PODCAST

Security Insights

securityinsights

A podcast that takes a deeper look at today’s most important issues in cyber security, and beyond.

technology

All Episodes

29:55

Stress testing cyber defences

Security Insights ·

2025/02/27

How far should you push security tests?Sometimes, the answer is "to the limit". In this episode we look at stress testing in cybersecurity. Putting systems under pressure is the only true way to check that they will work, as intended, during a cyber attack. But how does stress testing differ from pentesting and cyber exercises? How far is too far, and how do security teams capture the right lessons from the testing process? Our guests are Chris McKean, solutions specialist at NetApp, and Simon

32:35

Fighting Ransomware, with Raj Samani

Security Insights ·

2025/02/13

Ransomware remains one of the greatest cyber threats to organisations. Certainly, it is the threat at the top of most boards' agendas.The reasons are clear enough: ransomware damages reputations, as well as the balance sheet. in the worst case scenario, a business might never recover from an attack. And ransomware itself is becoming more sophisticated, and so more dangerous. Groups have moved on from simple phishing and RDP attacks to exploiting zero days. And they are as likely to threaten to

29:55

The eye of the storm: dealing with a cyber crisis

Security Insights ·

2025/01/23

What happens when a cyber attack hits? What is it like to be in the eye of the storm, and how can security teams prepare?A cyber attack is inevitably a highly stressful situation for everyone involved. But planning and exercising goes a long way to at least manage that stress. Our guest for this episode is Dan Potter, senior director for resilience and cyber drills at Immersive Labs. He also has over 15 years' experience working in resilience in the financial services sector. As he says, no

29:55

CISO Interview: Jack Mersey Westbury Street Holdings

Security Insights ·

2025/01/09

In a new series of interviews with cybersecurity leaders, we meet Jack Mersey, CISO at Westbury Street Holdings.In an in-depth interview, he discusses threats -- from nation states to business email compromise -- security awareness and culture, and the challenges of ensuring security to a highly distributed business with 26,000 people and over 1000 sites that operates around the clock. How does a CISO gain the confidence, and support, of colleagues from baristas and chefs to general managers and

29:55

Hacktivism's changing faces

Security Insights ·

2024/12/19

Hacktivist groups have been around almost as long as the public internet.But their make up, and their goals, have changed. Hacktivism is no longer about "hacker" or counter culture or protest. Instead, it appears increasingly aligned with political objectives. And some of today's groups at the very least aligned to, if not sponsored, by nation states. Perhaps hacktivism is no longer the right term. Researchers are now talking about groups that set out to undermine trust in both the online and

29:56

Security and AI: Jon France, CISO, ISC2

Security Insights ·

2024/12/05

AI poses risks to security, through possible flaws in the applications themselves, and by AI being used by threat actors to develop malware and improve their targeting.But there’s also plenty who argue that AI offers a chance to improve security. Certainly there are plenty of vendors promoting AI-enhanced versions of their products, promising to react faster, and pick up more threats. Which side, though, will win out? And should cybersecurity professionals fear AI, or see it as an ally? Our guest

29:55

Cyber stress: are we burning out?

Security Insights ·

2024/11/21

Is stress unavoidable, if you work in cyber?And does workplace stress in the industry threaten security? Stress and burnout among cyber teams are now a real worry for CISOs. And our guest for this episode argues that they should be a concern for boards too. Stressed-out operators underperform and make mistakes. Burned out staff are more likely to leave, forcing firms to spend more on hiring and training replacements. So how should employers spot the signs of stress? And what can we do as

29:57

Insights Interview: Geopolitics and cyber threats,...

Security Insights ·

2024/11/07

Geopolitics is increasingly influencing cybersecurity.The growth of online espionage, the potential for attacks by state actors, and governments turning a blind eye to cybercrime are all increasing risk. At the same time, our growing dependency on connectivity, in government, in critical infrastructure and for day to day business, makes cyberspace an attractive target. But it's not always been this way. In the early days of information and IT security, nation state threats were rare. But, as Steve

29:28

Deepfakes: uncovering the security risks

Security Insights ·

2024/10/24

There's a lot being said (and written) about deepfakes.And there is no doubt that they can now be very convincing, to the point where they can deceive the human eye. But are deepfakes just a bit of fun, or do they pose real security risks? Do the dangers lie in manipulating public opinion through fake news, or can deepfakes be used to breach security systems. Our guest, Dr Andrew Newell, academic researcher and chief scientific officer at iProov, argues that both are happening. Security teams need

29:55

SaaS and security: shared responsibility, or hidden...

Security Insights ·

2024/10/11

Software as a service, or SaaS, has been a huge success. There are now some 30 thousand SaaS applications on the market worldwide. These cover everything from niche requirements to running entire businesses.The SaaS revolution has certainly brought benefits to businesses. But are SaaS applications secure and robust enough? Supporters of SaaS argue that their applications are actually safer and more resilient than locally-run IT. However, Cloud vendors, including SaaS companies, rely on the shared

29:55

Investing in cyber: should we follow the money?

Security Insights ·

2024/09/26

Europe's cybersecurity industry is worth some $50bn and is growing at 10% a year.It's also pretty fragmented – at least when it comes to vendors. Europe -- even more so than the US -- is now ready for market consolidation. Some of that is being driven by acquisitions by the large technology firms, as they look to broaden their cybersecurity offerings. But firms, and their investors, are looking for scale. And CISOs are looking for simplicity and greater security. Could vendor consolidation achieve

29:28

Cyber escape rooms - and experiential learning

Security Insights ·

2024/09/12

Conventional security training leaves a lot to be desired.So what can CISOs do, to deliver training and security awareness in a way that is effective, and engaging? Over the last few episodes we've discussed both the psychology, and human factors, around cybersecurity. To finish the series, in this programme we will look at experiential learning, or learning by doing. Our guest is Amy Stokes-Waters. She delivers exactly that, by running escape rooms for organisations who want to improve security

29:55

Human Risk Management: tackling cybersecurity's weak...

Security Insights ·

2024/08/30

How do we manage the risks posed by human behaviour?In this, the second of our short series exploring the links between human behaviour and security, we look at the emerging field of human risk management. The statistics are quite frightening: 90 per cent of security breaches involve human error or social engineering. But how do we, at a business level, categorise those risks? If we don’t understand the risks, we can’t reduce them. A better understanding of where the risks are – and which

29:55

Mind games: the psychology of cybersecurity

Security Insights ·

2024/08/15

How important is human behaviour in cybersecurity? How well do we know our people, and do we understand the risks posed by individuals' actions?Research suggests that the overwhelming majority of cyber breaches start with human error or poor practice. But despite investments in security training and security awareness, we still make mistakes. Over the next three episodes, we will examine some of the human factors around cybersecurity, including human risk management, and how we change

29:55

AI: chatbots, cut and paste, and data leaks

Security Insights ·

2024/08/01

Our guest for this episode is Tim Freestone, of Kiteworks. He’s a long-standing expert in data protection and data privacy. And he's been following the growth of AI, and what it means for data privacy, security and confidentiality.Even data specialists have been surprised by the rapid take up of generative AI and its benefits. But do we have the measure in place to guard against the potential security risks it brings? It is not just malicious hackers who make AI tools such as chatbots a risk. Even

29:55

IT, OT, and CNI: a hidden threat?

Security Insights ·

2024/07/19

Any advanced economy relies on the smooth running of its infrastucture.And whether it’s transport, logistics, healthcare, the banking system, manufacturing – even food production – industrial and operational systems are what keeps it all running. Those systems are now being targeted by malicious actors. Both state-sponsored and criminal groups are looking closely at operational technology and industrial systems. Recent research suggests that many, if not most, of the groups attacking critical

29:40

Ransomware: can transparency bring security?

Security Insights ·

2024/07/05

It's hard to put an exact figure on ransomware attacks. All the available research shows incidents continue to grow year on year, and that the vast majority of cyber incidents are now ransomware or other extortion attacks.But could more transparency and information sharing help defend against ransomware? If more organisations disclosed attacks, we would have a clearer picture of the problem and be able to respond more quicky to new techniques or attack vectors. That's the argument put forward by

29:55

Cyber war: new lessons from history?

Security Insights ·

2024/06/20

The idea of cyber war is not new; researchers first suggested the concept 30 years ago.Since then, there's been a debate on what cyber war means and what can be done to prevent it. Some experts even suggest cyber war is already happening, even if it is mostly in the shadows. For Peter Kestner, the rise of cyber attacks and an increasingly volatile geopolitical situation were just two of the reasons to examine cyber warfare in more detail. Peter is both a keen student of history, and a cybersecurity

29:50

A CISO's Journey: Mani Nagothu, SentinelOne

Security Insights ·

2024/06/06

The CISO’s role is changing; that is clear enough.Indeed, constant change and the need to adapt is always a feature of cybersecurity. And that’s why our guest this week lists curiosity as one of the key attributes for a cybersecurity career. Mani Nagothu is field CISO at SentinelOne. Before that she headed up IT security for an energy company. That followed a career as a consultant. But she didn’t start out in cybersecurity, but as an engineer. And the CISO’s role itself is becoming less technical,

29:25

Cyber on demand: filling the skills gap?

Security Insights ·

2024/05/23

The cybersecurity skills gap is a problem that won't go away.Worldwide, there are close to 3.5 million vacancies in the industry. The problem seems to be worsening, not least because we are all doing more business online. And moves to recruit and retain more staff, as well as to widen the talent pool, take time. In the immediate term this leaves CISOs with gaps to fill. One option is outsourcing. Another is to use “on demand” cyber specialists. But how do these options work with building larger and

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