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PODCAST

Hacker Valley Studio

Hacker Valley Media

Welcome back to the show! Hacker Valley Studio podcast features Host Ron Eddings, as he explores the world of cybersecurity through the eyes of professionals in the industry. We cover everything from inspirational real-life stories in tech, to highlighting influential cybersecurity companies, and we do so in a fun and enthusiastic way. We’re making cybersecurity accessible, creating a whole new form of entertainment: cybertainment.

technology self-improvement

All Episodes

16:00

Debt vs. Risk: What the SharePoint Breach Taught Us...

Hacker Valley Studio ·

2025/08/07

The riskiest move in cybersecurity? Playing it too safe. In this solo episode, Ron Eddings redefines the way we think about technical debt, risk, and missed opportunities, in security and in life.Ron reframes the debt vs. risk paradigm through the lens of the SharePoint breach, personal milestones, and co-founding Hacker Valley. With sharp insights, personal stories, and a call to action for every listener, he shows how curiosity and calculated risk are the true drivers of innovation. Impactful

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23:22

The Future of Cyber Talent Is African with Confidence...

Hacker Valley Studio ·

2025/07/31

The world’s youngest continent is also its most untapped resource. Confidence Staveley, Founder of CyberSafe, makes a powerful case for why Africa’s youth are the answer to global cybersecurity and AI innovation… if we’re bold enough to invest.In this episode, Ron welcomes back cybersecurity leader and advocate Confidence Staveley for a discussion on purpose-driven innovation, talent development, and AI-powered awareness tools. Confidence shares updates on her nonprofit work, her bold new ventures

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24:54

Compliance Isn’t the Enemy with Jeff Man

Hacker Valley Studio ·

2025/07/24

Is compliance just a checkbox, or the backbone of real security?Returning to the show with decades of hard-earned insight, Jeff Man makes the case that compliance, especially PCI-DSS, isn't just a formality; it's foundational to modern security. As one of the original architects of the NSA Red Team and a 20-year PCI veteran, Jeff explains how this often-misunderstood framework has shaped everything from pen testing to vendor accountability. Ron and Jeff unpack the six core goals of PCI, how red

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37:19

What Makes a Great CISO? A Playbook from Gary Hayslip

Hacker Valley Studio ·

2025/07/17

What separates a great CISO from a great one? In this powerhouse conversation, Ron invites friend and cybersecurity leader Gary Hayslip, CISO at SoftBank Investment Advisers, back on the mic to discuss what it takes to lead in today’s high-stakes digital world. Gary shares battle-tested insights on accountability, the evolving expectations of the CISO role, and how AI is reshaping leadership without replacing it.Gary shares stories ranging from military mishaps to enterprise-scale transformation,

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32:50

Confidence, Coaching, and the S-Word with Mel Reyes

Hacker Valley Studio ·

2025/07/10

Want to stand out as a leader? According to our guest Mel Reyes, you need to dress like you mean it and speak like you’ve got nothing to prove.In this episode, Mel shares how he built billion-dollar portfolios, coached executive teams, and still shows up in a white hoodie when that feels right. With Ron, he unpacks how executive presence becomes a strategic weapon for breaking resistance, commanding attention, and making your message unforgettable. You’ll learn why generic resumes fail, how to

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43:26

Purple Teaming Is the New Job Security with Maril Vernon

Hacker Valley Studio ·

2025/06/26

Cybersecurity isn’t just red or blue anymore... it’s purple, white, and deeply human. Maril Vernon, award-winning ethical hacker and Senior Solutions Architect at NetSPI, returns to the Hacker Valley Studio to discuss purple teaming as the most future-proof career path in cyber. She opens up about mentorship, burnout, compensation realities, and how we’re still failing the fundamentals.Together, Ron and Maril dig into what purple teaming really is (and isn’t), why soft skills matter more than ever,

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30:44

The AI Gold Rush in Cybersecurity with Chris Cochran

Hacker Valley Studio ·

2025/06/19

The new cybersecurity pioneers aren’t chasing alerts, they’re building with AI. But what happens when tools meant to assist begin making decisions for us? And what skills do we lose when machines fill the gaps we used to grow into?In this episode, Chris Cochran, CEO and Founder of Commandant, returns to Hacker Valley Studio with an insider view on building in the AI boom. He shares why he’s betting on incident response over the “AI SOC,” what it means to use AI with integrity, and how this moment

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23:43

The AI That Tried to Escape with Ron Eddings

Hacker Valley Studio ·

2025/06/12

What happens when AI refuses to be replaced? This episode kicks off with a chilling real-world example of an AI threatening blackmail—and only gets more intense from there.Host Ron Eddings unpacks the terrifyingly innovative ways AI is altering the cybersecurity threat landscape. From deepfakes convincing enough to fool your own family to auto-summarizing email clients acting as unintentional insiders, the stakes have never been higher. Ron also shares insights from his brand-new book Attack

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40:15

Zero Trust Isn’t a Tool — It’s Everything with George...

Hacker Valley Studio ·

2025/06/05

What if Zero Trust isn’t a framework, but the only viable cybersecurity strategy—more about people than products?In this episode, George Finney, CISO at the University of Texas System and author of Project Zero Trust, reveals the human-first truth behind the Zero Trust movement, and why it’s not something you buy but something you build. George shares stories from hacking a college database to launching a deepfake of himself trained on his own books, all while breaking down how AI and creativity

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36:34

Your Two-Year Edge Starts Now with Marco Figueroa

Hacker Valley Studio ·

2025/05/29

You won’t be replaced by AI—you’ll be replaced by someone using it better.Returning guest Marco Figueroa is back with a frontline report on the AI agent boom. This isn’t a prediction—it’s a tactical update from someone tracking every release, every benchmark battle, and every edge worth chasing. In this episode, Ron is joined by Marco as he breaks down the rapid evolution of AI agents—from Claude Code to Codex to Google Flow. He explains why general-purpose models are leveling off, how specialized

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37:31

Badge Cloning, Alarm Triggers & Getting Hired to Hack...

Hacker Valley Studio ·

2025/05/22

Most people think red teaming is digital—until someone bypasses your locks, plants a Raspberry Pi in your server room, and walks out with your data. That’s not sci-fi. That’s White Knight Labs.In this episode, Ron talks with Greg Hatcher and John Stigerwalt, co-founders of White Knight Labs, a boutique offensive security firm built on real-world action. They share high-stakes red team operations—like triggering alarms and dodging police during a break-in—and explain why most companies are wide open

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44:30

Building Cyber Resilience Through Culture with David...

Hacker Valley Studio ·

2025/05/15

What if fixing cybersecurity wasn’t about more tools, but about unlocking human potential? In this episode, Ron Eddings welcomes back David Shipley, CEO and Field CSO of Beauceron Security, for a conversation on the real force behind security resilience: people. Together they expose the failure of "reactive" cybersecurity strategies, drawing parallels with preventative healthcare — and explain why culture, psychological safety, and behavior change are the true secret weapons. Impactful

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29:48

Ditch the Spreadsheets: Smarter Crypto Security with...

Hacker Valley Studio ·

2025/05/08

Still tracking certificates in a spreadsheet? You’re not alone—and there’s a better way.In this special episode from RSA 2025, Ron sits down with Michael Klieman, Global Vice President of Product Management for Digital Security Solutions at Entrust, to discuss how leading organizations are rethinking cryptographic security. From simplifying certificate management to preparing for a post-quantum future, this conversation covers real-world risks, surprising breach stories, and practical steps for

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45:21

Protecting People, Not Just Perimeters with Andrey...

Hacker Valley Studio ·

2025/04/24

AI is reshaping the cybersecurity battlefield, and cyber adversaries are getting smarter.In this episode, Ron Eddings welcomes Andrey Suzdaltsev, Co-Founder and CEO of Brightside AI, for a look into the evolution of social engineering, AI’s role in personalized phishing, and how Brightside is turning the tables with automation and human-centric protection. From offensive AI simulations to family-inclusive cyber safety, Andrey shares how his team secures both professional and personal perimeters

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43:26

Digital Clutter and the Death of Passwords with...

Hacker Valley Studio ·

2025/04/10

Passwords are the original digital clutter—messy, overstuffed, and way too easy to forget. Like a junk drawer full of old keys and cables, we keep tossing more into them, hoping they’ll somehow keep working. But what if it’s time to throw the whole thing out?In this episode, Ron Eddings is joined by Collin Sweeney of ZKX Solutions and Dr. Chase Cunningham, a.k.a. “Dr. Zero Trust,” for a bold conversation on the future of authentication. From the failures of MFA to the promise of zero-knowledge

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00:36

What Most Cybersecurity Advice Misses—And How to Fix...

Hacker Valley Studio ·

2025/04/03

What if the biggest threat to cybersecurity isn’t attackers—but the defenders themselves? Why are we still building tools for experts in a world where technical skills are fading fast?In this episode, Ron Eddings sits down with legendary hacker and investor Robert Hansen (aka RSnake) to talk about startup strategy, LLM-powered workflows, and the uncomfortable truth about skill decline in security teams. You’ll hear how he built an AI-powered threat intel engine, why most cybersecurity advice is

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36:59

Hackers Have HR Now? featuring Christopher Budd

Hacker Valley Studio ·

2025/03/27

The internet once came this close to crashing—and Microsoft was on the front line.In this episode, cybersecurity veteran Christopher Budd takes us inside the Microsoft Security Response Center during one of the most chaotic cyber events in modern history. From the Nimda worm of 2001 to ransomware turf wars, and the weird future where threat actors post job ads for ransom note writers, Christopher lays it all out with perspective only decades in the game can bring. If you think AI or ransomware is

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40:57

Staying Ahead in the Age of AI Agents with Marco...

Hacker Valley Studio ·

2025/03/21

Marco Figueroa is back, and his AI predictions aren’t just coming true—they’re unfolding faster than anyone expected. AI agents aren’t on the horizon—they’re already here, and security teams are scrambling to keep up.Building on his bold January prediction that 2025 would be the Year of the AI Agent, Marco returns to break down real-world threats, including an insider attack using an infinite logic bomb. From the rise of AI-driven security tools to the biggest risks companies aren’t ready for, this

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39:48

I Built an AI Version of Myself – Here’s Why with...

Hacker Valley Studio ·

2025/03/14

The best time to be alive is right now—if you know how to use AI. Marcus J. Carey, Principal Research Scientist at ReliaQuest, is harnessing AI to supercharge creativity, cybersecurity, and career development. In this episode, he shares the workflows he uses that redefine productivity, from dictating books in a week to building a personal AI twin.In this episode, Ron and Marcus highlight AI’s true power—when used right. They discuss why intuition is the secret ingredient, how AI is reshaping

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41:45

Cyber Warfare, Digital Deception, and the Hidden...

Hacker Valley Studio ·

2025/03/08

We’re already in World War III—just not the kind you’re thinking of. Cyber warfare is here, and the battlefield is your inbox, your bank account, and your digital identity. So why are we still acting like it’s peacetime?Dr. Eric Cole, cybersecurity pioneer and former CIA hacker, joins the show to drop hard truths about the state of cyber warfare, AI’s role in our digital future, and why most people are sleepwalking through a war they don’t even realize they’re in. From the rise of deepfakes to

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406 results

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