CyberBytes: The Podcast

In this episode of CyberBytes, Philip Shteyn, CTO & Co-Founder of OffRoad Security, explains why identity security needs to move beyond dashboards and visibility towards AI agents that can actually take action.

Philip shares how OffRoad is building an AI-powered identity security team that can identify issues, investigate threats and carry out remediation, helping security teams work at AI speed.

We covered:

• The growing complexity of identity security

• Why dashboards aren't enough

• How AI agents are changing security workflows

• Why identity remains a critical attack vector

• Off-Road's journey from stealth to paying customers• Building a high-impact cybersecurity team

• Philip's journey from Unit 8200 to startup founder

• What's next for Off-Road Security

As attackers become more capable with AI, identity security may need to become just as autonomous.

Aspiron Group - https://www.linkedin.com/company/aspiron-group/Oliver Legg - https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliverlegg/OffRoad Security - https://www.linkedin.com/company/offroad-ai/

Philip Shteyn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/philipshteyn/

Derek Abdine, CEO & Co-Founder of Furl, joins CyberBytes live from Black Hat USA 2026 to discuss why cybersecurity's biggest challenge isn't finding vulnerabilities anymore, it's fixing them.

In this episode, Derek shares his journey from reverse engineering video games and working at Rapid7 to building Furl, an autonomous remediation platform focused on helping organisations close the gap between detection and response.

The conversation explores AI-driven security, shrinking exploitation windows, startup culture, hiring top engineering talent, and what it takes to build a cybersecurity company from the ground up.

🎙️ Topics covered:

• Why remediation is cybersecurity's next frontier

• How AI is accelerating both attacks and defence

• Building and scaling a startup after stealth

• The qualities Derek looks for when hiring

• Startup lessons, decision-making, and founder advice

• Black Hat 2026 trends and hot takes

If you're a founder, investor, cybersecurity leader, or simply curious about the future of cyber, this is one you won't want to miss.

CyberBytes - https://www.linkedin.com/company/cyberbytes-as/

Aspiron Group - https://www.linkedin.com/company/aspiron-group/

Nina Korfias - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nina-korfias-39981311/

Furl - https://www.linkedin.com/company/furl-ai/

Derek Abdine - https://www.linkedin.com/in/derekabdine/

Cybersecurity is moving faster than ever. But are we focusing on the right things?

In this episode of CyberBytes, recorded live at Black Hat USA 2026, Zoe Lindsey, Senior Director of Messaging at Blumira, joins us to unpack one of the biggest challenges facing cybersecurity today: balancing the rapid rise of AI with the very human realities of trust, burnout, and resilience.

From her unconventional journey into cybersecurity to insights from attending her 13th Black Hat, Zoe shares why trust remains the foundation of the industry, why security teams are drowning in noise, and how AI can help defenders make better decisions, not just faster ones.

We also explore Blumira's latest innovations, the evolution of security operations, and why organisations need to stop obsessing over the next threat and start strengthening the fundamentals.

In this episode:

⚡ Why trust is still cybersecurity's most valuable currency

⚡ How AI is reshaping security operations

⚡ The future of agentic security tools

⚡ Why defenders need visibility before automation

⚡ The problem with chasing every new threat headline⚡ Building resilience into security teams

⚡ How AI can support junior practitioners, not replace them

⚡ Why "good security is boring" might be the industry's most important lesson

As AI accelerates both attacks and defence, the winners won't just be the organisations with the best technology, they'll be the ones with the strongest foundations and the most resilient people.

🎙️ Subscribe for more conversations with the founders, operators, investors, and leaders shaping the future of cybersecurity.

CyberBytes - https://www.linkedin.com/company/cyberbytes-as/

Aspiron Group - https://www.linkedin.com/company/aspiron-group/

Robert Smith - https://www.linkedin.com/in/crschmidtt/

Blumira - https://www.linkedin.com/company/blumira/

Zoe Lindsey - https://www.linkedin.com/in/zoelindsey/

What makes threat intelligence compelling enough for people to actually pay attention?

In this episode of the CyberBytes Podcast, we sit down with Lisa O'Reilly, VP of Global Marketing at ThreatDown, to explore how cybersecurity marketing has evolved, and why credible threat research can be one of the most powerful tools in a marketer's arsenal.

Lisa shares her journey from graphic design into cybersecurity marketing, and why selling cybersecurity is ultimately about selling peace of mind.

We also discuss:

- Why generic, SEO-driven content is no longer enough

- How threat research became a powerful marketing engine- Building stronger relationships between marketing teams and threat researchers

- What makes a threat intelligence story compelling to the media

- The rise of shadow AI and the weaponisation of AI

- How to connect threat research to product storytelling without making it feel like a hard sell

- The importance of authenticity and credibility in cybersecurity research

- Why the best marketing teams are thinking beyond MQLs and focusing on revenue

- How AI can amplify threat research and marketing efforts

Lisa also shares a real-world example of how ThreatDown turned research into a major earned media story, generating coverage across dozens of media outlets and connecting emerging threats back to a real security challenge.

Research first. Product second. Storytelling throughout.

🎙️ Watch the full episode to hear Lisa's take on what the best cybersecurity marketing teams are doing differently!

Aspiron Group - https://www.linkedin.com/company/aspiron-group/

CyberBytes - https://www.linkedin.com/company/cyberbytes-as/

Ciara DiVita - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ciaradivita/

Lisa O'Reilly - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lmoreilly/

ThreatDown - https://www.linkedin.com/company/threatdown.com/

AI is accelerating change across every part of the enterprise.

Security teams are being asked to review more applications, vendors, infrastructure changes, and AI-driven activity than ever before. The challenge? Human-led governance can't keep up.

In this episode of CyberBytes, Tal Drori, CEO & Co-Founder of Gist Security, shares why he believes the next major cybersecurity challenge is governance.

He explains the concept of "Change Governance", how AI can help security teams scale reviews without slowing the business, and why every change introduces risk.

We discuss:

• Why AI is creating a governance gap

• How AI agents can automate security reviews

• Building a new cybersecurity category

• Founder-led sales and customer obsession

• Pivoting a startup and finding product-market fit• Bringing a former CISO in as a co-founder

• The future of enterprise risk management

Tal also shares his vision for Gist Security and why understanding change could become the foundation of every modern security programme.

Subscribe to CyberBytes for more conversations with the founders, investors, and leaders shaping the future of cybersecurity.

Aspiron Group - https://www.linkedin.com/company/aspiron-group/

Oliver Legg - https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliverlegg/

Gist Security - https://www.linkedin.com/company/gist-security/

Tal Drori - https://www.linkedin.com/in/drori-tal/

The SIEM model has a problem: security teams have more data than they can realistically afford to analyse.In this episode of CyberBytes, Cliff Crossland, CEO & Co-Founder of Scanner, explains why he believes security data needs to be approached differently.

Cliff shares how a painful experience with a huge Splunk bill helped spark the idea for Scanner, and how the company has evolved from building a faster way to search security data into an AI-first platform for detection, response and threat hunting.

We covered:

• The problem with traditional SIEM economics

• Why security teams shouldn't have to choose which data to keep

• How Scanner makes object storage fast enough for security investigations

• The rise of AI agents in SOC workflows

• Why threat hunting could become continuous and automated

• The shift from security UIs towards agent-driven workflows

• Scanner's journey to its Series A with Sequoia

• What an agent-first cybersecurity industry could look like

As attackers become more capable with AI, visibility is becoming more important, not less.

Aspiron Group - https://www.linkedin.com/company/aspiron-group/

Aspiron Search - https://www.linkedin.com/company/aspiron-search/

Aspiron Influence - https://www.linkedin.com/company/aspiron-influence/

Aspiron Ventures - https://www.linkedin.com/company/aspiron-ventures/

Joseph Cooper - https://www.linkedin.com/in/cybercoops/

Scanner - https://www.linkedin.com/company/scanner-dev/

Cliff Crossland - https://www.linkedin.com/in/cliftoncrosland/

What happens when you give an AI the ability to hack?In this episode of CyberBytes, we sit down with Pavel Gurvich, Co-Founder & CEO of Tenzai, to explore how AI is changing offensive security, vulnerability discovery and remediation.

Pavel shares his journey from penetration testing and founding Guardicore, through its acquisition by Akamai, to building Tenzai and creating what he describes as an AI-based hacker.

We discuss:

• Why AI can dramatically scale vulnerability discovery

• How TenzAI uses AI agents to find and safely exploit vulnerabilities

• Why finding vulnerabilities is only half the battle

• How AI can help fix vulnerabilities in code and through WAF integrations

• The impact of AI-assisted development on application security

• How internal penetration testing teams can use AI to become significantly more efficient

• Why continuous security testing could replace traditional once-a-year testing

• What Pavel learned from building and scaling Guardicore

• Why human expertise will remain critical in cybersecurity

• How offensive AI could change the threat landscape over the next few years

Pavel also shares his perspective on where AI-driven cyber attacks are heading, why the industry could be in for a “bumpy” few years, and what the future of cybersecurity looks like when AI can find problems and help solve them.

Subscribe to CyberBytes for more conversations with the founders, investors and leaders shaping the future of cybersecurity!

Aspiron Group - https://www.linkedin.com/company/aspiron-group/

Aspiron Search - https://www.linkedin.com/company/aspiron-search/

Aspiron Influence - https://www.linkedin.com/company/aspiron-influence/

Aspiron Ventures - https://www.linkedin.com/company/aspiron-ventures/

Tenzai - https://www.linkedin.com/company/tenzai-inc/

Pavel Gurvich - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pavelgurvich/

Content is easy. Distribution is hard.In this episode of CyberBytes, we sit down with Bryan Solari, Co-Founder & CEO of AllOutScale, to explore how cybersecurity brands can cut through the noise and build trust with the audiences that matter.

Bryan shares his journey from cybersecurity practitioner to creator partnerships expert, why authenticity is the currency of modern marketing, and how brands can work effectively with creators to drive real impact.

In this episode:

• Why trust matters more than reach

• The biggest mistake brands make when working with creators

• How AI is making content creation easier, but distribution harder

• Why the best creator partnerships start with audience fit

• The power of turning unique research into a distribution engine

If you're a cybersecurity founder, marketer, or GTM leader looking to amplify your message, this conversation is packed with practical insights.

Watch now and subscribe for more conversations with the people shaping cybersecurity!

Aspiron Group - https://www.linkedin.com/company/aspiron-group/

Aspiron Search - https://www.linkedin.com/company/aspiron-search/

Aspiron Influence - https://www.linkedin.com/company/aspiron-influence/

Aspiron Ventures - https://www.linkedin.com/company/aspiron-ventures/

Nina Korfias - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nina-korfias-39981311/

AllOutScale - https://www.linkedin.com/company/alloutscale/

Bryan Solari - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryansolari/

We’re joined by Andrew Peterson, CEO and Founder of Aviso Ventures, and Dan Nguyen-Huu, Partner at Decibel VC, for a conversation on cybersecurity investing, AI security, founders and the future of the cybersecurity market.

Andrew and Dan share their journeys into venture, how they first met through Signal Sciences, and why they continue to co-invest. We explore how investors cut through the noise in areas like AI agent security, what makes a startup stand out, and why founder insight, team-market fit and market timing can matter just as much as the product itself.

We also discuss what makes a founder a “hell yes” investment, how investors assess talent, why founders should think carefully about who they bring onto their cap table, and what investors can offer beyond capital.

From raising at the right valuation and recruiting exceptional talent to showing up for customers and spotting the next major cybersecurity opportunity, this is a conversation packed with insights for founders, investors and anyone building in cybersecurity.

In this episode:

• Cutting through the noise in AI agent security

• What makes a founder a “hell yes” investment

• Team-market fit, talent and founder insight

• Building the right cap table

• What founders should know about venture capital

• Why showing up matters in enterprise sales

• How to approach investors effectively

• Emerging markets and the future of cybersecurity

Subscribe to CyberBytes for more conversations with the founders, investors and leaders shaping cybersecurity and technology!

Decibel Partners - https://www.linkedin.com/company/decibelvc/

Dan Nguyen-Huu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-nguyen-huu-11502719/

Aviso Ventures - https://www.linkedin.com/company/aviso-ventures/

Andrew Peterson - https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewmarshallpeterson/

Aspiron Group - https://www.linkedin.com/company/aspiron-group/

Oliver Legg - https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliverlegg/

In this episode, we’re joined by Alex Bovee, CEO and co-founder of C1, for a conversation on identity, AI agents, access governance and the future of enterprise security.

Alex shares the story behind C1’s recent rebrand from ConductorOne, why identity is becoming central to securing the agentic workforce, and how C1 is building a unified platform for managing access across both humans and AI agents.

We also discuss the challenges organisations face as AI adoption accelerates, from unmanaged MCPs and credentials on endpoints to the need for real-time, identity-aware access control.

Alex explains how C1 approaches visibility, credential management, runtime enforcement, privilege escalation and automated remediation across the agent lifecycle.

From rethinking the identity stack to building a company around the future of agentic access, this is a conversation packed with insights into where identity and AI security are heading next.

In this episode:

• The story behind C1’s rebrand

• Identity in the age of AI agents

• Securing access across humans and agents

• The risks of MCPs, credentials and AI adoption

• Runtime access control and agent governance

• C1’s approach to AI security

• Scaling a fast-growing cybersecurity company

• The future of enterprise identity and agent management

Subscribe to CyberBytes for more conversations with the people shaping cybersecurity.

Aspiron Group - https://www.linkedin.com/company/aspiron-group/

Aspiron Search - https://www.linkedin.com/company/aspiron-search/

Aspiron Influence - https://www.linkedin.com/company/aspiron-influence/

Aspiron Ventures - https://www.linkedin.com/company/aspiron-ventures/

Joseph Cooper - https://www.linkedin.com/in/cybercoops/

C1 - https://www.linkedin.com/company/c1-ai/

Alex Bovee - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexbovee/