From 14-Year-Old Bug Hunter to Level 5 SRT Hero

On this episode of WE’RE IN, host Ryan Rutan, Synack's Senior Director of Community, sits down with Rohit Parchuri, SVP and CISO at Yext, to talk about AI pentesting and risk management. Rohit explains what to look for in AI pentesting tools, where human-in-the-loop validation still matters, and why every AI agent needs its own identity. He also shares how Yext uses AI to cut risk analysis time by 60%.  Timestamps00:00 Introduction00:22 Rohit’s Origin Story04:27 Lessons from the First CISO Role08:05 AI Pentesting Beyond Compliance09:17 What to Look for in AI Pentesting Tools14:25 Guardrails and Human-in-the-Loop Testing17:44 AI Testing AI20:05 Inside Yext’s Security Priorities22:25 Trusting AI to Prove Exploitability26:00 Using AI to Forecast Risk29:45 Risk Guardrails and AI Agent Identity33:40 One Action Item for CISOs35:17 Taco Bracket37:29 Closing Remarks Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode of the We're In Podcast, host Ryan Rutan Synack's Sr Director of Community sits down with independent security researcher and Synack Red Team member Malcolm Stagg. Malcolm breaks down his origin story-from software engineering at Microsoft and DARPA hardware challenges to discovering NATJack, a novel class of network address translation (NAT) manipulation attacks. Learn how attackers can hijack DNS and TCP sessions, bypass container isolation, and exploit Linux Netfilter flaws-plus practical mitigations you can implement today. Learn more about NATJack mitigations & research: https://natjack.io Join the Synack Red Team: https://www.synack.com/red-team/ Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction: Welcome to the We're In Podcast 02:27 - Breaking Hardware: The DARPA SSITH Challenge 06:02 - AI in Cybersecurity: Promise, Limits, and Triage Fatigue 08:44 - Introducing NATJack: Exploit Assumptions in NAT Tables 17:20 - Why NAT is Everywhere: Hypervisors, Containers, & Cloud 22:29 - Extending Attacks to TCP Connections & Session Hijacking 27:25 - DoS & Port-Scanning Vectors via Router Assignment Habits 30:39 - The Limits of Modern Infrastructure 34:34 - How to Mitigate NATJack: Strong Encryption, RPF, & Sockets 37:48 - Where to Learn More & Closing Remarks Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode of WE'RE IN, Josh Mason sits down with SRT member Austin, a rising star on the Synack Red Team. Austin shares his hacker origin story and pulls back the curtain on what it takes to break into elite researcher programs. He also deep-dives into his recent "heavy hitter" win: using a JSON Web Token inspection to completely demolish the authorization schema of a U.S. financial services platform, gaining full administrative control.   TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 - Introduction 00:39 - A Day in the Life of an SRT Hacker 02:08 - Fast Track to Synack Red Team Level 5 03:12 - Hacker Origin Story 04:40 - Mentorship in Synack Red Team 05:46 - HackerOne vs. Synack: Why Synack is Better for Researchers 07:02 - How Patch Verifications Actually Work 09:16 - Compromising a Financial Platform via JWT 11:10 - Advice to Join the Synack Red Team: Get your OSCP 12:32 - Advice to Cyber Newbies: Always Keep Learning 14:14 - Hunting Authorization and Injection Issues for Synack Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this episode of WE'RE IN, Josh Mason sits down with Ty Bross, Offensive Security Lead for Sidekick Security and Researcher for the Synack Red Team. Ty discusses his teenage hacking origins, how he broke into the cybersecurity profession, his favorite hacks, and advice to aspiring penetration testers.   Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 01:50 Understanding Business Logic Vulnerabilities 03:44 Hacker Origin Story 08:18 Joining the Synack Red Team 09:32 Staying Sharp by Hunting for Bugs 11:00 Supplemental Income with The Synack Red Team 11:43 Collaboration with the Synack Red Team 16:37 Chaining Small Exploits Together 17:50 Advice to Aspiring Synack Red Team Researchers 20:54 What Customers Don't Know About Pentesters Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, host Josh Mason chats with Synack Red Team Legend Ozgur Alp, who shares his offensive security journey from university to big four consulting to full-time Synack Red Team researcher. Ozgur gives his unique take on where AI excels (and falls short), which roles AI will replace, and whether the cost of AI is sustainable in the long-term.   Chapters: 00:00 Introduction: Meet Ozgur 03:28 Joining the Synack Red Team 07:13 Critical Authorization and Authentication Bugs 08:03 Why Ozgur Still Uses Burp 1.7.37 08:32 Pentesting with AI and Automation 09:12 Will AI Replace Human Pentesters? 11:53 Why AI Struggles with Business Logic 13:45 Why Google Can't "Solve" XSS (Even with AI) 14:47 How Mythos is Changing Offensive Security 16:15 The Benefits of Hacking with AI 17:09 How AI is Changing Pentesting 19:42 Vibe Coding is Creating More Security Vulnerabilities 23:11 Is the Cost of AI Sustainable Long-Term? 23:51 Closing Remarks Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Josh Mason sits down with Tim Nordvedt, Synack's Senior Manager of North American Solutions Architects, to discuss his unique cybersecurity origin story, the power of networking, automating attack surface discovery, and why "falling in love with learning" is the only way to survive an AI-driven security landscape. Chapter Timestamps 00:00 Introduction: Meet Tim Nordvedt 01:05 Security Origin Story 02:36 The Commodore 64: A Forgotten Connection to Tech 03:35 The Classroom Moment: Discovering Offensive Security 04:54 Collecting Certs and Networking Like Crazy 09:37 Reframing Imposter Syndrome: Skills are Never Wasted 10:34 Lessons as a Bike Mechanic: Translating Technical Value 14:31 Trying Out for the Synack Red Team (SRT) 15:29 Transitioning to Solutions Architecture (SA) 18:40 Building Tools: Automating Attack Surface Discovery (ASD) 21:48 Proactive Defense: Providing Value to Customers 25:14 Career Advice: Fall in Love with Learning 25:39 Upskill for the Future: AI and Agentic Red Teaming 26:43 Closing Thoughts Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode of WE'RE IN, host Josh Mason sits down with Teri Green, VP of Technology at Elevate and CIO/CISO at Light Technology Solutions. Teri breaks down her proprietary TEST Framework (Touch, Execute, Store, Trust)-a practical toolset for CISOs to evaluate AI risk beyond simple vulnerabilities. They discuss why humans remain the greatest vector in the age of AI, how to teach digital citizenship to the next generation, and why the basics of security still apply even as we move toward a quantum future. Timestamps: [00:00] Welcome, meet Teri Green [00:43] Cybersecurity Origin Story [01:44] Degrees and Certifications [02:34] Career Path and Leadership [03:28] TEST AI Risk Framework [05:30] AI Trust and Human Factor [06:53] Teaching AI Ethics to Kids [08:34] Governance Outpaced by AI [09:42] Upcoming Talks and Takeaways [12:37] Learning AI and Plain Language [16:17] AI Already in Your Org [18:13] Where to Follow Teri [18:58] Closing and Thanks Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode of WE’RE IN, Josh Mason sits down with Sayaan Alam, a Level 5 Synack Red Team (SRT) member who started his hacking journey at 14 years old. Sayaan shares his story of how he became the second-youngest researcher onboarded to the SRT and how he climbed the ranks to become recognized on the Synack Acropolis. Timestamps: 00:54 Meet Sayaan: Starting Bug Bounties at 14 01:33 Joining the Synack Red Team (SRT) 03:18 SRT Onboarding Process 04:41 Climbing the Tiers: From Level 1 to Level 5 05:42 Why Synack is Different from Other Platforms 06:30 Improving Professional Pentesting Skills 06:58 Finding Patterns in Client Architectures 08:32 The AI Chatbot Vulnerability: SSRF Case Study 10:57 Remediation Advice for AI File Handling 11:58 Trends in AI Chatbot Security & Stored XSS 13:12 Thoughts on Sara: The Synack Autonomous Red Agent 14:29 How to Connect with Sayaan 15:07 Outro and Closing Remarks Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This conversation explores how AI is transforming the offensive security landscape, focusing on the rise of AI-driven vulnerabilities, the evolution of pen testing, and the integration of human and AI efforts in cybersecurity. The discussion highlights the importance of adapting to new threats and the role of Synack's Autonomous Red Agent in enhancing vulnerability detection and remediation processes.Timestamps04:51Traditional vs. Modern Pen Testing Approaches07:55The Role of Human Analysts in AI-Driven Security10:57Introducing Sara Pentest: A New Era in Testing13:16Executing a Sara Pentest: A Step-by-Step Guide20:13Real-Time Insights from Sara Pentest23:20Technical Difficulties and Collaboration23:25Exploring Pen Test Engagements27:00Successful Pen Test Outcomes and Future Implications Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Synack Red Team member Bloodtyper reveals his journey from the DMZ to discovering critical AI prompt injection vulnerabilities. Learn how he creates bug bounty reports that get accepted, as well as other golden nuggets of advice to learn and grow your penetration testing skills.CHAPTERS:0:00 Introduction01:03 Military Origins & The DMZ01:58 Hacker Origin Story04:06 Transitioning from Infantry to Tech07:22 Joining the Synack Red Team (SRT)08:04 Learning with Hack The Box09:52 Bug Bounty Reporting Strategy12:14 Synack Vuln Ops16:03 Advice for New Pentesters18:44 AI Prompt Injection Deep Dive21:35 Retesting & Patch Verification23:25 How to Improve Patching26:02 Advice to Learn Cyber Security Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.