Podcasts

Welcome to “Lessons from the School of Security Hard Knocks,” a compelling podcast where global leaders share their most challenging lessons from the security domain. Join host Joe Saunders, founder and CEO of RunSafe Security, as he engages with esteemed guest speakers who unveil insights gained from navigating the toughest security scenarios. Subscribe now and get new episodes delivered to your inbox as soon as they go live!

Megan Samford: “Trees, Chainsaws, and Cyber”

Lessons from the School of Security Hard Knocks
Megan Samford: “Trees, Chainsaws, and Cyber”

In this podcast episode of Lessons from the School of Security Hard Knocks, special guest Megan Samford, VP and Chief Product Security Officer – Energy Management at Schneider Electric, joins us. Currently the only female CPSO for a leading industrial, Megan focuses on security and risk analysis of industrial control systems.

Megan opens up about her role at Schneider Electric, shares her thoughts on the top security concerns in energy management, discusses how to efficiently manage product security at different companies and best communicate across departments, chats about some of her industry initiatives, and what she would do if she were director of CISA.

Explore our entire podcast series to listen to the surprising thoughts and opinions of cybersecurity thought leaders.

34 min listen

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Dmitri Alperovitch: “Great Power Competition”

Lessons from the School of Security Hard Knocks
Dmitri Alperovitch: “Great Power Competition”

In this episode of Lessons from the School of Security Hard Knocks, we sit down with Dmitri Alperovitch, executive chairman at Silverado Policy Accelerator, a non-profit committed to solving geopolitical challenges in cybersecurity. Dmitri is also the co-founder of CrowdStrike, the industry’s most advanced cloud-native platform that safeguards the most crucial risk areas.

Dmitri shares his thoughts on how threat intelligence has evolved since founding CrowdStrike, the struggle for world order, the Biden administration’s semiconductors policy, what steps the U.S. can take to mitigate the threat against Taiwan, and more.

Tune into future episodes to learn crucial insights from cybersecurity industry leaders.

34 min listen

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Kiersten Todt: “The Value of People”

Lessons from the School of Security Hard Knocks
Kiersten Todt: “The Value of People”

In this episode of Lessons from the School of Security Hard Knocks podcast, CEO of Liberty Group Ventures and former Chief of Staff at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Kiersten Todt, shares her perspectives on how the cybersecurity industry has matured over the agency’s lifetime, progress made within cybersecurity and infrastructure, and why solving memory safety is paramount.

Kiersten also discusses her views on how the government can encourage a liability shift from asset owner/infrastructure provider to product manufacturer, and the most significant threats facing cybersecurity today.

Browse additional episodes of RunSafe’s podcast to listen to fresh perspectives from the most influential minds in cybersecurity.

33 min listen

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Andrew Kling: “Upstream & Downstream Views of Cybersecurity”

Lessons from the School of Security Hard Knocks
Andrew Kling: “Upstream & Downstream Views of Cybersecurity”

Andrew Kling, Industry Automation VP Cybersecurity & Product Security Officer at Schneider Electric, joins us on this podcast episode of RunSafe’s Lessons from the School of Security Hard Knocks.

Andrew talks about his role at Schneider Electric, why security is crucial, how to efficiently manage a large cybersecurity portfolio, addressing software supply chain risk at Schneider Electric, the Executive Order and SBOM, adopting and integrating open source, and his top security concerns.

Explore our entire podcast catalog to listen to the interesting perspectives of cybersecurity thought leaders.

26 min listen

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David Weston: “Builders and Breakers”

Lessons from the School of Security Hard Knocks
David Weston: “Builders and Breakers”

In this compelling episode of Lessons from the School of Security Hard Knocks, David Weston, Vice President of Enterprise and OS Security at Microsoft, tells us about the changes the company has made in recent years to protect software, the top cybersecurity threats facing enterprise customers, and how he earned the nickname, “Dwhizzle.”

David will also reveal Microsoft’s defense-in-depth outlook, his innovative work with TAC, and the reasons for his passion for the cyber world.

Listen to other episodes to learn surprising perspectives and insights from leading experts in cybersecurity.

24 min listen

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Bryson Bort: “Cyber is Sentient”

Lessons from the School of Security Hard Knocks
Bryson Bort: “Cyber is Sentient”

In this episode of RunSafe’s Lessons from the School of Security Hard Knocks podcast, we are joined by special guest Bryson Bort. He is the CEO and founder of Scythe, a company that offers a next-generation adversary emulation platform for continuous enterprise risk assessments.

Bryson talks about his company’s innovative product platform, building the Scythe community, why organizations should be as sentient as their attackers, vulnerability management, how the threat landscape has evolved over the past 20 years, and more.

Listen to our other podcast episodes to learn insider knowledge and advice from today’s leading cybersecurity professionals.

40 min listen

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John Deskurakis: “Consider the Context”

Lessons from the School of Security Hard Knocks
John Deskurakis: “Consider the Context”

Listen to this episode of the Lessons from the School of Security Hard Knocks podcast to learn how John Deskurakis, Chief Product Security Officer at Carrier, believes his company is making the world a safer place and what customers and buyers expect from them.

John also shares his thoughts on managing software supply chain risk, the risks and benefits of open-source software, and his work with the Security Industry Association and ISAGC.

Tune into additional podcast episodes to listen to the exciting perspectives of today’s top cybersecurity professionals.

48 min listen

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James Johnson: “Leap Ahead”

Lessons from the School of Security Hard Knocks
James Johnson: “Leap Ahead”

“We’re fighting a cyber battle.”

In this episode of RunSafe’s Lessons from the School of Security Hard Knocks podcast, we sit down with James Johnson, CISO of John Deere. James is a seasoned security executive with an excellent track record of delivering security solutions to a multi-national, billion-dollar conglomerate.

James discusses his role at John Deere, current innovations at the company, developing his leadership, how security is an enabler for business, what customers are asking for, and managing supply chain security.

Listen to additional episodes of our podcast to learn about the most challenging lessons cybersecurity leaders have learned.

17 min listen

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Emily de la Bruyére: “Learn to Say No”

Lessons from the School of Security Hard Knocks
Emily de la Bruyére: “Learn to Say No”

In this episode of RunSafe’s Lessons from the School of Security Hard Knocks podcast, we chat with Emily de La Bruyère, co-founder of Horizon Advisory, an independent strategic consultancy focused on technological and geopolitical competition.

Emily opens up about her company and shares her insights on China’s digital strategy, its profound influence on supply chain technology, who will benefit the most in this era of digital competition, and the implications of President Biden’s semiconductor ban on China.

Explore our additional podcast episodes to learn about global leaders’ toughest lessons from the security domain.

31 min listen

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Jen Sovada: “People are Our Best Asset”

Lessons from the School of Security Hard Knocks
Jen Sovada: “People are Our Best Asset”

In today’s episode of RunSafe’s podcast, Lessons from the School of Security Hard Knocks, we are joined by Jen Sovada, President of Public Sector at SandboxAQ. This enterprise SaaS company leverages quantum tech and AI to solve society’s most significant challenges.

Jen shares more about what her role at SandboxAQ entails, quantum computers’ influence on internet security, serving as chair of the board of the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum, viewing AI as an opportunity rather than a threat, what surprises her about her students today, and more.

Browse our entire catalog of podcast episodes to listen to the views of the brightest minds in cybersecurity.

22 min listen

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Madison Horn: “Understand the Why”

Today’s guest is Madison Horn, CEO of Critical Fault and former US Senate nominee.

In today’s episode, Madison discusses Critical Fault and her role there, how trends in cybersecurity have changed over the past 10 years, her thoughts on the Biden administration’s National Cybersecurity Strategy, the seriousness of China’s threat on critical infrastructure, the biggest threat to our national security, if we are facing a new world order, what cybersecurity issues Congress should focus on, whether she will consider running for office again in the future, and as always, her toughest lesson learned.

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Candice Frost: “Never Stop Knocking”

Today’s guest is Colonel Candice Frost, Adjunct Professor of Security Studies Program at Georgetown University.

In today’s episode, Colonel Frost discusses her transition from her military career to the private sector, serving as commander of the Joint Intelligence Operations Center for USCYBERCOMMAND, how she approaches near term threat horizons vs longer term threat horizons, lessons we can learn from the war in Ukraine, what she looks for in leaders, pressing national security issues, critical infrastructure threats, how we can improve public/private partnerships, and as always, her toughest lesson learned.

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