What actually happens at the world’s biggest hacker conference—and why are thousands of cybersecurity professionals volunteering their time to break things?

In this special bonus episode of Hack Dissection, Maltek Solutions’ Mike Lisi is joined by Click Stream Studios Founder Matt Masur, who traveled with Mike to Las Vegas for DEF CON 2026. Together, they look back on their experience documenting the conference and explore what makes DEF CON unlike almost any other technology event.

Mike and Matt take listeners inside the unique world of DEF CON villages, Capture the Flag competitions, electronic badges, Red Team vs. Blue Team security, AI, and the massive volunteer community that makes the event possible. Along the way, they revisit conversations with hackers working on everything from Active Directory and pinball machines to cars, boats, aviation, cloud security, and critical infrastructure. More importantly, they tackle the idea at the heart of this year’s coverage: Hacking for Good. Because learning how technology can be attacked, manipulated, or exploited is often the first step toward making it safer.

Whether you work in cybersecurity, are thinking about entering the industry, or have simply wondered what really happens at DEF CON, this bonus episode offers an inside look at the people, technology, creativity, and community behind DEF CON 2026.

In this episode of Hack Dissection, Mike Lisi sits down with Tony Martino, a longtime digital forensics expert whose work has crossed law enforcement, the Secret Service, corporate investigations, incident response, and even true crime documentaries.

Tony shares how a homicide investigation in Utica helped launch his path into computer crime, what early digital forensics looked like before the tools became more automated, and why understanding the fundamentals still matters. From floppy disks and hex editors to cloud data, mobile devices, BYOD policies, cyber insurance, and the overwhelming amount of telemetry companies now collect, Tony breaks down how digital forensics and incident response continue to evolve.

The conversation also explores the future of DFIR, the growing role of internal investigations, the challenges of privacy and encryption, and why cybersecurity needs to become more proactive before incidents happen.

In this episode of Hack Dissection, Mike Lisi sits down with Wayne Koback from NRECA to talk about the cybersecurity challenges facing electric cooperatives and rural utilities across the country.

Wayne shares what makes the co-op utility space so unique, from massive organizations with nuclear assets to small-town teams where one person may be handling IT, utility operations, and town management all at once. Mike and Wayne dig into the realities of protecting critical infrastructure with limited resources, the importance of practical cyber goals, and why collaboration across co-ops matters when facing threats to the grid.

They also explore how data center growth is impacting rural utilities, why vendor security needs more accountability, and how SCADA knowledge can open doors for cybersecurity professionals in industries far beyond electric power.

For anyone interested in cybersecurity, critical infrastructure, rural utilities, or building a stable and meaningful career in tech, this episode offers a grounded look at where cyber work has real-world consequences.

In Episode 12 of Hack Dissection, Mike Lisi sits down with longtime friend and respected security educator Phillip Wylie — Chief Security Evangelist and Senior Consultant at Suzu Labs, and host of the Simply Offensive and The Phillip Wylie Show podcasts. Together, they look back on their early days pursuing the OSCP, discuss how offensive security has evolved over the last decade, and break down the changing realities of penetration testing in today’s environment.

Phillip shares stories from the field, including a memorable web app penetration test involving SQL injection, weak credential practices, and the all-too-common misuse of risk acceptance. The conversation also explores the growing importance of web app testing, IoT attack paths, continuous remediation, and why foundational skills like networking, operating systems, and scripting still matter for anyone serious about building a career in cybersecurity.

They also dig into mentorship, community involvement, conference speaking, and the future of the industry — from AI as a force multiplier to the value of staying adaptable in a field that never stops changing. Whether you’re an experienced practitioner or just breaking into offensive security, this episode is packed with practical insight, career wisdom, and real-world perspective from one of the community’s most generous voices.

In Episode 11 of Hack Dissection, Mike Lisi and Graham O’Donnell reunite in person after a brutal Q4 to break down what they’re seeing across penetration testing, external assessments, web apps, and internal networks heading into 2026.

The conversation dives into why Q4 is always chaos in cybersecurity, how compliance deadlines shape client behavior, and why traditional external pen tests may be giving way to continuous monitoring and more practical security validation. Mike and Graham also unpack the real-world tradeoffs of scoping engagements, why collaboration with clients leads to better results, and the common misconceptions organizations still have about realism, downtime, and what offensive testing is actually meant to prove.

Along the way, they share stories from the field — including strange external exposures, recurring misconfigurations, creative attack paths, and a wild case where a locked-down browser-based remote desktop environment led to full command-line access. It’s a candid, technical, and funny conversation about where offensive security is headed, what still works, and what organizations should really be testing.

In this episode of Hack Dissection, Mike Lisi sits down with Josh Cutting, a young software engineer who did what many cybersecurity students struggle to do — land a job immediately after graduating.

Josh shares his journey from learning to code as a kid and studying at SUNY Poly to completing multiple internships, earning his master’s degree, and transitioning seamlessly into the workforce. Together, Mike and Josh unpack what actually matters when trying to break into cybersecurity today — and what doesn’t.

This conversation dives deep into:

• Why internships matter more than credentials alone
• The mindset shift students need to succeed in cybersecurity
• Learning outside the classroom through labs, CTFs, hackathons, and home labs
• How employers really evaluate candidates during interviews
• Why passion, curiosity, and adaptability beat “checking boxes”
• The importance of mentorship, networking, and soft skills in technical careers

Whether you’re a student trying to land your first role, a career-changer navigating cybersecurity, or a hiring manager looking for motivated talent, this episode offers practical insights from someone who’s been through the process recently — and successfully.

If you’ve ever asked, “What does it really take to get hired in cybersecurity?” — this episode breaks it down.

In Episode 0x9 of Hack Dissection, host Mike Lisi flips the perspective from offense to defense with guest Cody Spooner, Principal Sales Engineer at Corelight.

While Mike spends his days breaking into networks, Cody helps organizations defend them. Together they unpack how visibility, monitoring, and mindset intersect in modern cybersecurity — from the SOC Triad (SIEM, EDR, NDR) to the realities of MDR services, threat hunting, and alert fatigue.

They dig into:

• Why companies think they’re protected but still miss every alert
• How to turn red-team findings into real defensive improvements
• What threat hunting actually means (and why it’s not just a buzzword)
• Lessons from ransomware incidents and tabletop exercises
• How small businesses can build effective defenses without enterprise budgets

If you’ve ever wondered what happens after the pen testers pack up, this conversation connects the offensive and defensive sides of the same fight — and shows how better collaboration can close the gap.

In this episode of Hack Dissection, host Mike Lisi welcomes back Graham O’Donnell, Penetration Tester at Maltek Solutions, to pull back the curtain on what really happens during external and internal network assessments.

From OSINT and subdomain enumeration to Nmap quirks and the chaos of inconsistent vulnerability data, Graham shares his raw, unfiltered process for finding weaknesses in the wild — plus the unexpected human side of hacking when tests get a little too real.

Mike and Graham also discuss:

• Automating and optimizing pen testing workflows
• Credential reuse and why third-party breaches still matter
• The ethics of exploring live environments
• What it feels like to uncover personal data during an engagement

Whether you’re a cybersecurity pro or just curious how ethical hackers think, this conversation offers a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the craft, the chaos, and the conscience of penetration testing.

In this episode of Hack Dissection, host Mike Lisi sits down with Brandon Finton, MS, CISSP, CISM, President of Orion Secure, to unpack the evolving landscape of cybersecurity for businesses. From the early days of Cyber Defense Institute to the launch of Orion Secure, Brandon shares his journey and the shift from training to professional services. Together, Mike and Brandon dive into: 🔒 Why Written Information Security Policies (WISP) are the foundation of any program 💡 The difference between compliance reviews and real risk assessments 👩‍⚕️ Why no one—not even doctors, lawyers, or CEOs—should get a pass on MFA 📑 Governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) as living documents 🤖 How AI and chatbots are reshaping security—and the risks of giving them too much authority ⚠️ Real-world stories from penetration tests, ransomware cases, and phishing assessments Whether you’re a small business owner, IT leader, or simply curious about the state of cybersecurity, this episode sheds light on the challenges organizations face—and the practical steps they can take to strengthen their defenses.

In this episode of Hack Dissection, Mike Lisi is joined by cyber operations expert Paul Marco for a deep dive into the true purpose—and power—of tabletop exercises. From crisis simulations that reveal communication breakdowns to the uncomfortable truths leaders often overlook, Paul shares real-world stories that highlight the human factor in cybersecurity.

You’ll hear why most organizations get tabletop exercises wrong, what really matters in the heat of a cyber crisis, and how to build muscle memory that actually holds up under pressure. Plus, Paul and Mike discuss the need for chaos, iteration, and yes—even a little embarrassment—to prepare your team for the moment the alarms go off.

Whether you’re building your first incident response plan or you’ve lived through the fire, this episode offers practical insights, blunt truths, and a refreshing perspective on what real cybersecurity preparedness looks like.