Kevin Johnson, CEO of Secure Ideas and Elected Board Member of the OWASP Foundation. My favorite part (aside from the chat about Star Wars and the 501st Legion) is the informational bit about Identity Protection Services and what to do if your email or personal info has been found in a data breach or on the dark web. That was eye opening for me. He also breaks down the differences between all the cybersecurity conferences and picks his favorites. I plan to see him later this year at the Bsides RDU conference where he’ll be speaking. He raises awareness about the need for more corporate funding and memberships for OWASP. They create free cybersecurity tools and resources. If your company values cybersecurity and wants to support OWASP consider becoming a member. For individuals, membership is only $50/year. He had the absolute best reaction I’ve ever heard when asked if he was optimistic or pessimistic about AI. I’ll be stealing that moving forward.

GUEST:

Kevin Johnson - CEO of Secure Ideas (25+ years in cybersecurity)

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinjohnson/

Website: https://www.secureideas.com/

Join OWASP: https://owasp.org/membership/

HOST:

Blake Williams - Founder / Headhunter at Hyperdrive Recruiting

Resume Writer at HR Approved

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/blakewilliamshq

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Timestamps:

2:56 – 501st Legion

12:10 – How Kevin landed in Cybersecurity

18:24 – Dealing with Recruiters (or not actually)

21:13 – They Ask, You Tell - Marketing Method

25:10 – Demand for Pen Testing & Vulnerability Assessments

27:11 – Difference between Pen Testing & Vulnerability Assessments

32:57 – Identity Protection Services & Data Breaches

38:15 – OWASP Foundation (he is an Elected Board Member)

46:01 – SamuraiWTF (Web Testing Framework, not that WTF)

47:07 – Cybersecurity Conferences he Attends & Speaks at

51:25 – Differences between Cybersecurity Conferences

55:21 – Top Sources of Info / 3 Recommended Newsletters

56:20 – AI Concerns (Pessimistic or Optimistic?)

59:56 – Recruiting Bots (should I be worried?)

Hyperdrive Minds Podcast is available on YouTube, Spotify, Rumble, Odysee, Apple Podcast, Pandora, Amazon Music, Samsung Podcast, Podcast Index, Podcast Addict, iHeartRadio, Listener Notes, Deezer, and RSS dot com. Clips are posted to YouTube, TikTok, Instagram/Facebook, LinkedIn and X.