In this episode of The Security Champions Podcast, hosts Dustin Lehr and Michael Burch discuss the recent success of the first annual Security Champions Summit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Podcast sponsored by Security Journey, Secure Coding Training for Developers and Everyone in the SDLC. Learn more at securityjourney.com.

FOLLOW US to stay up-to-date with new content!

• LinkedIn (linkedin.com/company/security-journey)
• Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/securityjourney)
• YouTube (youtube.com/c/securityjourney)
• Twitter (twitter.com/SecurityJourney)
• Online (securityjourney.com)
• CONTACT: [email protected]

Ariel Shin is a Security Engineer at Stripe, specializing in threat modeling and proactively identifying and mitigating potential security risks. She is passionate about scaling application security while reducing engineering burdens and strives to create foundations that seamlessly integrate security practices into the development lifecycle.

Ariel joined The Security Champions Podcast to share her journey from penetration testing to building scalable, developer-friendly security practices. In this episode, she dives into the often-overlooked "glue work" that holds teams together, challenges common assumptions about threat modeling, and explores how AI is changing the security landscape. From practical strategies to forward-looking insights, Ariel offers a thoughtful perspective on how organizations can embed security into their culture without slowing down innovation.

Resources:
The Security Champions Summit - https://events.zoom.us/ev/AtVdnJITWfhMUFnsW_M1i4ZmOOhCAmScdyS69xg0oR4tS4iB6WO3~ArhXmQ4WPfpu5UoldBPL0lWGMfMj3PAOBs_PvjGyJLrTp_TfOMbweudy8pDHhHm-Ure1Ej4jX3S_bz70EsiKmB8W4g

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Podcast sponsored by Security Journey, Secure Coding Training for Developers and Everyone in the SDLC. Learn more at securityjourney.com.

FOLLOW US to stay up-to-date with new content!

• LinkedIn (linkedin.com/company/security-journey)
• Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/securityjourney)
• YouTube (youtube.com/c/securityjourney)
• Twitter (twitter.com/SecurityJourney)
• Online (securityjourney.com)
• CONTACT: [email protected]

Eva Benn is a Principal Security Program Manager for the Microsoft Security and Response Center. She is deeply involved in the security community, having served/serving on the leadership boards of the OWASP Seattle Chapter, WiCyS Western Washington, ISACA Puget Sound Chapter, the EC Council CEH Advisory Board, and the GIAC Advisory Board. She is also a Co-Chair of the Microsoft Women in Security and Co-Founder of Women in Tech Global.

Eva joined The Security Champions Podcast to discuss the multitude of pathways into cybersecurity. The conversation dived into overcoming imposter syndrome, reshaping cybersecurity culture, and building a mindset where everyone sees themselves as defenders. Eva highlights the role of psychology in learning and the importance of gamification.
 
Resources:
The Security Champions Summit https://events.zoom.us/ev/AtVdnJITWfhMUFnsW_M1i4ZmOOhCAmScdyS69xg0oR4tS4iB6WO3~ArhXmQ4WPfpu5UoldBPL0lWGMfMj3PAOBs_PvjGyJLrTp_TfOMbweudy8pDHhHm-Ure1Ej4jX3S_bz70EsiKmB8W4g
Tactical AppSec: The Security Champions' Field Guide: https://info.securityjourney.com/tactical-appsec-field-guide

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Podcast sponsored by Security Journey, Secure Coding Training for Developers and Everyone in the SDLC. Learn more at securityjourney.com.

FOLLOW US to stay up-to-date with new content!

• LinkedIn (linkedin.com/company/security-journey)
• Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/securityjourney)
• YouTube (youtube.com/c/securityjourney)
• Twitter (twitter.com/SecurityJourney)
• Online (securityjourney.com)
• CONTACT: [email protected]

Jacob Salassi, former Director of Product Security at Snowflake, joined this episode of The Security Champions Podcast to share insights from his experience leading security transformation at scale.

This episode explores the role of empathy in driving security engagement and how security teams can better align with engineering workflows. Jacob discusses the process of building the AppSec program at Snowflake, designing effective code review practices, and navigating organizational challenges. The conversation also touches on the potential of emerging technologies like LLMs and highlights key lessons from Jacob’s career journey and post-Snowflake focus.

Resources:

The Security Champions Summit: https://events.zoom.us/ev/AtVdnJITWfhMUFnsW_M1i4ZmOOhCAmScdyS69xg0oR4tS4iB6WO3~ArhXmQ4WPfpu5UoldBPL0lWGMfMj3PAOBs_PvjGyJLrTp_TfOMbweudy8pDHhHm-Ure1Ej4jX3S_bz70EsiKmB8W4g
Tactical AppSec: A Champions' Field Guide: https://info.securityjourney.com/tactical-appsec-field-guide

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Podcast sponsored by Security Journey, Secure Coding Training for Developers and Everyone in the SDLC. Learn more at securityjourney.com.

FOLLOW US to stay up-to-date with new content!

• LinkedIn (linkedin.com/company/security-journey)
• Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/securityjourney)
• YouTube (youtube.com/c/securityjourney)
• Twitter (twitter.com/SecurityJourney)
• Online (securityjourney.com)
• CONTACT: [email protected]

David Kosorok, the Director of Information Security Programs at Toast, Inc., has over 25 years of experience in software and security testing - including more than 16 years dedicated to security. He’s led and scaled product security programs across organizations of all sizes, making him a trusted voice in the appsec space. 

In this episode of The Security Champion’s Podcast, David joined Dustin Lehr to share key insights from his new book ‘Mastering Application Security.’ They dive into what it takes to build a high-performing appsec team, from aligning talent with mission to prioritizing the right initiatives in your appsec program. 

Resources: 

BOOK - Mastering Application Security: Building Elite Teams for Tomorrow's Threats: https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Application-Security-Building-Tomorrows-ebook/dp/B0F512GC8Y/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0

Security Champions Field Guide: https://info.securityjourney.com/tactical-appsec-field-guide

The Security Champion Program Success Guide: https://securitychampionsuccessguide.org/

Follow David on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kosorok/

Follow Dustin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dustinlehr/

Subscribe to Dustin's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@UCjYquhHrc1GR9nySDNpJtRA

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Podcast sponsored by Security Journey, Secure Coding Training for Developers and Everyone in the SDLC. Learn more at securityjourney.com.

FOLLOW US to stay up-to-date with new content!

• LinkedIn (linkedin.com/company/security-journey)
• Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/securityjourney)
• YouTube (youtube.com/c/securityjourney)
• Twitter (twitter.com/SecurityJourney)
• Online (securityjourney.com)
• CONTACT: [email protected]

Dustin Lehr joined Security Journey as Director of Application Security Advocacy. With nearly two decades of experience as a software engineer, application architect, and cybersecurity leader, Dustin has ample expertise in the industry.

In this episode of The Security Champions Podcast, Dustin joined to explore the interconnected roles of secure code, security-conscious culture, developer behavior, and the proper tooling. Discover practical insights on how to move beyond siloed approaches and create a truly effective strategy for product security.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Podcast sponsored by Security Journey, Secure Coding Training for Developers and Everyone in the SDLC. Learn more at securityjourney.com.

FOLLOW US to stay up-to-date with new content!

• LinkedIn (linkedin.com/company/security-journey)
• Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/securityjourney)
• YouTube (youtube.com/c/securityjourney)
• Twitter (twitter.com/SecurityJourney)
• Online (securityjourney.com)
• CONTACT: [email protected]

Roger A. Grimes, Data-Driven Defense Evangelist for KnowBe4, Inc., is the author of 15 books and over 1500 articles. He specializes in host security and preventing hacker and malware attacks. Roger is a frequent speaker at national computer security conferences and his presentations are fast-paced and full of useful facts and recommendations.

This episode of The Security Champions Podcast explores the fascinating concepts of quantum mechanics and how they relate to cryptography. It explores topics like quantum entanglement, quantum tunneling, and the mind-boggling reality that a quantum particle can be in all states simultaneously. Also discussed are the potential risks quantum computers pose to existing encryption methods and what you can do to prepare.

Podcast Chapters: 
0:10 Welcome to the Security Champions Podcast 
10:52 Not Here To Do Little Things 
15:12 Being a Cybersecurity Evangelist
23:18 What Exactly is Quantum
26:15 Quantum Entanglement
30:28 Two-Photon Double-Slit Experiment 
33:21 Quantum Tunneling
35:54 Quantum Particle Can Be All States At All Times
40:30 The Race to Post-Quantum Cryptography
44:57 Quantum Cryptography Could Break All Crypto
49:20 How to Protect Your Organization 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Podcast sponsored by Security Journey, Secure Coding Training for Developers and Everyone in the SDLC. Learn more at securityjourney.com.

FOLLOW US to stay up-to-date with new content!

• LinkedIn (linkedin.com/company/security-journey)
• Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/securityjourney)
• YouTube (youtube.com/c/securityjourney)
• Twitter (twitter.com/SecurityJourney)
• Online (securityjourney.com)
• CONTACT: [email protected]

Adam Bruehl, a Senior DevOps Engineer at Security Journey, has a unique blend of expertise ranging from biology to technology.

In this episode, Adam dives into the intersection of cybersecurity and medical devices, pharmaceutical research, and patient data. Hear first-hand accounts of security incidents, ethical dilemmas, and the constant battle to balance cutting-edge technology with outdated protocols in an industry where the stakes are life and death. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Podcast sponsored by Security Journey, Secure Coding Training for Developers and Everyone in the SDLC. Learn more at securityjourney.com.

FOLLOW US to stay up-to-date with new content!

• LinkedIn (linkedin.com/company/security-journey)
• Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/securityjourney)
• YouTube (youtube.com/c/securityjourney)
• Twitter (twitter.com/SecurityJourney)
• Online (securityjourney.com)
• CONTACT: [email protected]

Michael Erquitt is a Senior Security Engineer at Security Journey who develops educational content for all of our learners.

Michael joined the podcast to discuss the AI Threat Landscape. The discussion starts with the history of the AI threat landscape before moving on to the biggest AI security changes of 2025 and the future of AI and AI security. 

0:05 Welcome to The Security Champions Podcast
10:23 The History of the AI Threat Landscape
16:41 Securing AI Compared to Other Technologies 
18:53 The Biggest AI Security Changes Expected in 2025
28:20 Number 1 Piece of Advice for 2025
36:47 The Future of AI 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Podcast sponsored by Security Journey, Secure Coding Training for Developers and Everyone in the SDLC. Learn more at securityjourney.com.

FOLLOW US to stay up-to-date with new content!

• LinkedIn (linkedin.com/company/security-journey)
• Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/securityjourney)
• YouTube (youtube.com/c/securityjourney)
• Twitter (twitter.com/SecurityJourney)
• Online (securityjourney.com)
• CONTACT: [email protected]

Phillip Maddux is the founder of Deception Logic and a Staff Engineer on the Detection Engineering and Response Automation team at Compass. With close to two decades of experience in information and application security, Phillip's passion for honeypots led him to develop HoneyDB.io and his company, Deception Logic.   

In this episode of The Security Champions Podcast, Phillip explained the world of deception technology and its evolving role in cybersecurity. From high-fidelity honeypots to detecting insider threats, the conversation dives into how these tools can mislead attackers while protecting critical systems. 

Podcast Chapters: 
0:05 Welcome to the Security Champions Podcast 
10:30 What is Deception Technology? 
15:12 High-Fidelity Honeypots  
21:07 Detecting Insider Threats 
28:13 The Ethics of 'Poison'  
32:30 AI's Space in Deception Technology 
36:15 Deception in 5 Years

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Podcast sponsored by Security Journey, Secure Coding Training for Developers and Everyone in the SDLC. Learn more at securityjourney.com.

FOLLOW US to stay up-to-date with new content!

• LinkedIn (linkedin.com/company/security-journey)
• Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/securityjourney)
• YouTube (youtube.com/c/securityjourney)
• Twitter (twitter.com/SecurityJourney)
• Online (securityjourney.com)
• CONTACT: [email protected]