Return of the Mac

Latest Episodes:

014: Defense in the Driver's Seat: A Conversation with Kyle Kirkwood Oct 30, 2025

Show notes

In this engaging conversation, MacKenzie Brown, Oli Thordarson, and Kyle Kirkwood explore the parallels between racing and cybersecurity. They discuss the importance of data analysis, team dynamics, and preparation in both fields. Kyle shares insights from his racing experience, emphasizing the need for quick decision-making and the role of engineers in strategy. The discussion highlights how lessons learned from racing can be applied to cybersecurity, particularly in terms of incident response and collaboration.

013: Privileged Access and the Vendor Playground, with Wes Spencer Apr 25, 2024

Show notes

Organizations often struggle most with privileged access control, which is the root cause of many breaches—and they also often lack monitoring capabilities to detect those breaches. Mac welcomes Wes Spencer of CyberFox to discuss how these deficiencies enable live-off-the-land tradecraft, and the challenge facing MSPs: Identifying security vendor solutions that compensate for these gaps while satisfying compliance needs, all within limited budgets. This isn't just vendor management, it's crafting a holistic security program by finding the right vendor symbiosis and doing the painful work needed for policy creation.

012: Putting the Intelligence Back Into Threat Intel Apr 11, 2024

Show notes

In cyber, we often hear the term "threat intelligence-driven," but what does that actually mean? James McCarter’s intelligence background as a Marine gives him a very unique view of what threat intel is—and what it is not. A former cryptologic linguist, James is President and CEO of Shadowscape, which provides intelligence-driven cybersecurity, training and analytics. To hear him tell it, a lot of what we think of threat intel today isn’t really threat intelligence at all. James describes how threat intel is misused and the value it can truly offer organizations that’s too often missed.

Referenced links and articles:

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/mar/26/china-cyber-attack-uk-us-explained-hack-apt-31

011: So You Think You Can Stack, with Kevin Lancaster Mar 27, 2024

Show notes

The tech stack: It’s a constant conundrum for MSPs. From pricing to bloat to vendor relationships, there are lots of questions around the technologies you use to serve and protect your clients. As CEO of Channel Program, Kevin Lancaster vets innovative products to guide MSPs in curating an optimized stack. Kevin joins Mac to discuss MSPs’ overwhelming task of choosing technologies in a crowded market, the trends towards platformization, why enablement is the future for vendor/MSP relationships, and how Channel Program is helping MSPs cut through the noise.

Referenced links and articles:

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/nsa-shares-zero-trust-guidance-to-limit-adversaries-on-the-network/

010: After-Action on Right of Boom, with Ryan Weeks Mar 14, 2024

Show notes

Right of Boom has come and gone and it was another fantastic conference, unique in the MSP world for educational content rather than sales pitches. Mac is joined by Ryan Weeks, the mastermind behind content curation for Right of Boom, to recap the con and discuss the behind-the-scenes of planning the event and the decisions that went into attendees’ learning journey. Listen as Ryan dives into the artifacts, future plans, and the main takeaway he hopes MSPs bring home.

009: One Phish, Two Phish, Red Phish, Blue Phish Feb 17, 2024

Show notes

Security awareness training is an important part of user education—but no matter how aware of threats users are, they can still be caught off-guard. So can the problem of end user behavior actually be solved? Mac is joined by Connor Swalm, the CEO and founder of Phin Security, which provides phishing simulation and security awareness training for MSPs. Phin's approach to training the end user, how the security awareness field is adapting with AI, and why Phin decided to focus on the MSP realm.

Referenced Article: https://thehackernews.com/2024/01/atomic-stealer-gets-upgrade-targeting.html

008: Shedding Light on the Dark Web Feb 07, 2024

Show notes

The so-called Mother of All Breaches recently made headlines with its sheer number of records leaked—26 billion. And while it's not necessarily as earth-shattering as the headlines make it seem, it brings up important questions about the cryptic ecosystem where this kind of breached data circulates: the dark web. What is the dark web and how did it come to be? Who hangs out there, what can you find there, and how does it fit into the threat intelligence lifecycle for your organization? Nick Hyatt, threat intelligence director at Blackpoint, joins Mac to discuss.

Referenced links and articles:

Warning As 26 Billion Records Leak: Dropbox, LinkedIn, Twitter Named

The Mother of All Breaches...Or Is It?

Webinar with Nick Hyatt: Demystifying the Dark Web

007: Beyond a Buzzword: AI Joins the Mainstream MSP Jan 23, 2024

Show notes

AI-based services have popped up in everything from content development to personalizing the customer experience to coding. But can AI enable MSPs and help them solve their maturity problems? How can security teams leverage AI capabilities for defense? Mac welcomes Jimmy Hatzell, CEO and co-founder of Hatz AI, to talk about AI as a service for MSPs, what it means for threat actors developing cyberthreats, the impossible situation of MSPs, and the weirdest use of AI he’s come across.

Hot topic: https://thehackernews.com/2024/01/there-is-ransomware-armageddon-coming.html

006: New Year, Same Defenses: CIS Affirmations, with Phyllis Lee Jan 11, 2024

Show notes

If you've been in the cybersecurity industry for any length of time, you’ve probably heard about the CIS Controls. But what is this framework all about, and why should you care? Mac is joined by Phyllis Lee, VP of Content Development at the Center for Internet Security, to break down the CIS Controls, why so many organizations find them so useful, and how they can help your business become security mature. Plus: What 2024 has in store, the infostealers hijacking Google accounts, and the recent takeover of Mandiant’s X account.

005: Rebounds, Response and Resolutions: Wrapping Up 2023 and Getting Minds on Glass for 2024 Dec 22, 2023

Show notes

In a special year-end wrapup episode, Mac looks back on the year in cyber and learns how to make a Vegas bomb that packs a serious punch. First, it’s a recap of 2023’s top attack types. She’s joined by Jason Rathbun, technical director of threat ops at Blackpoint Cyber, who shares the Blackpoint SOC’s “Save of the Year” and mixes up a mean cocktail. Mac shares the Top Cyber Predictions for 2024 and winds down with a list of the best practice new year’s resolutions every organization should be making.

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