Today, Derek Harp is excited to have Clint Bodungen, the Founder and CEO of ThreatGEN, joining him for an episode of the Security Leader interview series. Clint is an inspiring and creative individual who has been working in the cybersecurity industry for more than 25 years. He is a founder, entrepreneur, gamer, game designer, teacher, researcher, professor, martial artist, and father. 

Clint Bodungen is the lead author of Hacking Exposed: Industrial Control Systems and creator of the ThreatGEN® Red vs. Blue cybersecurity gamification platform. He is a United States Air Force veteran and an active part of the cybersecurity community. Since 2003, his focus has been exclusively on ICS/OT cybersecurity, and he has helped many of the world's largest energy companies. Clint has worked for Symantec, Kaspersky Lab, and Industrial Defender and has published many technical papers and training courses on ICS/OT cybersecurity vulnerability assessment, penetration testing, and risk management.

While growing up, Clint was both technically inclined and artistic. He wanted to study commercial art and graphic design but started studying theatre and movie special effects instead. After a while, he switched to studying art, and soon after that, he quit his studies to join the Air Force. While in the military, he was allowed to learn about computers and computer security. 

In today’s episode of the (CS)²AI Podcast, Clint tells his inspiring story and shares some great nuggets of advice for getting ahead in your career, finding opportunities, and running a successful company! He talks about his love of gaming and other interests while growing up. He discusses his studies, joining the Air Force, mentorship, the turning point in his career when he learned about industrial systems for the first time, and the process of writing his book, Hacking Exposed: Industrial Control Systems. 

Stay tuned! You won't want to miss this nugget-filled and inspiring episode! 

Show highlights:

• Clint’s love of games and technology started when his family got an Atari in the early 1980s. (5:28)
• His mom introduced him to one of her co-workers, a programmer. That got him interested in programming. (6:54)
• Deciding to quit studying art and join the Air Force. (10:23)
• What made Clint decide to join the military? (12:13)
• Clint got the opportunity to start working on internet networks and learn about computers and computer security in 1995, while in the military. (15:26)
• Clint and his colleague became interested in hacking in the mid-1990s. (16:27)
• Clint talks about what prompted him to leave the military and discusses what he would have done differently today. (18:38)
• Clint shares some nuggets of advice for anyone considering a career in computer security or technology. (22:45)
• Much of what we learn comes from experience rather than books or classrooms. (25:40)
• Clint talks about mentorship and how he got mentored by a hacker. (29:05)
• The turning point in Clint’s career was when he got the opportunity to cross-train and write intrusion detection system codes with some of the developers at Symantec. (38:34)
• When Clint learned about industrial systems for the first time. (42:00)
• Writing papers and sharing his knowledge gave Clint a lot of exposure and the opportunity to give something back to his community. (47:53)
• Clint talks about the process of writing his book, Hacking Exposed: Industrial Control Systems. (52:02)
• Clint shares some of the nuggets he learned along the way in his career. (1:03:38)