In this episode of CISO Stories, Jessica Hoffman speaks with Richard Marcus, CISO at Optro, about how organizations are securing cloud environments at scale. They discuss secure by design principles, infrastructure as code, continuous monitoring, and how GRC and security teams are working together more effectively. The conversation also explores the impact of AI on both defense and the evolving threat landscape, with practical insights for modern security leaders.

Segment Resources:

Optro Cyber Risk Playbook: https://optro.ai/resources/ebook/the-cyber-risk-playbook-for-the-ai-threat-era

This segment is sponsored by BlinkOps. Blink Micro-Agents stop AI threats with agentic speed and precision — visit https://cisostoriespodcast.com/blinkops to see the Agentic SOC in action.

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Show Notes: https://cisostoriespodcast.com/csp-223

Threat intelligence too often arrives as a steady stream of alerts that don't translate into clear, timely decisions. This episode explores how public-sector intel flows today through channels like CISA, MS-ISAC, and CIS—and why changes in funding and distribution can reshape what organizations actually receive and when. We also imagine an all-in state approach, where states take a bigger role in getting actionable cyber intel to local businesses and organizations. From a higher-ed security leadership lens, we connect student data privacy and regulatory realities to the broader public–private challenge—and highlight community-driven efforts like the Redwood Project that strengthen trust-based, peer-to-peer intelligence sharing.

This segment is sponsored by Arctic Wolf. Visit https://cisostoriespodcast.com/arcticwolf to learn more about them!

Visit https://cisostoriespodcast.com for all the latest episodes!

Show Notes: https://cisostoriespodcast.com/csp-222

CISO Jadee Hanson shares how Vanta "drinks its own champagne," running on NIST CSF with quarterly baseline reviews and using Vanta's GRC platform to turn every release into live UAT for privacy, governance, and compliance. We rethink third-party management—why point-in-time risk scores are fading and how AI drives continuous monitoring and outcome-based assurance. Bottom line: don't just audit—instrument your controls and prove trust in real time.

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Show Notes: https://cisostoriespodcast.com/csp-221

Title: Keys Without People" — John Heasman on Cleaning Up Non-Human Access

Summary: John breaks today's non-human identity mess into three buckets: core tools your business runs on, old/one-off integrations that linger, and engineer tokens left behind. His playbook is simple: decide what's truly critical, assign a clear owner, keep access minimal, and review it on a schedule. With AI spawning even more "non-human users," basics done well—prioritize, tighten, rotate, repeat—win the day.

This segment is sponsored by Saviynt. Visit https://cisostoriespodcast.com/saviynt to learn more about them!

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Show Notes: https://cisostoriespodcast.com/csp-220

This episode was about agentic IAM—what it is and the risks that come with letting non-human agents act for customers. We defined external IAM, then traced how the industry moved from basic login and MFA to consent, delegation, and now agent-to-agent interactions. Along the way we unpacked key risks for CISOs and practitioners to consider.

Segment Resources:

https://www.loginradius.com/ https://customeriambook.com/

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Show Notes: https://cisostoriespodcast.com/csp-219

CISO Sandy Dunn breaks down her blueprint for AI-ready defense—pairing MITRE ATT&CK v18 with MITRE ATLAS to move from policy to behavior-based detections. We hit practical AI governance, her early focus on defending and understanding AI, and how OWASP GenAI tools turn checklists into action.

Segment Resources: Article: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/attck-v18-atlas-blueprint-ai-ready-defense-sandy-dunn-mafoc AI Cheat Sheet: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7388688396166238208/ OWASP LLM Governance Checklist: https://genai.owasp.org/resource/llm-applications-cybersecurity-and-governance-checklist-english/ OWASP Threat Defense COMPASS: https://genai.owasp.org/resource/owasp-genai-security-project-threat-defense-compass-1-0/

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Show Notes: https://cisostoriespodcast.com/csp-218

Jennifer Selby Long reframes security awareness as more than training—it's about earning trust and influence with executives and security teams. She shares leadership lessons on how to build stronger alignment and support for security initiatives.

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Show Notes: https://cisostoriespodcast.com/csp-217

Dawn Capelli, Head of OT-CERT at Dragos, unpacks the evolving risks to Operational Technology. From nation-state attacks on Ukraine's infrastructure to hacktivists targeting U.S. water systems, she explains the PIPEDREAM malware, the top five SANS critical OT controls, and how Dragos' OT-CERT program offers free resources to help organizations defend critical infrastructure now.

Segment Resources: https://www.dragos.com/community/

This segment is sponsored by NowSecure. Visit https://cisostoriespodcast.com/nowsecure to learn more about them!

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Show Notes: https://cisostoriespodcast.com/csp-216

Kevin Nikkhoo joins the show to explore Security Operations Center as a Service (SOCaaS) and how it compares to traditional SOC models. He breaks down which organizations benefit most from this approach and how AI is reshaping modern SOC operations. Listeners will gain a clear understanding of how SOCaaS can enhance detection and response capabilities—and why embracing AI is key to the future of security operations.

Segment Resources: https://www.xenexsoc.com/ https://www.xenexsoc.com/blog https://www.xenexsoc.com/ebooks

This segment is sponsored by Tines. Tines' AI-enabled, secure workflow platform empowers your whole team regardless of their coding abilities, environment complexities, or tech stack. Learn more at https://cisostoriespodcast.com/tines

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Show Notes: https://cisostoriespodcast.com/csp-215

From Diagram to Cloud: Rethinking Cloud Security in an Age of Uncertainty

Episode Summary: In this month's episode of CISO Stories, we dive deep into cloud security with cybersecurity veteran and cloud innovator Yogi Parulekar, founder of InviGrid. Against a backdrop of rising geopolitical tensions and tightening budgets, we explore how organizations can move from reactive security to proactive resilience. Yogi introduces the concept of "diagram to cloud" as a smarter, more efficient alternative to traditional "shift left" approaches, emphasizing secure-by-design principles powered by automation. We also unpack how governance, agility, and cost efficiency play a critical role in cloud strategy—especially when business survival is on the line.

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Show Notes: https://cisostoriespodcast.com/csp-214