February 27, 2026

Creating Secure Products, Career Strategies and Cybersecurity: Peter Swimm's Advice

27 minutes

Breaking into Cybersecurity: Peter Swim's Journey from Libraries to Leading AI Conversations

https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterswimm/

In this episode of Breaking into Cybersecurity, we feature Peter Swim, the founder of the consultancy Toilville. Peter shares his unique journey into cybersecurity, starting from working at a library to becoming a product owner at Microsoft. He discusses the importance of security in tech and AI, the impact of working in startups, and how his experiences have shaped his career. Peter also provides valuable advice to juniors in the field, emphasizing the need to stay flexible, keep learning, and find the right organizational culture. This episode is a must-watch for anyone interested in tech, cybersecurity, and career development in the AI space.

00:00 Introduction to Peter Swim's Cybersecurity Journey

00:58 Early Career and Initial Interest in Tech

02:41 Transition to Product Ownership

05:03 Balancing Security and User Experience

09:19 Career Advice for Aspiring Professionals

16:00 The Evolution of Conversational AI

21:23 Challenges and Insights in AI and Security

26:42 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Sponsored by CPF Coaching LLC - http://cpf-coaching.com

The Breaking into Cybersecurity: It’s a conversation about what they did before, why they pivoted into cyber, what the process was they went through, how they keep up, and advice/tips/tricks along the way.

The Breaking into Cybersecurity Leadership Series is an additional series focused on cybersecurity leadership and hearing directly from different leaders in cybersecurity (high and low) on what it takes to be a successful leader. We focus on the skills and competencies associated with cybersecurity leadership, as well as tips/tricks/advice from cybersecurity leaders.

Check out our books:

The Cybersecurity Advantage - https://leanpub.com/the-cybersecurity-advantage

Develop Your Cybersecurity Career Path: How to Break into Cybersecurity at Any Level https://amzn.to/3443AUIHack the Cybersecurity Interview: Navigate Cybersecurity Interviews with Confidence, from Entry-level to Expert roles

https://www.amazon.com/Hack-Cybersecurity-Interview-Interviews-Entry-level/dp/1835461298/

Hacker Inc.: Mindset For Your Career

https://www.amazon.com/Hacker-Inc-Mindset-Your-Career/dp/B0DKTK1R93/

About the hosts:

Renee Small is the CEO of Cyber Human Capital, one of the leading human resources business partners in the field of cybersecurity, and author of the Amazon #1 best-selling book, Magnetic Hiring: Your Company's Secret Weapon to Attracting Top Cyber Security Talent. She is committed to helping leaders close the cybersecurity talent gap by hiring from within and encouraging more people to enter the lucrative cybersecurity profession. https://www.linkedin.com/in/reneebrownsmall/Download a free copy of her book at magnetichiring.com/book

Christophe Foulon focuses on helping secure people and processes, drawing on a solid understanding of the technologies involved. He has over ten years of experience as an Information Security Manager and Cybersecurity Strategist. He is passionate about customer service, process improvement, and information security. He has significant expertise in optimizing technology use while balancing its implications for people, processes, and information security, through a consultative approach.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/christophefoulon/

Find out more about CPF-Coaching at https://www.cpf-coaching.com