In our latest episodes, we were joined by Vivek Ponnada, SVP at Frenos and a veteran with nearly 30 years in OT, for a deep dive into the future of industrial cybersecurity.We explored:

🔹 Why OT security is fundamentally different from IT — and why patching isn’t always the answer.

🔹 How attack path analysis and digital twins can model real-world threats without disrupting operations.

🔹 The power of AI trained on OT-specific TTPs to simulate adversaries and recommend precise mitigations.

🔹 The critical role of threat intelligence-based prioritization — especially for teams with limited budgets.

🔹 Regional differences in maturity, and why the Middle East is ahead in risk awareness.

🔹 And the vision for a future where OT security is as embedded as safety and quality.Vivek shared practical advice for newcomers, the importance of compensating controls, and how integrated data (from assets to firewalls) creates a holistic security posture.

The cybersecurity job market is changing faster than ever - and the skills that mattered five years ago won’t carry you into the future.

In this episode of Protect It All, host Aaron Crow sits down with Mark Sasson, Managing Partner at Pinpoint Search Group, to break down what the future of cybersecurity careers really looks like. From the rise of AI and automation to the growing importance of human skills, they uncover the new realities facing candidates, hiring managers, and leaders across IT and OT security.

You’ll learn:

Whether you’re entering cybersecurity, leveling up your role, or hiring your next team member, this episode delivers real-world, actionable insights to help you stay relevant  - and competitive in an evolving industry.

Tune in to learn how to stay ahead in the cybersecurity job market of today and tomorrow  only on Protect It All.

Key Moments: 

04:14 Recruitment Growth and Funding Trends

06:42 Tangible Value in AI Age

12:18 "Stepping Outside the Comfort Zone"

15:16 "Growth Through Embracing Discomfort"

19:23 "Embracing Growth and New Challenges"

21:01 Balancing Growth and Bold Moves

25:14 "Breaking Into Tech: Sacrifice & Strategy"

27:40 Experience Beats Book Knowledge

32:13 Human Insight Beats AI in Hiring

34:45 AI Recruitment: Potential, Limits, Distinctions

39:37 "Reluctant Growth through Opportunity"

42:47 "AI Tools: Benefits and Downsides"

44:29 "Human-Centered Hiring Over AI"

50:12 "Human Connection Over Technology"

53:23 "Planning Your Next Step"

About the guest: 

Mark Sasson is the Managing Partner of Pinpoint Search Group, a recruitment firm specializing in helping innovators in emerging markets attract the talent needed to drive maturation, scale, and successful outcomes. In 2014, Mark launched Pinpoint’s Cybersecurity practice, where he and his team have successfully completed hundreds of executive and senior-level individual contributor searches for leading Cybersecurity vendors. Building on that success, Mark is now guiding Pinpoint’s expansion into the rapidly evolving Space sector.

Connect Mark: 

Website: https://pinpointsearchgroup.com/

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/markjsasson/
Learn more about Cybersecurity Vendor M&A + Funding Roundups here : https://pinpointsearchgroup.com/cybersecurity-industry-reports/

Connect With Aaron Crow:

Learn more about PrOTect IT All:

To be a guest or suggest a guest/episode, please email us at [email protected]

Please leave us a review on Apple/Spotify Podcasts:

Apple   - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/protect-it-all/id1727211124

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1Vvi0euj3rE8xObK0yvYi4

Zakhar has given the OT security community something truly special — LabShock, a free and open OT testbed that anyone can use to gain hands-on experience in ICS/OT cybersecurity. No hardware required. No excuses.

How does journalism influence OT security? In this episode, Dr Sulaiman talk to Eduard Kovacs, Managing Editor at SecurityWeek, about the impact of cybersecurity journalism, investigative reporting in OT security, and ethical challenges in covering cybercrime.Eduard Kovacs Twitter: https://x.com/eduardkovacs

Greg Garcia, Executive Director of the Health Sector Coordinating Council Cybersecurity Working Group, joins the Nexus Podcast to discuss the recent publication of the working group’s Sector Mapping and Risk Toolkit. 

The SMART toolkit is a methodology that helps healthcare providers visualize key services that support workflows in the industry and is also used to measure risk appropriately for each of those services.

Listen and subscribe to the Nexus Podcast. 

Get the SMART Toolkit here. 

As OT environments face rising geopolitical tensions, ransomware threats, and aging infrastructure, vulnerability management has never been more complex. In this episode of Exploited: The Cyber Truth, host Paul Ducklin is joined by RunSafe Security CEO Joe Saunders and Stuxnet expert Ralph Langner, Founder and CEO of Langner, Inc.

Ralph shares from his decades of firsthand experience defending industrial control systems and explains why traditional CVE-focused vulnerability management falls short in OT. He breaks down the three major categories of OT vulnerabilities—design flaws, feature abuse, and configuration errors—and reveals why competent attackers often ignore CVEs entirely. Joe highlights how memory-based vulnerabilities continue to threaten critical systems and why eliminating entire vulnerability classes can create an asymmetric advantage for defenders.

Together, Ralph and Joe explore:

• Why most OT equipment remains insecure by design and why replacement will take decades
• How features, not bugs, often become the real attack vector
• The growing role of ransomware and IT-side weaknesses in OT compromises
• Practical steps OT defenders can take today to incrementally improve resilience
• The value of class-level protections, better architectures, and secure development processes

Whether you secure energy infrastructure, manufacturing systems, or mixed IT/OT networks, this episode delivers experience-driven guidance for strengthening cyber-physical resilience.

In this episode of ICS Arabia, we sit down with Mike Holcomb, Mike breaks down what Remote Mode really means for PLC security and explains why monitoring PLC mode changes is one of the most overlooked—but critical—aspects of protecting industrial systems.

עֲקַבְיָא בֶּן מַהֲלַלְאֵל אוֹמֵר, הִסְתַּכֵּל בִּשְׁלֹשָׁה דְּבָרִים וְאֵין אַתָּה בָּא לִידֵי עֲבֵרָה. דַּע מֵאַיִן בָּאתָ וּלְאָן אַתָּה הוֹלֵךְ וְלִפְנֵי מִי אַתָּה עָתִיד לִתֵּן דִּין וְחֶשְׁבּוֹן.“

(משנה, מסכת אבות – פרק ג, משנה א)

ללא הידיעה אין אפשרות לנהל סיכונים, עצם הידיעה נותנת את האפשרות לקבל החלטות מושכלות החל מהעובד הזוטר ועד ההנהלה והדירקטוריון

נחשון פינקו מארח את אסף טורנר מיסד ומנכ"ל מאיה סייבר סקיורטי לשעבר ראש יחידת הסייבר המגזרי במשרד האנרגיה והתשתיות הלאומיות בשיחה על החובה של כול ארגון לבצע סקר סיכונים וסיכוני סייבר בפרט, הצורך בגיבוש שפת סייבר אחידה בין החברה, ספקים ויצרנים והרגולטור והאקו סיסטם האנרגטי

מה חשיבות סקר סיכוני הסייבר לארגון

קביעת רמות הגנת סייבר לפי חשיבות אזורים ורמות סיכון

חשיבות ביצוע סקר נכסים עם או בלי סקר סיכוני סייבר

הבחור החדש בשכונה ההיי.איי

תיקון 13 וחוק הגנת הפרטיות

ועוד

"Akavya ben Mahalalel says, "Look at three things, and you will not come to sin. Know from where you came and where you are going, and before whom you are destined to give account." (Mishnah, Ethics of the Fathers – Chapter 3, Mishnah 1)

Without knowledge, it is impossible to manage risks; the very act of knowing enables informed decision-making from the lowest employee to management and the board of directors

Nachshon Pincu hosts J. Asaf Turner, Founder & CEO of Maya Cyber Security and former head of the Cyber Sector Unit at the Ministry of Energy and National Infrastructure, in a discussion about the obligation of every organization to conduct a risk assessment, particularly regarding cyber risks. They emphasize the need to establish a unified cybersecurity language among the company, suppliers, manufacturers, regulators, and the energy ecosystem

The importance of a cybersecurity risk assessment for an organization lies in establishing cybersecurity protection levels based on the significance of areas and associated risk levels

The importance of conducting an asset assessment with or without a cybersecurity risk assessment

The newcomer in the AI sector

Amendment 13 and the Privacy Protection Law

And more

In this episode of Simply ICS Cyber, Don and Tom welcome Sam Blaney, retired Chief Warrant Officer (CW3) from the Georgia National Guard and current cybersecurity professor at the University of North Georgia.

Sam shares insights from his career building and leading Cyber Protection Team 170, his transition into teaching, and his continued work helping state and local governments strengthen cybersecurity.

The conversation digs into Sam’s recent experience coaching students at the Department of Energy CyberForce Competition, where the University of North Georgia team defended a simulated offshore drilling platform with both IT and OT components.

Sam discusses what made the event realistic, how students approached identity and access management, OT network analysis, and what they learned about preparation, tooling, and industrial control system challenges.

The group also explores:

- Effective defense preparation for cyber competitions
- Building and tuning SIEM tools for constrained environments
- The value of exercises like CCDC and CyberShield
- How multidisciplinary tabletops improve communication across organizations
- The increasing role of AI in attack and defense, including the Anthropic AI-assisted malware research
- Concerns about AI-driven automation, skill multiplier effects, and the importance of understanding fundamentals

Resources:

Sam Blaney: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samblaney65/
University of North Georgia: https://ung.edu/DOE
CyberForce Program: https://cyberforce.energy.gov/
US CyberCom: https://www.cybercom.mil/
National Guard Cyber Defense Team: https://www.nationalguard.mil/Portals/31/Resources/Fact%20Sheets/Cyber%20Defense%20Team%202022.pdf
National Guard CyberShield: https://www.dvidshub.net/feature/CyberShield25
Anthropic Malware Write-up: https://www.anthropic.com/news/disrupting-AI-espionage

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👉 Subscribe to Simply ICS Cyber for more expert-driven conversations on ICS/OT security, critical infrastructure protection, and emerging cyber threats.

Connect with your hosts on LinkedIn:
- Don https://linkedin.com/in/cutaway
- Tom https://linkedin.com/in/thomasvannorman

Learn about ICS Village: https://www.linkedin.com/company/icsvillage
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