Episode Zero - An Introduction to the Emerging Cyber Risk Podcast

Welcome to the first episode of the Emerging Cyber Risk podcast, brought to you by Ignyte and Secure Robotics, where we share our expertise on cyber risk and AI to help you prepare for the risk management of emerging technologies. We are your hosts, Max Aulakh and Joel Yonts.

Transcript

Max: 00:00.000 --> 00:21.870

You. Hello, everyone. My name is Max Olik, and I am the CEO of Ignite Assurance Platform. I, uh, manage and run a cybersecurity risk management firm. Here with me, we have, uh, Joel, introduce yourself and tell, um, us a little bit about your background.

Joel: 00:22.030 --> 00:42.130

Certainly. Uh, Joel Yantz. I am the CEO and lead scientist of Secure Robotics. I've been in, uh, the technology space for quite a long time now, and so I have historically been focused on research and cybersecurity strategy, but most recently focused in artificial intelligence and the security of that platform.

Max: 00:42.130 --> 00:58.610

So here's how me and Joel met. We were introduced by a CISO at a fairly large defense firm, a, uh, major defense firm, who kind of brought us together. And, uh, we got to know each other. We had some fu, some, uh, Vietnamese food, I think, Joe. That was your first time eating that, right?

Joel: 00:58.760 --> 01:06.514

Yeah. Uh, it was definitely new for me, but it was a great time. Great time catching up. Yes.

Max: 01:06.552 --> 01:14.646

So we talked about faith, family, and, of course, new food, and eventually landed on Future of Cybersecurity. So a few months passed by.

Joel: 01:14.748 --> 01:15.958

Well, let me stop you there.

Max: 01:16.044 --> 01:16.614

All right.

Joel: 01:16.732 --> 01:30.142

We had so many ideas, we eventually yes, landed on that, but we were all different places. What we knew was we need to do something together, really, uh, in the industry. So this is truly where we landed, though.

Max: 01:30.276 --> 02:27.626

That's right. We didn't know how to work together. So we kind of thought about what does the future looks like of, uh, cybersecurity? So, a few months later, Cyber Risk podcast was born. So this is a small piece of history on how this podcast was created, and really what drove us to create this. What really inspired us is when we looked at the community all the way across the industry. Me and Joel, we both go to a lot of different events. We listen to a lot of different podcasters. We also read a lot of books and whatnot and majority of the events seem to be focused on what has already happened. So from a historical analysis, we could learn from it, but also what's happening right now, uh, in terms of the attacks of the day, new approaches. We hear a lot about organizational structures, what makes a really good leader in times of what's happening today. There's a lot of good people out there that are educating the masses.

Joel: 02:27.738 --> 02:59.910

Yeah. If I can add to that. And I spend a lot of my day working with CISOs, uh, building cybersecurity strategy, and I really have a heart for the defenders in this world of cyber defenders, because what I think everyone's come to realize is the attackers are continuing to innovate, and so are the defenders. And what I get in these conversations, it is a tough to build these cyber strategy and to plan ahead today's risk and future risk. So, I mean, I really have a heart for that. That's a large driver for me as well in this conversation.

Max: 03:00.070 --> 03:13.242

Yeah. To your point, Joel CISOs, uh, they got one of the hardest jobs, and security leaders, risk leaders, general counsels, you name them, because their job is to plan for a future that's uncertain.

Joel: 03:13.306 --> 03:13.582

Right?

Max: 03:13.636 --> 03:34.514

So when we looked at all of the community out there, what's happening, there's a lot focused on today, there's not enough focused on tomorrow. And we know that from the way the attackers and defenders work. There's a misbalance between who is thinking about the future versus who's thinking about today.

Joel: 03:34.712 --> 04:25.010

Absolutely. And if I add on to that, that attacker defender cycle we've talked about a number of times already, it just goes a continual cycle. And what we find is one side innovates past the other at any given moment. But the big differentiator is when the attacker innovates, they can immobilize and weaponize and deliver that attack almost instantly. Where the defender has to be much more methodical. It has to care about things like impact to the business or stability of systems, which means there's a much longer window to deploy new technologies or to react. And so that's one of the goals that, when we were talking through this, is how do we get us out over the hood so we can plan ahead, so we can start building those strategies for tomorrow, today, so we can stay ahead of that curve. That's an important part of this, right, Max?

Max: 04:25.090 --> 04:35.110

Yeah, absolutely. And same goes for regulations, right? We're always going to be, uh, a day late. A dollar you short, right? Uh, as the saying goes.

Joel: 04:35.180 --> 04:35.414

Right.

Max: 04:35.452 --> 04:38.906

So is it even possible for regulations to catch up?

Joel: 04:38.928 --> 04:39.114

Right?

Max: 04:39.152 --> 05:11.550

So we'll explore these kinds of, uh, concepts. But our biggest thing takeaway was what's happening today? Things are focused on today, what's happening right now. Our focus is in terms of, uh, what's going to happen tomorrow? How is our cybersecurity field going to evolve? Here are some of the topics and themes we're really passionate about and what we want to cover. We, uh, want to start with some fundamental questions. Where are we going as a profession?

Joel: 05:11.630 --> 05:11.922

Right?

Max: 05:11.976 --> 05:49.650

What's happening? And where is this profession going to, uh, lead us? Uh, what's going to create the biggest impact? What's going to transform our industry? We keep seeing the same thing SIM, uh, uh, vulnerability management, the classical programs of information security, uh, GRC and those kinds of things. But what is really going to transform and impact our entire industry? Is it artificial intelligence? Is it financial analysis? Is it building a national firewall to regulate everything, to stop every single attack? We don't know. These are the conversations we want to explore.

Joel: 05:49.650 --> 06:27.878

If I add on to that, um, certainly I do a lot of work equipping CSOs and strategies. And so all the things you're talking about contribute to cyber risk. And so part of my work is how to innovate to become more effective and efficient in delivering those cybersecurity practices. But my research and my passion is around artificial intelligence and specifically in the cybersecurity protection of artificial intelligence. Because like many technologies, we're moving fast to adoption before we figured out some of those cybersecurity mechanisms. And so I think that's going to be something that's going to be a growing concern and a topic that we will discuss quite frequently on this podcast.

Max: 06:28.054 --> 07:03.106

Yes, absolutely. So artificial intelligence is an interesting play into the future, but I also believe that evolving set of regulations, how would that happen? Right? We hear a lot about FedRAMP continuous Atos, CMMC, GDPR, you name it. Uh, every single vertical has its own set of constraints globally. So how do we manage that in an unknown future where there may not be historical data to prove out on how to manage a particular vertical with a certain type of regulation?

Joel: 07:03.218 --> 07:37.858

Yeah, I got to tell you, you spent a lot of time in corporate, I was going to say America corporate world, uh, global companies. And the legal team is one of the most overworked team in every company. And it's because of this flood of regulations and um, it's changing fast too. And so I have a real heart for those. And I know, Max, you have a big focus in this particular area and equipping those individuals in thought leadership and tools or whatever to get ahead of that. Because quite frankly, you can drown in all the changes. That's coming about easily enough.

Max: 07:38.024 --> 08:25.714

 Yeah, I believe, uh, especially in the defense sector, a lot of organizations, they are already drowning, right? They've got over 3000, 5000 questions they've got to answer before anything moves. And it's just not sustainable and it's not going to work for our country. So it'll be an interesting topic to explore because, uh, as we regulate and over regulate the market, uh, what does that mean for businesses? Uh, how would that impact the sales cycle? How is that going to impact? Just given the nature of the regulations, how is that going to impact? And that's where we think interesting technologies could play a role. Uh, we think new, uh, leadership on how you manage the organization will definitely play a role. So, uh, these are some of the themes and topics we definitely want to cover and explore with you.

Joel: 08:25.832 --> 09:04.960

 Yeah. And when I'm thinking about building or helping individuals build strategies, articulating the problem is the first step, right? Because we've all seen strategies built on reaction. Those never work well. And so diving in here to understand the problem, understand the nuances, and then to figure out how can we tackle this? And it's a combination of the age old people, processes and technologies and not jumping to the end. And so this is about smart thinking and also great conversations because I love geeking it up with industry leaders and professionals. So that's part of this as well, that's awesome, Joel.

Max: 09:04.960 --> 10:31.574

Uh, we'll definitely be inviting the right kind of people on this. So let's talk about kind of the value that we hope to deliver together, uh, to our audience and people that are listening in. So our big thing is, if you're a leader, uh, or trying to, uh, get to the leadership level, and you're left to wonder what's going on in your organization, what's coming up in your business and your industry, it doesn't matter what vertical you're in. Um, you're going to understand kind of the insight in how your organization might be redesigning or plan to redesign in order to continue to innovate in the market. That's a big piece of cybersecurity and technology in general. Uh, technology can create kind of a leapfrog effect for your organization. And as a CISO, as a risk manager, we're always very conservative and lean on the caution side of, hey, let's go slow, let's not move anything. But that in itself is risk, right? So, uh, when it comes to gaining insight, it's going to lead to improved decision making and then, uh, just the ability to reshape the industry. Because our belief is that what we're doing today is not good enough for tomorrow. Not even close. So these are some of the things that we hope to bring to you, uh, through others that are listening in, but also some of our, uh, members that may attend.

Joel: 11:04.952 --> 11:08.582

Yeah. And when you were talking through that, what came to mind? When you're talking about what we're doing now, almost every company I work with has a massive backlog, whether it be in the legal realm, getting through contracts or technologies or security debt. And if you start to calculate the man and the FTEs needed to resolve that, uh, it's just a problem that is not tackable in the current trajectory. And so figuring out a strategic way of getting ahead of that is going to be very important.

Max: 11:27.070 --> 11:41.434

So, Joel, what you're saying is that we just can't throw bodies at the problem.

Joel: 11:08.716 --> 11:27.070

No, it will never scale. It absolutely will never scale. And, uh, so I like what you're saying. We're going to try to figure out how to strategically and fundamentally leapfrog ahead to solve these things, fundamentally and holistically as much as we can. Right?

Max: 11:27.070 --> 11:41.434

So here's what we kind of guarantee you. We guarantee you'll have some thought provoking insights. You'll learn, you'll laugh along the way, and you'll get some insights from our guests that come as well. Um sorry. Go ahead, Joe.

Joel: 11:41.482 --> 12:12.030

 I was just going to say, you know what? Ah, we love good conversation at the end of the day, um, getting M together with some really smart individuals and just getting deep in topics. I love that, and Max loves that. And so we'll drive in and go in deep and ask some hard questions and just have some fun. And really, it's the value of the conversation, because sometimes it's not what you articulate. It's how the processes are talked through. And I just love a good conversation and anticipate a number of those on this show.

Max: 12:12.030 --> 12:36.160

Absolutely, Joel. So we just want to thank you guys for joining in, and we encourage you guys to join in and help us kick start this journey, this brand new podcast about the future of cyber Risk. And lastly, we want to thank you guys for listening in to first few of our episodes. Give us feedback and we'd love to hear from you and help us get launched. Very.