Hacker Valley Studio

Latest Episodes:

What Makes a Great CISO? A Playbook from Gary Hayslip Jul 17, 2025

Show notes

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, and makes the case for visibility, trust, and embracing change. His perspective brings clarity to the fundamental responsibilities of a CISO and the mindset required to lead with impact.

Impactful Moments

00:00 – Introduction

02:00 – Defining the modern CISO as a business leader

05:45 – Why CISOs should never delegate accountability

07:30 – The danger of staying invisible

10:45 – The $40K UPS explosion mistake

15:00 – How leaders build trust in new teams

19:10 – Visibility is not micromanagement

24:30 – Staying humble while leading big

30:00 – Building “Rocky the Raccoon” internal GPT

34:30 – Hiring for AI fluency in security teams

Links:

Connect with our guest, Gary Hayslip: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ghayslip/

Check out our upcoming events: https://www.hackervalley.com/livestreams

Join our creative mastermind and stand out as a cybersecurity professional:

https://www.patreon.com/hackervalleystudio

Love Hacker Valley Studio? Pick up some swag: https://store.hackervalley.com

Continue the conversation by joining our Discord: https://hackervalley.com/discord

Become a sponsor of the show to amplify your brand: https://hackervalley.com/work-with-us/

Confidence, Coaching, and the S-Word with Mel Reyes Jul 10, 2025

Show notes

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 master executive storytelling with the SPAR method, and what dropping the ego really looks like in your next leadership role.

Impactful Moments:

00:00 – Introduction
03:00 – Breaking the rules of executive delivery
07:00 – Why confidence starts in your closet
11:30 – Respecting identity in professional spaces
12:30 – Advice for breaking into cybersecurity
17:00 – Reinvention at the mid-senior level
21:00 – The SPAR framework for storytelling
30:00 – Drop the ego, find your passion

Links:

Connect with our guest, Mel Reyes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melreyes/

Check out our upcoming events: https://www.hackervalley.com/livestreams

Join our creative mastermind and stand out as a cybersecurity professional:

https://www.patreon.com/hackervalleystudio

Love Hacker Valley Studio? Pick up some swag: https://store.hackervalley.com

Continue the conversation by joining our Discord: https://hackervalley.com/discord

Become a sponsor of the show to amplify your brand: https://hackervalley.com/work-with-us/

Purple Teaming Is the New Job Security with Maril Vernon Jun 26, 2025

Show notes

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, and how defenders are the frontline signal source for law enforcement. From guiding her mom into IR to co-founding Mind Over Cyber, Maril embodies what it means to show up for the cyber community and demand more from the culture itself.

Impactful Moments

00:00 - Introduction
01:01 - Maril’s role at NetSPI
03:00 - Why purple skills are future-proof
05:19 - Salary truths in purple teaming
08:30 - Know your value, negotiate wisely
13:07 - How defenders enable law enforcement
16:22 - The real meaning of purple teaming
18:39 - Common misconceptions debunked
24:45 - People are always the soft spot
26:01 - The two security stack must-haves
29:00 - Mom made it to incident response
30:48 - Maril’s mentorship philosophy
34:09 - Why you need to post anyway
36:35 - What Mind Over Cyber is really about
40:00 - CISOs are burning out silently
41:31 - Closing thoughts

Links:

Connect with our guest, Maril Vernon: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marilvernon

Check out our upcoming events: https://www.hackervalley.com/livestreams

Join our creative mastermind and stand out as a cybersecurity professional:

https://www.patreon.com/hackervalleystudio

Love Hacker Valley Studio? Pick up some swag: https://store.hackervalley.com

Continue the conversation by joining our Discord: https://hackervalley.com/discord

Become a sponsor of the show to amplify your brand: https://hackervalley.com/work-with-us/

The AI Gold Rush in Cybersecurity with Chris Cochran Jun 19, 2025

Show notes

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 mirrors the early industrial revolutions: chaotic, risky, but ripe with once-in-a-career opportunity.

Impactful Moments:

00:00 – Introduction
02:11 – Launch of Commandant AI
03:06 – Early-stage LLM opportunities
05:26 – Built first AI co-pilot in 4 hours
06:00 – AI bot tops HackerOne leaderboard
07:44 – AI used for and against orgs
10:14 – Focus on incident response, not AI SOC
12:34 – Reducing cost of prolonged incidents
14:01 – Cybersecurity changing every 2 months
16:58 – AI causing rapid skill loss
21:59 – AI-assisted job interviews detected
24:49 – AI lacks business context for blocking
27:30 – Daily AI use pays long-term dividends

Links:

Connect with our guest, Chris Cochran: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrishvm/

Check out our upcoming events: https://www.hackervalley.com/livestreams

Join our creative mastermind and stand out as a cybersecurity professional:

https://www.patreon.com/hackervalleystudio

Love Hacker Valley Studio? Pick up some swag: https://store.hackervalley.com

Continue the conversation by joining our Discord: https://hackervalley.com/discord

Become a sponsor of the show to amplify your brand: https://hackervalley.com/work-with-us/

The AI That Tried to Escape with Ron Eddings Jun 12, 2025

Show notes

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 Surface Management, co-authored with MJ Kaufman and published by O'Reilly, and breaks down why the simplest social engineering tactics remain the most dangerous—even in the age of advanced AI.

Impactful Moments:

00:00 - Introduction

02:30 - Model Context Protocol explained

05:00 - Google's VEO-3 and fake riot videos

07:00 - Fake Facebook ads pushing malware

09:30 - Social engineering still reigns supreme

13:30 - Using AI to write malicious emails

16:30 - Calendly phishing and credential theft

19:00 - Gemini and the risk of auto-summarization

21:30 - LLM access to your private documents

22:45 - Takeaways and protecting your environment

Links:

Connect with Ron on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronaldeddings/

Grab a copy of Ron’s new book, “Attack Surface Management: Strategies and Techniques for Safeguarding Your Digital Assets”: https://a.co/d/1nmPod2

Check out the full article on “The Rise of ‘Vibe Hacking’ Is the Next AI Nightmare” here: https://www.wired.com/story/youre-not-ready-for-ai-hacker-agents/

Check out our upcoming events: https://www.hackervalley.com/livestreams

Join our creative mastermind and stand out as a cybersecurity professional:

https://www.patreon.com/hackervalleystudio

Love Hacker Valley Studio? Pick up some swag: https://store.hackervalley.com

Continue the conversation by joining our Discord: https://hackervalley.com/discord

Become a sponsor of the show to amplify your brand: https://hackervalley.com/work-with-us/

Zero Trust Isn’t a Tool — It’s Everything with George Finney Jun 05, 2025

Show notes

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 are reshaping security leadership.

Impactful Moments:

00:00 - Introduction
01:16 - Cyber Hall of Fame recognition
07:00 - Hacked his college to solve mail
09:00 - Took startup job without paycheck
14:14 - Zero Trust is a strategy, not tool
17:00 - Tailoring security like a custom suit
23:29 - AI strategy through Zero Trust lens
29:30 - Built a Zero Trust voice clone hotline
36:00 - You don’t need to be a CISO
38:30 - Why weirdos make cybersecurity stronger

Links:

Connect with our guest, George Finney: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgefinney/

Check out George’s books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B01MT0C6X3

Check out our upcoming events: https://www.hackervalley.com/livestreams

Join our creative mastermind and stand out as a cybersecurity professional:

https://www.patreon.com/hackervalleystudio

Love Hacker Valley Studio? Pick up some swag: https://store.hackervalley.com

Continue the conversation by joining our Discord: https://hackervalley.com/discord

Become a sponsor of the show to amplify your brand: https://hackervalley.com/work-with-us/

Your Two-Year Edge Starts Now with Marco Figueroa May 29, 2025

Show notes

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 tools are reshaping the landscape, and why creativity is now your most valuable edge. Whether you're in code, ops, or content, your two-year advantage starts right here.

Impactful Moments

00:00 - Introduction
01:08 - AI agents are no longer hype
03:45 - Major LLM releases and what's next
05:32 - The Grok delay and pricing drama
07:30 - Why general models are losing steam
10:50 - Benchmark manipulation and model specialization
14:15 - The future belongs to creatives
22:05 - The next AI drops to watch

Links:

Connect with our guest, Marco Figueroa: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marco-figueroa-re/

Check out our upcoming events: https://www.hackervalley.com/livestreams

Join our creative mastermind and stand out as a cybersecurity professional:

https://www.patreon.com/hackervalleystudio

Love Hacker Valley Studio? Pick up some swag: https://store.hackervalley.com

Continue the conversation by joining our Discord: https://hackervalley.com/discord

Become a sponsor of the show to amplify your brand: https://hackervalley.com/work-with-us/

Badge Cloning, Alarm Triggers & Getting Hired to Hack with Greg Hatcher & John Stigerwalt May 22, 2025

Show notes

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 to physical and insider threats. This isn’t a theory. It’s what’s happening right now, and it’s being executed with precision and purpose.

Impactful Moments

00:00 - Introduction

02:13 - Origin story of White Knight Labs

08:56 - Why physical red teaming is broken

12:20 - Breaking into a lottery facility

16:00 - Hiding from police mid-engagement

22:30 - Getting hired to breach from inside

25:45 - Hijacking code from offshore devs

33:29 - Real difference: red team vs pen test

35:00 - Get in touch with WKL

Links

Connect with our guests!
Greg Hatcher: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregoryhatcher2/
John Stigerwalt: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-stigerwalt-90a9b4110/

Learn more about White Knight Labs: https://www.whiteknightlabs.com

Check out our upcoming events: https://www.hackervalley.com/livestreams

Join our creative mastermind and stand out as a cybersecurity professional:

https://www.patreon.com/hackervalleystudio

Love Hacker Valley Studio? Pick up some swag: https://store.hackervalley.com

Continue the conversation by joining our Discord: https://hackervalley.com/discord

Become a sponsor of the show to amplify your brand: https://hackervalley.com/work-with-us/

Building Cyber Resilience Through Culture with David Shipley May 15, 2025

Show notes

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 Moments:

00:00 - Introduction

01:36 - The true meaning of "people in cyber"

03:13 - Cybersecurity’s flawed healthcare analogy

07:31 - Nutrition for cyber: proactive strategies

10:00 - MSPs: why selling tools isn’t enough

16:22 - Measuring culture, not just clicks

19:12 - Why people really click phishing emails

23:59 - Building psychological safety in security

30:30 - Celebrating human wins in security

34:00 - The future: empathy, transparency, trust

Links:

Connect with our guest, David Shipley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dbshipley/

Learn more about Beauceron Security here: https:///www.beauceronsecurity.com/partner

Check out our upcoming events: https://www.hackervalley.com/livestreams

Join our creative mastermind and stand out as a cybersecurity professional:

https://www.patreon.com/hackervalleystudio

Love Hacker Valley Studio? Pick up some swag: https://store.hackervalley.com

Continue the conversation by joining our Discord: https://hackervalley.com/discord

Become a sponsor of the show to amplify your brand: https://hackervalley.com/work-with-us/

Ditch the Spreadsheets: Smarter Crypto Security with Michael Klieman May 08, 2025

Show notes

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 bringing order to crypto chaos—without the stress.

Impactful Moments:

00:00 – Introduction
04:00 – Three major problems with crypto today
06:45 – Certificates often missing from inventories
08:30 – Managing EV charging infrastructure with spreadsheets
11:00 – The two biggest certificate-related risks
12:50 – Expired certs can tank brand trust
14:45 – Automation usually comes after spreadsheets
16:30 – Why quantum risk grows every year
18:15 – Start with a cryptographic inventory
20:30 – Nation-state threats and critical infrastructure
22:15 – AI could fast-track quantum breakthroughs
24:45 – Entrust’s new unified crypto security platform
26:35 – One question every CISO must answer in 2025

Links:

Connect with our guest, Michael Klieman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mklieman/

Learn more about Entrust at: https://www.hackervalley.com/entrust

Check out our upcoming events: https://www.hackervalley.com/livestreams

Join our creative mastermind and stand out as a cybersecurity professional:

https://www.patreon.com/hackervalleystudio

Love Hacker Valley Studio? Pick up some swag: https://store.hackervalley.com

Continue the conversation by joining our Discord: https://hackervalley.com/discord

Become a sponsor of the show to amplify your brand: https://hackervalley.com/work-with-us/