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PODCAST

Secure Talk Podcast

Secure Talk reviews the latest threats, tips, and trends on security, innovation, and compliance. Host Justin Beals interviews leading privacy, security and technology executives to discuss best practices related to IT security, data protection and compliance. Based in Seattle, he previously served as the CTO of NextStep and Koru, which won the 2018 Most Impactful Startup award from Wharton People Analytics. He is the creator of the patented Training, Tracking & Placement System and the author of

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All Episodes

47:57

The ROI of Security Tested: What a new paper reveals...

Secure Talk Podcast ·

2026/04/21

Why do most cybersecurity investments feel impossible to justify? Because the measurement tools are broken — built on gut instinct, not research.Researchers Minh Nguyen (Florida Atlantic University) and Thi Tran (Binghamton University) set out to fix that. In this episode, they break down their landmark paper "Effects of Cybersecurity Readiness on Firm Performance: Evidence from Conference Calls" — the first study to systematically measure cybersecurity readiness at the firm level and link

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53:13

They Sold AI to Play God. China Never Got That Memo.

Secure Talk Podcast ·

2026/04/07

The West has been building AI like it's the apocalypse. China has been building it like it's a tool.That one difference — rooted in centuries of philosophy, theology, and cultural storytelling — may be the most important thing nobody is talking about in the AI debate right now.SecureTalk host Justin Beals sits down with scholars Bogna Konior (NYU Shanghai), Mi You (University of Kassel), and Vincent Garton to explore their co-edited book "Machine Decision Is Not Final: China and the History

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48:55

The DOGE data breach at the Social Security...

Secure Talk Podcast ·

2026/03/24

Every American has a Social Security number. Most assume it's protected. Chuck Borges was the person responsible for that protection at the SSA — and what he discovered from the inside is something every American deserves to know.Chuck is a combat veteran, MIT graduate, and the Social Security Administration's first dedicated Chief Data Officer. He arrived two weeks before the 2025 administration change, watched data governance requests get denied and sensitive work get siloed away from the

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40:37

From 9/11 to Salt Typhoon: Why Backdoors Always...

Secure Talk Podcast ·

2026/03/10

On the morning of September 11th, 2001, John Ackerly was briefing White House officials on federal privacy legislation. Hours later, everything changed — and those two realities, data that wasn't shared when it should have been, and data that was exposed when it shouldn't have been, became the founding idea behind Virtru.In this episode of SecureTalk, host Justin Beals sits down with John Ackerly, CEO and co-founder of Virtru and former White House technology policy adviser, to explore why

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46:45

A Con Artist Expert Explains Why Smart People Still...

Secure Talk Podcast ·

2026/02/24

You consider yourself pretty tech-savvy. You know not to click suspicious links. You've heard the warnings. So why are more people losing more money to online scams than ever before?Robert Siciliano has spent 30 years as a private investigator, appearing on CNN, The Today Show, and Fox News to explain exactly how con artists and cybercriminals think — and why your brain is actually working against you.In this eye-opening conversation with SecureTalk host Justin Beals, Robert reveals:- The

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44:41

When Federal Agents Ignore Court Orders: What Happens...

Secure Talk Podcast ·

2026/02/10

What happens when federal law enforcement refuses to follow court orders? In Minneapolis, ICE agents denied state investigators access to crime scenes despite court-issued warrants—a breakdown that national security experts had been warning about for months.Dr. Claire Finkelstein, Professor of Law at University of Pennsylvania and Director of the Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law, saw this coming. In October 2024, she ran a tabletop exercise with over 30 retired military leaders

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55:43

Shared Wisdom: Why AI Should Enhance Human Judgment,...

Secure Talk Podcast ·

2026/01/27

Most AI discourse swings between paradise and doom—but the real question is how we architect these systems to enhance human understanding rather than replace decision-making. MIT Professor Alex "Sandy" Pentland reveals why treating AI as an information tool instead of an authority is critical for cybersecurity teams, business leaders, and anyone navigating the intersection of technology and culture.The math is stark: 90% of social media users are represented by only 3% of tweets. We're

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46:12

The 2026 Planning Episode: 5 key security imperatives.

Secure Talk Podcast ·

2026/01/13

While most organizations treat security as a cost center, a select group is using it to win enterprise deals, open new markets, and outpace competitors. The difference? They've stopped asking "how much does security cost?" and started asking "how much value does security create?"This strategic edition synthesizes lessons from security leaders at Walmart, PayPal, Postman, and the defense industrial base to reveal the playbook for 2026: treating security as a business function that enables

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31:00

Secure Talk Special Episode: "Building Secure...

Secure Talk Podcast ·

2025/12/30

"In 20 years, we transformed food allergy awareness from nonexistent to universal—no law required. What if we could do the same for data security and AI governance?"This special episode reveals how grassroots cultural shifts create lasting change, and why 2026 might be the year cybersecurity professionals become architects of something bigger than defenses.We've distilled 2025's conversations with experts from Harvard, MIT, NYU, Brown, and the AI development frontlines into seven actionable

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56:03

Building a Thriving Future: AI Ethics & Security in...

Secure Talk Podcast ·

2025/12/16

The mistakes we made building the internet don't have to be repeated in the metaverse—if we act now.Join SecureTalk host Justin Beals for an essential conversation with Dr. Paola Cecchi-Dimeglio about building secure, ethical virtual worlds. Dr. Cecchi-Dimeglio brings 25 years of experience advising governments, Fortune 500 companies, and global institutions on AI ethics and technology governance.Her new book "Building a Thriving Future: Metaverse and Multiverse" (MIT Press, 2025) provides

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55:54

Why Security Leaders Struggle With Security Culture |...

Secure Talk Podcast ·

2025/12/02

Brown University cognitive scientist Steven Sloman reveals the hidden mechanism driving cultural division—and why it matters for security leadership. In this wide-ranging conversation, Sloman explains the fundamental tension between sacred values and consequentialist thinking, and how understanding this dynamic transforms how leaders communicate risk and build organizational culture.Justin Beals opens with a personal story about leaving a religious environment defined by absolute values,

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51:25

From Punk Rock Anarchist to Bank Security Leader: An...

Secure Talk Podcast ·

2025/11/18

Most threat intelligence programs can't prove their value. Joe Rossi's team at Zions Bank did the opposite—preventing $3 million in fraud annually while actually attracting new customers to the bank.In this episode, former punk rock kid turned threat intelligence leader Joe Rossi reveals why your most valuable security intelligence isn't from expensive vendor feeds—it's sitting in your own logs right now. He shares the hard lessons learned building CTI programs from scratch, why most

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55:38

Inside CMMC Implementation: What November 10th Means...

Secure Talk Podcast ·

2025/11/04

Bob Kolasky walked the halls where CMMC was built. As founding director of CISA's National Risk Management Center, he watched this policy evolve from concept to pilot program to federal law—surviving three presidential administrations because the need never changed.On November 10, 2025, that policy becomes mandatory reality for every defense contractor pursuing new DoD solicitations. Self-certification ends. Independent verification begins. And the defense industrial base faces its most

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51:57

Beyond Big Cities: Understanding Cybersecurity in...

Secure Talk Podcast ·

2025/10/21

When we think about cybersecurity, images of tech giants and major financial centers come to mind—but what about the towns where most of us actually live? This SecureTalk episode with cybersecurity researcher Lars Kruse explores an often-overlooked question: how do communities of 20,000-100,000 residents protect themselves in an increasingly digital world?Host Justin Beals and Kruse, who studies at Sweden's Defense University, discuss the practical realities of implementing cybersecurity in

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46:19

Preparing for the Quantum Era: Why Blockchain is...

Secure Talk Podcast ·

2025/10/07

Quantum computing represents one of the most significant advances in computer science we'll see in our lifetimes. We're watching error correction rates improve faster than predicted, with Google's Willow chip achieving benchmarks that compress development timelines dramatically.For security professionals, this creates an exciting challenge: how do we architect systems today that remain secure as computing power evolves? What makes this particularly interesting is that blockchain and Web3

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52:38

Breaking Cybersecurity's 12 Hidden Paradigms: A...

Secure Talk Podcast ·

2025/09/23

Discover how strategic foresight is revolutionizing cybersecurity thinking. In this compelling SecureTalk episode, renowned futurist Heather Vescent reveals the 12 invisible paradigms that have shaped our entire approach to cybersecurity - and why breaking them could transform how we defend digital systems.Back in 2017, Vescent applied strategic foresight methodology to cybersecurity, uncovering fundamental assumptions like "security always plays catch-up," "the user is always wrong," and

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46:36

AI Coding Hype vs Reality: The 2025 AI Code Security...

Secure Talk Podcast ·

2025/09/09

In a converted hat factory in 1990s Boston, a group of hackers worked through the night to techno beats and Soul Coughing, driven by a simple philosophy: "smarter beats bigger." One of them, Chris Wysopal, would later stand before Congress and deliver a stark warning—a small group of dedicated hackers could bring down the entire internet in 30 minutes.Today, that same hacker faces a new challenge. The AI revolution everyone celebrates may be creating the largest security vulnerability in

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44:08

The Invisible Majority: How Social Media Erases 90%...

Secure Talk Podcast ·

2025/08/26

90% of Twitter users are represented by only 3% of tweets. When you scroll through your feed and form opinions about what "people are saying" about politics, you're not seeing the voices of nine out of ten users. You're seeing the loudest, most extreme 10% who create 97% of all political content on the platform.In this episode of SecureTalk, host Justin Beals explores the "invisible majority problem" with Dr. Claire Robertson, Assistant Professor at Colby College. Together they examine how

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41:13

An Identity Crisis: How AI Agents Are Redefining...

Secure Talk Podcast ·

2025/08/12

The cybersecurity landscape just shifted permanently, and most organizations aren't ready. While CISOs struggle with alert fatigue from 40+ security tools, a new threat vector is emerging that makes traditional identity management obsolete: AI agents acting autonomously across enterprise systems.Join Secure Talk host Justin Beals for a critical conversation with Rishi Bhargava, the security architect who built Demisto into a $560M category-defining platform and now leads Descope in solving

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55:05

The Insider Threat: How a US Soldier Planned for...

Secure Talk Podcast ·

2025/07/29

The most dangerous threats don't break down the door - they already have the keys.March 23, 2003, Kuwait: Command Sergeant Major Bart Womack was loading ammunition and watching Tiger Woods play golf at 1 AM when a grenade rolled into his tent. What followed was every leader's worst nightmare - discovering that one of your own had been planning to destroy you all along.This isn't just a military story. It's a threat to security we face everywhere.In today's world of workplace shootings,

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65 results

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