Shared Secrets

Den and Kev tackle measurement, metrics, and how sometimes screwing up how we measure things can lead to catastrophic risks. Then on a very special throwback episode with Trent Johnson, Trent recalls his youthful hacking exploits including an incident in college where he misappropriated a computer lab to mine his hometown ISP passwords.

Den and Kev tackle the common perception that mainframes are inherently secure, and why Kevin doesn’t believe it. Then on the throwback Rob Bridal talks about using coding as a creative expression, and gets into his high school years where he went invented his own personal bug bounty program that targeted a banner advertising firm in the late 90’s.

Infosec Rockstar Caroline Wong (Humans of Infosec Podcast) joins us this week to drop a bomb on this week’s episode that there is no shortage of cybersecurity talent. Tune in to hear Caroline propose how talent distribution is the key issue, and how the lack of industry wide accreditation process also contribute to a misperception that we don’t have enough good security folks. Then on a very special throwback with Ben Jacobs, we get back mid90’s Quincy IL ISP scene and cover the exact moment that led to Kevin becoming a “security” guy.

This week’s episode we have a very special throwback from super-network architect Nick Buraglio who shares one heck of an origin story! We cover imposter syndrome, co-worker dynamics, a lot of retro networking, and top it off with a healthy dose of central Illinois Geography. This one is a must-listen to those who are trying to break into technical fields as their first, or maybe 5th career! Check out’s Nick’s podcast: https://www.modem.show/

Den and Kev can’t resist arguing over whether or not there is any computer security lessons to be learned from chess. Then Kev drops this week’s secret, “Don’t shift left!” in your secure software development life cycles. Then on a very special Throwback episode MFA/IoT/Product Security Rockstar Mark Stanislav gives us a first-hand peak into the seedy 90’s world of IRC software piracy.(Intro and Outro theme "Sun Rice" by Adubter, CCL: http\s://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/(Intro and Outro theme "Sun Rice" by Adubter, CCL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/)

Kevin does a speed-round security secret to stay on theme (Computer security was pretty much figured out in 1975). Then we get into an extended throwback with SS Cohost Denis himself, where he gives us a firsthand account of the true story of a 28 year old Iranian “Jonathan Taylor Spielberg” who pretended to be 15 in order to enroll at Denis’s high-school in 1998. (Intro and Outro theme "Sun Rice" by Adubter, CCL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/)

Kev admits to Den that he went way too far last episode regarding Threat Hunting, then proceeds to go far too long on trying to convince Denis that “tech stack proliferation” is hurting our security posture. Then, we have back Mike “Dop” Dopheide on the throwback to talk about some fun computer stories from college.

Kev and Den debate the actionability, value, and opportunity cost of threat intelligence in the modern enterprise. On the throwback Hacking Exposed author and security industry stalwart Joel Scambray shares how he leveraged his passion for writing and the computer skills he developed in the biology lab into a storied career in computer security.(Intro and Outro theme "Sun Rice" by Adubter, CCL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/).

We play a quick round of get-to-know-your-hosts, then Kev tries to convince Den that Hacker Culture has nothing to do with computer security. After that we take a wild ride down memory lane with Privacy and Security law expert Nick Merker about how he invaded the privacy and security of his UO competition when he was in high school. (Intro and Outro theme "Sun Rice" by Adubter, CCL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/)

It’s here! The first episode of the Shared Secrets (with Den and Kev) podcast . On this episode we explain the podcast; tackle why Kev thinks CS is the worst college major for infosec; and throw back with Mike “Dop” Dopheide about hacking ISP’s in the mid 90’s. (Intro and Outro theme "Sun Rice" by Adubter, CCL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/)