Black October's Biggest Lesson for Defenders

Black October: Rapid-Fire Vulnerabilities, Patch Strategy, and AI’s Role in Cyber Defense | Off the Wire In this episode of Off the Wire, the hosts discuss “Black October,” a month marked by numerous major vulnerabilities and incidents, including eMudra TLS/SSL certificate key randomness failures, an Oracle SQL injection flaw, the widely discussed PHP-to-shell vulnerability affecting many devices and WordPress, a LiteLLM supply-chain attack, GitLab issues, Node.js problems, and high-profile events like $6.3B stolen from Binance, refrigerator outages in France and on military bases, Capcom’s 11.7M-account leak, UNM Health disruptions, and a Columbia, SC incident. They debate how this surge changes patching and scanning strategy, noting limitations of non-credentialed external scans, the need to prioritize internet-facing systems, and the value of WAFs and “virtual patching” via services like Cloudflare or firewall vendors. They also explore AI’s dual impact on vulnerability discovery and defense, emphasizing fundamentals like least privilege, segmentation, and knowing what the internet can reach. 00:00 Black October: Patched Isn't Fixed 01:30 Two-Thirds Run PHP 05:01 Scanner Sees 10% 08:10 Patch Without Testing 08:59 Patched Within Week 09:17 AI Found Patch 13:26 Unscanned Means Unknown 14:09 Cloudflare Virtual Patching 20:20 Geoblocking Isn't Enough 22:46 Question Every Port 24:04 1,400 Patches Monthly

Vibe Coding at Work: Security, Dependencies, PII, Agents, and the Real Risks In this Off The Wire episode recorded during Cybersecurity Awareness Month, Tanner and Anthony discuss “vibe coding,” defined as using a large language model to generate applications, and why it’s becoming more common in workplace IT. They share examples of replacing a $25,000/year call-analysis tool with LLM-driven results and a quickly built front end, while emphasizing that speed shifts responsibility for security and operations onto the organization. Key risks and practices include managing packages and dependencies, running vulnerability scans and pen tests, avoiding hard-coded secrets by using password managers or identity integrations, and carefully handling PII via local models or zero data retention options alongside clearer policies and stronger DLP. They stress adding authentication, logging, certificates, and encryption, keeping documentation outside the app, limiting agents to read-only and preserving RBAC, avoiding over-reliance on vibe coding for business-critical systems, and communicating risks to leadership. 00:00 Cold open 00:29 What vibe coding is and why small shops want it 02:20 CLIP: Call Analytics Savings 02:41 Replacing a $25K call analytics app 03:27 Why a programming background matters 05:30 Vulnerable dependencies and code that never gets patched 09:02 Hardcoded secrets and identity integration 10:33 PII, zero data retention, and local models 11:45 CLIP: Reportable Line 13:19 The DLP gap at co-ops 14:10 CLIP: Over-Modeling 15:28 Authentication, logging, and certificates 17:27 CLIP: Hammer And Nail 17:27 Sprawl: when everything looks like a nail 18:06 Reverse-engineered software and legal exposure 21:10 CLIP: Docs Not Enough 21:10 Documentation and key-person risk 22:06 AI agents and least privilege 22:48 CLIP: Easy Part 24:47 CLIP: Data House 24:47 Getting your data house in order 26:34 CLIP: Saving Our Bacon 26:37 Security fundamentals still protect you 27:35 CLIP: Responsibility Shift 27:36 Build vs. buy: you own the 3 AM call 29:38 What to tell your team and leadership 29:38 CLIP: Brief Leadership 31:14 Wrap-up

Tanner’s IT Journey: From Trainee to CTO at a Co-op (Off the Wire) In this episode of Off the Wire, Tanner shares how he got into IT, from early exposure to computers and strong high school computer classes to studying computer science at NC State, switching to computer information systems at App State, and joining Blue Ridge as a temp/intern before landing a help desk/IT trainee role. He describes learning on the job in a small, older IT team, starting in a supply-closet office, supporting desktops, backups, servers, virtualization, and early smartphone lifecycle work. Tanner details major infrastructure growth including VMware adoption, clustering, P2V migrations, flash storage decisions, implementing a Spiceworks ticketing system around 2013–2014, and moving from tapes to disk backups and DR replication. He traces promotions to system administrator, IT infrastructure manager, director of IT, and eventually senior VP/CTO, emphasizing planning, business-process understanding, relationships, and advice to work hard and focus on people as much as technology. Trace an IT career path from help desk trainee to CTO. Learn the strategic decisions and leadership growth needed for IT management. Tanner shares his journey through the electric co-op world, starting from a supply-closet office and scaling to senior leadership. This conversation covers the technical evolution—from early VMware adoption and P2V migrations to modern infrastructure planning—and the shift from hands-on work to business strategy. Whether you are currently in an IT trainee role or aiming for the C-suite, this episode highlights the importance of relationships, business-process understanding, and people-focused leadership. We discuss how to navigate promotions, manage technical debt, and build a career in the co-op sector. Subscribe for more IT leadership insights, and comment below with your own career trajectory questions. 0:00 A Different Kind of Career Path 0:34 Early Fascination With Technology 4:19 Landing the First Role 8:37 The Early Days of IT Traineeship 17:44 Growth and Increased Autonomy 31:46 Stepping Into Management 37:59 Learning the Business Side 43:25 Reflecting on the CTO Journey

Off The Wire (Part 1): Anthony’s Journey from the Marines to Co-op IT Leadership In this Part 1 episode of Off The Wire, Tanner interviews Anthony about the path that led him into IT and ultimately to leadership in the electric co-op world. Anthony shares how leaving Southeast Ohio and joining the Marines led to hands-on technical roles as a radio technician and SATCOM tech, sparking his interest in troubleshooting, networking, and IT. After studying and moving through early roles—including Applied Technology Solutions supporting co-ops, a cybersecurity-focused role at EDS, and later a large-scale cybersecurity consulting stint at Hewlett Packard Enterprise on the Navy Marine Corps Intranet—he returned to co-ops for the people and culture, working at Buckeye REC and later Four County Electric, where he became VP of IT. They discuss lessons learned about leadership, career moves, and not being afraid to change environments. On this episode of the Off The Wire podcast, Anthony shares personal insights into his journey and professional background. In this special edition, Tanner and Anthony shift focus to the experiences that shaped their approach to the field. By opening up about these personal insights, the hosts provide context on the motivations and values that drive their broader discussions. This conversation offers a different lens on the usual IT leadership topics covered on the show. Listeners looking for unique industry perspectives will find a candid look at the history behind the content, setting the stage for deeper discussions in upcoming parts. Subscribe for more Off The Wire podcast episodes, and comment below if you have questions about the topics discussed. 00:00 Welcome And Setup 01:20 Marines And Early Tech Curiosity 02:22 SATCOM To IT Pivot 05:07 First IT Job And School 07:17 Cybersecurity Detour At EDS 09:28 Co Op Mentors And Buckeye REC 11:17 IT Manager Growth And Projects 13:21 Leaving Ohio And Joining HP 15:20 Big Network Cyber Audits 19:04 Why Co Ops And Four County 22:35 Leadership Lessons And Advice 25:16 Part One Wrap And Next Steps

Cyber Recovery in the Age of Identity Attacks & AI | Rubrik’s Brian Williams on MTTR, M365, and Shared Responsibility On the Off the Wire podcast, hosts Tanner and Anthony welcome back Brian Williams, Sales Engineering Manager at Rubrik for East Coast public sector, to discuss how cyber recovery has evolved beyond immutable backups into a focus on mean time to recovery (MTTR), SaaS (especially Microsoft 365), and identity as the new primary attack surface. Brian explains that dwell time is shrinking for identity-based attacks like stolen session tokens, while AI accelerates vulnerability discovery and exploitation through speed and parallel “hive mind” agents. He emphasizes treating identity providers (AD/Entra/Okta) like crown-jewel data, noting Microsoft’s native Entra backup covers only users, groups, and roles, not enterprise apps or conditional access, making rebuilds slow. They cover why bulk M365 restores are throttled, the shared responsibility model, the risks of in-tenant backups, and the need for tested, prioritized recovery plans driven by revenue, regulatory, and safety needs. 00:00 Untitled project from SquadCast 01:18 Welcome and guest introduction 02:54 What's changed: immutability is now table stakes 04:22 Attack speed and dwell time 05:44 Why identity became the target 07:29 AI on offense 11:06 Recovery is the plan, not the last resort 12:40 Using AI on defense 14:57 Protecting identity: what native Entra backup misses 17:57 Evaluating identity protection tools 20:11 The shared responsibility model 24:21 Choosing vendors and asking the right questions 27:48 Why restoring everything at once fails 29:19 Deciding what comes back first 34:13 White glove hosting: trust but verify 39:24 Closing thoughts

Building Better Partnerships: Chris Haas on Partnership, Alignment, and Preparedness. In this Off The Wire episode, the hosts interview Chris about what makes co-ops better partners to their vendors, especially amid merger-related change and uncertainty. Chris says great members stand out by being engaged partners, coming prepared with clear outcomes and detailed requirements, and communicating early rather than at the last minute. He highlights how unclear or poorly thought-out requests drive rework, and outlines three preparation essentials: internal alignment across teams, defining the desired outcome, and setting realistic expectations about value and effort. The discussion covers how collective, multi-co-op requests gain priority, why “minor tweaks” often create cascading work, and how misalignment during major migrations can waste time and money. Chris emphasizes encouragement and respectful feedback, noting relationships can drift with turnover, and recommends strategic planning and relationship-building to strengthen partnerships. 00:00 Flip the Script 01:54 Great Co-op Partners 03:46 Costly Behaviors 05:42 Three Keys Prepared 09:27 Strategy and Buy In 10:43 Too Little Detail 13:25 Misalignment Migration 18:45 Communicate Earlier 20:10 Roadmap Priority Rules 21:37 Feedback That Matters 23:51 Toxic Feedback Lines 25:09 When Partnerships Drift 26:36 Managing Turnover Handoffs 27:42 Lightning Round Rapid Fire 29:43 Merger Reactions And Anxiety 32:17 Deeper Partnerships Post Merger 33:24 Strategy Alignment With Vendors 36:33 Wrap Up And Podcast Plug

We talk a lot about enterprise tech on this show. This week we flipped it: the tech we spend our own money on. Anthony and Tanner each built a top 5 list plus one honorable mention, and neither of us knew what was on the other's list. Real-time reactions, real gear, and a price range that runs from $36 to a few thousand dollars. Anthony's list ran cheap and practical. Tanner's ran toward infrastructure. Somehow we ended up at opposite ends of the spectrum on almost every single pick. ANTHONY'S LIST 5. Anker 65W charger bricks 4. Wyze camera system HM. AliExpress soldering station with heat gun 3. Bambu Lab P1S 3D printer 2. CM3588 flash-based NAS 1. OpenClaw AI agent server TANNER'S LIST 5. Segway Navimow robot mower 4. Tempest home weather station HM. Password manager (family plan) 3. EcoFlow battery and solar 2. Lutron Caseta smart switches 1. Ubiquiti network gear CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro and the rules 03:55 Anthony #5: Anker chargers 05:40 Tanner #5: Robot mower 09:15 Anthony #4: Wyze cameras 10:40 Tanner #4: Tempest weather station 14:15 Why co-op people are obsessed with weather 15:20 Anthony honorable mention: Soldering station 17:30 Tanner honorable mention: Password manager 19:55 Anthony #3: Bambu Lab 3D printer 22:30 Tanner #3: EcoFlow batteries 26:45 Anthony #2: Flash NAS build 29:20 Tanner #2: Lutron Caseta and the Wife Approval Factor 32:20 Anthony #1: Running your own AI agent 35:30 Tanner #1: Ubiquiti 41:00 Wrap up What's your number one piece of personal tech? Drop it in the comments. Got an episode idea, a question, or want to come on the show? Reach out on LinkedIn or email [email protected]. Off the Wire covers cybersecurity, IT leadership, and technology for electric cooperatives and small business IT teams. Subscribe so you don't miss an episode.

Manage Yourself, Not Just the Work: IT Leadership Principles - Part 2 | Off The Wire In this Part 2 philosophical episode of Off The Wire, Tanner and Anthony discuss internal leadership temperament: adopting a “duck” mindset to let criticism and setbacks roll off, and a “bison” mindset to face hard situations head-on rather than avoiding them. They explore staying slightly unsatisfied as a leader while still enjoying wins, avoiding judgment of others’ intent without context, and remembering your roots by staying humble and authentic as you advance. They emphasize the patience required for long-term decisions, including a story about a delayed promotion that ultimately made sense because the speaker wasn’t ready. The conversation shifts to bandwidth and prioritization—every “yes” means a “no,” organizations must be ready for change, leaders should speak last, and effective work requires managing energy and making time to think. They preview an Apex Meridian Conference session on becoming better customers to vendors. 00:00 philosophy part 2 01:01 Be the duck: letting things roll off 03:05 Tattoo Versus Bruise 03:05 CLIP: Tattoo Versus Bruise 04:14 Be the bison: walk into the storm 05:04 Bison Into The Storm 05:10 CLIP: Bison Into The Storm 05:49 CLIP: Embrace The Suck 05:51 Embrace The Suck 05:58 Staying unsatisfied without burning out 08:21 You were preceded by good leaders 08:53 Preceded By Good Leaders 10:08 Intent versus actions 11:09 Judged By Intentions 11:09 CLIP: Judged By Intentions 11:58 Don't forget your roots 12:43 Walked Down The Hall 12:43 CLIP: Walked Down The Hall 14:57 Patience, and the promotion that didn't come 15:09 CLIP: TSA Job Description 18:23 I Wasn't Ready 18:23 CLIP: I Wasn't Ready 19:02 Prioritization: every yes is a no 20:14 Silently Saying No 20:14 CLIP: Silently Saying No 22:05 Speak Last 22:05 CLIP: Speak Last 22:48 Managing energy, not just time 27:56 CLIP: Multitasking Counter 28:08 One piece of advice for pre-leader Anthony 29:17 Don't Dwell On The Past 29:17 CLIP: Don't Dwell On The Past

Leading IT Teams: People-First IT Leadership (Off The Wire, Part 1) How do you lead an IT team well? In Part 1 of this IT leadership series, Anthony Kent and Tanner Greer get out of the tech stack and into the people side of leading IT teams: managing people, giving feedback, taking blame, sharing credit, and earning your team's trust. Topics covered: why the golden rule fails at work and what to do instead, why a performance review should never contain a surprise, how to make IT's work visible to executives and the board, taking responsibility when things go wrong and passing credit when things go right, hiring people smarter than you and getting out of their way, and why recognition has to happen before you ask your team for extra effort. Off The Wire is a podcast for IT leaders, IT managers, and directors at electric cooperatives and small-to-midsize businesses. Real talk on IT leadership, cybersecurity, and strategy from two operators who do this work every day. Chapters: 00:00 Cold open: a leader takes the blame 00:28 Intro and episode framing 01:54 Why IT leaders avoid people topics 02:49 IT is getting a seat at the table 05:40 Treating people how they want to be treated 07:57 Reading people and figuring out what they need 09:01 Asking directly how someone wants to be led 12:17 Performance reviews should never surprise anyone 20:11 Defining the direction for your team 20:31 Taking blame when things fail, giving credit for wins 22:55 Making IT work visible to the rest of the organization 26:02 Get out of your team's way: hire people smarter than you 27:38 Do what you ask your team to do 29:52 The cardboard box story: character is always visible 30:49 Recognition: find something genuine for everyone 34:00 Replenishing the cup: earning the right to make demands Part 2 drops soon. Subscribe so you don't miss it. #ITLeadership #Leadership #TechLeadership

Business Continuity Plans: Why They’re Hard, Why They Matter, and How to Build One Tanner and Anthony discuss why business continuity plans (BCPs) are often one of the last cybersecurity “baseline” goals organizations complete, largely due to documentation burdens and the fear of committing to recovery metrics. They clarify how a BCP differs from an incident response plan, emphasizing that BCPs define how to maintain or restore operations after major disruptions using recovery time objectives and acceptable data loss. They outline practical ways to build a plan using NIST guidance, peers, and industry templates, and cover key components including defined roles with backups, tiering critical systems, backup/retention details, known alternatives, recovery strategies with dependencies and workarounds, communication plans with update cadence and message templates, and regular testing and review. They also note tailoring plans to each organization and avoiding unnecessary separate documents. 00:00 Intro & Why Business Continuity Planning Matters 01:59 Recovery Time Objectives and Metrics 03:56 Why Put Metrics on Paper: Fears and Benefits 06:07 Why Build a BCP: Reasons, Structure, and Tiers Overview 13:17 Risk Assessment and Incident Levels 16:10 Defining System Criticality Tiers 26:55 Building Known Alternatives into Each Tier 36:14 Wrap-up ABOUT OFF THE WIRE Off the Wire is a podcast on cybersecurity and IT leadership for the electric cooperative and small business world. Real operations, real tradeoffs, and the decisions that actually keep the lights on. Hosted by Anthony Kent and Tanner. Subscribe for new episodes, and if this was useful, leave a comment with how your team handles continuity planning. #BusinessContinuity #ElectricCooperative #ITLeadership #Cybersecurity #DisasterRecovery