WE'RE IN!

Journalist Andy Greenberg is no stranger to the murky world of cryptocurrency. The senior writer for WIRED and longtime cybersecurity journalist was one of the last reporters to interact with pseudonymous Bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto before they evidently ceased communications. 

In his new book, “Tracers in the Dark: The Global Hunt for the Crime Lords of Cryptocurrency,” Andy follows the gripping story of IRS special agent Tigran Gambaryan as he follows the money to zero in on some of the most mysterious and monstrous criminals in the cyber underground. 

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Don’t miss the inaugural episode of WE’RE IN! Season 2 to hear more from Andy on: 

* How Tigran joined forces with expert investigators and cryptographers to jettison misconceptions about the anonymity of major cryptocurrencies, exposing alleged criminal masterminds in the process

* The genesis of successful crypto tracing and analysis firms like Chainalysis

* The twisted motivations of those who founded infamous dark web emporiums like AlphaBay and Silk Road

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Links: 

* https://andygreenberg.net/

* https://www.wired.com/

* https://www.synack.com/

* https://readme.security/

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Ready to hear from top cybersecurity newsmakers, executives and storytellers? Eager for advice on how to launch a successful cyber career? Curious about hacking threats that seem to grow more menacing by the day? Get ready for Season 2 of WE'RE IN! 

Co-hosted by Synack security operations engineer Bella DeShantz-Cook and longtime cybersecurity journalist Blake Sobczak, WE'RE IN! takes you inside the brightest minds in cybersecurity for unique insights and colorful stories from the front lines of our digital transformation. Don't miss the latest season of this breakout podcast, sponsored by Synack! 

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Application security maven Tanya Janca – AKA SheHacksPurple – is an accomplished author, pentester and onetime music festival organizer. But she’s perhaps best known as the founder of We Hack Purple, a community of security professionals dedicated to sharing useful cyber information including coding trainings and coursework. (Dynamic application security testing Bright Security acquired We Hack Purple earlier this year, bringing its own approach to the “shift left” dilemma of moving cybersecurity earlier in the software development cycle.)

Tanya has spent much of her career in cybersecurity and IT empowering others to strengthen their own skills. With We Hack Purple, she built a community from the ground up, and she’s organized plenty of security talks and capture-the-flag tournaments along the way. Computer science can be a nebulous, wide-ranging field – Tanya has further helped people zero in on what they should focus on learning in the wide world of cybersecurity. 

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Tune into the episode to hear more on: 

* The story behind Tanya’s bestselling book, “Alice and Bob Learn Application Security” 

* The qualities that make a good pentester: “You have to be very determined and detail oriented,” as Tanya put it

*  #cybermentoringmonday and the value of professional mentorship 

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Links: 

* https://wehackpurple.com/

* https://brightsec.com/

* https://www.synack.com/

* https://readme.security/

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Melanie Teplinsky fell in love with cryptography at an early age, which led her to landing her first job at the National Security Agency at 16. From there, she found her niche in cybersecurity at the intersection of technology and the law. 

As a senior fellow at American University in the Law Tech, Law, and Security Program, Melanie helps craft cybersecurity policies that scale and attempt to solve big, societal problems. First, she has to understand how cybersecurity technology and models, such as zero trust, are implemented at companies and organizations of all sizes. Then, she applies those principles to existing laws and government mandates to understand the pitfalls and gaps. 

Between her early start in cyber and national policy-making, Melanie has a unique perspective to share with the infosec community.

Listen to the episode to hear more about: 

* How cybersecurity policy can transform small- and medium-size businesses’ approach to zero trust 

* Why protecting innovation efforts at universities and small companies is paramount for the cybersecurity industry

* The positive outcomes from collaboration between the public and private sectors 

Links: 

* https://www.wcl.american.edu/impact/initiatives-programs/techlaw/our-team/melanie-teplinsky/

* https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-research-reports/report/cybersecurity-for-innovative-small-and-medium-enterprises-and-academia/

* https://www.synack.com/

* https://readme.security/

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Zinet Kemal is an infosec powerhouse. After emigrating from Ethiopia to Minnesota with her husband, she started her life over. She left behind her community and career as a lawyer and dived into the world of information security. 

She has since become a children’s book author and works as a cloud security engineer for Best Buy, while raising her four kids and completing her master’s degree in cybersecurity from Georgia Tech University. 

In the latest episode of WE’RE IN!, Zinet shares how she published two children’s books during the pandemic, “Proud in Her Hijab” and “Oh, No ... Hacked Again!: A Story About Online Safety,” and about her work with Black Girls in Cyber. 

Listen to the episode to hear more about: 

* How you can teach kids (and grandparents) about cybersecurity 

*Zinet’s journey from immigrant to best selling author 

*The power of diversity in cybersecurity 

Links: 

*https://zinetkemal.com/

*https://www.synack.com/

*https://readme.security/

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Sean Zadig has plenty to be paranoid about. The internet is a frightening place, and Yahoo’s Paranoids–the name for the company’s infosec team–have their work cut out for them protecting Yahoo’s more than one billion global users.

As vice president, chief information security officer and “Chief Paranoid” for Yahoo, Sean is charged with keeping sensitive company data safe from an onslaught of cyberthreats, working collaboratively across all Yahoo’s media and technology brands.

In the latest WE’RE IN! episode, Sean speaks to the need for balance in security messaging and shares how he addresses risks like Log4j. 

It takes patience and finesse to build a strong culture of security in any organization, let alone a global tech and media company with thousands of employees. 

“It's important to not shame people, so you don't want to say, ‘how could you miss this?’ Or, ‘what happened? Why, why did you commit that code?’” Sean says. “Instead, we use it as a learning experience.” 

Tune in to discover how Sean keeps Yahoo on the right track and hear more about:

* Yahoo’s approach to bug bounties and pentesting

* His unlikely path to security leadership– “It was never my career aspiration to become a CISO”

* Sean’s focus on examining what motivates the attackers targeting Yahoo every day

Links: 

* https://www.yahooinc.com/technology/paranoids-blog/

* https://www.synack.com/

* https://readme.security/

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Four years ago, Jack Rhysider quit his job as a security engineer to move full time into the storytelling business. His podcast, Darknet Diaries, now boasts tens of millions of total downloads and has explored cybersecurity topics from Stuxnet to the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox.

Building Darknet Diaries into a successful show was no cakewalk. In the latest episode of WE’RE IN!, Jack shares his experience putting on a great podcast, from ideation and guest selection all the way to monetization and fielding calls from Hollywood producers.

“Don’t think about how big of an audience you have,” he said. “You need to find the right person in your head, of who would love this show, and just deliver it to them in a great way.”

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Even if you’re not a podcast creator, there are plenty of reasons to listen:

* Glean Jack’s insights into the creative process, including the importance of self-reflection and listening with “fresh ears”

* Hear how he navigates constant deadline pressure while avoiding burnout

* Learn the secrets behind the most suspenseful moments in any great story

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Tracy Maleeff led a successful career transition into the tech and cybersecurity world nearly seven years ago. Now a security researcher with the Krebs Stamos Group, the former librarian still uses her hard-won open source intelligence skills to sort through a deluge of cybersecurity information for clients and for subscribers of her free InfoSecSherpa news roundups.

In the latest WE’RE IN! episode, she speaks to the importance of having diverse perspectives at the table when it comes to cybersecurity and warns of a disconnect between tech hiring managers and HR departments.

“Companies keep hunting for unicorns when they really just need to pay attention to the squirrels at the base of the tree,” Maleeff said.

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Here are a few more reasons to listen:

* Discover Tracy’s tips for breaking into the cybersecurity industry from other professions: She once helped a mechanic launch a career in pentesting

* Learn how she’s used Twitter to advance her own cybersecurity career

* Hear about out her favorite episode of Keeping up with the Kardashians – and yes, there is an infosec connection!

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Links:

* https://infosecsherpa.medium.com/

* https://www.ks.group/

* https://www.synack.com/

* https://readme.security/

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Beau Woods knows firsthand how every moment counts when it comes to medical cybersecurity. He launched his career in a hospital, where it wasn’t always possible for doctors to punch in complex passwords or spare a second thought for cybersecurity. Beau went on to found I Am the Cavalry, a group of cyber ambassadors dedicated to improving the security of devices ranging from pacemakers to connected door locks.

In his current role as senior advisor for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Beau helps fill gaps in U.S. cyber defenses by boosting organizations that may not have the resources or knowledge needed to secure critical connected equipment like insulin pumps.

“If you can get ahead of things and help them to build better procurement processes, help them to identify more securable technologies that have better business models, that will have  greater longevity, then you can stop the flow of inbound, insecurable devices and – over the next decade or two – eventually that cyber hygiene tide line can rise,” he said in this episode of WE’RE IN!

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Here are a few more reasons to tune in:

* Learn Beau’s tips for making cybersecurity issues more engaging, from gamification to building empathy

* Hear about his unconventional career path from psychology to security

* Build awareness on the state of healthcare cybersecurity and CISA’s role in government

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Links:

* https://www.cisa.gov/
* https://iamthecavalry.org/
* https://www.synack.com/
* https://readme.security/

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Dragos CEO and founder Robert M. Lee has been talking about cybersecurity risks to critical infrastructure long before threats to utility operators and water plants were making headlines. In this episode of WE'RE IN!, he discusses the ongoing dangers to the grid from nation-state hackers and ransomware gangs, but also the progress the U.S. is making to better secure its most vulnerable assets. And there's also a great conversation about pay transparency that anyone working in infosec will want to hear. 

A few more reasons to listen:

*It's a candid and sobering interview with one of the world's leading experts on industrial cybersecurity.

*You might be surprised how Dragos approaches pay transparency, hiring and job interviews. 

*Better understand how critical infrastructure operators should approach cybersecurity differently from enterprise technology. 

Key quotes:

* "If you are an oil and gas pipeline or a manufacturing company, and you haven't had ransomware scenarios at a board level with an understanding of what you're doing specifically in OT, your liability and your lawsuit is going to be bad."

* "One hundred percent of our engineers are in the United States. We don't outsource anything where they're related to our product, because if we're deploying software into nuclear power plants and similar, I'd like control of the supply chain."

* "We've been talking about cyber at a presidential, international leader, board level for a long time. But they never knew they needed to differentiate between IT and OT. And now they're realizing all the resources have been spent on the non-revenue generating side of the business and they're going, "Holy crap! What's our OT cybersecurity strategy?"

Links:

* https://www.dragos.com/

* https://www.synack.com/

* https://readme.security/

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