarity, control, and measurable ROI while freeing security teams to focus on what truly matters. Impactful Moments 00:00 - Introduction 01:30 - Founding Qevlar AI by chance 03:30 - Inefficiency of current SOCs 05:00 - Augmenting analysts, not replacing them 08:00 - AI investigating alerts at scale 11:30 - How autonomous agents handle phishing 14:30 - Why tackling all alerts maximizes ROI 17:30 - Graph technology as investigation backbone 25:00 - Limitations and randomness of LLMs 30:30 - Advice for testing AI in SOCs Links Connect with our guest Ahmed on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ahmed-achchak-872554109/   Check out Qevlar’s website: https://www.qevlar.com/   Check out our upcoming events: https://www.hackervalley.com/livestreams Join our creative mastermind and stand out as a cybersecurity professional: https://www.patreon.com/hackervalleystudio Love Hacker Valley Studio? Pick up some swag: https://store.hackervalley.com Continue the conversation by joining our Discord: https://hackervalley.com/discord Become a sponsor of the show to amplify your brand: https://hackervalley.com/work-with-us/    

Who said cybersecurity had to be serious? The future of cyber is creative, human, and even a little sexy. In this special 400th episode, Ron Eddings celebrates six incredible years of Hacker Valley Studio with one of cyber’s most creative voices, Maria Velasquez, Co-Founder of the Cybersecurity Marketing Society and Co-Host of Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing. Together, they discuss how bold storytelling, authentic community, and a touch of fun are reshaping the way we connect in cybersecurity. Maria opens up about turning burnout into purpose, building a 4,000-strong global movement, and why the next frontier in cyber might just be entertainment.   Impactful Moments: 00:00 - Introduction 02:00 - CISA layoffs and collaboration fragility 04:00 - Welcoming Maria Velasquez 06:00 - How loneliness sparked a global community 08:00 - Why collaboration fuels cybersecurity growth 10:00 - When cybersecurity marketing was “boring” 12:00 - The rise of creativity and brand power 14:00 - Story behind Torque’s “Kill the S.O.A.R” campaign 15:00 - Making cybersecurity emotional and human 17:00 - Maria’s advice for bold marketing leaders 18:00 - The next big thing: experiential marketing 20:00 - Inside Cyber Marketing Con 2025 24:00 - Final reflections on community and creativity 27:00 - Ron’s takeaways: connection drives innovation Links: Connect with Maria on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/ Check out our upcoming events: https://www.hackervalley.com/livestreams Join our creative mastermind and stand out as a cybersecurity professional: https://www.patreon.com/hackervalleystudio Love Hacker Valley Studio? Pick up some swag: https://store.hackervalley.com Continue the conversation by joining our Discord: https://hackervalley.com/discord Become a sponsor of the show to amplify your brand: https://hackervalley.com/work-with-us/

To defend like a human, you first have to think like a hacker. In this episode, Ron Eddings sits down with Chris Dale, Co-Founder and Chief Hacking Officer at River Security, to explore the human side of hacking, where curiosity, persistence, and vigilance meet defense. Chris shares how the traditional idea of penetration testing has evolved into a continuous journey of discovery, and why reconnaissance and storytelling are critical tools for modern defenders. From real-world breach stories to lessons on trust and responsibility, this episode reveals how thinking like a hacker, and acting like a human can transform the way we approach cybersecurity.   Impactful Moments 00:00 - Introduction and massive breach overview 03:00 - Trusted systems become exposure points 05:00 - Meet Chris Dale of River Security 07:00 - The problem with traditional pen testing 08:30 - Continuous reconnaissance and real-world risk 10:00 - Knowing yourself as a security principle 13:00 - The meaning of continuous vigilance 15:00 - Turning cybersecurity lessons into stories 18:00 - Storytelling and mindset in defense 19:30 - Final takeaways on fundamentals and vigilance   Links: Connect with our Chris on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisad/ Read the Tech Radar article here: https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/f5-breach-fallout-over-266-000-instances-exposed-to-remote-attacks Check out our upcoming events: https://www.hackervalley.com/livestreams Join our creative mastermind and stand out as a cybersecurity professional: https://www.patreon.com/hackervalleystudio Love Hacker Valley Studio? Pick up some swag: https://store.hackervalley.com Continue the conversation by joining our Discord: https://hackervalley.com/discord Become a sponsor of the show to amplify your brand: https://hackervalley.com/work-with-us/      

When code meets intuition, innovation gets personal. But what happens when we let AI vibe with our ideas? In this episode, Ron Eddings covers the rise of AI-driven development from Vibe Coding, where natural language shapes real code, to the emerging Model Context Protocols (MCPs) that redefine how apps talk to AI. He breaks down the recent Figma MCP vulnerability to discuss how creativity and security now collide in surprising ways. With hands-on insights using Raycast and practical steps for building responsibly, Ron takes you inside a new era where human intuition and machine intelligence truly build together.     Impactful Moments 00:00 - Introduction 01:00 - The Figma vulnerability explained 03:00 - Why MCP security matters 05:00 - What vibe coding really means 07:00 - Writing with intention and context 08:00 - The power of structured prompting 10:00 - How MCP connects everything 12:00 - Why adoption is skyrocketing 15:00 - Setting up an MCP server 17:00 - Agents, actions, and security trust 19:00 - The real takeaway: curiosity with caution 30:00 - Predictions on OpenAI’s upcoming browser 33:00 - The profit battle between OpenAI and Microsoft 35:00 - Windsurf’s rollercoaster of acquisitions   Links: Connect with our Ron on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronaldeddings/ Check out the Hacker News article here:  https://thehackernews.com/2025/10/severe-figma-mcp-vulnerability-lets.html?m=1   Check out our upcoming events: https://www.hackervalley.com/livestreams Join our creative mastermind and stand out as a cybersecurity professional: https://www.patreon.com/hackervalleystudio Love Hacker Valley Studio? Pick up some swag: https://store.hackervalley.com Continue the conversation by joining our Discord: https://hackervalley.com/discord Become a sponsor of the show to amplify your brand: https://hackervalley.com/work-with-us/