CyberWatch by Access Point — Expert Insights on Cybersecurity Operations and the Business of Cyber

Christopher Skinner, a retired Marine Corps veteran with 23 years of service, shared insights into incident response planning during his appearance on the Cyber Watch Expert Podcast. After serving as both a communications and cyber warfare officer in the Marine Corps—where he managed incident response and crisis action teams—Skinner transitioned to a civilian role as Incident Response Manager at Access Point Consulting. His extensive experience in high-pressure scenarios has provided a solid foundation for understanding effective incident response.

Scott Montgomery, known as Monty, joined the CyberWatch Expert Series podcast to discuss his extensive background in cybersecurity, particularly in building and designing network security tools for high-assurance environments like the Department of Defense (DoD) and the intelligence community. His experience includes significant tenure at McAfee (now Trellix), which led him to his current role at Island, where he focuses on innovative approaches to cybersecurity compliance.

Cybersecurity threats evolve rapidly, and one tactic consistently rises above the rest: phishing. In this episode of CyberWatch, Michael Sviben, co-founder of DomainGuard, discusses why phishing remains so effective, how businesses and individuals become targets, and what you can do to stay vigilant.

Cybersecurity awareness is often reduced to check-the-box training, but David Habib, CIO at Brightspot, argues that real security awareness isn’t about formal programs—it’s about making security part of a company’s culture. In this episode, he shares practical insights on how organizations can move beyond stale training sessions to create an engaged and security-conscious workforce.

Cybersecurity projects don’t just require technical expertise—they demand structured planning, risk management, and coordination across teams. Lori Keller, a practitioner in cybersecurity project management, joins CyberWatch to discuss how strong project management practices drive security success.

Cybersecurity maturity isn’t just about implementing tools—it’s about developing repeatable processes that align security with business objectives. Adithya Vellal, founder of Petra Security, joins CyberWatch to discuss how organizations can take a structured approach to cybersecurity, reduce risk, and communicate security priorities effectively.

Many small and mid-sized businesses assume that moving to the cloud means security is automatically handled by the provider. But as Troy Bowman, Senior Security Engineer, explains, that’s a dangerous misconception.

Cybersecurity is often seen as a reactive field, constantly responding to threats as they emerge. But Helen Patton, Cybersecurity Executive Advisor at Cisco, argues that a well-defined cybersecurity strategy can shift the focus to a proactive approach—one that aligns security efforts with broader business objectives.

Being a CISO has never been easy, and 2025 doesn't promise to make it any easier. What you need to know to begin and to succeed in the job.

Today we're talking with Ricoh Danielson. Ricoh is the CISO at Virtix Health. He has a wealth of experience as a CISO, as a cybersecurity expert, and as someone in demand for his knowledge of risk and cybersecurity around the world. We talked to him about what the job of CISO is in 2025, what you need to know if you're moving into the role and, most important, what you need to know to succeed as a CISO this year and for the coming years.

On this episode of the CyberWatch podcast, phishing messages come in new disguises, your great job news could be hiding serious criminal intent, and the new year is bringing new vulnerabilities. All this and more, today in CyberWatch.