Be Fearless Podcast by SquareX
SquareX is excited to launch The Be Fearless Podcast Series, where we bring together industry experts and professionals from the cybersecurity community.
Hosted by SquareX Founder - and cybersecurity veteran - Vivek Ramachandran, look forward to insights about our guests’ journeys in security, the evolution of the field, the changing threatscape and how enterprises across industries are addressing them today.
Episodes
127 episodes
Browser Security Is Now Essential | Swetha Krishnamoorthi, Industry Principal, Frost & Sullivan
Frost & Sullivan’s Swetha Krishnamoorthi joins Audrey Adeline from SquareX Founder's Office to unpack emerging browser-based threats, including AI-driven phishing, encrypted last-mile exploits, malicious digital assets, and the rise of auto...
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1:01:07
Building Cyber Resilience That Lasts | Jim Rutt, CIO/CISO, Dana Foundation
In this episode of Be Fearless, Aleksandra Melnikova from the SquareX founder’s office speaks with Jim Rutt, CIO and CISO of the Dana Foundation. Jim traces his 25-year journey from marketing to data analytics to leading technology strategy in ...
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40:33
Securing Billions in Aircraft Assets | John Rojas, Vice President, IT, Air Lease
Host Aleksandra Melnikova of Founder's Office at SquareX sits down with John Rojas, Vice President, IT, of Air Lease. In this episode of The Fearless Podcast, they discuss John's fascinating transition from Marine Corps communications to managi...
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43:59
Leveling Up in Cybersecurity Today | Girard Kavelines, Technical Writer, TechHouse570
In this episode of the Be Fearless podcast, SquareX Field CISO John Carse sits down with Girard Kavelines and discusses how starting out on the help desk gave him fresh perspectives and practical insights that later shaped his work as a Network...
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36:54
Securing Health Data Through Governance, Not Firefighting | Michael Ruppe, Group CISO, Adcubum AG
In this episode of Be Fearless podcast, Adcubum AG Group CISO Michael Ruppe sits down with Aleksandra Melnikova from SquareX Founder's Office and shares how he moved from law and business into cybersecurity and became a CISO in his twenties. He...
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49:45
Being Prepared for the Unthinkable | Tiffiny Bryant, Co-Host, Stats on Stats
Knowing your incidence response playbook is one thing, but is it ingrained deeply enough in your team for execution when disaster strikes?Tiffiny Bryant, Co-Host of the Stats on Stats Podcast and Information Security Analyst at Shipt, s...
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57:23
Are Enterprises Ready for AI Browsers and Automated SOCs? | Vriti Magee, Founder, Mawa:ga Consulting
Vriti Magee, Founder and Principal of Mawa:ga Consulting, sits down with John Carse to explore the collision between AI innovation and enterprise security. In this episode, Vriti and John discuss the journey toward autonomous SOCs, the real ris...
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43:05
The Ability to Decompose Problems Separates Great Leaders | Tim Anderson, Deputy CISO, ID.me
Tim Anderson shares two decades of cybersecurity expertise — starting with business continuity work to his current role protecting millions of digital identities as Deputy CISO of ID.me. In this episode, he breaks down why identity has become t...
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37:10
Security and Tech Leaders Should Be Peers | Mohana Balakrishnan, CTO, Schools Insurance Authority
Mohana Balakrishnan, Chief Technology Officer at Schools Insurance Authority, shares his remarkable journey as a geophysicist discovering chromite deposits in Canada to leading technology and security for California schools. In this conversatio...
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46:00
Why Ransomware Still Keeps Winning | Adrian Sanabria, Principal Researcher, The Defenders Initiative
Adrian Sanabria, Principal Researcher at The Defenders Initiative joins Field CISO John Carse to dissect why security keeps failing despite massive investments in tools and compliance frameworks. In this episode, John turns the tables and puts ...
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48:09
Small-Medium Businesses Are Hackers' Path of Least Resistance | Royce Markose, CISO, Vistrada
Royce Markose, CISO at Vistrada, shares his journey from breaking apart computers as a kid to leading cybersecurity for billion-dollar organizations. He dives into why hackers are shifting from endpoints to SaaS and browser attacks, how AI is t...
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36:21
Deepfakes, Disinformation & AI Agent Security | Alfredo Ramirez IV, Senior Director Analyst, Gartner
Alfredo Ramirez IV, Senior Director Analyst, Emerging Technologies & Trends at Gartner, sits with Audrey Adeline from the SquareX Founder’s Office to discuss the latest market trends from his vantage point: “agent washing” where vendors reb...
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43:18
Growth, Risk Management, Culture: Why CISOs Operate Like CEOs | Bithal Bhardwaj, CEO, Gramax
Bithal Bhardwaj, CEO at Gramax, spent over two decades as a cybersecurity leader across GE and GMR Group before making the leap to CEO. In this conversation, he reveals why the transition was surprisingly seamless, shares war stories from manag...
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39:59
“Procurement is the Gateway into Your Enterprise” | Marian Newsome, Founder, Ethical Tech Matters
Marian Newsome, Founder of Ethical Tech Matters and an IEEE CertifAIEd Lead Assessor (Top 100 Globally), sits down with SquareX Field CISO John Carse to unpack why most organizations are dangerously unprepared for AI governance. They dive into ...
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50:20
Social Engineering LLMs Like Humans | J Wolfgang Goerlich, CISO, Oakland County, Michigan Government
J Wolfgang Goerlich, CISO for Oakland County Michigan Government, shares his unconventional path from wanting to be a hacker after watching the movie "Hackers" to leading government cybersecurity. In this conversation, Wolfgang breaks down why ...
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43:54
Balancing Security, Culture, and Velocity | Kane Narraway, Head of Enterprise Security, Canva
Kane Narraway, Head of Enterprise Security at Canva, shares how he went from digital forensics in UK law enforcement to protecting millions of users' creative workflows today. He breaks down why marketing and sales teams are more vulnerable tha...
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49:28
Why Community Matters More Than Certifications | Dr. Nathan Fisk, USF & Cyber Florida
Join us as Dr. Nathan Fisk, Associate Professor of Cybersecurity Education of USF and Cyber Florida Academic Director, discusses the importance of community in cybersecurity education. In this episode, Nathan explains how formal education has d...
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1:07:38
Scaling Security Without Friction | Cezary Piekarski, Group CISO, Standard Chartered
Cezary Piekarski, Group CISO at Standard Chartered, joins us to share hard-earned wisdom from 25+ years securing financial institutions globally. In this episode of the Be Fearless podcast, Cezary shares how Standard Chartered scales security w...
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31:58
What You Don't Know About Your Certificates Can Hurt You | Eric Mizell, Field CTO, Keyfactor
Eric Mizell, Field CTO and VP Field Engineering at Keyfactor, breaks down why digital certificates are the security blind spot most companies don't know they have. From his early days fixing Novell networks to helping enterprises manage million...
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51:43
Basic Cyber Hygiene Wins in Healthcare | Ben Waugh, BISO, Datavant
Ben Waugh, BISO at Datavant, drops some hard truths about healthcare security - like how the most damaging breaches aren't from sophisticated nation-state actors, but from attackers exploiting basic gaps while security teams obsess over complex...
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42:28
Why Banks Need Two Defender Personas | Sandip Wadje, Global Head of Emerging Tech Risk, BNP Paribas
Sandip Wadje, Managing Director and Global Head of Emerging Technology Operational Risks & Intelligence at BNP Paribas, reveals the hidden challenges of securing one of the world's largest banks in an AI-driven world. From his unconventiona...
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45:55
Why Hospital Cyber Breaches Hit Different | Martin Holzworth, CISO, UnitingCare Queensland
Martin Holzworth, CISO at UnitingCare Queensland, brings 25 years of cybersecurity to this episode of the Be Fearless Podcast. In this conversation with Aleksandra Melnikova, Martin shares hard-won insights about protecting patient data, managi...
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43:44
The High Stakes in Defense Sector Security | Brad Berkson, CEO, Miles Space
Brad Berkson, CEO of Miles Space, sits down with John Carse to discuss his journey from McKinsey partner to serving as a former Pentagon senior official operations, to now pioneering space technology. Brad shares eye-opening insights about how ...
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51:07
A Veteran's Approach to Federal Cybersecurity | Sarah Cleveland, Senior Director, ExtraHop
With years directing cyber operations in the United States Air Force as a Cyber Officer, Sarah Cleveland brings a unique perspective to cybersecurity. In this conversation with John Carse, she discusses how military risk calculation differs fro...
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57:28
"Your Foundation Needs to be Strong" | Yaamini Mohan, Security Engineer, Dell EMC
Drawing from her experience at Dell and Infosys, Security Engineer Yaamini Mohan breaks down why getting your security basics right — boring stuff like passwords, patching, and MFA— will move the needle much more than any expensive AI-powered s...
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37:14