Big Phish: Adventures in Tech

Episode Overview:In this episode, Aileen Ward engages with the CISO of Centripetal to explore the development and significance of cyber threat intelligence. With experience spanning government roles, including SOC manager for the US Health and Human Services, our guest offers unique insights from the intersection of public and private sector expertise.Key Topics Covered:From Government to Private Sector: The journey through the cybersecurity landscape, detailing the transition from leading security at a significant US government organization to overseeing operations at Centripetal. This discussion highlights the foundational experiences that inform current practices in cyber threat intelligence.Foundations of Cyber Threat Intelligence: An expert breakdown of cyber threat intelligence, tracing its origins to military intelligence strategies. This comparison sheds light on the importance of informed, actionable intelligence in crafting cybersecurity defenses.Cyber Threat Intelligence Evolution: A look at how cyber threat intelligence has transformed from early manual report generation to today's necessity for dynamic, real-time analysis to combat sophisticated cyber threats.Collaboration and Information Sharing Challenges: Insights into the hurdles of collaboration and information sharing within and between government agencies, emphasizing the ongoing need for trust, efficiency, and adaptability.Emerging Technologies and Cyber Threats: Discussion on how emerging technologies shape the cyber threat landscape, advocating for a proactive, intelligence-driven approach to cybersecurity. The importance of continuous learning and leveraging diverse intelligence sources is underscored.Cross-Sector Collaboration: The critical role of collaboration across different sectors in strengthening cybersecurity defense strategies against evolving threats.Closing Thoughts:The episode emphasizes the vital role of cyber threat intelligence in the digital era, advocating for a strategic approach to anticipate and mitigate cyber threats. A must-listen for those interested in the dynamics of cyber threat intelligence and its importance in modern cybersecurity practices.Listen and Subscribe: Tune into this insightful episode on the Big Phish: Adventures in Tech Podcast, available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Centripetal.ai. Subscribe to stay informed on the latest in technology and cybersecurity.

In this episode of the Big Phish Adventures in Phish podcast, Heath Taylor, an accomplished information security professional, shares his path into cybersecurity. His introduction into security occurred during his time in the United States Navy, where he worked in cryptography. Transitioning to the private sector, he realized his true passion was in aligning security with an organization's mission and business goals, particularly in collaborating with leadership. So, how can the delicate balance between fortifying organizational security and advancing business objectives be achieved, all while acknowledging the vital role played by security professionals in both safeguarding and fostering growth within organizations?

Investing in people is often one of the most valuable investments a business can make, but how? Gina Plytas, founder of Pearls of Wisdom Consulting, shares how important retaining exceptional talent is, and often the key to achieving this lies in investing in their personal growth and well-being. With an impressive 25-year corporate career in Talent Development, Knowledge, and Learning within the financial services sector, she made a bold decision to follow her passion and become a Mindset and Peak-Performance Coach. Emphasizing the boundless opportunities available in the tech industry today, driven by the high demand for specialized skills - it’s important and often transformational for professionals to build new mindsets in the ever-evolving world of technology.

There are a lot of challenges in the tech industry, and often there are hurdles that don't allow for forward movement as quickly as one might like. But the industry also provides significant opportunity for growth. With a love for interactions, people and storytelling - Ashley Ladd is passionate about the work she does, believing that passion can help lead to success. As the Director of Diversity, Inclusion & Social Impact at Snyk, a developer security platform empowering organizations to develop fast and stay secure - Ashley leads the company's global Diversity, Inclusion & Social Impact strategy focused on building innovative programs, and partnering with leaders across the organization to drive impactful business outcomes. Often there is an illusion that professionals in her area, and others, know everything - but that's something to be demystified. How?

There’s usually more than one way to solve a problem, but which one is the right one? Sometimes you have to fail to find out. Cody Baker, a Senior Incident Responder at AIG, interest in technology began as a kid playing video games. But before he began a career in cybersecurity he joined the Army, once holding the responsibility of standing guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. After serving, he transitioned to various roles in information technology and security, including working with the FBI. Always a team player with a strong growth and inventive mindset - Baker approaches his work with curiosity and creativity using a hacker mindset to identify vulnerabilities, develop effective solutions and invent new technologies.

The number of women in cybersecurity over the last two decades has grown, but there was a time when being a female in cyber in the UK meant you were the only one in the room. For Niamh Muldoon, the Chief Information Security Officer at Fenergo, it was a reality at the beginning of her career. Starting in Fashion Design but finding a passion for cybersecurity Muldoon took the CISSP and never looked back.While her career spans across multiple industries including finance, SaaS and cloud - working with many globally recognised brands.Today she is responsible for the Enterprise Information Security program at Fenergo including defining, driving, and delivering their Security First Operational Excellence strategy. A strong believer in cultivating a team culture that embraces the uniqueness of each individual, she shares the superpowers that female leaders.Seeing herself as an underdog helps her keep an edge that drives her growth, passion and success. An award-winning Information security thought leader and Guinness World Record holder for Cybersecurity Awareness, she is passionate about security and privacy and the opportunity that the global scale of cybersecurity presents.Connect with Niamh on LinkedIn.

How does one go from being an Anonymous and LulzSec hacker to Director of Research at Alacrinet, where he works with clients to assist them in maturing their security program and strengthening their security posture?Hector Monsegur, known by the pseudonym Sabu in his hacktivist days in the early 2000's, infiltrated or compromised the systems of governments around the world before eventually being caught by the FBI. More specifically Special Agent Chris Tarbell. Today, he hosts a podcast called Hacker and the Fed with Tarbell. And at Alacrinet, Monsegur uses his unique expertise to provide clients with white glove protection - helping them understand not only the issues they are facing based on the gaps they have, but what they could be doing to mature their security program.Listen to The Hacker and the Fed on Spotify and Apple.Connect with Hector on LinkedIn.

Today there is a real need for people to feel trust, affinity and connection to their colleagues. But how can technology help make that happen - especially in a world in which workforces are highly distributed? Mariel Davis, Cofounder of Spokn, is a self-proclaimed challenge junkie - always thinking differently in solving them. It's what lead her to the Middle East in college to study Arabic, and to Y Combinator to accelerate the growth and evolution of Spokn. Today, it's a platform that while powered by technology, it provides employees with tools to connect each other and ultimately build trust.

Traditionally, people have rarely gone to school for cybersecurity. Yet it's an industry that impacts every facet of the world, and its importance is growing by the minute. Within it, you can "fight the bad guys and make the world a better place in some way," says Maggie Macalpine. MacAlpine, a Cyber Engagement Lead at the Center for Threat-Informed Defense at MITRE Engenuity, was an english major who has found a passion for bridging knowledge gaps across cybersecurity. In an industry where jargon itself can cause confusion and miscommunication, she has found a niche in translating engineering-speak to english - her self-described superpower. Beginning her career at a startup focusing on election security at a time when there wasn’t such widespread concern as to whether or not security was an issue.Now, at the Center for Threat-Informed Defense where the goal is to advance the state of the art state of practicing threat informed defense, a philosophical approach to cybersecurity that focuses on what an adversary is doing rather than traditional defensive compliances and "checking the boxes" within traditional cybersecurity. MacAlpine shares how the relative newness of cybersecurity, and the innovation needed to protect information using online machines is a completely new terrain.

Beginning his career in the US Navy as a Information Systems Technician, Chris Haller transferred to the Navy's Cyber Defense Operations Command where he absolutely fell in love with cybersecurity. Currently the Director of Professional Services at Centripetal, he recently became only the 329th security professional to pass the GSC, the most prestigious credential in IT security. Driven by curiosity and a desire to help protect businesses against adversaries, Haller employs a hacker mindset to creatively execute vulnerability assessments and awareness trainings for enterprises, leveraging prior experience and intelligence to help protect their networks and increase their cybersecurity posture.