Blake and Cynthia take an in-depth look at the evolving ransomware threat landscape, the interplay between government and private sector in cybersecurity, and the challenges and opportunities presented by new technologies like AI.

Timestamps: 

• 00:19 - Halcyon’s Ransomware Research Center
• 07:24 - Actors behind ransomware campaigns
• 11:22 - Will AI help offense or defense? 
• 17:29 - Known vulnerabilities
• 21:10 - Where do you fall on ransomware payments?
• 28:24 - How to stop bad actors
• 30:44 - Guest fun fact

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Rob and Blake discuss vulnerability and exploit discover in the age of AI and increasingly intelligent cyber threats. 

Rob Lee is the Chief of Research and Head of Faculty at SANS Institute and runs his own consulting business specializing in information security, incident response, threat hunting, and digital forensics. With more than 20 years of experience in digital forensics, vulnerability and exploit discovery, intrusion detection/prevention, and incident response, he is known as “The Godfather of DFIR”. Rob co-authored the book Know Your Enemy, 2nd Edition, and is course co-author of FOR500: Windows Forensic Analysis and FOR508: Advanced Incident Response, Threat Hunting, and Digital Forensics.

Rob graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy and served as a founding member of the 609th Information Warfare Squadron, the first U.S. military operational unit focused on information operations. Later, he was a member of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) where he led a team conducting computer crime investigations, incident response, and computer forensics.

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In this bonus episode, Blake, Sharon Mandell and Mark Kuhr have a discussion about the impact of agentic AI in cybersecurity, focusing on both threats and opportunities. They touch on the rise of AI-enabled cyberattacks and how adversarial and generative AI are being leveraged by attackers, as well as the dual-use nature of AI. How can it can be both a threat and a tool for defenders?

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Jim Langevin, former chair of the Congressional Cyber Caucus and Democratic Congressman from Rhode Island, reflects on his belief that cybersecurity remains a bipartisan issue. He emphasizes the importance of collaboration between government and the private sector, and the potential of artificial intelligence in enhancing cybersecurity.

Timestamps:

• 01:05 - About Rep. Langevin
• 04:08 - Building a hacker-friendly congress
• 09:53 - Cybersecurity as a bipartisan issue
• 15:39 - Trying to predict the future
• 19:44 - AI and cyber defense

Find Blake on LinkedIn

Find Rep Langevin on LinkedIn 

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Paul Mote, Vice President, Solutions Architects at Synack, discusses if we're ready to embrace AI in a world of ever-evolving threats. Who will AI help more, attackers or defenders?

TIMESTAMPS:

• 00:35 - What is a solutions architect?
• 02:56 - Advancing threats
• 13:32 - Are we ready to embrace AI? 
• 20:58 - What’s real, what’s not?
• 25:03 - Find Paul Mote on LinkedIn

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 Lea Kissner, CISO of LinkedIn, describes the dangers of perverse metrics, the importance of phishing-resistant technologies, and the ongoing challenge of recruiting and retaining top talent in the field. Lea also explains how  they deal with complex privacy issues at scale every day. Lea and Blake also touch on LinkedIn's efforts to balance security with user privacy preferences, and the evolving threat landscape posed by AI.

Find Lea on LinkedIn

Find Blake on LinkedIn

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Mike Witt, NASA's Senior Agency Information Security Officer and Chief Information Security Officer for Cybersecurity and Privacy, has a long history of public service. In addition to serving 10 years in the U.S. Army, Mike was the director of the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) at the Department of Homeland Security and a key cybersecurity official at the IRS. Now, he’s leading NASA’s efforts to secure spaceflight centers nationwide and their missions to the final frontier.

Tune in to the latest episode of WE’RE IN! to hear more about how NASA balances its out-of-this-world mission with real-world concerns about cybersecurity resulting from increased activity from other space agencies and commercial interests alike.

Listen to learn more about: 

• How NASA responded to the Log4j vulnerabilities revealed in 2021
• Why the SAISO position was created 
• How NASA’s stellar reputation helps it address the cybersecurity talent shortage

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Lieutenant General Lori Reynolds' (Ret., USMC) career journey from a Naval Academy graduate to a key figure in cybersecurity and information warfare illustrates the progression of military communications and cyber operations. Initially commissioned as a Marine Corps communications officer in 1986, Lori’s career took her from managing traditional radio communications to leading the Marine Corps Cyberspace Command. 

Tune in to hear how she played an important part in integrating cyber operations into the Marine Corps' combined arms approach and later spearheaded efforts to create a comprehensive information warfighting function.

Listen to learn more about: 

How China's cyber operations have become more sophisticated, quiet and focused on long-term strategic positioning

Why the threat now extends beyond cyberattacks to include technological exports and influence operations 

How Russia and other state actors are also engaged in hybrid warfare, operating below the threshold of conventional conflict

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The Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center (DC3) operates a Vulnerability Disclosure Program (VDP) that handles critical cybersecurity issues reported by the public, including using an actual red phone for urgent matters. In the latest episode of WE’RE IN!, Melissa Vice, director of DC3’s VDP, describes how they respond to cyberthreats and collaborate with other groups within the center, such as the Operation Enablement Directorate and cyber forensics laboratory. 

Tune in to hear how the program, which began in 2016 following a successful bug bounty event, has processed over 53,000 reports, 56% of which were actionable, and resulted in nearly 30,000 remediated vulnerabilities.

Listen to learn more about:

Why VDP has been recognized by the government as a reliable and economical cybersecurity strategy 

How Melissa and her team handled the notorious Log4j vulnerability

How DC3 has explored the use of AI and machine learning to enhance capabilities and scale operations 

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Hear from this season’s guests for their thoughts and predictions on AI and cybersecurity. We took sound bites from a range of WE’RE IN! interviewees, whose opinions on AI vary from thinking it’s overblown to being cautiously curious. Tune into this episode to better understand AI’s seismic effects on the infosec industry.

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