Beyond Controls: Building Trust and Communication in Security – Featuring AriaDear

In this episode of the Security Repo Podcast, we chat with Alyssa Miles, a product marketing leader at CyberArk, about building authentic developer communities in the security space. She shares her journey from agency marketing to driving developer engagement, along with insights from Hacker Summer Camp and strategies for enabling community-driven identity tooling. Alyssa also discusses how to shift from traditional marketing to true enablement and why "thinking like a hacker" is key to building impactful security communities.https://lp.cyberark.com/20251110-cyberark-workload-identity-day-zero-atlanta-registration.htmlhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/alyssanoellemiles/https://infocondb.org/con/def-con/def-con-33/thinking-like-a-hacker-in-the-age-of-aiAlyssa is a product marketing leader passionate about making security easy for developers. At CyberArk, she drives developer experience initiatives that help platform engineers, DevOps teams, and cloud security pros adopt identity tools that fit naturally into their workflows. She also leads efforts to grow and engage CyberArk’s developer community. When she's not working, she's probably driving her ten-year-old daughter to ballet or hanging out at a brewery.

In this episode of the Security Repo Podcast, Aria Langer returns to share deep insights from her work in privileged access management and the challenges of implementing security controls without alienating coworkers. She and Dwayne dive into the often-overlooked importance of empathy in cybersecurity, exploring how human connection can make security efforts more effective. The conversation touches on the cultural shifts needed in security teams, how storytelling can foster understanding, and the risks of relying too heavily on tools like AI without understanding their underlying mechanics.What you need to know about AriaDear is that she’s a Security Engineer by day, DuckBurg resident by night!Been working in SecOps for almost 5 years, specializing in Privilege Access ManagementHave spoken at BlueTeamCon, ChibrrCon and the Defcon Furs village on that topic.

In this episode of the Security Repo Podcast, we chat with Jake Hildreth, Principal Security Consultant at Semperis, about the enduring challenges of securing Active Directory in a hybrid cloud world. Jake shares war stories from the field, including dangerously misconfigured environments and the real-world impacts of legacy systems. We also explore practical advice for defenders, including the critical importance of identifying and protecting Tier Zero assets.https://linktr.ee/jakehildrethhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jakehildreth/Jake Hildreth is a dedicated husband, fun-loving father, and seasoned IT professional with nearly 25 years of experience. As Principal Security Consultant at Semperis, Jake helps organizations fortify their digital defenses against Active Directory incursions. His open-source tools (Locksmith, BlueTuxedo, and PowerPUG!) are designed to lighten the load for overworked AD administrators by making security more accessible and manageable. Jake’s expertise is further underscored by his CISSP certification and Microsoft MVP status, which serve as testaments to his wide base of knowledge and commitment to cybersecurity excellence.

In this episode of the Security Repo Podcast, Andre Van Klaveren talks about his decades-long journey through IT, software development, and application security, culminating in the reboot of the OWASP St. Louis chapter. They discuss the history and importance of OWASP, community building in a post-pandemic world, and how risk-based thinking and strong fundamentals drive effective security practices. Andre also shares practical advice for anyone curious about joining a security meetup and the significance of influencing positive change within teams.https://owasp.org/www-chapter-saint-louis/We organize our meetups on Meetup.com:https://www.meetup.com/owasp-saint-louis-chapter/https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrevanklaveren/Andre is a seasoned technologist who has spent more than 30 years in the trenches of IT, software development, and architecture. For the past 15 years, he's been laser-focused on application security - finding and fixing the vulnerabilities before they become problems. He’s passionate about building secure software and loves connecting with others in the security community to share ideas.Outside of work, Andre has what his wife calls 'way too many hobbies,' but you can usually find him either tinkering with a new IoT project, talking on his ham radio, or getting lost in the great outdoors.

In this episode of the Security Repo Podcast, Jenn Gile shares insights from her hands-on security education at DEF CON's AppSec Village, where she ran a wildly successful lottery-style dependency upgrade game. She discusses the challenges developers face with remediation, the importance of empathy in AppSec, and how gamified, tangible learning experiences can bridge gaps between dev and security teams. The episode also explores how community engagement and inclusive learning can strengthen security culture.https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenngile/Jenn Gile is a tech educator and community builder with experience in AppSec, DevOps, and national security spaces. She’s a frequent speaker at security meetups and conferences, a prolific writer, and is the host of LeanAppSec - a free educational program that helps AppSec professionals be more effective without getting bigger budgets. Jenn is currently Head of Community at Endor Labs, and previously worked at F5, NGINX, and the U.S. Department of State. Outside of work, Jenn is deeply involved in the cycling community as a board member for 2nd Cycle.

In this episode of the Security Repo Podcast, Narayan Ram Narayanan shares his journey into cybersecurity, sparked by a personal data breach and fueled by a passion for privacy and secure development. He discusses his upcoming talk on threat modeling OpenSSL applications using STRIDE and other threat models, and highlights the value of volunteering and networking at events like BSides. The conversation also explores lessons from past mistakes, favorite security tools, and advice for newcomers in the field.Links mentioned in this episodehttps://nixos.org/guides/nix-pills/10-developing-with-nix-shell.htmlhttps://asciinema.org/https://www.linkedin.com/in/n2r/Narayan Ram Narayanan is passionate about Linux, cryptography, and secure SDLC. He loves digging into code, threat modeling, and breaking things (responsibly). Whether it’s hardening apps or decoding exploits. He’s all about making software safer - one commit at a time.

In this episode of the Security Repo Podcast, Sean Juroviesky joins us to share their journey through cybersecurity, from finding community in BurbSec to giving talks at major conferences like DEF CON and BlueTeamCon. Sean dives deep into the realities of risk management, executive sign-off processes, and the critical importance of understanding business impact. The conversation also touches on the necessity of building cross-functional relationships and documenting everything to make informed, actionable security decisions.https://burbsec.com/Sean Juroviesky is a dedicated cybersecurity, risk management, and privacy advocate, speaking on those topics at conferences across the world, including DEF CON, CypherCon, CornCon, BSides Rochester, SecretCon, Sec-T, and more. Sean also acts as a cybersecurity architect for a large music streaming provider. Beyond their professional pursuits, Sean finds joy in backpacking through the mountains with their adventurous Australian Shepherd, partner, and twins, embracing the serenity of nature and the thrill of exploration.

In this episode of the Security Repo Podcast, Dwayne McDaniel and Sankalp Kumar dive into the world of deepfakes, how they are created using transformer models and GANs, and the real-world scams they enable. They discuss current detection techniques, including physiological analysis, iris scanning, and PKI-based authentication. Sankalp also shares actionable advice for security teams to adopt existing tools and prepare for the evolving deepfake threat landscape.With over 7 years of experience working with industry giants like McAfee, Juniper, and Fraunhofer, Sankalp Kumar has consistently been at the forefront of security innovation. He has expertise in building software systems that do intrusion detection and was one of the lead engineers in building McAfee’s IPS. Today, Sankalp leads efforts for scaling, improving network software stacks, and securing software systems.Further reading for the audience:(1) News article for deep fake scams:DOJ's probe into Doppelganger: https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/justice-department-disrupts-covert-russian-government-sponsored-foreign-malign-influenceDeepfake CFO scam: https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/04/asia/deepfake-cfo-scam-hong-kong-intl-hnk/index.html(2) Some tools for further understanding the detection of deep fakes:Darpa MediFor: https://www.darpa.mil/research/programs/media-forensicsMicrosoft Video Authentication: https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2020/09/01/disinformation-deepfakes-newsguard-video-authenticator/

In this episode of the Security Repo Podcast, we’re joined by Matt Gracie, a seasoned blue team expert and senior engineer at Security Onion Solutions. Matt dives deep into the architecture and practical deployment of Security Onion, a powerful open-source enterprise security monitoring tool. He also shares insights from his role as a cybersecurity educator, reflecting on how generational shifts are changing the way students learn and approach security.https://securityonionsolutions.com/Matthew Gracie is a defensive security specialist with fifteen years of Blue Team experience in higher education, manufacturing, financial services, and healthcare. He is currently a Senior Engineer on the professional services team at Security Onion Solutions, as well as an adjunct professor of Cybersecurity in the graduate school at Canisius University. Matt is also the lead organizer of Infosec 716, a monthly meetup for security enthusiasts in Western New York, and the BSides Buffalo technology conference. He enjoys good beer, mountain bikes, open source security tools, and college hockey, and can be found on Bluesky as @InfosecGoon.

In this episode of the Security Repo Podcast, software engineer and newly minted CISSP Matt Olmsted joins us to explore cryptographic fundamentals and why understanding them matters for anyone in security. From explaining symmetric vs. asymmetric encryption to the real-world implications of side-channel attacks, Matt delivers practical insights for blue teamers and developers alike. Plus, we dive into his journey in InfoSec, his unique use of podcasting tech to distribute ocarina music, and even enjoy a live performance to close the show.https://mattthetall.site/https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-olmsted/Matt Olmsted has worked professionally in software engineering for over a decade, and been interested in infosec his entire career. In 2024 he decided to go for the CISSP as his first infosec cert and passed the exam at the minimum number of questions after only studying two weeks. He's something of a polymath and renaissance man, the latter in both a literal and figurative sense.