
The Defender's Advantage Podcast
The Defender’s Advantage Podcast explores the world of cyber security and Mandiant through three distinct tracks. Threat Trends: Listen twice a month as host Luke McNamara interviews guests on the latest in cyber security research, the cyber landscape, and the latest news from Mandiant. Frontline Stories: Listen to Kerry Matre monthly as she is joined by notable guests on the frontlines of cyber security, including Mandiant customers, security professionals, and executives. Skills Gap: Listen to Kevin Bordlemay each month for this series focusing on thoughts, ideas, and initiatives for narrowing the skills gap in cyber security.
Latest episodes

Aug 11, 2022 • 37min
Threat Trends: Building Cyber Resiliency Within Financial Services with FS-ISAC
In the latest Threat Trends episode of The Defender’s Advantage Podcast, host Luke McNamara is joined by Teresa Walsh, Global Head of Intelligence at the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC), for a deep dive on the financial services industry. Teresa discusses her journey from roles in government and how her experience has shaped her view of financial services. She also discusses how she sees the threat landscape impacting her customers and how FS-ISAC aids institutions in building resiliency against threats. Don’t forget to rate, review, and subscribe to The Defender’s Advantage Podcast where you listen to podcasts!

Aug 4, 2022 • 36min
Frontline Stories: Shields Up, Mandiant
In this week’s episode of The Defender’s Advantage Podcast, Kerry Matre, host of the Frontline Stories series, is joined by Mandiant’s Tim Crothers and Matt Shelton who discuss their role in protecting the company from attackers. Both share their professional journeys, how changes at the company have impacted their responsibilities, and some standout moments they’ve experienced while safeguarding Mandiant, such as the SolarWinds attack campaign. Tim and Matt also detail how they continue to promote security awareness among employees and offer their insights on the steps security and non-security companies can take to ensure that their environments are secure against attackers. Don’t forget to rate, review, and subscribe to The Defender’s Advantage Podcast where you listen to podcasts!

Jul 28, 2022 • 36min
Threat Trends: Securing the Vote in 2022
In the latest Threat Trends episode of The Defender’s Advantage Podcast, Mandiant’s Jon Ford and Stacy O’Mara join host Luke McNamara for a conversation on election security. They discuss how organizations involved in the process of elections should think of cyber security in the lead up to these events, preparedness steps they have seen states take, and the evolution of the federal approach in the United States. Jon and Stacy also discuss some of the federal resources states and local entities can leverage for preparation going into the 2022 midterm elections and the 2024 general election in the U.S. Learn more about Mandiant’s expertise around election security at https://mndt.info/3zEzWCODon’t forget to rate, review, and subscribe to The Defender’s Advantage Podcast where you listen to podcasts.

Jul 21, 2022 • 28min
Skills Gap: Looking Beyond the Unicorn Candidate
All too often, hiring managers find themselves seeking candidates who fit 100% of the description for the role they are trying to fill. Because of this, they overlook a swath of applicants who are good for the job. In this week’s Skills Gap episode of The Defender’s Advantage Podcast, host Chris Campbell speaks with Mandiant consulting team members Dan Nutting, Kal Guntuku, and Chris Linklater about this habit and its contribution to the cyber security skills gap. The group also discusses the skills that companies could weigh outsourcing versus what skills they should consider keeping in-house. Don’t forget to rate, review, and subscribe to The Defender’s Advantage Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts! Additional Resources: Read tips from Mandiant's Kevin Bordlemay for candidates on how they can stand out during the application process in this Business Insider article: https://mndt.info/3Ohzezt

Jul 14, 2022 • 32min
Threat Trends: How Adversaries Are Leveraging AI in Cyber Operations
In this Threat Trends episode of The Defender’s Advantage Podcast, hear from Michelle Cantos who joins host Luke McNamara to discuss artificial intelligence (AI) in cyber and how adversaries are using AI in their activities today. Michelle details manipulated media techniques such as artificially generated images and vishing, tactics that have been increasingly employed by threat actors. She also discusses how financially motivated actors are seeking to leverage AI capabilities for extortive activity, and what we might expect to see as AI is further applied to cyber espionage operations. Don’t forget to rate, review, and subscribe to The Defender’s Advantage Podcast where you listen to podcasts.

Jul 7, 2022 • 24min
Bonus: Securing OT/ICS Systems with Nozomi Networks
This special episode of The Defender’s Advantage Podcast features Mandiant CTO Marshall Heilman speaking with Edgard Capdevielle, CEO of Nozomi Networks. The conversation, recorded in-person at RSA Conference 2022, delves into the partnership between Mandiant and Nozomi, and how the organizations can take on escalating cyber risks to secure cyber-physical infrastructure. Marshall and Edgard discuss the trends they are seeing in the industrial and critical infrastructure space and the role of zero trust in how we secure modern day OT and ICS systems. You can learn more about Nozomi Networks at their website: https://www.nozominetworks.com/ Follow Nozomi Networks at @nozominetworks Additional Resources Learn more about the Mandiant Cyber Alliance Program: https://mndt.info/3xnXw5r

Jun 30, 2022 • 38min
Threat Trends: An Interview with the Danish Tech Ambassador
In this week’s episode of The Defender’s Advantage Podcast Threat Trends series, host Luke McNamara is joined by Anne Marie Engtoft Larsen to discuss her role as Danish Tech Ambassador and how the role has evolved since Denmark appointed the first Tech Ambassador in 2017. She chats about her views on cyber diplomacy and the value of partnerships with private sector cyber security companies. Ambassador Larsen also discusses the need for governments to tackle the issue of disinformation, talking specifically about the recent examples we’ve seen around COVID-19 and elections. Learn more about the Strategy for Denmark’s Tech Diplomacy 2021-2023 You can follow Ambassador Larsen at @TechambDK. Don’t forget to rate, review, and subscribe to The Defender’s Advantage Podcast where you listen to podcasts.

Jun 23, 2022 • 25min
Skills Gap: Bridging the Skills Gap
This week’s episode of The Defender’s Advantage Podcast kicks off our new monthly series, Skills Gap, which focuses on thoughts, ideas, and initiatives for narrowing the skills gap in cyber security. Our host Chris Campbell was joined for this conversation by Mandiant’s John Doyle, Principal Consultant, and Matt Shelton, Director of Technology Risk and Threat Intelligence, to discuss talent and bridging the skills gap. The guests share their tips and resources for those interested in getting into the cyber security space and discuss what they look for when interviewing potential members of their teams. Follow John Doyle at @_John_Doyle and Matt Shelton at @mattjshelton. Don’t forget to rate, review, and subscribe to The Defender’s Advantage Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts! Additional Resources Read the blog, “Introducing the Mandiant Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) Analyst Core Competencies Framework”: https://mndt.info/3sQVU1gLearn more about Mandiant’s mWise Conference: https://mndt.info/3NeX7XQ Check out Mandiant’s career page to learn about employment opportunities: https://mndt.info/3NcOblJ

Jun 16, 2022 • 43min
Threat Trends: Tracking Threat Actor Usage of Cryptocurrencies with Chainalysis
This week’s Threat Trends episode of The Defender’s Advantage Podcast features Jacqueline Koven, Head of Cyber Threat Intelligence at Chainalysis, who joined host Luke McNamara to discuss the trends in cryptocurrency and cyber activity. She also breaks down some examples of nation state usage and targeting of crypto and the adoption of cryptocurrency by different threat actors. Learn more about Chainalysis at chainalysis.com and follow them at @chainalysis. Don’t forget to rate, review, and subscribe to The Defender’s Advantage Podcast where you listen to podcasts.

Jun 6, 2022 • 34min
Frontline Stories: Introducing Mandiant Digital Risk Protection
In this Frontline Stories episode of the Defender’s Advantage Podcast, host Kerry Matre is joined by Joshua Bass, Director of Product Management, and Sarah Korth, Director of Commercial Intel Services, to discuss Mandiant’s Digital Risk Protection (DRP) solution. The group discusses digital risk protection, what it can reveal about cyber threat profiles, and how attackers find weaknesses. They also discuss advancements made in digital threat management, a service included in our DRP solution, such as natural language processing. To learn more, read our blog, “Protecting Supply Chains and Third Party Vendor Connections" Don’t forget to rate, review, and subscribe where you listen to podcasts. Additional Resources Read more about Digital Risk Protection Read more about Digital Threat Monitoring Learn more about the Defender’s Advantage Cyber Snapshot
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