Securanoia

Some conversations leave us with more questions than answers, and that’s exactly where we want to be. I’m Alex S, producer turned reluctant co-host thanks to a little Swiss chocolate from my wife and host Brooke S, PhD. Together we revisit the big moments, unpack the “wait what?” reactions, and bring your voices into the mix.

Short, candid, and a little unexpected, these episodes are your chance to shape where the conversation goes next. What do you want us to dig into?

🎶 Intro music composed and performed by Erik Williams. For commissions, email him at [email protected]

Disclaimer: Securanoia is an educational podcast intended to inform and spark discussion. It does not offer legal, or diagnostic advice.

This episode is our way of saying thank you to you, our listeners.

Over the past four episodes, we sat down with people who have spent their careers facing what most of us would rather not think about. Dr. Nicolas Rafael Beliz took us inside school threat assessment. Dr. Bruno Dias questioned the tech paradox: life is faster, smarter, and simpler, but are we happier? Kenneth Strange Jr. brought us a story of secrets, cartels, and a name on a hit list. And Brett Shavers opened up about child rescue, cyber forensics, and what telling the truth costs in the real world.

In this episode, you'll hear the most powerful moments from each of those conversations. Think of it as a curated journey through vigilance, courage, and the price of looking closer.

Let's begin.

🎶 Intro music composed and performed by Erik Williams. For commissions, email him at [email protected]

Disclaimer: Securanoia is an educational podcast intended to inform and spark discussion. It does not offer legal, or diagnostic advice.

Some conversations leave us with more questions than answers, and that’s exactly where we want to be. I’m Alex S, producer turned reluctant co-host thanks to a little Swiss chocolate from my wife and host Brooke S, PhD. Together we revisit the big moments, unpack the “wait what?” reactions, and bring your voices into the mix.

Short, candid, and a little unexpected, these episodes are your chance to shape where the conversation goes next. What do you want us to dig into?

🎶 Intro music composed and performed by Erik Williams. For commissions, email him at [email protected]

Disclaimer: Securanoia is an educational podcast intended to inform and spark discussion. It does not offer legal, or diagnostic advice.

She built fake personas, slipped into criminal forums, and watched a ransomware gang form from the first recruitment post. Then she found the manuals they were writing about children.

Rebecca Taylor, threat intelligence leader, TEDx speaker, and 2025 Cybersecurity Woman of the Year, joins host Brooke S., PhD to explain how underground darknet marketplaces really work, why the criminals read more like a social club than a syndicate, and what parents need to hear about sextortion, premature footprints, and the limits of parental controls.

Rebecca also has a message for anyone who thinks they are not technical enough for this field. You probably are.

The conversation goes places most cybersecurity interviews will not.

Be smarter, stay prepared, and embrace the right amount of Securanoia.

Resources:

Connect with Rebecca on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-taylor-cyber/ 

Digital Shadows, TEDx: www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyfhkfE3nHA 

Learn more about Rebecca: https://shespeakscyber.org/speakers/rebecca-taylor-cyber 

Sophos’ Rebecca Taylor: Women in IT Security, Woman to watch 

🎶 Intro music composed and performed by Erik Williams. For commissions, email him at [email protected]

Disclaimer: Securanoia is an educational podcast intended to inform and spark discussion. It does not offer legal, or diagnostic advice.

Some conversations leave us with more questions than answers, and that’s exactly where we want to be. I’m Alex S, producer turned reluctant co-host thanks to a little Swiss chocolate from my wife and host Brooke S, PhD. Together we revisit the big moments, unpack the “wait what?” reactions, and bring your voices into the mix.

Short, candid, and a little unexpected, these episodes are your chance to shape where the conversation goes next. What do you want us to dig into?

🎶 Intro music composed and performed by Erik Williams. For commissions, email him at [email protected]

Disclaimer: Securanoia is an educational podcast intended to inform and spark discussion. It does not offer legal, or diagnostic advice.

Connar McCasland secured election systems, health records, and criminal justice data for an entire county. The biggest vulnerability was never the tech.

Now teaching the next generation of cybersecurity and AI practitioners, Connar joins host Brooke S, PhD for a candid look at the human side of security. They dig into why the industry keeps selling tools as the answer, what leaders should actually say when someone clicks the wrong link, and how to build awareness training that people remember on a Tuesday afternoon six months later.

Connar also breaks down cognitive security and guardrails for AI agents, explains which populations are most exposed and why, and offers low cost advice for parents and caregivers. Talking to your kids and your parents about scams costs nothing. It works better than anything you can buy.

Plus career advice for anyone breaking in: cybersecurity needs communicators just as much as it needs engineers.

Firewalls don't make you resilient. People do.

Resources:

Connect with Connar on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/connar-mccasland 

University of West Florida: https://uwf.edu/centers/cybersecurity-and-ai/about-the-center/meet-the-team/connar-mccasland.html 

Woman in CyberSecurity: https://www.wicys.org/ 

Learn more about Connar: https://connarmccasland.com/ 

🎶 Intro music composed and performed by Erik Williams. For commissions, email him at [email protected]

Disclaimer: Securanoia is an educational podcast intended to inform and spark discussion. It does not offer legal, or diagnostic advice.

Some conversations leave us with more questions than answers, and that’s exactly where we want to be. I’m Alex S, producer turned reluctant co-host thanks to a little Swiss chocolate from my wife and host Brooke S, PhD. Together we revisit the big moments, unpack the “wait what?” reactions, and bring your voices into the mix.

Short, candid, and a little unexpected, these episodes are your chance to shape where the conversation goes next. What do you want us to dig into?

🎶 Intro music composed and performed by Erik Williams. For commissions, email him at [email protected]

Disclaimer: Securanoia is an educational podcast intended to inform and spark discussion. It does not offer legal, or diagnostic advice.

What if the real cyber threat isn't some hacker in a basement but someone you trust?

Host Brooke S., PhD talks with Andrew Crotty AKA the Ginger Hacker, a U.S. Army cyber warrant officer who knows firsthand why one wrong click can undo years of security planning.

Andrew opens up about leaving military police for cyber protection teams and now runs the Ginger Hacker Initiative, helping veterans, law enforcement, and students break into cybersecurity without bankrupting themselves on certifications. You will get no-nonsense advice on protecting your family online, building a real career in tech, and why your organization could collapse when your top expert walks away tomorrow.

This is security talk stripped down to what actually works: mentors, practice, and people who care enough to train the next wave.

Be smarter, stay prepared, and embrace the right amount of Securanoia.

Resources:

Join the Ginger Hacker Initiative: https://gingerhacker.org/ 

🎶 Intro music composed and performed by Erik Williams. For commissions, email him at [email protected]

Disclaimer: Securanoia is an educational podcast intended to inform and spark discussion. It does not offer legal, or diagnostic advice.

Recorded from the Swiss mountains, this episode of Securanoia features Alex S, producer turned reluctant co-host thanks to a little Swiss chocolate from my wife and host Brooke S, PhD. Together we revisit the big moments, unpack the “wait what?” reactions, and bring your voices into the mix.

Short, candid, and a little unexpected, these episodes are your chance to shape where the conversation goes next. What do you want us to dig into?

🎶 Intro music composed and performed by Erik Williams. For commissions, email him at [email protected]

Disclaimer: Securanoia is an educational podcast intended to inform and spark discussion. It does not offer legal, or diagnostic advice.

Your host Brooke S., PhD sits down with Matthew Rosenquist, a 24-year Intel Cybersecurity Strategist and founder of Cybersecurity Insights. Together they discuss AI's growing impact on security, covering practical career advice for newcomers and the urgent risks posed by agentic AI models that can rapidly discover vulnerabilities and compress an attacker's timeline.

Matthew introduces the "Mythos effect," inspired by Anthropic's Mythos Preview, explaining how AI is democratizing cybercrime and disrupting traditional vulnerability management and incident response. They discuss real-world examples of agentic AI gone awry, the gap between current models and sci-fi sentience, and the difficult trade-offs organizations face balancing speed, oversight, and competitiveness. The conversation also covers where boards and executives commonly go wrong, why simply spending more isn't enough, and what parents and everyday users can do to stay safe.

Find Matthew on LinkedIn, Substack (Cybersecurity Insights), and YouTube for ongoing analysis and tools for the security community.

Resources: 

Connect with Matthew: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewrosenquist/ 

YouTube Cybersecurity Insights: https://www.youtube.com/@CybersecurityInsights 

🎶 Intro music composed and performed by Erik Williams. For commissions, email him at [email protected]

Disclaimer: Securanoia is an educational podcast intended to inform and spark discussion. It does not offer legal, or diagnostic advice.