In this episode of the FIRST Impressions Podcast, FIRSTCON25 Speaker, Matias Mesiä of NCSC-FI, discusses the high-impact 2024 data breach that targeted the City of Helsinki’s education department. With over 100,000 residents affected, Matias breaks down how the incident unfolded and the coordinated response involving NCSC-FI, city officials, service providers, and law enforcement. He shares the unique challenges of managing a major breach under intense media scrutiny. Tune in for key lessons on public-sector cybersecurity, crisis communication, and response readiness.

In this episode of the FIRST Impressions Podcast, Martin and Chris chat with FIRSTCON25 speaker, John Hollenberger of Fortinet. John offers a sneak peek into his session, "Building the Blueprint: Designing Effective Storyboards for Cybersecurity Tabletop Exercises." He explains how detailed storyboards can shape more impactful tabletop exercises by aligning objectives, scenarios, injects, and key decision points. Tune in to learn how to create exercises that are not only engaging but truly enhance organizational preparedness.

In this episode of FIRST Impressions, the hosts interview FIRSTCON25 speaker, Cornelia Puhze of SWITCH-CERT, a human-centered security professional and co-chair of the FIRST Human Factors in Security SIG. Cornelia dives into the world of social engineering, AI-driven manipulation, and how we can better educate people to protect themselves from scams without the burden of technical jargon. She emphasizes the power of gut instincts, breathing, and human intuition in recognizing and resisting criminal tactics. Tune in to explore how we can train ourselves to stay secure in a tech-driven world — naturally.

In this episode of FIRST Impressions, hosts Martin McKay and Chris John Riley speak with Desiree Sacher and Carson Zimmerman about their upcoming talk at the 2025 FIRST Conference in Copenhagen. Drawing from personal experience and scientific research, they unpack the complexities of burnout in cybersecurity — exploring its causes, impact, and sustainable solutions for both individuals and organizations

In this episode of FIRST Impressions, hosts Chris John Riley and Martin McKeay speak with John Stoner, Global Principal Security Strategist at Google Cloud. Together they discuss the importance of ongoing detection testing, the challenges of running emulations in production environments, and how to balance technical goals with organizational constraints. John previews his upcoming talk at the 2025 FIRST Conference, offering practical strategies for evolving security practices without boiling the ocean.

In this special FIRSTCON25 FIRST Impressions episode, our hosts, Chris John Riley and Martin McKeay interview Henrik Larsen, Program Chair of the 2025 FIRST Conference in Copenhagen. Henrik discusses the conference theme: “Fortresses of the Future: Building Bridges, Not Walls” and previews keynote speakers, Scandinavian influence, and cultural highlights of the host city. Tune in to learn what to expect this June and learn more about the diverse speaker lineup and the vibrant Copenhagen experience awaiting us!

In this FIRST Impressions podcast episode, we dive into the fascinating world of mobile network security with Umair Bukhari, Director and Head of Ericsson P-Cert. Umair shares insights on the evolution of telecom threat environments, from the early days of 1G to the cutting-edge advancements in 5G and beyond. In the interview, he highlights how these changes impact both users and network security, emphasizing the importance of secure, cloud-native technologies and zero-trust architecture. This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in the future of telecom security and the ongoing battle between attackers and defenders in this critical field! Tune in to learn more.

Join us on the First Impressions podcast for an exclusive interview with Todd Beardsley from CISA, recorded live at the 36th annual FIRST Conference in Fukuoka, Japan. Todd delves into the Known Exploited Vulnerability (KEV) list, explaining its critical role in cybersecurity and how even years-old vulnerabilities continue to be exploited. Learn about the detective work involved in validating exploitations and the importance of public-private partnerships. Don't miss this insightful episode—tune in now to stay ahead of cyber threats!

In this special episode of the First Impressions podcast, recorded at the 36th annual FIRST Conference in Fukuoka, Japan, hosts interview Carson Zimmerman, a seasoned SOC expert. Zimmerman discusses his presentation, "14 Questions Are All You Need," which helps SOCs evaluate performance and address areas for improvement, emphasizing the importance of deep, insightful questions and the human element in security operations. He also highlights the challenges of aligning SOCs with compliance regimes and addresses the issue of burnout in the industry. Tune in to learn tips and tricks to SOC success!

In this episode of the First Impressions podcast, hosts Chris John Riley and Martin McKay interview Nitesh Surana and Jaromir Horejsi of Trend Micro to discuss their upcoming talk at the FIRST conference. Their session will explain how they discovered threat actors abusing GitHub's cloud-based development environment, Codespaces, to build and test infostealers. While Codespaces itself is secure, its features can be abused. In this episode, they recommend developers that use such services be aware of potential abuse tactics and share the goal of their FIRSTCON talk is to raise awareness and provide clarity on how cloud providers can improve incident response and quickly shut down reported abuse.