The SynAckFinAck Podcast

On this episode of The SynAckFinAck Podcast, I welcome Lenny Chesal, at R2 Unified Technologies. Lenny and I chat about the state of the industry and how to get ahead in cyber.

I learn something in every podcast and this one is no different. Lenny has so much wisdom from years of experience in the field. I had no idea he got his start thwarting drug traffickers ability to call their contacts from the hotels of South Beach!

We also chat about the current state of the universities and how to deal with the problem of outdated curriculum, how to give back to the community, and the importance of soft skills.

Then, Lenny explains a significant problem with companies not utilizing security tools and shares about his podcast The New Normal and his involvement in various organizations, such as the Leukemia Society.

Connect with Lenny on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/lennychesal

Visit his website: www.r2ut.com

Listen to his podcast: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9kZTkwNDUwL3BvZGNhc3QvcnNz

Episode Timeline:

[00:04] Introducing Lenny Chesal + How he got into technology industry

[09:02] What should people be doing if they want to get into the technology industry?

[14:07] What would you recommend a security professional with a few years of experience in the industry to do to further their experience?

[18:36] How to avoid plateauing in your career + What to do when you don't feel good in your position

[21:18] What do you see as the next big things in technology

[25:32] The tools are there, but people and companies are still being crushed. Trust the experts!

[29:54] Lenny shares about his podcast and his involvement in various organizations + How to get in touch with him

In this episode, I chat with Randy Pestana, Director of Education and Training for Cyber Security and Assistant Director for the Institute of Public Policy at FIU. Randy tells us about how he entered the field of cybersecurity and the programs that FIU offers. He explains what the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) framework is and how this system can be an asset for HR and cybersecurity professionals.

Episode Outline

[00:40] Randy's background and what got Randy into the field of cybersecurity policy

[03:52] FIU's cyber training programs

[06:50] The NICE framework and conference

[12:27] The diversity of roles and skill sets within the field of cybersecurity

[16:27] Industry participation with NICE

[20:37] How the NICE framework can be an invaluable resource for HR and cybersecurity professionals

[25:10] The new, updated NICE framework coming soon

[26:01] Exposing K-12 to the field of cybersecurity

Resources Mentioned

Learn more about the NICE Conference here: https://niceconference.org

Read the NICE Framework here: https://www.nist.gov/itl/applied-cybersecurity/nice/nice-framework-resource-center

Learn more about FIU here: http://gordoninstitute.fiu.edu

Learn more about Cybersecurty at FIU here: https://cybersecurity.fiu.edu

Connect with Randy

LinkedIn

Twitter

Jimmy Dupree has been in the tech space for 25 years working mostly in the DoD. After successfully developing an internship program at his company Blue Cloak, he and the team decided to run a pilot program with local schools to see if they could help bring people into the community. After a successful pilot, the team put their money where their mouth is and launched the Empower Group. They invested in a space, built it out, and were ready to go, then Covid threw a wrench in the plans.

They have since adapted and moved everything virtual and have their fist CyberPatriot Bootcamp coming up in a couple of weeks. Some great advice in here for people who have been in the space and want to give back. You can find out more about what Jimmy and the team is working on at the links below:

https://www.linkedin.com/company/mpowergroupllc/

https://www.blue-cloak.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmy-dupree-890a8861/

https://twitter.com/dupreej

https://twitter.com/mpowergroupllc

If you are in a leadership position at a small or medium size business grappling with what to do about your technology and you don't have a CIO or security team, you will get a lot out of this podcast.

You will learn how to streamline your tech, improve your security, AND reduce cost.

After you listen to the podcast, you will want to check out Jess' book Hack Proof Your Business. I read it in two short sittings and as a "seasoned" security professional, appreciated what they are sharing with business owners. I have seen and dealt with many of the attacks discussed in the book and it is a really short read advice and the things you should be thinking about.

We had a great conversation about how business is changing, and how business technology has changed over the years. Jess is one of the smart guys out there who I call when I have tech questions especially as it involves migrating to the cloud.

I appreciate Jess taking the time to share his expertise with me and you!

Hit these links for more information about Jess on LinkedIn and his company Applied Innovations.

I was thrilled to chat with Felipe on the podcast. We discuss a number of topics including moving infrastructure to the cloud, what it takes to get into and make it in the security field, and other topics. Thank you for listening!

In this interview, I visit with Bill Kimball and James Wright from Cyber Defense Technologies (CDT). If you are a veteran and in cyber, or would like to get into cyber, you will love this episode. These guys are so full of knowledge and have very deep experience. If you are looking for security services, penetration testing, or compliance work, this company would be a great option. They are a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business and most of their team members are also veterans. I appreciate their service and am thankful that we have guys like this defending some of our nation's most sensitive networks. Enjoy!

[03:56] Experiences in pen testing

[05:27] Importance in understanding compliance

[06:57] Jobs that require security clearances

[13:40] Thoughts on cybersecurity maturity model certification

[16:35] How to think about gaps in security

[18:37] Role of someone with offensive security certification like OSCP

[20:47] Importance of scripting capabilities

[23:18] On pursuing a career in cybersecurity

[25:39] Ways to prepare yourself for the future by observing trends

Quotes:

"If you're getting started in your career and moving towards cyber, definitely stay focused on the technology."

"The one thing to understand about the cybersecurity industry or information security industry, is we're an enabler."

"What's important to teach right now in any cybersecurity classes, is the ramifications of big data and machine learning as those continue to evolve and what that is going to do to the security industry"

Resources:

https://www.cyberdefensetechnologies.com/

https://www.facebook.com/CDTLLC/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/cyber-defense-technologies/

https://www.instagram.com/cdtllc/

https://twitter.com/CDTLLC

There are levels in all sorts of things in life. In Ultrarunning there are levels. I'm a solid mid-pack ultrarunner when I'm training, and will never be at the top. In Jiu-Jitsu there are levels. I'm a white belt just at the beginning of my journey. In infosec there are levels, and I consider myself a pretty strong security professional. I can always learn more.

I'm lucky to know people who are at the highest levels in different areas and Jorge is at the top of the game in security. He has been playing the offensive security game for a long time and I've been watching his career as he has become an absolutely amazing professional.

He is a professional hacker, SANS instructor, published author, and project lead for the C2 Matrix.

I know you will enjoy this one.

Jorge talks about his career and how he got his start, and what he's been working on lately. He helped me understand the difference between red teaming and purple teaming. If you want to get ahead in infosec or technology, Jorge is a person you should pay attention to and try to emulate.

You can find more about Jorge here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jorgeorchilles/ https://twitter.com/jorgeorchilles https://www.youtube.com/user/jorgeorchilles https://www.thec2matrix.com/

If you are in tech and security and not paying attention to the technology called "Kubernetes", it's time to start. There are some people way smarter than I am saying that Kubernetes is the new Linux and will change computing as much as TCP/IP changed the Internet. I was lucky enough to have Brad Geesaman, one of the founders of Darkbit.io on the podcast. He is one of the first 20 people in the world to obtain the Google Cloud Certified Fellow designation and has been working with all of the different cloud technologies for years. Here are links to some of the tools, technology, and training that we discussed in this episode.

Brad's company Darkbithttps://darkbit.io/

Follow Brad on Twitter and LinkedInhttps://twitter.com/bradgeesaman https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradgeesaman/

These two resources Brad specifically called out as amazing after our recording and I wanted to get them in the notes:https://kubernetes-security.info/

Core Kubernetes Book by Chris Lovehttps://www.manning.com/books/core-kubernetes

Everything else we discussed:

https://kubernetes.io/

Some great free and paid training options here:https://www.katacoda.com/

You want to learn what a YAML file is...https://yaml.org/start.html

Kubernetes Certificationshttps://www.cncf.io/certification/cka/ https://www.cncf.io/certification/ckad/

Kubernetes The Hard Way by Kelsey Hightowerhttps://github.com/kelseyhightower/kubernetes-the-hard-way

Center for Internet Security Benchmarks for Kuberneteshttps://www.cisecurity.org/benchmark/kubernetes/

Tracie Zenti is one of the smartest women in technology that I've ever met. Her entire career has been working with emerging technology which led her from Hollywood Video where she got her start to companies like IBM, Intel, and Amazon. She is now at Microsoft where she is the Director of Category Management for Migration for Azure Marketplace. Marketplaces are completely changing in a great way how companies acquire new software.

We discuss:

Her career journey and how she ended up in technology.

What it's like to work somewhere that they are doing a 25 year out roadmap.

Mentoring for women and how to get a mentor, which applies to both men and women.

How to effectively network with your peers.

After we finished recording the interview, we were talking about a couple of things including some of the challenges that women in technology have and I really should have brought that up during the recording because what she was sharing was so important for women in particular that I asked if I could start recording again.

The last 10 minutes of the episode is that conversation. I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed chatting with her!

Catch you next time!