TechSpective Podcast

TechSpective Podcast Episode 095

 

The cybersecurity industry has been around for quite a while--and both Raj Samani and I have been involved in some way for most of it. Yes, that "dates us" both a bit, but it also means that we have firsthand experience and perspective on how the industry has evolved.

Raj Samani is currently SVP and Chief Scientist at Rapid7. He was a guest on this podcast back in 2019 before it was rebranded as the TechSpective Podcast. At the time, he was with McAfee--which sort of doesn't exist anymore. McAfee has always been a household name--more or less--when it comes to antivirus protection and cybersecurity, but it has also been a bit of a rollercoaster. It was acquired by Intel, then spun out of Intel, and recently merged with FireEye to form Trellix.

Our conversation on this podcast starts there. We talk about how brands like McAfee and Symantec that once-upon-a-time defined the cybersecurity industry have been relegated to minor roles as the threat landscape has evolved and the cybersecurity industry has adapted and innovated to address emerging threats. We talk about cybersecurity "best practices" and Raj shares his insight on strategies organizations should embrace when it comes to cybersecurity today.

Check out the full episode for more about just how old Raj and I are based on how long we've been in the industry and the events and technologies we reference, as well as general knowledge of the state of cybersecurity.

The podcast itself is audio-only, but the video of our conversation is also available on YouTube if you prefer:

Please ask questions and share your thoughts on the topic in the comments below. Also, please subscribe to the TechSpective Podcast through your favorite podcast platform and share the podcast with your peers and friends.

If you enjoy the podcast, I would also be grateful if you could take 2 minutes to rate and review the podcast on iTunes or wherever you listen.

TechSpective Podcast Episode 094

 

There are nearly 3,000 cybersecurity companies out there--and you can find them all in the Security Yearbook 2022. This is the third annual release of the Security Yearbook by research analyst and author Richard Stiennon. He has compiled them alphabetically, geographically, and by industry category, along with key details such as their location, current headcount, and the percentage of change in headcount from the previous year.

Security Yearbook 2022 is truly a comprehensive compendium of the security industry, but it is more than simply a reference book. Stiennon includes chapters at the beginning of the book that examine interesting stories and trends from the past year. He also tracks merger and acquisition transactions, and funding activity.

Stiennon joined me as a guest on the podcast to talk about the latest release in the Security Yearbook series. The last 12 months have been a bit of a rollercoaster when it comes to funding and growth, so much of our conversation revolves around that. Security Yearbook 2022 reports that $26 billion in funding flowed into the cybersecurity industry in 2021--more than double the previous annual record. Notably, Lacework raised $1,825 billion. There were plenty of other high-profile winners in the funding game, though: Transmit Security ($543 million), Claroty ($540 million), Armis ($425 million), Cybereason ($325 million), and Dragos ($200 million) to name a few.

Fast forward a few months, though, and the mood shifted 180 degrees as companies laid off large numbers and went into austerity mode to extend the runway as the economy slowed down and the IPO market dried up. Lacework--which had grown 272% in 2021--laid off 20% of its workforce. Cybereason grew 87% in 2021 and let go about 10% of the company.

However, according to Stiennon, the weak economy hasn't actually slowed down the cybersecurity market by much. He revealed that 2022 is tracking toward $24 billion in funding--which is close to 2021 and still well more than double the previous record. In spite of some companies grinding their momentum to a halt and going into austerity mode, other companies are investing and growing like crazy, and there are tons of innovative startups that are aggressively entering the arena.

Check out the full episode for more about funding trends in the industry and discussion about the cybersecurity industry in general. You should also get yourself a copy of Security Yearbook 2022.

The podcast itself is audio-only, but the video of our conversation is also available on YouTube if you prefer:

Please ask questions and share your thoughts on the topic in the comments below. Also, please subscribe to the TechSpective Podcast through your favorite podcast platform and share the podcast with your peers and friends.

If you enjoy the podcast, I would also be grateful if you could take 2 minutes to rate and review the podcast on iTunes or wherever you listen.

TechSpective Podcast Episode 093

 

Zero trust remains a hot topic for 2022. It has been around for the last decade, but it has gained momentum in response to the shift to remote work resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the spike in ransomware attacks. President Biden and CISA have cited zero trust as one of they keys for improving security in the public sector and for critical infrastructure.

Back in December, I had Den Jones--who had just joined Banyan Security as Chief Security Officer--on the podcast. This episode, Tarun Desikan, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Banyan Security, joins me to dive into zero trust once again. We cover a lot of ground in a short period of time--moving from the value of zero trust and trying to define what it is, to discussing issues with the way some larger vendors bundle and sell products.

Tarun also stresses the need to democratize security and make full versions of products available to trial for free. Vendors often offer a free version with limited functionality if they offer one at all. Many don't provide a free version at all and just push for prospects to engage with a proof-of-concept pilot. Tarun feels strongly that companies should have confidence in their own products and trust in their prospective customers, and give them what they need to try it out and decide for themselves.

Check out the full episode for more about the evolution and challenges of zero trust, and the difference between organizations that are interested in truly being secure, as opposed to those who just want to check a box to say they've implemented the hot tool du jour.

The podcast itself is audio-only, but the video of our conversation is also available on YouTube if you prefer:

Please ask questions and share your thoughts on the topic in the comments below. Also, please subscribe to the TechSpective Podcast through your favorite podcast platform and share the podcast with your peers and friends.

If you enjoy the podcast, I would also be grateful if you could take 2 minutes to rate and review the podcast on iTunes or wherever you listen.

TechSpective Podcast Episode 092

 

CISOs are tasked with a balancing act that is often difficult to achieve--delivering quality apps quickly without sacrificing security. Traditionally, organizations tend to lean toward the speed to market side of that equation at the expense of security, but the attack surface and threat landscape continue to expand and organizations are more aware of the security risks they face. They are also aware of the business and financial consequences of failing at cybersecurity.

Bill Mann, CEO of Styra, joins me on this episode of the TechSpective Podcast to talk about this challenge. Mann stresses that one of the keys to managing the balance is automation and DevSecOps. The cycle of continuous integration and continuous deployment provides a quick feedback loop and offers developers the opportunity to quickly address issues and resolve any identified security concerns in days or even hours rather than weeks or months.

We also chat about Styra's open source project--Open Policy Agent--and security concerns around open-source applications and code. The theory suggests that open-source code is more secure because anyone can view it so it has more eyeballs scrutinizing it, but that assumes that there are people identifying and resolving issues even though nobody is technically "responsible" for doing so.

Check out the full episode for more about some of the issues and challenges organizations face, and how automating policy management and enforcement, along with other automation and DevSecOps practices can help organizations ensure they get apps to market quickly while ensuring they're secure at the same time.

The podcast itself is audio-only, but the video of our conversation is also available on YouTube if you prefer:

Please ask questions and share your thoughts on the topic in the comments below. Also, please subscribe to the TechSpective Podcast through your favorite podcast platform and share the podcast with your peers and friends.

If you enjoy the podcast, I would also be grateful if you could take 2 minutes to rate and review the podcast on iTunes or wherever you listen.

TechSpective Podcast Episode 091

 

Gathering relevant artifacts and performing a forensic investigation following a cybersecurity incident is a challenge for any organization. However, for larger companies that have a presence across multiple sites and countries, the challenge is far more complex. Not only is there a higher volume of incidents to respond to and investigate, but there are regional regulations and compliance restrictions that limit where and how data and other artifacts can be shared or transmitted.

Tim Ip, Security Engineer, Incident Response at Adobe, joins me on this episode of the TechSpective Podcast to talk about how they have addressed these challenges at Adobe. Tim and his team have put in place a framework to automate forensic investigation and leverage the cloud to streamline the process.

Check out the full episode for more about some of the issues and challenges organizations face, and how automating the incident response and forensic investigation process in the cloud has helped Adobe overcome these obstacles.

The podcast itself is audio-only, but the video of our conversation is also available on YouTube if you prefer:

Please ask questions and share your thoughts on the topic in the comments below. Also, please subscribe to the TechSpective Podcast through your favorite podcast platform and share the podcast with your peers and friends.

If you enjoy the podcast, I would also be grateful if you could take 2 minutes to rate and review the podcast on iTunes or wherever you listen.

TechSpective Podcast Episode 090

 

May was Mental Health Awareness Month. I recorded this podcast with the intent of publishing it in May, but COVID finally caught me after two-and-a-half years so I was sidelined for a bit. Fortunately--or unfortunately depending on your perspective--while May is Mental Health Awareness Month, mental health is actually an issue all year long, so the content is just as valuable in June.

My guest on this episode is Ian McShane. Ian is curently VP of Strategy at Arctic Wolf. He has over 20 years experience in cybersecurity and operational IT. As a former Gartner analyst, Ian has advised the largest and fastest-growing technology companies in the world as well as tens of thousands of organizations worldwide. He is well known as a trusted advisor and popular commentator in our industry, and prior to joining Arctic Wolf Ian has spent time at Symantec, Gartner, Endgame, Elastic, and CrowdStrike.

Ian joined me to talk about the serious issues of job burnout--especially in the cybersecurity industry--and the importance of mental health. We talk about work-life balance and the pros and cons of working remotely--for both the employer and employees.

Check out the full episode for more about professional burnout and some of the issues companies face as they navigate the waning COVID pandemic and determine whether office hours will be required and what work-life balance will look like as we move forward.

The podcast itself is audio-only, but the video of our conversation is also available on YouTube if you prefer:

Please ask questions and share your thoughts on the topic in the comments below. Also, please subscribe to the TechSpective Podcast through your favorite podcast platform and share the podcast with your peers and friends.

If you enjoy the podcast, I would also be grateful if you could take 2 minutes to rate and review the podcast on iTunes or wherever you listen.

TechSpective Podcast Episode 089

There is no such thing as perfect or invulnerable cybersecurity. The goal of cybersecurity is to raise the bar or cost of entry to make it as challenging as possible for threat actors, and to detect and identify new threats as quickly as possible. Given the sheer size of the threat landscape and the volume of threats, it's also important to automate as much as possible.

There are tons of cybersecurity tools out there, but even with a comprehensive mix of solutions in place there can be gaps--unnecessary exposure to risk. Rajiv Kulkarni, Senior Security Engineer, Incident Response with Adobe, joins me on this episode to talk about the malware analysis pipeline he and his team have developed and implemented to take binaries that are not recognized by the cybersecurity tools in place and perform an automated analysis of them that helps protect Adobe from emerging threats.

Check out the full episode for more about the challenges of identifying and stopping unknown malicious threats and how Adobe developed and implemented its malware analysis pipeline.

The podcast itself is audio-only, but the video of our conversation is also available on YouTube if you prefer:

Please ask questions and share your thoughts on the topic in the comments below. Also, please subscribe to the TechSpective Podcast through your favorite podcast platform and share the podcast with your peers and friends.

If you enjoy the podcast, I would also be grateful if you could take 2 minutes to rate and review the podcast on iTunes or wherever you listen.

TechSpective Podcast Episode 088

What have you got going on next Tuesday? Identity Management Day is coming up on April 12.

Identity Management Day is a one-day virtual conference that brings together security leaders, vendors, and advocates to raise awareness, share best practices, and inspire individuals —and organizations of all sizes—to take action when it comes to effectively managing and securing digital identities. You will be able to visit with exhibitors in the virtual expo starting at 10am Eastern. The sessions will start at 11am Eastern with awards announcements and a keynote panel. 

“The biggest problem with identity management today is how horrifically it has been mismanaged and allowed to repeatedly fail and collapse under its own weight," declared Tom Jermoluk, CEO and Co-Founder of Beyond Identity, in a comment on the importance of Identity Management Day. "For businesses, it’s a 'last-mile' problem that ultimately provides bad guys with a 'first-mile' on-ramp. While mechanisms to ensure trust between businesses have grown stronger, we’ve added only complexity, burden, and blame on end-users. By persisting with decrepit user identity foundations – which enable everything from account takeover to ransomware – we as an industry are becoming dangerously close to complicit in cybercrime.”

Julie Smith, Executive Director of the Identity Defined Security Alliance, is my guest for this episode of the TechSpective Podcast. Julie is responsible for executing the mission on behalf of IDSA members and serving the identity and security community. Throughout her career, she has held various leadership roles in technology and solutions companies, including product management, product and solutions marketing, and business development. Prior to joining the IDSA, Julie spent 14 years in the identity and security industry with leading vendors and solution providers--so she brings a wealth of knowledge and experience on the topic.

Check out the IDSA website for tons of resources and best practices to help improve your identity security. You can also register to attend Identity Management Day.

Check out the full episode for more insights on the role identity often plays in successful cyberattacks, and why identity security is crucial for effective cybersecurity. We also digress to talk about why May looks like a great month to consider actually going to see a movie in an actual theater.

The podcast itself is audio-only, but the video of our conversation is also available on YouTube if you prefer:

Please ask questions and share your thoughts on the topic in the comments below. Also, please subscribe to the TechSpective Podcast through your favorite podcast platform and share the podcast with your peers and friends.

If you enjoy the podcast, I would also be grateful if you could take 2 minutes to rate and review the podcast on iTunes or wherever you listen.

TechSpective Podcast Episode 087

In a former life, I was a network administrator and IT support manager. One of the core responsibilities was to ensure resilience and business continuity even in the event of a power outage--and that meant relying on UPS (uninterruptible power supply) devices. APC was the brand we used, and--as far as I know--APC is the default that most companies turn to.

New research from Armis discovered multiple vulnerabilities in APC Smart-UPS devices that could potentially be exploited remotely by attackers. An Armis blog post explains, "The latest APC Smart-UPS models are controlled through a Cloud connection. Armis researchers found that an attacker exploiting the TLStorm vulnerabilities could remotely take over devices via the Internet without any user interaction or signs of attack. As a result, attackers can perform a remote-code execution (RCE) attack on a device, which in turn could be used to alter the operations of the UPS to physically damage the device itself or other assets connected to it."

Barak Hadad, Head of Research at Armis Labs, joins me on this episode of the TechSpective Podcast to talk about the TLStorm vulnerabilities and the importance of having complete visibility of all connected devices in an environment. Barak is responsible for hunting zero-days and reverse engineering threats to help prepare customers to proactively protect their systems and data.

Check out the full episode for more insights on the TLStorm vulnerabilities in APC Smart-UPS devices and on the challenges of IoT and IIoT in general.

Please ask questions and share your thoughts on the topic in the comments below. Also, please subscribe to the TechSpective Podcast through your favorite podcast platform and share the podcast with your peers and friends.

If you enjoy the podcast, I would also be grateful if you could take 2 minutes to rate and review the podcast on iTunes or wherever you listen.

TechSpective Podcast Episode 086

Connecteam is an Israeli startup with a mission to provide everything a company needs to empower, manage, and engage its deskless workforce. That mission is resonating with investors as well, as the company recently announced $120 million in Series C funding.

Global efforts to quarantine and limit the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic have dramatically accelerated digital transformation efforts. The pandemic drove businesses to adopt a 100% remote, work-from-home business model overnight, and has fundamentally changed the way companies communicate and get things done.

From Connecteam\'s perspective, though, that is just the tip of the iceberg. Of the 2.7 billion workers in the world, an estimated 80% are not tied to a desk. Entire industries--retail, service, shipping and logistics, transportation--are comprised almost entirely of workforces that, by their very nature, do not sit at a desk. According to a 2018 report by Tribe, 83% of these “non-desk employees” don’t even have a corporate email address. Yet most software/tech investment is focused on office workers.

Connecteam CEO and co-founder Amir Nehemia, and COO Yuval Magid join me on this episode of the TechSpective Podcast to talk about the challenges of managing a deskless and/or remote workforce. We also talk about how to effectively address those challenges and provide employees the resources and information they need.

Check out the full episode for more insights on removing complexity and effectively managing a deskless workforce. We also digress to talk about very interesting and relevant topics like the graffiti on the wall behind them.

The podcast itself is audio-only, but the video of our conversation is also available on YouTube if you prefer:

Please ask questions and share your thoughts on the topic in the comments below. Also, please subscribe to the TechSpective Podcast through your favorite podcast platform and share the podcast with your peers and friends.

If you enjoy the podcast, I would also be grateful if you could take 2 minutes to rate and review the podcast on iTunes or wherever you listen.