Hacker Valley Studio

We’re joined again by the hacker’s hacker, Tommy DeVoss, aka dawgyg. Bug bounty hunter and reformed black hat, Tommy dives back into a great conversation with us about his journey in hacking and his advice to future red team offensive hackers. We cover everything we couldn’t get to from part 1 of our interview, including his struggles with burnout, his past hacking foreign countries on a bold quest to stop terrorism, and his future in Twitch streaming to teach you how to be a better bug bounty hunter. Timecoded Guide: [02:57] Fixating on hacking because of the endless possibilities and iterations to learn [09:54] Giving advice to the next generation of hackers [17:17] Contacting Tommy and keeping up with him on Twitter [21:43] Planning a Twitch course to teach hackers about bug bounties using real bugs and real-world examples [24:57] Hacking in the early 2000s and understanding the freedom Tommy has to talk about any and all illegal hacking he’s done now that he’s gone to prison Sponsor Links: Thank you to our sponsors Axonius and PlexTrac for bringing this season of HVR to life! Life is complex. But it’s not about avoiding challenges or fearing failure. Just ask Simone Biles — the greatest gymnast of all time. Want to learn more about how Simone controls complexity? Watch her video at axonius.com/simone PlexTrac is pleased to offer an exclusivecRed Team Content Bundle for Hacker Valley listeners. This bundle contains both our "Writing a Killer Penetration Test Report" and "Effective Purple Teaming" white papers in ONE awesome package. Head to PlexTrac.com/HackerValley to learn more about the platform and get your copy today! Do you ever struggle with burnout when it comes to hacking? Hacking has maintained Tommy’s interest longer than anything else because of the constant changes in technology and the ever-evolving issues in the online world. However, just because hacking is his passion, doesn’t mean that burnout or frustration never happens. Currently, Tommy is taking more of a break with hacking, letting his current day job and his passion for gaming have a front seat. However, he’s still firmly in the industry, passionately developing learning opportunities for future hackers and answering questions from cyber professionals of all backgrounds. “I do get burned out sometimes…When it comes to bug bounty hunting, I try and make it so it averages out to where I make at least $1,000 an hour for my effort. It doesn't always work. Sometimes I'm more, sometimes I'm less, but I try and get it so it averages out to about that.” What hacking advice would you give the younger version of yourself? Although his black hat ways resulted in prison time for Tommy, he doesn’t regret his past and instead seeks to teach others the lessons he’s learned. When we asked Tommy for advice for new hackers, he was clear that success is a longer journey than people assume it is. Tommy’s success was not a fluke, it took years of hands-on learning and patience with failures in order to develop his bug bounty skills. Nothing is actually automatic or easy with hacking, especially as the technology continues to change and evolve. Tommy wants hackers to take every opportunity to try out their skills, even if it's a complete failure. “Don't expect success overnight. Also, don't let failure discourage you. When it comes to hacking, you're going to fail significantly more than you're going to succeed. And the people that are successful in bug bounties are the ones that don't let those failures discourage them.” What do you think about the “media obsessed” stereotype many people have about black hat hackers? Wrapping up today, Tommy tells us that he’d be happy to be back in the Hacker Valley Studio again some time. Although the stereotype of a black hat hacker wanting attention from the media is disproven, Tommy believes that he definitely has craved that media attention for a large majority of his hacking career. Starting in the early 2000s, after 9/11, Tommy had one of his first brushes with fame in an interview with CNN about hacking Middle Eastern companies. Although his hacking and his politics have changed since then, Tommy enjoys having in-depth conversations about hacking and explaining the intricacies of what he does. “We loved the attention back then, and I still love the attention now, it's nice. The good thing about now is, because I already got in trouble for everything that I've done, I've done my prison time, I don't have anything that I did illegally on the computer anymore that I can't talk about, because I've already paid my debt to society.” What are the best ways for people to keep up with what you’re doing? Considering Tommy’s success, it’s understandable that a lot of cyber professionals and amateurs have tons of questions for him. When it comes to getting in contact with Tommy, he recommends tweeting him on Twitter publicly so that he can not only answer your question, but help others with the exact same questions. Educ

Mari Reisberg, therapist, performer, creativity coach, and host of the Sustaining Creativity podcast, brings her many talents to Hacker Valley to help adults unlock their creativity and engage with their inner child. Tackling topics from artistic ruts to technical frameworks, Mari walks through the essentials of reconnecting with creativity and curiosity. Instead of limiting thoughts to the path of least resistance, Mari challenges her clients to get comfortable with the uncomfortable in creativity. Timecoded Guide: [00:00] Sustaining creativity & coaching others on becoming curious [06:35] Defining creativity with new ideas & fresh innovations [10:07] Climbing out of a creative rut & expanding your comfort zone [18:47] Unlocking different levels of creativity in everyday life [23:59] Tapping into creativity and unlocking childhood memories Sponsor Links: Thank you to our sponsors Axonius and Uptycs for bringing this episode to life! The Axonius solution correlates asset data from existing solutions to provide an always up-to-date inventory, uncover gaps, and automate action — giving IT and security teams the confidence to control complexity. Learn more at axonius.com/hackervalley With Uptycs, modern defenders can prioritize, investigate and respond to threats across the entire attack surface—all from a common solution: uptycs.com. What is creativity, in your opinion? There isn’t one way to define creativity, Mari explains, but instead a myriad of ways. Each person has their own individual relationship with the concept of creativity, but Mari considers creativity to be tied to the processes of coming up with new ideas and innovating on those ideas. Seeing life through a creative lens means that Mari isn’t afraid to try and fail, because everything she does expands her comfort zone and tests her curiosity. “Creativity is one of those words where, if you asked 100 people, you’d get 100 different answers. For me, my definition of creativity really is around thinking of novel, new ideas. And then, the second piece of the creative process is that innovation process.” What advice would you have for someone who is trying to find their way through a creative rut? The human brain will always choose the path of least resistance. People like to feel safe and comfortable with everything they do, but Mari understands that creativity can only be practiced at the edge of someone’s comfort zone. With one foot in her comfort zone and one foot out of it, Mari has been able to escape her own creative ruts and make active decisions to try the everyday activities in her life with a different perspective. “If my desire is to create something new, something different, and I'm continuing to do the same things and expecting a new result, it's not going to happen. How could you try something different every day?” Are there different types of creativity, similar to there being different types of intelligence? In Mari’s experience, there are two forms of creativity: big C creativity and little c creativity. While little c creativity is an everyday reality, big C creativity is much more performative, curious, and expressive. When someone says they aren’t creative, what they’re thinking of is this second form of creativity. The fact is that anyone can become big C creative, but it requires actively exploring and expanding the skills of creativity. “The big C creativity is what everyone assumes is creativity; performing arts, creative arts, I'm doing something that I'm sharing with the world. The small c creativity is that every day creativity. It’s something new, something different.” When it comes to wanting to build our creative muscles, what are some techniques or frameworks that we should be considering? Creativity is a practice, not a one-and-done deal. Mari explains that building creative muscles comes from repetition of creativity, such as trying something new everyday, challenging ourselves to think of something from an opposite point of view, and even daydreaming. Explore what would happen if something, even one small detail of an event, was different, and never limit yourself to the idea that you’re “just not creative.” “There’re opportunities to flex that creativity, but it's about continuing to do it. You can’t do it once and expect a miracle. You keep coming back to it, keep practicing, keep having new ways of trying something.” --------------- Links: Keep up with Mari Reisberg at SustainingCreativity.com Check out Mari’s podcast, the Sustaining Creativity podcast Connect with Ron Eddings on LinkedIn and Twitter Connect with Chris Cochran on LinkedIn and Twitter Purchase a HVS t-shirt at our shop Continue the conversation by joining our Discord Check out Hacker Valley Media and Hacker Valley Studio

We’re joined by million-dollar hacker and bug bounty hunter, Thomas DeVoss, this week as we continue our season-long discussion of offensive cybersecurity legends. A legend in the making with a success story in bug bounty hunting that has to be heard to be believed, Tommy is an incredibly successful blach hat hacker-turned-bug bounty hunter, representing how misunderstood the hacking community can be and how positively impactful bug bounties can be. Who hacks the hackers? Look no further than Tommy DeVoss. Timecoded Guide: [02:59] Becoming interested in hacking for the first time [08:26] Encountering unfriendly visits with the government and the FBI after his hacking skills progressed [14:20] Seeking his first computer job after prison and leveraging his hacking skills [25:21] Discussing with Yahoo the possibility of working with them due to his successful bug boundaries [30:56] Giving honest advice to hackers looking to break into the bug bounty scene Sponsor Links: Thank you to our sponsors Axonius and PlexTrac for bringing this season of HVR to life! Life is complex. But it’s not about avoiding challenges or fearing failure. Just ask Simone Biles — the greatest gymnast of all time. Want to learn more about how Simone controls complexity? Watch her video at axonius.com/simone PlexTrac is pleased to offer an exclusive Red Team Content Bundle for Hacker Valley listeners. This bundle contains both our "Writing a Killer Penetration Test Report" and "Effective Purple Teaming" white papers in ONE awesome package. Head to PlexTrac.com/HackerValley to learn more about the platform and get your copy today! When did you get into hacking for the first time? At an early age, Thomas found his passion for hacking in an IRC chat room. Mentored by a man named Lewis and encouraged by fellow friends in the hacking world, popping shells and breaking into US systems using foreign IP addresses. Although Tommy became incredible at his craft from a young age, his early habits became serious black hat issues that ended up getting him in trouble with the US government. Just like the hacker in a big Hollywood blockbuster, the government caught up with Tommy and he faced 2 years in prison in his first sentence. “Instead of coming back to him and saying, "Hey, I'm done," I came back and I was actually asking him questions like, "Can you explain this?” And he saw that I was like, actually interested in this and I wasn't one of the people that was just expecting it to be handed to me and everything like that.” After spending time in prison, were there barriers to getting involved in hacking again? After being in and out of prison a couple times, Tommy found the worst part of coming home to be his ban from touching any sort of device with internet access. Despite it being a part of his probation, his passion for tech continued to bring him back to computers and gaming. After his final stint in prison after being falsely suspected of returning to his black hat ways, the FBI lifted Tommy’s indefinite ban on computer usage and immediately renewed his passion for working in tech. “They had banned me indefinitely from touching a computer. So, when I came home on probation the first time, they upheld that and I still wasn't allowed to touch computers as part of my probation. For the first month or so, I didn't get on a computer when I came home from prison, but then it didn't take long before I got bored.” How did your cyber career pivot to bug bounty hunting? With prison behind him and his ban on computers lifted, Tommy got a job working for a family friend in Richmond, Virginia for a modest salary of $30,000. Although this amount felt like a lot at the time, he quickly realized that there was money to be made in bug bounties. His first few experiments in attempting bug bounty programs had him earning $20,000 or $30,000 for hours of work, a huge increase from the salary he was currently making. Encountering success after success, Thomas quit his job in 2017 to become a full-time bug bounty hunter. “The first bug bounty program that jumped out at me was Yahoo. I had started hacking Yahoo in the mid 90s, I knew their systems in the 90s and early 2000s better than a lot of their system admins and stuff. And I figured, if there's any company that I should start out with, it should be them.” What success have you seen since becoming a bug bounty hunter, especially with major corporations like Yahoo? Thomas has become a huge earner in the cybersecurity community, and has continued to see incredible results from his hacking and bug bounty projects. Most notably, after numerous high earning days, making up to $130K at once, with companies like Yahoo, he’s even been offered positions working with corporations he’s bug bountied for. However, Tommy is quick to point out that his success was definitely not overnight, and warns fellow hackers of getting too confident in their bug bounty abilities without the proper skill sets or amount of experience und

Kyle Elliott, the Founder and Career Coach behind CaffeinatedKyle.com, joins the pod on his quest to transform boring job searches into something fabulous. Kyle specializes in helping job seekers, especially those in technology and cybersecurity, find jobs they love and express the value they bring to potential employers. Need to know the secret to acing your next tech job interview? Look no further than Caffeinated Kyle. Timecoded Guide: [00:00] Finding your own definition of fabulous [06:06] Standing out in a tech job interview [12:19] Dealing with and learning from job rejection [16:41] Targeting your dream tech job & telling your career story [21:33] Breaking into technology the easy way and the hard way Sponsor Links: Thank you to our sponsors Axonius and Uptycs for bringing this episode to life! The Axonius solution correlates asset data from existing solutions to provide an always up-to-date inventory, uncover gaps, and automate action — giving IT and security teams the confidence to control complexity. Learn more at axonius.com/hackervalley With Uptycs, modern defenders can prioritize, investigate and respond to threats across the entire attack surface—all from a common solution: uptycs.com. From your perspective, what makes someone fabulous? Being “fabulous” can sound grandiose to most tech practitioners, but Kyle believes that everyone has the potential to be fabulous, especially when they’re forging their career path. There’s a lot of competition amongst large tech companies to find the employees that close skill gaps and stand out from the massive group of hungry job seekers. To be fabulous, one has to know how to stand out and what sets them apart. “When I think of fabulousness, I think: What sets you apart from other people? I work with job seekers, so I think: What sets you apart from other job seekers or other applicants?” When you look at standing out in a job interview, what are some of the key components that go into that? Many job seekers that Kyle works with have the skills, meet the position requirements, show up for the interview, and still struggle with getting a job in tech. While this can happen for a variety of reasons, Kyle explains that a simple mistake job hunters are making is regurgitating their resume without backing up their experience. A strong story about the experiences you had and the value you delivered makes you memorable and explains what you can provide. “When you're doing this, you want to think in the mind of a hiring manager. How have you added value to the organization? What sets you apart? I didn't just code, I didn't just have cross functional collaboration, here's the value to the organization and what sets me apart.” How do you coach someone through being able to tell their story in an interview? Career storytelling skills separate a potential employee from a pack of qualified applicants. However, a lot of technical people aren’t known for their storytelling skills or knack for creativity. Instead, Kyle recommends his clients in tech and cyber practice their storytelling through a more familiar world of spreadsheets. Each spreadsheet helps job seekers break down the value they bring with their skills, so they can tell a story that connects their past experiences to their future position. “A lot of the people I work with in tech, they're amazing at their job, but they're just not used to practicing storytelling…It feels awkward. It feels different. It feels weird, because that's not something they’re used to.” From your experience, what have been the easiest and hardest fields in technology to break into? In Kyle’s opinion, there isn’t one field of the tech industry that’s easier or harder to break into. Instead, breaking into the tech industry relies more on professional experiences, background, and skillset. If the leap to tech feels like too many transitions at once, Kyle recommends slowing down to one transition at a time and building each experience off of one another. Instead of hiding that this may be a new path for you, embrace your past when job searching and explain why a potential employer should hire someone transitioning into the tech world. “Everyone's like, ‘Kyle, how do I get a job in tech?’ I would start with your background, and I think that's gonna determine what's easiest or hardest for the person. What I always recommend is, try to make the least amount of transitions possible.” --------------- Links: Keep up with Kyle Elliott on LinkedIn and the Caffeinated Kyle website Connect with Ron Eddings on LinkedIn and Twitter Connect with Chris Cochran on LinkedIn and Twitter Purchase a HVS t-shirt at our shop Continue the conversation by joining our Discord Check out Hacker Valley Media and Hacker Valley Studio

John Hammond, Senior Security Researcher at Huntress Labs and self-described cybersecurity education enthusiast, joins us as we continue our discussion of red team legends. With a focus on content creation this week, John discusses his success with his YouTube channel, his passion for showcasing authentic and accessible educational materials online, and his advice for creating content safely and spreading awareness with not only a red team or blue team mindset, but with a purple team perspective. Timecode Guide: [01:37] Understanding the impact of content creators in the cybersecurity community, especially when it comes to YouTube educational content [06:58] Becoming a successful YouTube creator through consistently posting hacking content and ignoring the stereotype of “overnight success” [13:28] Combining his role as a cybersecurity educator with his security research at Huntress to explore exploits and have real life experience with what he teaches [16:47] Focusing on the blue side of the house as someone with red team experience, and understanding how to use a tool like PlexTrac to create a collaborative purple team [21:13] Being mindful of the impact he has through sharing this knowledge and understanding the risk of cybersecurity educational materials falling into “the wrong hands” Sponsor Links: Thank you to our sponsors Axonius and PlexTrac for bringing this season of HVR to life! The Axonius solution correlates asset data from existing solutions to provide an always up-to-date inventory, uncover gaps, and automate action — giving IT and security teams the confidence to control complexity. Learn more at axonius.com/hackervalley PlexTrac is pleased to offer an exclusive Red Team Content Bundle for Hacker Valley listeners. This bundle contains both our "Writing a Killer Penetration Test Report" and "Effective Purple Teaming" white papers in ONE awesome package. Head to PlexTrac.com/HackerValley to learn more about the platform and get your copy today! What is your origin story for wanting to educate other hackers? Like many of us, John started his journey Googling how to become a hacker. As he gained more knowledge about the specific skills involved in hacking, John never left the internet behind, always seeking out videos and articles explaining new and emerging content. Inspired by those who created that content in the first place, he started his own YouTube channel, simply titled John Hammond, as has spent years cultivating a consistent hacker audience. “Along the way, creating content and helping educate others through YouTube is really my main stage platform and has been just a passion project, a labor of love, and something fun along the way.” What feelings do you get looking back on the YouTube content you’ve created so far? John prioritizes clarity, transparency, and honesty in what he does, and he’s not afraid to show some humbleness, too. Overall, John is thankful for his YouTube success and the impact it had on the cybersecurity community. No matter what he’s showing in his videos, he prefers to keep things honest, to show where he’s made mistakes, and to accept criticism and advice from other hackers and offensive cybersecurity professionals that see his work. “I'm showcasing just my computer screen, maybe you get a little face cam and a circle on the bottom right, but it's like you're looking over my shoulder. You're seeing me showcase something raw, live, genuine, and authentic…It’s not all sexy, there’s a lot of failure in hacking.” Have you ever considered focusing on the blue team or the defensive side of cybersecurity? The majority of John's YouTube content and the work he does in his role at Huntress Labs heavily involves the red team and offensive side of cyber. However, John is a huge advocate for the blue team and the red team collaborating and communicating better. Through making more concepts in cybersecurity accessible through educational content like John’s own videos, he hopes we can continue to bridge the gap and achieve that perfectly mixed purple team. “We're all playing in concert. As one team sharpens their skills in the red team pen test, then it's up to the blue team to figure that out. What did they do? How can we better detect it? How can we stop and mitigate that security threat?” What advice do you have for red team content creators that want to share content and spread awareness safely? With the impact that he’s had and the content he’s put out onto the internet, John is no stranger to seeing the negative side of cybersecurity knowledge being more accessible than ever before. Still, he wants to make sure content creators understand the value of transparency and honesty in what they do. Instead of fearing what could be, cultivate a community around making this level of knowledge and security available to everyone. “Share, be transparent, be forthcoming. I know there are a lot of conversations about gatekeeping in cybersecurity, but there shouldn't be that. I under

Claire Gallagher, Designer and Solopreneur Strategist, comes to Hacker Valley to break down branding, visibility, and choosing solopreneurship over business ownership. Combining the terms solo and entrepreneur, solopreneurs are a different breed of business owner, and Claire has made it her mission to help them not make the same business mistakes she once made. Claire walks through the essentials of how her business caters to individuals looking to go it alone and how to make an impact while staying small. Timecoded Guide: [00:00] Introducing the concept of solopreneurship [04:32] Shifting to business strategy to better serve a client base [09:19] Deciding alone as a solo entrepreneur [16:40] Pricing your work and validating your professional value [24:46] Making peace with looking silly as a business owner Sponsor Links: Thank you to our sponsors Axonius and Uptycs for bringing this episode to life! The Axonius solution correlates asset data from existing solutions to provide an always up-to-date inventory, uncover gaps, and automate action — giving IT and security teams the confidence to control complexity. Learn more at axonius.com/hackervalley With Uptycs, modern defenders can prioritize, investigate and respond to threats across the entire attack surface—all from a common solution: uptycs.com. Why did you choose to go down a path of catering to solopreneurs, versus working with enterprises or small and medium businesses? Claire has dabbled in building teams and working in larger businesses in the past, but her calling has always brought her back to a company of one. For solopreneurs, Claire explains, it’s not that they cannot afford hiring employees or scaling their business. Instead, a solopreneur’s focus is on the balance between work and life, along with the power and experience to make their own decisions about their business. “I'm a loud introvert. I could talk all day, but essentially, I'm kind of introverted in secret. Generally, I like to work alone, to get into a creative flow, to not have anybody to answer to. This company of one, this solopreneurship, it suits my energy and my temperament.” What are some of the pros and cons of going it alone as a solopreneur and keeping your business small? There are pros and cons in business, no matter the size. Claire’s strongest pro for becoming a solo entrepreneur has been her ability to pivot without impacting anyone but herself. Pivoting towards strategy was a hard decision, but it was so much easier to make on her own. Unfortunately, making decisions on one’s own can also be a con of solopreneurship. Claire has seen clients have a lack of accountability in sticking with their decisions when they don’t have anyone working with them. “That's a pro, I was able to pivot without having to hire people, sack people, and really invest heavily in changing everything. That's a real plus, I could just pivot like that and it was a decision that I made, and I was responsible for it.” At what point would you recommend a solopreneur, or content creator, to reach out to someone like you so they could shine in this digital world? Although solo entrepreneurs thrive in business on their own, it’s important to never go it alone. Claire advises that early stage solopreneurs consider the community around them and build their business with a healthy curiosity in books, online resources, and virtual communities of fellow entrepreneurs. As they progress through their business, Claire also recommends connecting with a coach or strategist, like herself, to go further faster and avoid careless mistakes. “Solopreneurs think, ‘I'm smart, I can figure this out.’ Yes, you can, but to go further faster, I think you need to work with a mentor or a coach or strategist. You're always going to get further faster by finding somebody who understands what you're trying to achieve.” What are some of the tenants that you teach people about coming across as authentically as possible? Branding is a vital element of content creation and business ownership. However, the current world craves branding that comes across as authentic. Claire explains that authenticity comes from a willingness to make mistakes and put yourself out there, even if it feels or looks silly the first time. If a solopreneur is honestly trying to deliver value, that will show through any first-time awkwardness or silliness and still feel authentic to potential clients. “Starting before you feel ready is really the only way that you can start because you can't know everything until you've tried some stuff. Showing up and making mistakes and maybe seeming a little bit foolish at the start, take it. That's what's gonna happen.” --------------- Links: Keep up with Claire Gallagher on LinkedIn and at ClaireCreative.com Connect with Ron Eddings on LinkedIn and Twitter Connect with Chris Cochran on LinkedIn and Twitter Purchase a HVS t-shirt at our shop Continue the conversation by joining our Discord Check out Hacker Valley Media

We’re joined by sponsor and guest Dan DeCloss, CEO and Founder of PlexTrac, on the podcast today to talk about communication and collaboration between the red and blue side of cybersecurity and why security success depends on those two sides working together. On their mission to build stronger, more productive, and well-rounded security teams, PlexTrac provides incredible and insightful metric and messaging tools that change the game for the cybersecurity industry. Timecoded Guide: [05:36] Understanding PlexTrac’s history and mission for cybersecurity teams [09:58] Lack of empathy and understanding in red team and blue team communication [18:48] Breaking through the resentment and confusion within a team [24:45] Envisioning the future of PlexTrac’s community impact [27:52] Caring about your cybersecurity mission beyond yourself Sponsors: Thank you to our sponsors Axonius and PlexTrac for bringing this season of HVR to life! Life is complex. But it’s not about avoiding challenges or fearing failure. Just ask Simone Biles — the greatest gymnast of all time. Want to learn more about how Simone controls complexity? Watch her video at axonius.com/simone PlexTrac is pleased to offer an exclusive Red Team Content Bundle for Hacker Valley listeners. This bundle contains both our "Writing a Killer Penetration Test Report" and "Effective Purple Teaming" white papers in ONE awesome package. Head to PlexTrac.com/HackerValley to learn more about the platform and get your copy today! What is the function of PlexTrac that would help you the most as a pen tester? With prior hands-on experience on the red side, Dan found his journey to creating PlexTrac to be full of moments where he wanted to fix the same problems he encountered over and over with reporting and communicating. One of these problems was solved easily with the addition of a video feature, a simple function that has existed since PlexTrac first began but is instrumental and is a huge time-saver for visual learners. “As a pen tester, I hated finding that I had 20-odd screenshots if it's a pretty complex exploit. I think the adage for us is like, if a picture's worth 1,000 words, then a video is worth 1,000 pictures, right?” What do you think are some of the gaps in skills that organizations face when hiring these professionals to perform offensive operations? Communication is key— not just in life, but in this episode. While we’ve discussed skills gaps previously in cybersecurity, Dan is quick to point out that a consistent gap he sees in all areas of cybersecurity is effective communication. PlexTrac keeps this struggle to communicate in mind and creates easy, simple pathways and functions that encourage communication and facilitate collaborative problem solving. “If there's one area that I really emphasize with anybody that I'm mentoring or have hired in the past is, as a security person, whether you're red or blue, you really do need to be a good communicator and be able to communicate risk effectively within the right context.” What would you want to say to those folks that don't see eye-to-eye from the red or the blue side? We’re fighting the same fight, no matter if we’re on the red side or the blue side of cybersecurity. Dan’s message for our warring red and blue teams throughout the industry is to understand the importance of your mission and to not let relationships between red and blue feel clouded with misunderstanding or resentment. No one’s job is harder than anyone else’s, and each role on offensive and defensive plays a part in our collective victory. “I'm gonna just be point blank about it…Are you trying to just prove a point about your knowledge and your skills? Or, are you actually trying to make the world a safer place?” What would you want to say to all those folks out there [in cybersecurity]? As PlexTrac aims to make a huge impact on our community, Dan and his team acknowledge a need for a unified, focused, and collaborative cybersecurity industry, with hard workers on both the red and blue sides. With PlexTrac’s assistance in making reports, measurable results, and communication that much easier, our team at Hacker Valley is thankful to be a part of PlexTrac’s amazing network and can’t wait to share more tools like this with all of you. “I think keep fighting the good fight, for both sides, and recognizing that your mission is vital to the safety and security of your organization and the world at large, right? We are all in this battle together.” ---------- Links: Spend some time with our guest, Dan DeCloss, on LinkedIn, and the PlexTrac website Keep up with Hacker Valley on our website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter. Follow Ron Eddings on Twitter and LinkedIn Catch up with Chris Cochran on Twitter and LinkedIn

Anne Ricketts, Founder & Principal of Lighthouse Communications, brings her techniques for public speaking and presenting to the show to help Chris and Ron unpack unhelpful mindsets around storytelling and unhealthy speaking habits. Covering the basics from filler words to hand gestures, eye contact to working the camera, Anne explains the role storytelling plays in the way people communicate at the office, out in public in their free time, virtually on Zoom, and even onstage at events like TEDx. Timecoded Guide: [00:00] Why Anne became a communication coach [05:16] How COVID impacted public speaking and presentations [12:57] Why you shouldn’t stop hand gesturing [18:38] How to stop saying “um”, “like,” “so,” and other filler words [22:45] What makes storytelling an essential career communication tool Sponsor Links: Thank you to our sponsors Axonius and AttackIQ for bringing this episode to life! Complexity is increasing and manual asset inventory approaches no longer cut it. That's where Axonius comes in. Take control of security complexities by uncovering gaps in your organization. Sign up for a free walk through of the platform at axonius.com/get-a-tour AttackIQ - better insights, better decisions, and real security outcomes. That's why we partnered with them to create free cybersecurity trainings! Check it out at academy.attackiq.com Why was communication coaching your chosen profession? Anne wasn’t always a communication coach, but she’s always been passionate about helping others speak. In fact, prior to 2013, Anne taught English as a second language to a variety of people, first in Italy, then in San Francisco. When Anne founded Lighthouse Communications, her goal was to help everyone, English speaking or not, communicate efficiently and confidently. Speaking skills and storytelling talent can open up a world of opportunities for anyone, and Anne is excited that she can help others unlock their potential everyday. “I really like helping people because there's so many small things you can do to look more confident, like the way you stand or projecting your voice. If you look more confident, you start to feel more confident.” In the past two years, because of the pandemic, what have been the ways that you've seen communication coaching change? With so few events and courses happening in-person, Anne had to shift her mindset around coaching and her advice she gives to clients. Virtual presentation unlocked a new world of communication, but comes with new rules and a learning curve. Thankfully, Anne has learned to love the world of virtual and believes that when professionals give their all to connecting with their audience, amazing communication can still occur, even from long distances away. “Normally, when teaching a class, you can see if someone's struggling or confused, you can walk over and connect with them. Everything was happening so fast in the Zoom room, I personally felt like I started from scratch.” How could someone who isn't the biggest fan of small talk reset and reframe small talk in a way that's valuable for them? Networking and communicating can feel like a chore, especially when small talk is involved. Anne believes that small talk, as awkward and boring as it may be, allows professionals an amazing opportunity to practice connecting with others on a small scale and hone their listening and storytelling skills. Ask curious questions to connect with others during small talk moments, and don’t fear the occasional awkwardness that comes with meeting someone new. “If you want to be good at small talk, it's just being curious. Asking questions like, ‘Hey, what's that in your background?,’ or in person, ‘Tell me more about yourself. Oh, interesting. Where did you go to school?’ Asking specific follow up questions and just being curious.” What advice would you have for anyone that has impactful details to share, but doesn't really know how to make it into a story? Storytelling is one of the most valuable skills a professional can learn, according to Anne. Stories allow us an opportunity to connect with others emotionally and mentally, and can even inspire someone to action with the power of simple words. Anne’s biggest advice around the art of storytelling is to practice. Listen to the stories others tell, build your experiences around a framework that feels personally right to you, and practice, practice, practice. “What makes for a good story is tension, emotion. We want to know what was going through your head during that security hack, what was the reaction, what was at stake, and that's not necessarily, on an everyday basis, how we're trained to speak at work.” --------------- Links: Keep up with Anne Ricketts on LinkedIn Check out Lighthouse Communications on LinkedIn and their website https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDI32BRr2pY Connect with Ron Eddings on LinkedIn and Twitter Connect with Chris Cochran on LinkedIn and Twitter Purchase a HVS t-shirt at our shop Continue the conversatio

We’re breaking down the concept of difference makers this week, and we couldn’t help but call upon Mari Galloway, CEO of Women’s Society of Cyberjutsu, to be our guest during this conversation. As a black woman in cybersecurity who has dedicated a large portion of her career to helping women and girls become a part of the cyber community on both the technical and non-technical sides, Mari is a stunning example of making a difference and creating a path to expand cybersecurity beyond stereotypes. Timecoded Guide: [01:29] Defining the difference makers and explaining the OODA loop [13:52] Introducing Mari and the Women’s Society of Cyberjutsu [20:14] Finding her purpose in helping others find their purpose [25:06] Explaining the roles and paths available outside of strictly technical [30:31] Understanding imposter syndrome and forging a freedom-based career journey Sponsor Links: Thank you to our sponsors Axonius and PlexTrac for bringing this season of HVR to life! Life is complex. But it’s not about avoiding challenges or fearing failure. Just ask Simone Biles — the greatest gymnast of all time. Want to learn more about how Simone controls complexity? Watch her video at axonius.com/simone PlexTrac is pleased to offer an exclusive Red Team Content Bundle for Hacker Valley listeners. This bundle contains both our "Writing a Killer Penetration Test Report" and "Effective Purple Teaming" white papers in ONE awesome package. Head to PlexTrac.com/HackerValley to learn more about the platform and get your copy today! What is that like to see people go from taking that original red pill all the way through starting their career in cybersecurity? When we talk about making a difference, many of us don’t get to see our impact as clearly as the Women’s Society of Cyberjutsu sometimes gets to see. Mari tells us numerous stories of women throughout this episode, including herself, who became a part of this industry because of the instrumental work they do in outreach and education. For Mari, seeing women change their minds and majors to become a part of the tech industry shows how vital this work is. “These are the moments we're waiting for, whether it's one person or 50 million people. We want you to feel confident enough to get the skills you need, get in the industry, continue to refine those skills, and be super successful.” What would you equate your purpose to, and how does everything you do fit into it? Like many of us, Mari isn’t entirely sure what her purpose is, but she knows that she enjoys helping the next generation and making a difference in the landscape of cybersecurity. Working with a nonprofit is not an easy job, even if it is rewarding, and Mari still prioritizes her freedom alongside meeting her purpose. No matter what Mari’s future holds, she knows that this work and this purpose to help others will always find her. “I think as I get older, as I start to take steps back to just kind of look at what's happened and the impact that I'm having and others around me are having on the next generation of folks coming up, I think my purpose is to help people. It's to help other people see their potential.” How do you feel like creating that safe environment has affected others? Helping others find their footing in the cybersecurity industry can be extremely rewarding, especially when Mari found herself in a situation of uncertainty when she first joined the Cyberjutsu Tribe. The community of cybersecurity and the stereotypes around hackers can feel incredibly uninviting from the outside. Offering people, especially women and young girls, an opportunity to step into a safe space where they can ask anything has been huge for Mari. “We call it our Cyberjutsu Tribe, and we want to make sure that anybody that comes to us feels like they can reach out and touch us and ask us questions and get answers and just have a conversation with us.” How do we invite more people in and let them know that there are opportunities in cyber outside of technical roles? Whether you’re hacking, selling, managing, or marketing, there is a space for you in the cybersecurity world. You don’t have to code or to be extremely technical to fit in this industry anymore, and you don’t have to have a certain look. The Women’s Society of Cyberjutsu prioritizes educating people on every role involved in the industry and showing them that they don’t have to be a tech wizard or a computer guru to find a satisfying and profitable position. “You don't have to look like this to be a hacker. You can look like me…That stereotype, I think, is dying, as we see the number of women coming in and men coming into the space that don't look like that anymore.” Links: Spend some time with our guest, Mari Galloway, on LinkedIn, Twitter, her website , and the Women’s Society of Cyberjutsu website. Keep up with Hacker Valley on our website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter. Follow Ron Eddings on Twitter. Catch up with Chris Cochan on Twitter.

Christian Hyatt, CEO & Co-Founder of risk3sixty, knows the secret to building a strong cybersecurity team, and he calls it: Security Team Operating Systems. Walking through his entrepreneurial journey from inspiration as a young child to discovering his interest in the new phenomenon of cyber to co-founding risk3sixty, Christian covers every aspect of intelligent leading and team building. Ready to take your team to the next level? Christian knows 5 key elements you won’t want to miss. Timecoded Guide: [00:00] Tackling cybersecurity as a business owner in an emerging industry [07:04] Building better teams with an emphasis on core values [14:16] Noticing the potential of decentralized technology and data [18:51] Stepping away from hands-on technician work to be the boss [22:37] Leading healthy teams through missions, KPIs, and meeting cadences Sponsor Links: Thank you to our sponsors Axonius and AttackIQ for bringing this episode to life! Want to learn more about how Mindbody enhanced their asset visibility and increased their cybersecurity maturity rating with Axonius? Check out axonius.com/mindbody AttackIQ - better insights, better decisions, and real security outcomes. That's why we partnered with them to create free cybersecurity trainings! Check it out at academy.attackiq.com Where did the journey of wanting to be a cybersecurity and privacy business owner begin for you? While many guests on Hacker Valley take the journey from technician to eventual business founder, Christian felt the urge to become an entrepreneur from a young age. Watching his father and grandfather run their own businesses, Christian understood the responsibilities of taking this journey and wanted to make an impact in an industry that was blossoming with potential. Cybersecurity came into Christian’s life later, when he was employed at a consulting industry, but he saw the potential for growth immediately and wanted to be a part of it. “Along the way, what I learned about myself is I really love building teams. When we built risk3sixty, we were really culture-oriented, even from the early days. We were thinking about scaling the business, career plans, coaching plans, culture kind of stuff.” What are some of the lessons you’ve learned in the process of building your team at risk3sixty? Christian cites the books Traction by Gino Wickman and Scaling Up by Verne Harnish as two of his biggest inspirations and influences for team building early on in his entrepreneurial journey. Both of these authors heavily focus on the people element of professional teams, and Christian has implemented that same approach when forming cybersecurity and privacy teams at risk3sixty. The right people in the right positions will make or break a company, which is why risk3sixty has training and apprenticeship programs in place to build a strong foundation of skills with people who are passionate about learning and growing with the company. “It turns out, if you get the right people in the door, you invest in them, you coach with them, you develop relationships, they're going to serve your clients like no one else is going to do it. They're gonna be part of that mission, they're gonna want to serve, and you do great work.” Now that you aren’t as hands-on with security assessments as a CEO, what have you learned from the bigger picture, macro-perspective role you have now? Many cybersecurity technicians feel understandably cautious about taking over C-level positions because of the lack of hands-on technical assessment work. However, for Christian, he’s enjoyed gaining a different perspective on the industry and learning the “why” behind the “what” as CEO of risk3sixty. As CEO, Christian is able to better understand overarching trends and changes in the security assessments his company performs and has the opportunity to talk directly with security executives about opportunities for growth and investment. “You can walk into an organization and if they don't have a strong leader at the helm, they don't have a security team operating system, they're a little bit dysfunctional, I know already that I'm going to see some problems in there.” What are the most important characteristics that you're finding for folks that are leading really healthy cybersecurity teams? Security team operating systems are made up of the non-technical skills and characteristics that make a team effective. When Christian’s team at risk3sixty needed to hone in on these specific elements, they narrowed it down to 5. Teams need to have a (1) defined purpose and mission to go after and a (2) core set of values to not only guide them through their work, but also understand their (3) set of expected behaviors and standards. There also have to be (4) consistent meeting cadences in place and (5) a solid, standard process of goal setting, KPIs, and score carding. “A great team defines their purpose and mission. Usually, that’s aligned with a business objective. It might be about protecting data,

Those on the red team may not be household names to the everyday person, but they are absolutely legends and icons in the world of cybersecurity and hacking. While we have our personal favorite hackers between the two of us, we also invite our guest, Davin Jackson, to share his favorite cybersecurity legends and the lessons he’s learned from them. Timecode Guide: [00:50] The importance of red teaming, especially during this season [02:17] Ron and Chris’ first experience working in a red team environment [11:23] Communication and collaboration between blue and red [16:53] Knowledge gained from Davin Jackson’s humble beginnings in tech [22:19] Gaining the blue perspective with Hacker Valley Blue Thank you to our sponsors Axonius and PlexTrac for bringing this season of HVR to life! Life is complex. But it’s not about avoiding challenges or fearing failure. Just ask Simone Biles — the greatest gymnast of all time. Want to learn more about how Simone controls complexity? Watch her video at axonius.com/simone PlexTrac is pleased to offer an exclusive Red Team Content Bundle for Hacker Valley listeners. This bundle contains both our "Writing a Killer Penetration Test Report" and "Effective Purple Teaming" white papers in ONE awesome package. Head to PlexTrac.com/HackerValley to learn more about the platform and get your copy today! _____________ Legends, Icons, Teachers, and Friends From Marcus Carey to Johnny Long, we’re excited to share the legends that had an early influence and lasting impact on our careers in cybersecurity. While our two backgrounds in red teaming are different, we can attribute so much of our success and our ability to share our knowledge with all of you to the experts that were willing to invite us to join and learn the best hacking techniques alongside them. “I think that's the most important thing in red teaming, it’s passing that knowledge on to someone else.” - Chris Cochran Communication, collaboration, and community instead of red vs blue It is not two teams with two separate fights when we’re talking about red teams and blue teams. Often, when cybersecurity is too focused on this split between offensive and defensive, we forget to collaborate and fall short of improving on issues we discovered. Communication between red and blue can be a costly struggle, which is why we’re happy to see our sponsor PlexTrac stepping in to develop communication technology for these teams. “There's this push and pull of collaboration. On one hand, you want the red team to work autonomously…but on the other hand, they do need insight if you’re going to go deeper and deeper.” - Ron Eddings Legends met, lessons learned, tech loneliness understood In the latter half of our episode, we’re joined by Hacker Valley Blue host Davin Jackson, also known as DJax Alpha. Davin started his cybersecurity journey with no computer of his own. Working his way up from basic tech jobs at corporations like Circuit City, lessons Davin learned from the legends he looked up to include finding a mentor, focusing on networking (even when it feels like a dead end), and being always willing to share what you’ve learned. “It’s about consistency, and you have to have self control and discipline…It’s one thing to get it, but it’s another to maintain that success.” - Davin ---------- Spend some time with our guest, Davin Jackson (DJax Alpha/Alpha Cyber Security) on his website, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and weekly on the Hacker Valley Blue podcast. Follow Ron Eddings on Twitter and LinkedIn Catch up with Chris Cochan on Twitter and LinkedIn Keep up with Hacker Valley on our website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter.

Kevin Apolinario, better known as Kevtech IT Support on Youtube, brings his teaching skills to Hacker Valley to talk about the barriers to entry in IT. Disheartened by the lack of good advice given to him as he entered the tech world, Kev breaks down programs and concepts, such as helpdesk, for IT practitioners that may not have access to expensive equipment or formal education. Anyone can learn IT, and it’s Kev’s mission to help everyone find the method and the teacher that helps them learn the best. Timecoded Guide: [00:00] Forming Kevtech IT Support to give the right IT advice [07:21] Helpdesk success through customer service skills [11:49] Printers on VPNs and other major IT troubleshooting lessons [15:56] Customizing teaching and learning experiences for each IT practitioner [19:54] Better IT and cyber online communities through shared passion Sponsor Links: Thank you to our sponsors Axonius and AttackIQ for bringing this episode to life! Want to learn more about how Mindbody enhanced their asset visibility and increased their cybersecurity maturity rating with Axonius? Check out axonius.com/mindbody AttackIQ - better insights, better decisions, and real security outcomes. That's why we partnered with them to create free cybersecurity trainings! Check it out at academy.attackiq.com What was your inspiration to start teaching as Kevtech IT Support? Kev hardly had a traditional journey into IT, instead having jobs in the restaurant industry and law enforcement before even considering entering the tech world. When Kev became a Field Technician for the Department of Education and began learning the ropes of IT, he realized there weren’t resources available for someone of his background to learn simple concepts or master common technical programs. After dealing with the frustrations of education gaps and unreliable advice, Kev decided to be the person for new IT technicians to learn from. “My journey was rough, because I didn't have anyone guiding me, I didn't have anyone telling me what certs to get. I didn't have anyone telling me the tips and tricks for starting in IT.” Was it intentional to interweave your name and brand and have them be synonymous? Hacker Valley feels synonymous with Chris and Ron’s branding for themselves, and Kev maintains a similar element of that with Kevtech IT Support, especially considering he weaves his name directly into his branding. For Kev, this was an entirely purposeful decision, born out of his own desire to be known as Kev, the helpdesk IT guru on YouTube. Building a brand with authenticity about who he is personally and professionally shows other IT professionals that their work or education experiences don’t have to be separate from who they really are. “That was on purpose for me because I always wanted to be known as the helpdesk guru of IT. Someone that does IT superbly and helps everyone…I wanted to actually show people real-life experiences.” How would you go about having a tough conversation with somebody whose passion isn’t in IT or cyber? Some people are just in it for the money, whether that “it” is IT or cybersecurity. Considering the spotlight being placed on cyber labor shortages and tech skills gaps, many professionals have considered joining the field without the passion to support their new job shift. Although Kev believes everyone should be welcome to learn about IT, he understands that there’s a cause of concern in making IT all about the money. The industry needs passionate individuals, Kev explains, and the desire to learn needs to be present when you take that next step into IT. “I'm sorry, but this field is not for everyone. If you're going to work helpdesk, or IT support, you need to know how to deal with customer service, you need to know how to deal with people.” What piece of advice would you have for cyber or IT professionals looking to level up their community? From Kev’s perspective, gatekeeping isn’t just mean, it’s legitimately harmful to the IT community. IT professionals can’t level up without leaders willing to step up and teach their knowledge. Hiding IT tips or tricks doesn’t save careers, it only succeeds in hurting other IT practitioners and negatively impacting customers relying on that expertise. Kev advocates for increasing transparency within the IT and cyber communities, and explains that gaining knowledge should be valued more than capital gains by practitioners and professionals. “I believe in helping the community, I believe in sharing your knowledge. So, the more engaged you get with the community, the better it is for everyone.” --------------- Links: Keep up with Kevin Apolinario on LinkedIn Check out Kevtech IT Support on YouTube and Discord Connect with Ron Eddings on LinkedIn and Twitter Connect with Chris Cochran on LinkedIn and Twitter Purchase a HVS t-shirt at our shop Continue the conversation by joining our Discord Check out Hacker Valley Media and Hacker Valley Studio

In this season of Hacker Valley Red, we focus on cybersecurity legends in offensive operations with a legend in the physical pen testing and lockpicking: Deviant Ollam. As a pioneer in our industry and an author of two incredible books about lockpicking, Deviant shares his history from hobbyist to professional and all that he’s learned along the way about making the secrets of the hacking world accessible to all. Timecoded Guide: [01:28] Defining the pioneers in cybersecurity [08:47] Deviant’s first explorations in lockpicking [16:03] Accessing and democratizing hacking secrets [18:58] Becoming an author to transfer his knowledge [23:12] Seeing the past, present, and future of hacking Sponsor Links: Thank you to our sponsors Axonius and PlexTrac for bringing this season of HVR to life! Life is complex. But it’s not about avoiding challenges or fearing failure. Just ask Simone Biles — the greatest gymnast of all time. Want to learn more about how Simone controls complexity? Watch her video at axonius.com/simone PlexTrac is pleased to offer an exclusive Red Team Content Bundle for Hacker Valley listeners. This bundle contains both our "Writing a Killer Penetration Test Report" and "Effective Purple Teaming" white papers in ONE awesome package. Head to PlexTrac.com/HackerValley to learn more about the platform and get your copy! And be sure to come say hello to us at Black Hat at Booth #1686! ---------------- What does it mean to be a pioneer in cybersecurity? As our season focuses on legends, it’s important that we explain what makes these individuals such a vital part of our community. In the case of this episode, we explain that our guest Deviant is nothing short of a pioneer. Deviant has been willing to take on new challenges and revolutionize the industry throughout his career, influencing hundreds of individuals and leaving a lasting educational impact on the entire industry. “That ‘zero to one’ part can be the hardest part of any progression in any field, but especially in cybersecurity.” — Chris When you reflect on changing this whole industry, how does that make you feel? Despite our guest’s legendary reputation, Deviant is humble about his achievements, caring more about how his work has impacted others than himself. What he focuses most on in his teaching, presentations, and writing is making lockpicking and penetration testing accessible and understandable. Instead of harboring secrets and perpetuating exclusionary policies, Deviant wants anyone to be able to master these skills and understand this knowledge. “I’m not the first one who ever did this. What I like to think of my contributions is that they have chiefly been making it accessible and democratizing this knowledge.” — Deviant Do you think it's harder today to stand out than it was a couple decades ago? For Deviant, our globalized internet and algorithm-focus social media sites are both a blessing and a curse. While knowledge can be found on every corner of the web and anyone can become familiar with information that was once borderline inaccessible, Deviant also recognizes that younger hackers and lockpickers will have a very different rise to success than he did years ago, especially due to fragmented audiences and tricky algorithms. “We have more avenues to put yourself on display, to put yourself out there than ever before, but that means the audience is fragmented and is spread so thin.” — Deviant What piece of advice would you have for the folks that want to make an impact in security and technology and in our community today? Although success will look different for newer members of our cybersecurity community, Deviant is confident that the younger innovative minds of the future will be able to solve so many of the long-standing problems within our industry. However, he reminds our younger audience that they need to still respect the tenured members of the cybersecurity world and to learn from them without oversimplifying the issues past professionals have faced. “Start thinking about it in a way that doesn’t use ‘just,’ because every old head in the industry has heard that….We couldn’t ‘just’ do it, or we would’ve ‘just’ done it.” - Deviant ------ LINKS: Spend some time with our guest, Deviant Ollam, on his website, Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube channel. Keep up with Hacker Valley on our website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter. Follow Ron Eddings on Twitter. Catch up with Chris Cochan on Twitter.

Karim Hijazi, Founder & CEO at Prevailion and host of the Introverted Iconoclast podcast, comes to Hacker Valley Studio to discuss his varied experiences in entrepreneurship. With a humble start in bartending, Karim explains how learning about people inspired his exploration into counterespionage and cybersecurity. Armed with stories from the streets of NYC to the hallways of his own companies, this episode is a look into the mind of a successful entrepreneur and founder of 2 incredible businesses. Timecoded Guide: [00:00] Bartending in NYC and its overlap with espionage and entrepreneurship [07:14] Real-life knowledge application in cyber intelligence [12:15] Founding Unveillance and being acquired by Mandiant [18:22] Karim’s entrepreneurial mindset and his journey with Prevailion [24:51] DIY podcasting with Introverted Iconoclast and learning to tell his stories Sponsor Links: Thank you to our sponsors Axonius and AttackIQ for bringing this episode to life! Want to learn more about how Mindbody enhanced their asset visibility and increased their cybersecurity maturity rating with Axonius? Check out axonius.com/mindbody AttackIQ - better insights, better decisions, and real security outcomes. That's why we partnered with them to create free cybersecurity trainings! Check it out at academy.attackiq.com How do your experiences in bartending and espionage overlap? The jobs taken as a means to an end just might teach something invaluable. This was the case for Karim, who took a job bartending to make ends meet while he figured out what he wanted to do with his future. At the time, cybersecurity and counterespionage weren’t on Karim’s radar, but bartending taught him about people; how they act when they want something and how to connect with them even in the busiest and most public places. Learning this changed the game for Karim when he got into the espionage world and assisted him even more so when he became an entrepreneur in the industry. “It's just learning the way to slowly gain a confidence level with someone. It's actually where the word "con man" comes from, confidence man. Ultimately, that is how you get the information you need.” What are the different aspects that organizations or individuals look at with counterintelligence? At Karim’s own firm, the shift from competitive intelligence to counterintelligence focused around three security aspects. One, identifying weak spots and vulnerabilities, noticing your points of exploitations and vectors of attack. Two, taking advantage of disinformation, using it to root out moles within an organization and throw off cyber adversaries. Finally, three, finding out where your information is going and noticing where there is weaker security than your own. Karim emphasizes that in this third aspect, it is not so much about an organization’s strategy when the information is still at home. It’s harder to secure information once it goes elsewhere. “A controlled rumor within an organization can do several things. It can weed out a mole that you may have, a spy within your organization that maybe you don't know about, that's been able to be hired and gotten through the background checks and whatnot.” When you look back to starting your journey as an entrepreneur, what are some of the wrong assumptions you made early on? Karim, like many entrepreneurs, was under the impression when he founded his first company, Unveillance, that he should be seeking to hire, not to do anything himself. While hiring is an important part of being a business owner, Karim has realized that it's better to learn how every piece of the machine of a company works before hiring. Trying things out for himself and taking a chance on his own abilities hasn’t been easy, but it’s made him a better leader for his employees. If they drop the ball or need his assistance, he’s able to lead from a place of understanding and call the shots with his own vision in mind and his own knowledge to back him up. “As a CEO, it's almost imperative for you to go and try it all, even if you fumble through it and you get by with something that is subpar. It's better to have tried it and understand it, so now you know how to call the shots a little better.” What prompted you to start your podcast, Introverted Iconoclast? Ironically enough, Karim’s podcast was a do-it-yourself project born out of having an employee drop the ball on creating it for him. Relying on himself and struggling his way through the beginning, Karim realized that podcasting is not just about the equipment and the idea behind it, it’s about the stories being told. Focusing on the lead up and context around some of his own career stories and professional highlights, Karim was able to discover the rhythm for his podcast and build a solid foundation of content that opened up doors for new topics to be addressed and new guests to welcome onto his show. “It's very cathartic for me. Speaking the stories out loud, rather than just sort of regaling people

Henri Davis, CEO of TechTual Consulting & host of the TechTual Talk Podcast, comes to Hacker Valley this week to talk about his history with cybersecurity incident response and the content he currently creates with the TechTual Chatter Youtube channel. From interview tips, passion vs creativity, the intersection of cybersecurity and content creation, Henri walks through the path his career has taken him on, as well as imparts advice on those looking to follow a similar journey. Timecoded Guide: [00:00] Explaining incident response’s role in cyber [07:15] Henri’s journey from incident response to TechTual CEO [14:04] TechTual Consulting’s content about interviews & breaking into cybersecurity [23:43] Marrying passions together within your career path [29:54] Career path advice, cybersecurity vs content creation Sponsor Links: Thank you to our sponsors Axonius and AttackIQ for bringing this episode to life! Want to learn more about how Mindbody enhanced their asset visibility and increased their cybersecurity maturity rating with Axonius? Check out axonius.com/mindbody AttackIQ - better insights, better decisions, and real security outcomes. That's why we partnered with them to create free cybersecurity trainings! Check it out at academy.attackiq.com If you could explain it to someone who has never been in a cybersecurity incident before, what is it like from the beginning of the incident through to closure? While the majority of Henri’s work revolves currently on content creation, Henri’s background in cyber has extensive involvement in incident response. Incident response, although vital for today’s cyber industry, is sometimes misunderstood, even by cybersecurity practitioners. Henri explains that incident response is something you don’t see the usefulness of until you do it, and that attempting to work through an incident can feel like dealing with a car crash; you always have a risk of something like this happening, and it matters how you prepare for it. “An incident is like a car wreck. A wreck is something that you have a potential risk for, but you drive with insurance hoping that if it does happen, you know what to do. And even though it happens, you're still not prepared for the actual wreck.” How are you hoping to help people, especially those breaking into cybersecurity, with TechTual’s content? Henri’s focus on TechTual has given him an outlet for content creation and he hopes to use that platform to consistently help others. With the pandemic creating many jobless and job searching people, Henri saw an opportunity to focus on cybersecurity and IT content and assist outsiders looking to transition into the cyber industry. From tips about interviews to assistance with resumes, Henri often covers the basics with the mission to empower others, no matter their background, to embrace the ever-expanding industry. “My goal is to say it's okay. Everyone has a starting place, everyone has to start from somewhere. Just build your skill set up and eventually, you won't even have to have your LinkedIn profile open for work.” When you find something that you're passionate about, and then you find another thing that you're passionate about, how do you marry those two together? A marriage between passion is definitely possible, especially when looking at someone like Henri, who combines his love of content creation with his experience in cybersecurity and his passion for helping others. However, Henri is realistic in explaining that there’s a give and a take to the decisions made around your career path and how passions impact that. Henri recommends choosing a career path not just centered around passion, but instead focused on providing for yourself and your family. When your needs are fulfilled with your job, your passions and hobbies can grow and turn into legitimate projects in your life. “If I was just by myself, I could just bet on myself, I always bet on myself. When you have that family aspect to it, you have to kind of weigh your options and see when the time is going to be right, and how you can do that.” What is that one piece of advice that you would have for somebody that's looking to take one path in their career journey, but they have many paths before them? During episodes of TechTual Talk and TechTual Chatter, Henri focuses heavily on career advice, especially when it comes to making the right decisions in your career journey and behaving professionally during the interview and job search processes. When asked about advice he would give, Henri explains that prioritizing logical paths and being honest in the work you do will always have a positive impact on job prospects. For example, lying in the interview process can lead to long term dissatisfaction between employee and employer, and building a career without a logical path is never a strong foundation for anyone’s future. “What is the most logical path for you right now? Which one is the lowest barrier to entry for you? What's going to take

Eddie Thomason, bestselling author, speaker, consultant, and creator of the Simply Secure podcast, comes to Hacker Valley Studio to discuss financial independence, the freedom of a healthy work-life balance, and habits that have helped him succeed. As a father of two with a full-time job and a thriving content creation career, Eddie explains not only how he does it all, but also how much he cares about helping other security professionals achieve the same level of success. Timecoded Guide: [00:00] Eddie’s background & his current cyber role with Data Locker [06:07] Growing up in Baltimore City & finding his podcasting inspiration [13:10] Balancing work & life with calendar planning [19:13] 4 essential habits: reading, listening, association, & work [28:20] Advice for digital content creators & security professionals Sponsor Links: Thank you to our sponsors Axonius and AttackIQ for bringing this episode to life! Want to learn more about how Mindbody enhanced their asset visibility and increased their cybersecurity maturity rating with Axonius? Check out axonius.com/mindbody AttackIQ - better insights, better decisions, and real security outcomes. That's why we partnered with them to create free cybersecurity trainings! Check it out at academy.attackiq.com What is the connection between cybersecurity and this financial independence and freedom mindset you have? In his book, on his podcast, and throughout his career, Eddie has emphasized the importance of financial independence, especially when it comes to diversifying his income. Instead of calling his projects and revenue streams “side hustles,” Eddie prefers to think of them as baby businesses; small businesses in the infant stage that have massive professional potential. With COVID severely changing Eddie’s economic perspective, he firmly believes in having multiple sources of income and in fostering the growth of each project until he’s seeing revenue to rival the full-time income he already makes in his day job. “If you look at it as a side hustle, that's all it's ever going to be, it's just something that creates a little bit of extra income, but if you look at it as a baby business, that could really replace the income that you currently make.” How do you balance content creation, day-to-day job responsibilities, and fatherhood? Being an author and a cybersecurity consultant can both already be demanding jobs, but throwing 2 young children and an entire podcast into the mix makes Eddie’s success borderline hard to believe. However, Eddie credits his success to understanding his priorities and heavily managing his calendar. Entrepreneurs need to think of their schedules down to the minute, maybe even the second. Eddie is not afraid to set aside time for his children, even if it means he has to work in the evenings on his own entrepreneurial goals. Eddie knows that when he puts his calendar together, he is giving himself the time he needs and deserves to work and spend time on what’s important to him, even alongside all his other responsibilities as an employee. “If you're going to work for 8 hours a day for somebody else's dream, then why can't you come home on a daily basis and give yourself at least 2 hours? We're not talking about a whole nother 8, but give yourself at least two hours. From the hours of 5 to 7, what can you do to invest in yourself?” What are some successful habits you’ve picked up throughout your life and that you mention in your book, Unlock Yourself? Four successful habits guide Eddie through his busy life as an entrepreneur and full-time worker, the first of which is reading. Reading is a source of knowledge and connection with others, and Eddie has learned amazing lessons from reading books and articles. The second is listening, which, just like reading, offers Eddie the ability to learn and to connect with the world. Coming in third is association. Surrounding himself with people who inspire him and are dedicated to his goals reminds Eddie of how badly he wants this. Fourth and finally, work. Putting in the work without expecting the success to happen overnight helps Eddie with his patience and always leads to a much better payoff. “If you surround yourself with incredible people who inspire you and uplift you and encourage you, then there's no reason why you should not get to your goal. There's no reason why you should give up because you have people that understand how badly you want to accomplish your goals. They won't let you quit on yourself.” Do you have advice for those looking to achieve success similar to you? Although it may seem daunting to tackle a career as extensive as Eddie’s, Eddie is confident that his mindset around work can help anyone become successful. Most specifically, amongst all the entrepreneurial advice Eddie gives, his strongest point centers around understanding the “why.” Knowing why he does what he does not only helps keep Eddie on track for a solid work-life balance, it also allows him to see the

Jeff Gardner, CISO at Germantown Technologies, comes to Hacker Valley Studio this week to talk about the future of cybersecurity and what up-and-coming hackers may encounter on their journey into an ever-evolving industry. With a specific focus and interest in artificial intelligence, or AI, Jeff’s discussion in this episode covers the current perception of AI in tech, the timeline of when we may see highly-intelligent AI come into play, and what the future of AI looks like from a cybersecurity standpoint. Timecoded Guide: [03:54] Focusing on numerous areas during his day job as CISO and understanding the necessity of a strong team of trusted cyber professionals [09:00] Getting excited about current and upcoming technology in cyber while remaining realistic about present day limitations and needs [15:53] Automating security analyst tasks and finding the quality control balance between machine knowledge and human intuition [22:50] Breaking down the concept of “bad AI” and understanding how to address the issues that may arise if AI is used for nefarious purposes [28:22] Addressing the future of unique thought and creativity for computers and for human beings Sponsor Links: Thank you to our sponsors Axonius and AttackIQ for bringing this episode to life! Want to learn more about how Mindbody enhanced their asset visibility and increased their cybersecurity maturity rating with Axonius? Check out axonius.com/mindbody AttackIQ - better insights, better decisions, and real security outcomes. Be sure to check out the Attack IQ Academy for free cybersecurity training, featuring Ron and Chris of Hacker Valley Studio, at academy.attackiq.com What are some of the things that you are expecting the next generation to be doing when it comes to bypassing security in a way that they won't get caught? Jeff, like many hackers and security pros in the industry, started his journey in cyber by hacking different systems from his own computer as a kid just because he could get away with it. While that type of hacking still exists, there are new ways for systems to manage and counteract these threats and attacks, as well as expose who is behind it. The new generation of hackers will learn in different ways on different technology, and Jeff is confident that what they choose will come because of where the security industry is already going, with devices that use machine learning and pattern learning, as well as the continuing development of AI. “When it comes to artificial intelligence and all the myriad of models and neurons and all that, we're still pretty much at single neuron, maybe double neuron systems. But, as things evolve, it's gonna be harder and harder to bypass those defenses.” What is your perspective of AI not being here and available for us yet? In Jeff’s opinion, the biggest thing missing from our current AI to really make it the intelligence we claim it is, is creativity. We have smart technology, we have technology that can automate tasks and can be told very easily what to do, all through feeding in data and processes. However, Jeff points out that most of what we call artificial intelligence in the cyber and tech industries doesn’t have the creativity or the human intuition to match the human brain. We’re in an exciting escalation of technology and intelligence, but we aren’t at true AI yet. “I think one of the things that's missing from AI, and it's being solved rapidly, is creativity. We train it through models, but those models are only the data that we give it. How smart is the system if you just give it a plethora of data and have it come to its own conclusions?” How far away do you think we are from highly intelligent AI? Although the futuristic AI that appears in science fiction movies and books isn’t here yet, Jeff believes we aren’t far off from a level of computer technology that we have never seen before. With the quantum leaps in technology that we’ve continued to see, namely in computers starting to solve math problems we’ve never even thought of or engage with art in a way we’ve never dreamed possible. What we see now is the tip of the iceberg, but the future holds massive potential for what AI will look like and what automation of certain tasks will look like, with accuracy rates for analysis technology continuing to narrow to 99.9% accuracy rates. “When you can get to that level of processing speed, you can do things we can't even dream of, and that's what they're doing now. They're solving math problems in ways that humans have never thought of, they're creating art in ways that humans couldn't imagine.” How do we create AI for good? The fear of the “evil” or “bad” artificial intelligence comes up frequently when we discuss what the future of AI may look like from a security standpoint. However, Jeff is confident that the issue is not as black and white as our fears make it. For starters, when we understand the purpose behind what “bad” AI might be programmed to do, we can put other measures i

Leadership expert, Dr. Stacey Ashley, joins us at the Hacker Valley Studio to talk about her journey from the corporate world of leadership to her current roles in consulting and coaching. As a speaker, author, and educator for leaders, especially executive and C-level leaders, Dr. Ashley shares foundational skills needed to go from expert to leader, mindset shifts that need to occur regarding our perspective on our own leadership responsibilities, and experiences that inspired her to become an author. Timecoded Guide: [02:58] Developing stronger leadership capabilities and understanding the value of scaling work with her decision to become an author [09:51] Jumping over the hurdles and obstacles to becoming a better leader through mindfulness, practice, and checking the privilege of your executive role [13:45] Knowing when to get off the treadmill of busyness and focusing on setting better boundaries for yourself as a leader [20:53] Cultivating the next level of leadership with a focus on mentoring, role modeling, and coaching [25:40] Providing advice for future leaders and understanding the values of awareness and of developing your listening skills Sponsor Links: Thank you to our sponsors Axonius and AttackIQ for bringing this episode to life! Want to learn more about how Mindbody enhanced its asset visibility and increased its cybersecurity maturity rating with Axonius? Check out axonius.com/mindbody AttackIQ - better insights, better decisions, and real security outcomes. That's why we partnered with them to create free cybersecurity trainings! Check it out at academy.attackiq.com What have been some of the challenges that you've seen, out of yourself or from others, to start to cultivate that leadership ability? There’s a common path to leadership in many industries, especially tech and cyber, where becoming good at your job skyrockets you into leadership spaces and executive roles. While this is often an achievement worth being proud of, Dr. Ashley warns that we rarely mentor and teach these newly appointed leaders how to lead. Expert skills are important to have, but not being able to satisfy your executive role and your leadership responsibilities with developed leadership skills leads to confusion and dissatisfaction amongst employees and clients who aren’t receiving the type of leadership guidance normally delivered by someone in that role. “It's great to have those specialist skills, but it's not enough. If you're going to lead people, if you're going to lead a program of work, if you're going to be a thought leader, or an influencer, or any of those things, you need to have more skills.” What are some of the common obstacles that people have that keeps them from being the best leader that they can be? Dr. Ashley is the first to admit that tech leadership issues and obstacles are hardly a one size fits all. However, a commonality she sees is a focus on busyness instead of on active leadership practices. Being “busy” does not translate into high levels of productivity, especially for leaders in prominent company or industry roles. She advises that a better focus for leaders and aspiring executives is to practice their leadership skills and prioritize finding a coach or mentor, instead of just filling up their schedule with unnecessary busy work. “This whole concept of busy isn't actually very effective. Busy is just doing stuff for the sake of doing stuff. One of the things that I find that great leaders do is that they're really clear about where they make a difference, where they add value, where they can make a real contribution. They don't focus on being busy, they focus on the important stuff.” What sort of creative license do you give for those people that just want to be helpful, but are over taxed when it comes to their job? We all want to better prioritize our tasks and to feel less overwhelmed by our work, but setting boundaries often feels mean or unrealistic for those used to being helpful and people pleasing. Dr. Ashley sees this a lot in her work, where she often advises people to consider how they’re saying no and what ways they’re presenting what they’re working on. By showing people that you have important tasks that rely on your focus to attend to, you’re inviting them to see your time in a much more understanding light and you will invite them to consider that they should try on their own for a solution and prioritize their own tasks before they can engage with you again. “I think if we let people know that we're doing something else, and that it has a big impact, then they're much more understanding. Also, we're giving that other person some time to see if they can figure that thing out on their own rather than relying on us.” What are some of the tenants that you follow for cultivating the next level of leadership? Dr. Ashley believes that one of our key responsibilities as leaders is to grow this next generation of leaders and help them develop the best leadership skills ima

We invite our friend, Ginny Clarke, to Hacker Valley this week to talk about conscious leadership and self-awareness as a way to take our organizations to the next level. Using her prior experience at tech giants like Google and her five dimensions of leadership, Ginny explains how we can better hold the leaders in our lives accountable, what will benefit our civilization the most for future generations in the workplace, and where we should focus our efforts for diversity, equity, and inclusion. Timecoded Guide: [05:34] Losing her parents at a young age, connecting to a spiritual guide to cope with grief and stress, and getting back in touch with ourselves in order to connect with others [12:03] Seeing and validating the past experiences of our fellow humans, healing ourselves in order to heal organizations, and acknowledging the role of mental health in the health of our companies [16:34] Understanding diversity, equity, and inclusion beyond just hiring, and stopping yourself from waiting for an organization to step up to an opportunity that belongs to underrepresented communities [22:38] Shifting the metrics of how we value organizations and leadership, and seeing where the accountability issues of CEOs for what they really are [27:48] Leaving a legacy through creativity and inspiring others to recognize how they have the power to change the world Sponsor Links: Thank you to our sponsors Axonius and Uptycs for bringing this episode to life! Life is complex. But it’s not about avoiding challenges or fearing failure. Just ask Simone Biles — the greatest gymnast of all time. Want to learn more about how Simone controls complexity? Watch her video at axonius.com/simone. With Uptycs, modern defenders can prioritize, investigate and respond to threats across the entire attack surface—all from a common solution: uptycs.com. How do we move current leadership statistics to something much healthier? With a depth of experience in recruiting executive leaders in a variety of organizations, Ginny shares a striking and horrifying statistic with us: 18% of leaders are considered good. Only 18% feels incredibly low, especially when a large portion of companies claims to hire the best leaders based on pedigree-level qualifications. In Ginny’s opinion, leaders are not held to a high enough standard in the workplace, and aren’t measured on their performance beyond basic financials. With so much more at stake, Ginny warns that companies are only as strong as their leaders, and are even weaker when they never hold those leaders accountable. “That’s why we have organizations that are, I dare say, quite fragile. It’s because of the lack of leadership. They might have a lot of money, they might have really intelligent, well-educated people, but to the extent, those organizations don't have actual leaders for whom they are holding accountable for their leadership competencies.” How do we show up better for others and really see the whole human? We cannot improve our society as long as we continue to see ourselves as completely separate from it. This, among other world-changing views, guides Ginny towards seeing people beyond just their outward appearance, viewing them as a whole human, composed of all of their experiences. There is so much fear, anxiety, and bias, especially in the world of hiring and recruiting, and Ginny hopes to show up better for others through better accountability for our leaders and a stronger connection to ourselves. “We, as a civilization, can't fix it as long as we're seeing it as separate from ourselves. So, that's where the self-love comes from, and the support and the sharing and the non-dualistic orientation, which defies everything about tech, right? Tech is all about the binary, the ones and zeros, and here, I'm talking about something that is far more inclusive than that.” What have you learned from this big effort that we have going on with diversity, equity, and inclusion? Ginny, much like many of us in tech, cares about efforts of diversity, equity, and inclusion, but believes that many companies talk the talk without ever walking the walk. When working with recruiters in large companies, Ginny discovered that many don’t understand how to implement diversity in an impactful way in their organizations, beyond appearances and statistics. Encouraging colleagues to be true to their authentic selves in the workplace, she believes that now is the time to embrace diversity at work beyond the limitations of waiting for company leaders to embrace them. “I think there's been organizational malpractice as it relates to diversity, equity, and inclusion. I think you got a lot of people who actually don't want to understand it, they're not going to the root cause. They're throwing money at it, they're hiring a chief diversity officer and saying, ‘Okay, you fix it.’” What do you think people can do today to start to make an impact and move the world in a positive direction? The secret to changing the world?

We invite Bob Kruse, Co-Founder and CEO of Revelstoke Security, down to Hacker Valley Studios this week to talk about his journey from investment banking to cybersecurity sales to owning and operating his company with Josh McCarthy. With a focus on communication and peoples skills, Bob discusses how to be a leader in the cybersecurity community, including building strong relationships with staff members, connecting with cyber experts, and developing successful security teams. Timecoded Guide: [03:40] Selling software to cybersecurity practitioners and managing the skepticism around marketing to an audience that’s taught to doubt and question [08:12] Gaining inspiration for Revelstoke Security from the entrepreneurs in his family and his experience starting his cyber business with his partner Josh McCarthy [12:51] What being an early-stage startup looked like for Revelstoke and lessons learned from their first pitches to cybersecurity investors [15:01] Comparing and contrasting being someone in cybersecurity sales to being a CEO of his very own company [20:58] Looking towards the future of Revelstoke Security as they expand into new markets and continue to build their business around providing solid cybersecurity jobs Sponsor Links: Thank you to our sponsors Axonius and Uptycs for bringing this episode to life! Life is complex. But it’s not about avoiding challenges or fearing failure. Just ask Simone Biles — the greatest gymnast of all time. Want to learn more about how Simone controls complexity? Watch her video at axonius.com/simone. With Uptycs, modern defenders can prioritize, investigate and respond to threats across the entire attack surface—all from a common solution: uptycs.com. Were there any speculations like, "Hey, can this guy really go from sales to being a CEO at a tech company?" Bob’s focus throughout his career in cybersecurity has completely revolved around sales. From his first cybersecurity role at Oracle Corporation to his recent position at Demisto, Bob’s prominence and impact on the cyber industry has always had sales at the center. Co-founding Revelstoke, Bob encountered skepticism and wariness from investors, curious if he would be able to transition into a cybersecurity CEO. Thanks to his knack for knowledge and his confident partner Josh, Bob has defied expectations and built up his own confidence in his new role. “It's about having a co-founder that compliments you, that you can implicitly trust, and implicitly trusts you. You can have the best technology in the world and the best idea in the world, but if you don't have a trusted relationship…it's not going to be successful.” Between your previous life in sales, and now, being a founder and CEO, what are some of the parallels? With so much experience in sales on his resume, we were curious which parts of Bob’s journey to CEO were similar to previous positions he’s held. It turns out, just like we’ve discussed on Hacker Valley Red, communication has been a key element no matter Bob’s position in cyber. No matter who he’s talking to, or what side of the house he’s marketing towards, people skills continue to be his forte. Being able to have discussions with employees, investors, and potential clients relies heavily on honest authentic communication skills, even though his business knowledge has had to grow immensely since becoming CEO. “Today, I still lean on my people skills, and over-communicate. I try to have one-on-ones with everybody in the company. I welcome every new hire we have, and it's increasingly important, obviously, as we have a widely distributed team.” Where has your focus on introductions and networking come from? We know Bob as an introduction master, and he’s even helped us with meeting some of the biggest guests we’ve invited to Hacker Valley. With so many cyber security experts in his network from all corners of the cybersecurity industry, we had to ask Bob where he learned the value of making those connections. It turns out— it’s always been that way for Bob Kruse, from the days of his early childhood working at his father’s business. Connecting others, communicating with them, and learning how to help has been his passion for his entire life. “When somebody needs your help, it's a compliment. I've always found it as a compliment in that I have something they don't, and I can impart on them some sort of an introduction, or a reference, or some knowledge.” What impact or impression are you hoping to leave on the world with Revelstoke? There are a lot of cybersecurity startups that make their way down to Hacker Valley, but Revelstoke Security seems like a different breed, with a strong staff at its core— so strong that they’ve only grown since they began and have yet to lose a single employee. With an impact like that on the cyber job market, we asked Bob what he sees on the horizon for Revelstoke. He made it clear: more jobs. Success, for Bob and Josh at Revelstoke, relies on building strong teams and providin

In the turbulent world of cybersecurity, it can be difficult to not get caught up in the emotions of it all. Fear uncertainty, doubt...not to mention, burnout. It's not surprising cybersecurity is often seen as being a highly stressful field. But is it possible we may be addressing and interpreting our emotions, as practitioners, in the wrong way? Ron and Chris are joined by author and coach, Sherianna Boyle, to talk about the role that emotions play in our daily lives and how to process them correctly. In this episode, Sherianna walks us through: -What goes into emotional detoxing -The difference between reaction and emotion -How breathwork can transform your life Sponsor Links: Thank you to our sponsors Axonius and Uptycs for bringing this episode to life! Life is complex. But it’s not about avoiding challenges or fearing failure. Just ask Simone Biles — the greatest gymnast of all time. Want to learn more about how Simone controls complexity? Watch her video at axonius.com/simone With Uptycs, modern defenders can prioritize, investigate and respond to threats across the entire attack surface—all from a common solution uptycs.com/ Be sure to stop by their booth #435 at RSA 2022 Guest Bio: Sherianna Boyle is an author of nine books including, Emotional Detox Now: 135 Self-Guided Practices to Renew Your Mind, Heart & Body. She is also the founder of the CLEANSE Method® Emotional Detox Coaching® Cleanse Yoga® servicing clients, businesses, healthcare providers and educators worldwide, virtually or on site. You can hear more from Sherianna, and her work, on her show Emotional Detox Now Podcast. Links: Stay in touch with Sherianna Boyle on LinkedIn and Twitter Connect with Ron Eddings on LinkedIn and Twitter Connect with Chris Cochran on LinkedIn and Twitter Purchase a HVS t-shirt at our shop Continue the conversation by joining our Discord Check out Hacker Valley Media and Hacker Valley Studio

Making an impact in the cybersecurity community as a content creator is no easy task! Just ask Derek Scheller, aka The Cyber Warrior. Derek joins hosts Ron and Chris to talk about how he brings his unique personality and positive messages to inspire folks within, and breaking into, cyber. In this this episode, Derek shares: His passion to inspire and motivate others How to make your content stand out How the WWE has inspired his unique persona His thoughts on vulnerability and being authentically yourself Tips for making impactful and sticky content Check out Ron and Chris’ interview with The Cyber Warrior on Security Happy Hour, here! Sponsor Links: Thank you to our sponsors Axonius and Uptycs for bringing this episode to life! Life is complex. But it’s not about avoiding challenges or fearing failure. Just ask Simone Biles — the greatest gymnast of all time. Want to learn more about how Simone controls complexity? Watch her video at axonius.com/simone With Uptycs, modern defenders can prioritize, investigate and respond to threats across the entire attack surface—all from a common solution Uptycs.com Be sure to stop by their booth #435 at RSA 2022 Guest Bio: Derek Scheller is a Senior Security Consultant for Seiso, LLC. In 2017, he retired from the US Army as a Cyber Network Defender and worked in both defensive and offensive operations. When he is not helping clients with their security needs, he is a content creator that aims to help as many people as possible enter the cyber security space. You can find him on YouTube Twitch, LinkedIn, and Facebook under Cyber Warrior Studios, where he posts weekly. Links: Stay in touch with Derek Scheller with Cyber Warrior Studios on LinkedIn and Twitter Connect with Ron Eddings on LinkedIn and Twitter Connect with Chris Cochran on LinkedIn and Twitter Purchase a HVS t-shirt at our shop Continue the conversation by joining our Discord Check out more from Hacker Valley Media and Hacker Valley Studio

Life is full of complexity -- just ask adaptive athlete Amy Bream, this episode's special guest. She was born with one leg, but that didn’t stop her from growing up to become a kickboxer. In 2021, she competed in the CrossFit Games, placing in the top five. And in 2022, she came in first at Wodapalooza — one of the biggest fitness competitions in the world. The key to her success? Controlling what she can. Join her, Ron and Chris as they discuss: -How self perception shapes how others interact with you -The power of showing up and believing in yourself -Amy’s viral moment at the CrossFit Games -Her partnership with Axonius -Her advice for those struggling to show up in life Check out Amy's Controlling Complexity video, presented by Axonius: axonius.com/amybream Sponsor: Thank you to our Axonius, for bringing this episode to life! Life is complex, but it’s not about avoiding challenges or fearing failure. Just ask Simone Biles — the greatest gymnast of all time. Want to learn more about how Simone controls complexity? Watch her video at axonius.com/simone Links: Visit Amy Bream on Instagram Connect with Ron Eddings on LinkedIn and Twitter Connect with Chris Cochran on LinkedIn and Twitter Purchase a HVS t-shirt at our shop Continue the conversation by joining our Discord Check out Hacker Valley Media and Hacker Valley Studio

The metaverse seems to be the hottest thing in technology today. From virtual environments to avatars, our lives are being digitized more and more. Is there even a reason to go outside anymore? Robin Thurston, CEO of Outside Inc., built his entire company around this very question. What's even more interesting is that he is using web3 technology to help get people reacquainted with the great outdoors. In this episode, Ron and Chris chat with Robin about: Why Outside decided to create the Outerverse How the Outerverse is aimed at getting people outside What the Outerverse entails (i.e. NFT marketplace, tokens, creator platform) What this means for the future of outdoor content/outdoor content creators Sponsor Links: Thank you to our sponsors Axonius and Uptycs for bringing this episode to life! Life is complex. But it’s not about avoiding challenges or fearing failure. Just ask Simone Biles — the greatest gymnast of all time. Want to learn more about how Simone controls complexity? Watch her video at axonius.com/simone With Uptycs, modern defenders can prioritize, investigate and respond to threats across the entire attack surface—all from a common solution Uptycs.com Be sure to stop by their booth #435 at RSA 2022 Guest Bio: Before joining Outside (previously Pocket Outdoor Media), he ran a consumer genetics company called Helix in Silicon Valley before returning to his home state of Colorado. Prior to Helix, Robin co-founded and built MapMyFitness into one of the world’s largest open fitness tracking platforms. Following the acquisition of MapMyFitness by Under Armour, he joined the innovative sports apparel organization and served as Chief Digital Officer, where he led the overall strategic direction of the company’s Connected Fitness and eCommerce business. Robin spent the first ten years of his career building a mutual fund classification and ratings platform at Lipper (a Thomson Reuters Company), as well as a risk and compensation platform at both American Century Investments and Wellington Management. He graduated with a MS in Finance from University of Colorado at Denver and lives with his wife and three children in Boulder, Co. He is a lifelong cyclist who started riding and racing in the early 1980’s. Links: Stay in touch with Robin Thurston on LinkedIn and Twitter Visit Outside Inc website Visit the Outerverse Connect with Ron Eddings on LinkedIn and Twitter Connect with Chris Cochran on LinkedIn and Twitter Purchase a HVS t-shirt at our shop Continue the conversation by joining our Discord Check out Hacker Valley Media and Hacker Valley Studio

“If you believe in yourself and you're willing to put in that work, it WILL happen.” - Jon DiMaggio In this episode, Ron and Chris are joined by author and Chief Security Strategist, Jon DiMaggio, to talk about the power of believing in yourself and following through on your dreams. Jon shares the story behind writing his book, The Art of Cyber Warfare, and how he learned to overcome rejection. Sponsor Links: Thank you to our sponsors Axonius and Uptycs for bringing this episode to life! Life is complex. But it’s not about avoiding challenges or fearing failure. Just ask Simone Biles — the greatest gymnast of all time. Want to learn more about how Simone controls complexity? Watch her video at axonius.com/simone With Uptycs, modern defenders can prioritize, investigate and respond to threats across the entire attack surface—all from a common solution. Check them out at Uptycs.com and be sure to stop by their booth #435 at RSA 2022 Guest Bio: Jon DiMaggio is the chief security strategist at Analyst1 and has over 15 years of experience hunting, researching, and writing about advanced cyber threats. As a specialist in enterprise ransomware attacks and nation-state intrusions, such as”Ransom Mafia: Analysis of the World’s first Ransomware Cartel”,“Nation State Ransomware” and a “History of REvil”. He has exposed the criminal cartels behind major ransomware attacks, aided law enforcement agencies in federal indictments of nation-state attacks, and discussed his work with The New York Times, Bloomberg, Fox, CNN, Reuters, and Wired. You can find Jon speaking about his research at conferences such as RSA. Additionally, in 2022, Jon authored the book “The Art of Cyberwarfare: An Investigator's Guide to Espionage, Ransomware, and Organized Cybercrime” published by No Starch Press. Links: Stay in touch with Jon DiMaggio on LinkedIn and Twitter Connect with Ron Eddings on LinkedIn and Twitter Connect with Chris Cochran on LinkedIn and Twitter Purchase a HVS t-shirt at our shop Continue the conversation by joining our Discord Check out Hacker Valley Media and Hacker Valley Studio

Cybersecurity podcast hosts, Chris and Ron, had the pleasure of sitting down with US Olympic gold medalist, Simone Biles, for a very special interview! You might be wondering, “what does cybersecurity and elite-level gymnastics have in common?” - both have a strong focus on controlling complexity. Complexity comes in many forms — whether that be staying calm in the face of a malicious cyber attack or performing complex moves on the competition floor. While complexity isn’t something you can prevent, having the right team and mindset can make controlling its outcome much easier! In this episode, Ron and Chris chat with Simone about: - Her recent life changing event - How Simone controls the complexity in her life - Why doing your best is always good enough - and her partnership with Axonius! Guest Bio: Simone Arianne Biles has boundless energy, natural strength and fierce determination, taking those God-given talents to become the greatest gymnast of all time. The 4-foot, 8-inch dynamo is the most decorated American gymnast in history, with 32 medals (19 of them gold) from the World Championship and seven medals (four gold) from the Olympics. She is also the first American woman to win seven national all-around titles and first female gymnast to earn three consecutive World All-Around titles. She is a three-time recipient of the Laureus World Sports Award for Sportswoman of the Year and has received widespread recognition, including TIME 100 Most Influential, Forbes 30 Under 30, Ebony Power 100, People Magazine’s Women Changing the World, USA Today 100 Women of the Century, and two-time Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year, among others. Links: Thank you to our friends at Axonius for making this episode a reality! Follow Simone on Twitter and Instagram Watch Simone content and more at Axonius+ Connect with Ron Eddings on LinkedIn and Twitter Connect with Chris Cochran on LinkedIn and Twitter Purchase a HVS t-shirt at our shop Continue the conversation by joining our Discord Listen to more interviews like this from Hacker Valley Media and Hacker Valley Studio

Anxiety and nervous energy is palpable in cybersecurity. If practitioners allow this energy to take control, it can be stifling and paralyzing. But what if we were to use this power to do what it was intended to do? In this episode, Ron and Chris chat with Dr. Chloe Carmichael, author of the Deepak Chopra endorsed book, Nervous Energy: Harness the Power of Your Anxiety. They discuss: -The purpose of nervous energy -When this energy enters our lives -How we can use this energy to our advantage -and how it can even become a superpower Guest Bio Dr. Chloe Carmichael, Ph.D, is a clinical psychologist, known as Dr. Chloe. She holds a Master’s degree and Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Long Island University and graduated Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude, with a Bachelor’s degree and departmental honors in psychology from Columbia University. Her practice in New York City employs multiple therapists to serve high-functioning business executives, people in the arts, and everyday people seeking support with personal or professional goals. Dr. Chloe is the author of the book Nervous Energy: Harness the Power of Your Anxiety, endorsed by Deepak Chopra! She is a member in good standing of the American Psychological Association, as well as the National Register of Health Psychologists, an elite organization for psychologists with gold-standard credentials. She is also a consultant at Baker McKenzie, the third largest law firm in the world. She is an Advisory Board member for Women’s Health Magazine (Hearst), and a featured expert for Psychology Today. She enjoys relating with the media, as well as public speaking. She has been featured as an expert on VH1, Inside Edition, and other television; and has been quoted in the New York Times, Forbes, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, and other print media. Links: Thank you to our friends at Axonius and Uptycs for sponsoring this episode! Stay in touch with Dr. Chloe Carmichael on LinkedIn and Twitter and by her Book here! Connect with Ron Eddings on LinkedIn and Twitter Connect with Chris Cochran on LinkedIn and Twitter Purchase a HVS t-shirt at our shop Continue the conversation by joining our Discord Check out Hacker Valley Media and Hacker Valley Studio

In this episode, Ron and Chris highlight a human problem that affects every company and organization in the world – Insider Threat. Shawnee Delaney, an Insider Threat expert, cybersecurity consultant and CEO of Vaillance Group, joins the guys to provide her expertise on the topic and shares real life examples of treason and espionage. In this episode Shawnee explores: The intersection of empathy and espionage Motivations and vulnerabilities The importance of insider threat programs Protecting your trade secrets Investing in your people, and more! Guest Bio: Shawnee Delaney is an Insider Threat expert, cybersecurity consultant, and CEO of Vaillance Group - based in Washington, DC. She is a decorated intelligence officer and a licensed private investor who has spent part of her career within the Defense Intelligence Agency as a Clandestine Officer conducting Human Intelligence operations around the world. She has also supported the Department of Homeland Security, defending critical infrastructure and industrial control systems within the U.S. Her combat tours, field experience, and consulting with top Fortune 500 Companies has provided the foundation for the curriculum she offers in her Insider Threat training programs. A sought-after public speaker, Ms. Delaney shares her extensive knowledge of Insider Threats to protect clients’ assets, people, and confidential information and to educate groups about the harm that comes from both malicious and unintentional threats. Links: Thank you to our friends at Axonius and Uptycs for sponsoring this episode! Stay in touch with Shawnee Delaney on LinkedIn and Twitter Connect with Ron Eddings on LinkedIn and Twitter Connect with Chris Cochran on LinkedIn and Twitter Purchase a HVS t-shirt at our shop Continue the conversation by joining our Discord Check out Hacker Valley Media and Hacker Valley Studio

What is grit? How much or little do YOU have? Can we grow it? Hosts Ron and Chris are joined by the Executive Coach and Founder of Fivecoat Consulting Group, David Fivecoat, to talk about how grit shows up in our lives and ways that we can cultivate more. Guest Bio: After 24 years as a US Army paratrooper, as well as 4 combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, Colonel David Fivecoat, US Army, Retired, founded The Fivecoat Consulting Group. He now blogs, speaks, coaches gritty leaders, and helps develop gritty organizations. A native Ohioan, David Fivecoat resides in Columbus, Georgia. Sponsor Links: Thank you to our sponsors Axonius and PlexTrac for bringing this episode to life! Axonius, the first company to solve the cybersecurity asset management problem. Give your team's time back by checking them out at https://www.axonius.com/ PlexTrac, the Proactive Cybersecurity Management Platform, brings red and blue teams together for better collaboration and communication. Check them out at plextrac.com/hackervalley Additional Links: Stay in touch with David Fivecoat on LinkedIn and His website Connect with Ron Eddings on LinkedIn and Twitter Connect with Chris Cochran on LinkedIn and Twitter Purchase a HVS t-shirt at our shop Continue the conversation by joining our Discord Check out Hacker Valley Media and Hacker Valley Studio

DeJuan Strickland (DJ) is a huge superhero fan, but when he realized there weren’t many superheroes and comic book characters that looked like him, he decided to do something about it! Enter: Tech Boy! DJ joins hosts Ron and Chris to share his unique experiences as an 13 year old author, entrepreneur, and tech enthusiast. Guest Bio: DeJuan Strickland is a 13-old scholar born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. He enjoys gaming, anime, reading, and indulging in comic books. He is a long-time honor roll student who thoroughly enjoys science and technology. He has recently been appointed as a youth member of STEMSTL's Strategic Advisory Board. Tech Boy is DeJuan's debut title and his mission is to inspire other youth to become tech-savvy entrepreneurs. Sponsor Links: A big thank you to our friends at PlexTrac and Axonius for sponsoring this episode! Links: Stay in touch with DJ on Instagram and Twitter Connect with Ron Eddings on LinkedIn and Twitter Connect with Chris Cochran on LinkedIn and Twitter Purchase a HVS t-shirt at our shop Continue the conversation by joining our Discord Check out Hacker Valley Media and Hacker Valley Studio

Evan Mayfield, an award-winning 3D animator and founder of the Kingdom of Dwarves NFT project, joins Ron and Chris to talk about how his love of art allows him to experience life in new and creative ways. In this episode, Evan shares his story behind winning an Academy Award and starting a career in the film industry, what led him into creating NFT art and founding Kingdom of Dwarves NFT project, and the importance of being receptive to feedback in your career. Guest Bio: Evan Mayfield is an Academy Award winning 3D animator/Animation Director in the Film/Commercial/VideoGame/AR/VR field. He is also one of the founders of the Kingdom of Dwarves NFT project. Sponsor Links: A big thank you to our friends at PlexTrac and Axonius for sponsoring this episode! Links: Stay in touch with Evan Mayfield on LinkedIn , Twitter and Discord Connect with Ron Eddings on LinkedIn and Twitter Connect with Chris Cochran on LinkedIn and Twitter Purchase a HVS t-shirt at our shop Continue the conversation by joining our Discord Check out Hacker Valley Media and Hacker Valley Studio

In this new age of remote work, people are able to live and work in ways that we never thought possible. In this episode Ron and Chris are joined by Isabel Leong, a full-time travel blogger and SEO marketing coach. Isabel shares how she turned her hobby into a career that allows her to fulfill her passion for travel and her tips for those attempting to do the same. Guest Bio: Full-time travel blogger and SEO marketing coach roaming the world at whim, Isabel draws energy from being outdoors. An explorer at heart, the world is her playground. She helps aspiring bloggers and brands get the most out of their online presence and financial freedom by ranking on Google faster with SEO and expose millennial travelers to experiences beyond their imaginations. Sponsor Links: A big thank you to our friends at PlexTrac and Axonius for sponsoring this episode! Additional Links: Stay in touch with Isabel Leong on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram Connect with Ron Eddings on LinkedIn and Twitter Connect with Chris Cochran on LinkedIn and Twitter Purchase a HVS t-shirt at our shop Continue the conversation by joining our Discord Check out Hacker Valley Media and Hacker Valley Studio

In this episode Ron and Chris are joined by the co-founder and CEO of SeclarityIO, David Pearson, to talk about his experience in building a company from the ground up. David shares the challenge of “building something from nothing,” seeking help, and the importance of having a solid support system. David explores the intricacies and inner workings of his mind and his tips on tapping into creativity and innovative thought. Guest Bio: David is the co-founder and CEO of SeclarityIO, the company building NetworkSage. During his career, he has spent time on the red team, blue team, and in deep research. He was formerly the Head of Threat Research at Awake Security. David has security degrees from the Rochester Institute of Technology and Carnegie Mellon, and has spoken and taught workshops at many top security conferences. Sponsor Links: A big thank you to our friends at PlexTrac and Axonius for sponsoring this episode! Additional Links: Stay in touch with David Pearson on LinkedIn and Twitter Connect with Ron Eddings on LinkedIn and Twitter Connect with Chris Cochran on LinkedIn and Twitter Purchase a HVS t-shirt at our shop Continue the conversation by joining our Discord Check out Hacker Valley Media and Hacker Valley Studio

Anyone can start a podcast, but what about a successful podcast? What about a podcast that reaches, connects and impacts people for the better? In this episode, Ron and Chris are joined by Adam Adams to talk about what it takes to create a successful podcast. Adam touches on the importance of having quality equipment, a compelling and entertaining message, and great marketing. He explores the reasons why having a broad audience isn’t the best tactic when trying to stand out and why you shouldn’t be afraid to “draw a line in the sand.” Guest Bio: After selling his first podcast and seeing everything that his show did for his business, Adam Adams founded a company to serve podcasters in a whole new way. Knowing successful business owners have already learned to stay in their lane and focus on revenue generating activities Adam founded Grow Your Show, which is the easy button for podcasters. They make having a top rated podcast as easy as pressing “record”. Sponsor Links: A big thank you to our friends at PlexTrac and Axonius for sponsoring this episode! Links: Stay in touch with Adam Adams on LinkedIn and Instagram & check out his podcast and website Connect with Ron Eddings on LinkedIn and Twitter Connect with Chris Cochran on LinkedIn and Twitter Purchase a HVS t-shirt at our shop Continue the conversation by joining our Discord Check out Hacker Valley Media and Hacker Valley Studio

Have you ever heard of the term, “Black Swans” or “Gray Rhinos”? Black Swan are events that we never saw coming, while Gray Rhinos are the things we see from a mile away. In this episode, author and strategist Michele Wucker explores the gray rhino and risk fingerprint metaphors and translates big picture trends in ways everyday folks can apply to their lives. Sponsor Links: A big thank you to our friends at PlexTrac and Axonius for sponsoring this episode! Axonius, the first company to solve the cybersecurity asset management problem. Give your team's time back to work by checking out axonius.com/ PlexTrac, the proactive cybersecurity management platform, brings red and blue teams together for better collaboration and communication. Check them out at plextrac.com/hackervalley Guest Bio: Michele Wucker is a strategist and the author of four books including the global bestseller, THE GRAY RHINO: How to Recognize and Act on the Obvious Dangers We Ignore. The metaphor and principles from her book have moved markets, shaped financial policies, and made headlines around the world. It helped to frame the ignored warnings ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic and have even inspired the lyrics of the hit pandemic pop single, “Blue & Grey” by the mega-band BTS. Michele’s 2019 TED Talk has attracted over two million views. Additional Links: Learn more about Michele’s research here. Connect with Ron Eddings on LinkedIn and Twitter Connect with Chris Cochran on LinkedIn and Twitter Purchase a HVS t-shirt at our shop Continue the conversation by joining our Discord Check out Hacker Valley Media and Hacker Valley Studio

We believe you are what you listen to -- including the personal podcast that is playing in your head every day. What is it saying to you? Our guest Terre Short excels at distilling leadership skills into actionable steps and choosing the right words to inspire others and giving ourselves the words we need to move forward. Guest Bio: Terre Short is a human potential developer who has more than 30 years of leadership experience, a Masters in Business Administration/Healthcare Management, and her Professional Coach Certification (PCC). She coaches leaders on tactics to raise engagement and improve retention. She also leans on the content in her book, “The Words We Choose: Your Guide to How and Why Words Matter in helping others become their best selves.” Sponsor Links: A big thank you to our friends at PlexTrac and Axonius for sponsoring this episode! Additional Links: Book Terre as a Speaker or Coach and purchase Terre's book Connect with Ron Eddings on LinkedIn and Twitter Connect with Chris Cochran on LinkedIn and Twitter Purchase a HVS t-shirt at our shop Continue the conversation by joining our Discord Check out Hacker Valley Media and Hacker Valley Studio

When Rob White was a child, someone called him a loser -- it wasn't until he confronted his negative talk that he rose to greatness. From humble beginnings to his current status as a real estate developer, restaurateur, world traveler, international best-selling author, Rob has distilled his life experiences into sound, practical advice. Listen carefully to this episode because it's time to bring out YOUR inner maestro. This episode is sponsored by our friends at Uptycs and Axonius Additional Links: Stay in touch with Rob White on Twitter and pick up his book, The Maestro Monologue here Connect with Ron Eddings on LinkedIn and Twitter Connect with Chris Cochran on LinkedIn and Twitter Purchase a HVS t-shirt at our shop Continue the conversation by joining our Discord Check out Hacker Valley Media and Hacker Valley Studio

In this episode, Ron and Chris take a stroll down podcast memory lane in celebration of Hacker Valley’s 200th episode. The guys reflect on their rise from humble podcast beginnings, their ever-growing fascination with human-centric stories, making a difference, and what lies ahead for Hacker Valley Media. Key Takeaways: 01:29 Celebrating episode 200! 02:47 From humble, homegrown beginnings 03:38 Scaling and growing 06:12 Facing our biggest challenges 08:21 Tapping into our inner child 13:20 Human-centric stories 17:14 Making a difference 18:45 Thanking our team 20:37 Thanking our listeners 21:39 A humbling realization 22:40 What’s to come? 25:00 Growing together 27:05 Our advice to you 29:03 Stay in touch! Sending all of our listeners a big THANK YOU for all of the love, support, and feedback we’ve received over the last 3 years! We could not have done it without you. Cheers to the next 3 years! - Ron and Chris Links: Hacker Valley Studio: Swag | LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Email Ron & Chris | Website Support Hacker Valley Studio on Patreon Join our monthly mastermind group via Patreon This episode is sponsored by our friends at Uptycs and Axonius

In this episode, Ron and Chris are joined by Camille Stewart, the Global Head of Product Security Strategy at Google and Co-Founder of Share The Mic. The trio have an honest conversation about advocacy and representation in cybersecurity, the story behind Camille’s Share The Mic social movement, how we can begin to move in the right direction, and how culture shapes the way we interact with technology. Lastly, Chris talks about Hacker Valley’s stance on representation – from award nominations to our greatest loss in listenership history. Key Takeaways: 02:47 Bio 05:43 Advocacy - it’s in my DNA 07:16 Giving a voice to the underrepresented 08:54 “Share The Mic” 12:28 The state of diversity in cybersecurity 14:28 Achieving a better tomorrow 18:94 How do we bridge the opportunities gap? 20:13 The intersection of culture and technology 22:45 Who is Camille Stewart? 26:00 The dark side of speaking up 28:53 This is a mission critical issue 30:12 Stay in touch with Camille! Links: Stay in touch with Camille Stewart on Twitter | LinkedIn |Instagram Hacker Valley Studio: Swag | LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Email Ron & Chris | Website Support Hacker Valley Studio on Patreon Join our monthly mastermind group via Patreon This episode is sponsored by our friends at Uptycs and Axonius

Ron and Chris sit down with anthropologist, author, entrepreneur and coach, Veronica Kirin, to learn how she distilled her seventy hour work week down to ten. Veronica shares her knowledge on helping small businesses scale, why and which automation tools are a scaling must-have, hiring best practices, and the power of goal mapping. Lastly, Veronica shares her seventy year business plan method which helps folks actualize their long-term vision. Key takeaways: 02:53 Bio 04:39 Anthropology and business - bridging the gap 07:37 What is scaling and how do we do it right? 11:20 Tools to help you scale - Ron’s take 13:55 Veronica’s 3 Pillars of Business Scaling 16:33 Hiring woes 17:18 Hiring best practices - trip wires 20:38 How are current events changing business? 23:21 Actualizing your legacy 26:52 Creating goal maps 30:12 Get connected 31:30 Reach out for help 33:16 Stay in touch with Veronica! Hacker Valley Studio: Swag | LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Website Veronica Kirin: Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram Support Hacker Valley Studio on Patreon Join our monthly mastermind group via Patreon Thank you to our friends at Axonius and Uptycs for sponsoring this episode.

In this week’s episode, Ron and Chris are joined by speaker, entrepreneur, mother of six and the best-selling author of The Extraordinary UnOrdinary You, Simone Knego. The trio explore the highs and lows of parenting, while attempting to manage it all – and then some! Simone shares how believing in herself was the secret sauce behind writing a book and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, why patience truly is a virtue, and how a positive mindset can help get you through even the toughest of days. Lastly, soon-to-be-married Ron Eddings, gets advice on marriage and building a family. Key takeaways: 02:33 Bio 04:01 Staying humble 05:11 Positive role modeling 07:43 Raising a multi cultural family 09:10 Trying to manage it all 10:57 The book - sharing her story 13:35 Believing in yourself 15:29 Patience is a virtue 18:47 Mindset and daily affirmations 22:21 Social media and “mom guilt” 24:21 Advice for the soon-to-be married, Ron 26:50 Self-care and honoring your family 28:46 Stay in touch with Simone! Hacker Valley Studio: Swag | LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Website Simone Knego: LinkedIn | Website | Facebook Support Hacker Valley Studio on Patreon Join our monthly mastermind group via Patreon Thank you to our friends at Axonius and Uptycs for sponsoring this episode.

In this episode, Ron and Chris are joined by Julie Haney – a computer scientist and Usable Security Researcher at NIST, to talk about the human within the technologist. The trio sit down and have a powerful discussion on ways in which cybersecurity practitioners can bring their best work to the table, the importance of empathy within the workplace, and how to empower ourselves and the security community at large. Key Takeaways: 02:55 Bio 06:46 Why research? 08:55 Bringing your best work to the table 11:28 Surprising research 12:46 What’s your superpower? 16:10 Empathy in practice 19:27 B.E.S.T.O.W. 22:22 Normalizing CS Advocacy 25:07 What’s missing in cybersecurity? 27:12 Being more intentional Hacker Valley Studio: Swag | LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Email Ron & Chris | Website Julie Haney: LinkedIn | Website | Twitter Support Hacker Valley Studio on Patreon Join our monthly mastermind group via Patreon Thank you to our friends at Axonius and Uptycs for sponsoring this episode.

In this episode, Ron and Chris are joined by author, poet, musician, artist and entrepreneur, David Chislett. David dives deep into the beauty and power of creativity and the creative process. The trio explore reasons we become less creative over time, how technologists can begin tapping into their creativity and why we should start replacing “but” with “and.” Key Takeaways: 02:37 Bio 03:42 Origin as a creative 05:40 Losing creativity over time 10:23 A daily commitment to creativity 12:05 Structure in creativity 15:10 The hero’s journey 23:34 Innovation vs. Creativity 25:38 Defining creativity 28:59 Get in touch Links: Hacker Valley Studio: Swag | LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Email Ron & Chris | Website David Chislett: Website | LinkedIn | YouTube Support Hacker Valley Studio on Patreon Join our monthly mastermind group via Patreon This episode is sponsored by our friends at Uptycs and Axonius

In this episode of Hacker Valley Studio, Ron and Chris are joined by the author of 6 Weeks to Happy, success coach extraordinaire and CEO of GetZend, Zahra Karsan. The trio examine happiness and why it is so difficult to define and what role does personal freedom play in the matter. Zahra speaks on retraining your brain for success, learning the tools to thrive and recognizing your fears in order to make change. Furthermore, the group discusses energy and ego depletion and how it affects will power and overall performance. Key Takeaways: 03:03 Bio 04:19 What is happiness? 10:52 Seeking freedom 14:10 Will accomplishing goals make us happy? 17:29 Regaining control over our lives 22:20 Understanding how to change mindsets 28:42 Will power and ego depletion 33:42 Advice for an action plan 36:18 Get in touch! Links: Hacker Valley Studio: Swag | LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Email Ron & Chris | Website Zahra Karsan: LinkedIn | GetZend | Twitter Support Hacker Valley Studio on Patreon Join our monthly mastermind group via Patreon This episode is sponsored by our friends at Uptycs and Axonius

Happy Holidays from Hacker Valley Media! Tyrone E. Wilson is a passionate information security professional with 24 years of experience in information technology and has a mission to improve as many lives as possible through education in cybersecurity. Currently, Wilson is the Founder and CEO of Cover6 Solutions, LLC; which teaches companies and professionals various aspects of information security, penetration testing, and IPv6. Wilson is also the organizer of The D.C. Cyber Security Professionals. Join Chris, Ron and Tyrone as they help uncover the truth about being your true self. Key Takeaways: 02:38 Bio 07:34 The “E” story 09:16 Reality TV star?! 15:30 Opportunities from being more open in public 18:25 Doing more to be better | taking control of the moment 22:00 Getting around personal resistance 25:21 Lessons learned building communities & being yourself 27:00 “I understand.” 29:42 Get in touch Hacker Valley Studio: Swag | LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Email Ron & Chris | Website Tyrone E. Wilson: Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn | Website Support Hacker Valley Studio on Patreon Join our monthly mastermind group via Patreon This episode is sponsored by our friends at Crowdstrike

Today Chris and Ron are joined by Clint Arthur. Clint is an actor, public speaker and mentor to many. He has had the pleasure of meeting some of the most influential people in the world, and has decided to use this to help people all over the world discover their meaning and drive them to self-fulfillment and success. Tune in for experiences, stories and advice from one of the most well-traveled, well-written people they’ve ever met! Key Takeaways: 02:59 Bio and beginnings 06:07 No more Hollywood 09:37 20 books?! 12:57 Finding value, giving value and feeling valued 17:32 John Travolta said fly high. What does that really mean? 20:40 Matchstick secrets 22:54 Impactful moments 33:47 Get in touch Hacker Valley Studio: Swag | LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Email Ron & Chris | Website Clint Arthur: Website | Book Support Hacker Valley Studio on Patreon Join our monthly mastermind group via Patreon This episode is presented to you by our good friends at CrowdStrike. Join the CrowdStrike team here.

Sean Tyler Foley is an accomplished film and stage performer and has been acting in film and television since he was 6 years old. He has appeared in productions including Freddy Vs Jason, Door to Door, Carrie, and the musical Ragtime. Tyler is passionate about helping others confidently take the stage and impact an audience with their stories. He is currently the Managing Director of Total Buy-In and author of the #1 best-selling book The Power to Speak Naked. Join Chris, Ron and Tyler for a schooling in presenting yourself and engaging with others. Key Takeaways: 03:06 Bio 04:55 The journey to now; acting to public speaking 11:07 Making safety training engaging 14:38 Re-kindling the story for the listener 18:22 Engaging remotely 22:27 The driest safety subject – fall protection 24:49 Nobody likes getting should on 25:40 Tyler’s book – The Power to Speak Naked 28:24 Getting your story out 32:06 Get in touch Links: Hacker Valley Studio: Swag | LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Email Ron & Chris | Website Tyler Foley: Total Buy In | Book | Website | LinkedIn | IMDb Support Hacker Valley Studio on Patreon Join our monthly mastermind group via Patreon This episode is presented to you by our good friends at CrowdStrike. Join the CrowdStrike team here.

Nate Palmer is a fitness and nutrition expert, coach, speaker, and writer who believes that being in incredible shape gives a massive advantage in business, focus, and relationships. He also happens to be a dad, husband, and the #1 bestselling author of The Million Dollar Body Method and Passport Fitness. Nate helps business owners and entrepreneurs improve their physique, finances, and family time using fitness and nutrition as force multipliers. Join Chris, Ron and Nate to change the way you approach your mind, body and soul in this episode of Hacker Valley Studio. Key Takeaways: 03:12 Bio 06:34 Controlling your diet and exercise 08:30 Maintaining energy / Chris’ journey in weight management 10:25 Maintaining a fuel for life 13:47 Tactics for exercise and nutrition 16:58 Nutrition and fitness for the mind 22:10 Nutrition and fitness for the soul 26:14 Architecting your day 30:00 Win the morning 31:15 Get in touch with Nate Links: Hacker Valley Studio: Swag | LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Email Ron & Chris | Website Nate Palmer Book | LinkedIn | Twitter | Website Support Hacker Valley Studio on Patreon Join our monthly mastermind group via Patreon This episode is presented to you by our good friends at CrowdStrike. Join the CrowdStrike team here.

Maurice Grose Jr. is an experienced Security Engineer with a background in military RF exploitation and detection, Unix/Linux administration and threat mitigation, and hardware/software integration engineering. Join Chris, Ron and Maurice to hear how a career after the military blossomed into a learning, engaging time of constant challenge and inspiration. Key Takeaways: 03:31 Bio 07:29 What does legacy mean? 09:48 The appeal of cyber 12:10 Where do you draw inspiration from? 14:07 Does legacy experience help with cloud systems today? 17:42 A takeaway from Maurice’s military career 21:35 Advice for future leaders, getting kids involved 26:19 Future prediction in technology 27:59 Advice for anyone looking to go for the next step Hacker Valley Studio: Swag | LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Email Ron & Chris | Website Maurice Grose Jr: LinkedIn | Twitter Support Hacker Valley Studio on Patreon Join our monthly mastermind group via Patreon This episode is sponsor by our friends at CrowdStrike. Join the CrowdStrike team here.

James Lawler serves as a national security consultant and is the Senior Partner at MDO Group, which provides Human Intelligence training to the Intelligence Community and the commercial sector focused on WMD, CI, technical and cyber issues. Mr. Lawler is a noted speaker on the Insider Threat in government and industry. Prior to this, Mr. Lawler served for 25 years as a CIA operations officer in various international posts and as Chief of the Counterproliferation Division's Special Activities Unit. Join Chris, Ron and James for a riveting audio journey through stories and experiences from the inside of the C.I.A. Key Takeaways: 03:07 Bio 04:10 Finding a job after school – the CIA comes to campus 05:40 Clandestine Service 09:55 Can you start in two weeks? 12:40 A sociopath within lanes (laws) 14:00 Betraying company over country 17:37 Intensifying friendship development 19:54 Can you betray your country for $1k? 20:52 Why do people turn down a pitch? 27:53 Receiving overwhelming classified information 36:10 Book 40:05 Take away from Mr. Lawler Links Hacker Valley Studio: Swag | LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Email Ron & Chris | Website James Lawler: Book | Linkedin Support Hacker Valley Studio on Patreon Join our monthly mastermind group via Patreon This episode is sponsor by our friends at CrowdStrike. Join the CrowdStrike team here.