Welcome to episode 30  of What’s the Problem #podcast.

Today, David Bacque, the VP of Strategic Development and OT/ICS Cybersecurity Leader at RED Group joins us to discuss the P word.

That’s right. PROCUREMENT.

In this episode, we dive into the key topic of procurement being involved in the security purchase process. Examples could be capital projects, ICS, OT,  or others.

When you tune in, you’ll hear a basic checklist that David recommends folks follow when evaluating an operational technology solution.

That checklist includes questions such as…

1️⃣ What questions should they ask of vendors. For example: how is cloud data stored?

2️⃣ How does this fit in with our current IT environment?

3️⃣ And what capabilities does this boast (is this considered modern? Can we patch it remotely?)

Tap that headphones button to hear more operational technology wisdom from David. 🎧

Welcome to episode 29 of What’s the Problem #podcast.

Today, Jacqueline Lundie joins us to share some of her experience working as a SOC Analyst with the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Lots of opportunities for discussion with someone who has this type of experience.

So, what did we cover?

The importance of training on a high functioning Security Operations Center (SOC).

Jacqueline mentions a number of advantages when it comes to training. Some include.

1️⃣ Reduced turnover in the Security Operations Center

2️⃣ Reduced burden on re-hiring and re-training, which is an issue because training can take up to 3-4 months (sometimes longer!) when someone joins.

3️⃣ Swift reactions to incidents as SOPs and IRPs are all well-known, documented and communicated/practiced.

Want to hear the rest? Tap that headphone icon below to hear from Jacqueline herself.

Welcome to episode 28 of What’s the Problem #podcast.

Today, we are speaking with Alex Titze of Blue Team Alpha. Our discussion covers…

1️⃣ The education gap in security products or solutions, using the example of penetration testing versus vulnerability scanning. 

2️⃣ Explore how to help customers search for a potential vendor, with a focus on sales enablement. Specifically, we are going to discuss ways to sniff out or ask the right questions in order to purchase the products/solutions that your organization truly needs.

Beyond the educational discussion, Alex gives away two gems to help separate truthful security statements compared to those that are … let’s say not so truthful.

One of those insights:  any penetration test that takes less than 3 weeks but more than 2 months is probably overkill for a small to mid-size organization.

All this (and more!) are a tap of the finger away from hitting your ears. Tune in now to learn from Alex!

Today, cybersecurity specialist Selby LeBert of Textron Aviation joins us to discuss the rise of entry-level security personnel in the world of security operations for companies such as Textron.

More specifically, Selby is going to talk listeners through:

1️⃣ Four key issues he sees with bringing practitioners into the work of cyber security

2️⃣ Discussing the Skills Bridge program from the Military to Private Sector

3️⃣ How Textron Aviation thinks about security with regards to aerospace/supply chain

If you are ready to take off with this episode, tap that episode link to get started.

Welcome to episode 26 of What’s the Problem podcast.

Today, we’re speaking with Elez Tupozovic with CyberConvoy.

Sharing experience in his current role as Security Operations Center (SOC) Analyst at an MSSP, Elez dives into two topics with us on the show.

Strap in for a fantastic conversation with Elez Tupozovic.

Dereik Ireifej of CyberConvoy and I are going to discuss his journey of breaking into the world of cybersecurity as a Security Operations Center (SOC) Analyst.

There are four key pain points that Derek shared on his journey from line cook to IT manager to SOC analyst.

In this episode,  Menekse Saglam, a Security Operations Analyst at CyberNow Labs, joins us today to talk about the life of a SOC analyst.

A few highlights include.

(1 emoji)  Defining the Security Operation Center (SOC) environment

(2 emoji)  Stepping into the mindset of a SOC analyst. They are puzzle makers. Which pieces go where?

This episode presents listeners with the opportunity to step into a SOC environment from the comfort of your own home.

Welcome to episode 23 of What’s the Problem #podcast.

In today’s episode,  Warner Moore from Gamma Force joins the podcast to discuss the art of building a cybersecurity program for your business.

First up: where do we start?

“Start with the security strategy,” says Moore.

Another question: How long will this take to build within our business?

“Plan for at least 12 months at a minimum,” advises Warner.

What’s the formula you follow?

“An asset, that has a vulnerability, and a threat has ABC amount of risk to manage.”

Enough messing about. Tap the play button above to hear from Warner.

Tune in as Accenture’s Oscar Ruiz tells listeners which global regions and industries are the leaders versus the laggards in the world of Operational Technology (OT).

Curious to learn from Oscar but don’t have the time to tune in? Well in that case…

The industries that  have more mature OT environments are:

Now, let's talk about regions. Are there any specific regions of the world more advanced in the OT space?

Data comes in 3 states: data in use, data in motion, data at rest

In this episode of the What’s the Problem, we speak with Ambuj Kumar, the CEO of Fortanix, about how to secure data in use.

This opens the door to discuss the concept of confidential computing, or the act of securing data in use that is vulnerable/in an unencrypted state.

Join us to learn about the advances in protection for data in use as well as to hear Kumar tell us more about Fortanix’s solution to protect data in it’s most sensitive state.

Guest about: Paraphrasing Margaret Mead, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed technologists can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has". Ambuj Kumar’s passion is to assemble and work with such a group. He’s a sucker for passionate people wanting to make a dent in spite of any challenges. At the moment, Ambuj is the CEO of Fortanix, a data-first multicloud security company.