KBKAST

KBI.Media
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  • TECHNOLOGY
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Unlike every other security podcast, we don’t get stuck down in the technical weeds. Our remit is to speak with experts around the globe at the strategic level – how security technology can improve the experience and risk optimisation for every organisation. The Voice of Cyber® - In Partnership with Vanta

  1. 1D AGO

    From The SimSpace Summit 2026 – KB On The Go | Rushell Hopkins and Stanley McChrystal (Part 2)

    Karissa Breen [00:00:10]: Welcome to KB On The Go. I’m coming to you from my new place of residence, Orlando, Florida. And today I’m being hosted at the SimSpace Summit. Cybersecurity is hitting a breaking point, compliance checklists, tabletop exercises, and confidence claims. Aren’t enough anymore, especially as AI accelerates both attack and defense. This summit is about something different, proving readiness under real pressure, real tools, real teams, real-world chaos. Today, I’m speaking with leaders and former US government officials pushing cyber training testing and validation out of theory and into reality. Because when the next incident hits, what matters isn’t what looks good on paper, it’s what actually holds up. Karissa Breen [00:00:57]: Stay with me, we’re diving into the conversations that matter. This is KB On The Go from SYNSPACE Summit 2026. Karissa Breen [00:01:04]: Let’s get into it. Joining me now in person is Rochelle Hopkins, Professor, Computer Science and Cybersecurity at Florida Southwestern State College, and today we’re discussing the future of cyber workforce. So, Rochelle, thanks for joining and welcome. Rushell Hopkins [00:01:23]: Well, thanks for having me. Karissa Breen [00:01:24]: Okay. So Rochelle, I’m really interested in the work that you do. And when we were talking before, you were sort of describing like how things are nowadays. And I think it’s really interesting to explore that a little bit more. So I want to start perhaps with your view on the growing concern about cognitive atrophy in the younger generation. And what are your thoughts here? Rushell Hopkins [00:01:46]: Absolutely. One of the things I also didn’t share with you is I’m part of a cohort or consortium called the AAC&U, which is the American Association of Colleges and Universities. And I’m in this cohort where we’re trying to bring AI into higher education and kind of look at what that’s going to do. I share concerns with many of the educators in what they’re calling cognitive offloading or cognitive atrophy in our younger generation. In cybersecurity, I tend to have really remarkable, creative, compassionate, and technically advanced students. But what I’m seeing and the shift that I’m seeing is that these students are using AI at a level where it’s eroding their patience, their deep focus, and their willingness to wrestle with the deeper problems. And learning, especially in cybersecurity, requires discomfort. We have to think outside the box. Rushell Hopkins [00:02:33]: It really requires us to sit with something, and if we don’t understand it, we are breaking it down and we’re building up that mental endurance, right, to solve it. And when their answer is just one click away, right, to these problems, that muscle greatly weakens. Karissa Breen [00:02:50]: This is where I think it gets really interesting as well, because I’m a millennial, and even when we were learning things, it’s still fundamentally different. Doesn’t feel that long ago. But when you’re talking about what you’re describing versus when I came up through the ranks, it’s not that long ago, but it does feel a lot longer. So I’m curious to see What does this sort of mean now for how people are actually learning things? You mentioned before 15-minute to 20-minute blocks before you had to say, right, we’re gonna get up, go for a walk, we’re gonna do something else. That’s a very short period of time when you think about it. How, what’s going on here? Rushell Hopkins [00:03:32]: So there’s a lot, there’s a lot of things. People are starting to do a lot of research on attention span, right? And I don’t wanna go down too much that down that road because I don’t have any degrees in psychology or, you know, I teach computer science and cybersecurity. But I’ve watched a lot of content, and I don’t mean social media content, I mean research, where shows like Cocomelon, right, that we put our kids in...

    40 min

  2. 2D AGO

    From The SimSpace Summit 2026 – KB On The Go | Peter Lee and Ernie Ferraresso (Part 1)

    Cybersecurity is hitting a breaking point. Compliance checklists, tabletop exercises and confidence claims aren’t enough anymore, especially as AI accelerates both attack and defense. In this bonus episode, KB sits down with Peter Lee, Chief Executive Officer and President of SimSpace, and Ernie Ferraresso, Senior Director of Cyber Florida. Together they discuss cyber readiness and why Florida treats cyber like a mission. Peter Lee, Chief Executive Officer and President of SimSpace Peter serves as the Chief Executive Officer and President of SimSpace, the realistic, intelligent cyber range that strengthens teams, technologies, and processes to outsmart adversaries before the fight begins. Previously, Peter was co-founder and CEO of DataSynapse, an infrastructure software company acquired by TIBCO; and CEO of RapidMiner, an open source machine learning platform acquired by Altair. At TIBCO, Peter served as Executive Vice President responsible for multiple businesses including the security, cloud computing, B2B, CX, and analytics product groups. Before launching his career in software, Peter was a strategy consultant with Deloitte and an investment banker with JP Morgan. Peter has extensive Board experience collaborating with top tier investors to grow innovative software companies, serving as Chairman for Attivio (acquired by ServiceNow), WorldQuant Predictive, and ActiveState, and as Director for Ektron (acquired by Accel-KKR), Vesta (acquired by TINT), Infomatix (acquired by EPAM), OpenAssemby (acquired by Fulcrum), BlogTalkRadio (acquired by iHeartRadio), Entrio and Chattermill. Peter also serves on the investment committees of Advanced Finance & Investment Group and Communitas Capital Partners. Peter graduated from Harvard College with an AB degree in Government (cum laude), received an MBA degree from The Wharton School in Entrepreneurial Management and an MA degree from The University of Pennsylvania in International Affairs. Peter has been invited twice to speak at the World Economic Forum in Davos and four times at The Milken Institute Global Conferences in LA and Singapore, explaining the impact of AI in terms of its business value and key use cases. Peter is a former Board member of Upwardly Global, alumnus of YPO and a member of the Development Board for Phillips Academy Andover. Ernie Ferraresso, Senior Director of Cyber Florida As the senior director of Cyber Florida, Ernie drives the organization’s strategic vision while overseeing the center’s day-to-day operations. He started with Cyber Florida in 2017 as associate director of programs and partnerships and brings decades of technology expertise and leadership experience to his role. Prior to Cyber Florida, Ernie worked for a small technology design and integration firm as the Director of Operations, overseeing the design and implementation of cybersecurity and emergency operations center technology solutions in the U.S. and throughout Latin America. He is a retired U.S. Marine Intelligence Officer who served in the U.S. and abroad. His work included assignments with the U.S. Special Operations Forces, the intelligence community, the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies, and U.S. Cyber Command.

    49 min

  3. 3D AGO

    Episode 357 Deep Dive: James Tennant | Why does AUKUS Need Sovereign Capital?

    In this episode, we sit down with James Tennant, Partner and Head of JAPAC at Boka Capital, as he discusses why AUKUS needs sovereign capital to successfully deliver on its strategic ambitions. James explores the disparity between the headline-grabbing investments of AUKUS Pillar 1 and the overlooked capital shortfalls of Pillar 2, emphasizing the urgent need to build a unified capital architecture across Australia, the UK, and the US. He highlights the challenges faced by defense technology startups, such as the “valley of death” funding gap and ESG constraints that lock out institutional investment, and draws valuable lessons from international examples like In-Q-Tel and Israel’s Yozma. Throughout the conversation, James argues for a coordinated sovereign capital framework, increased public education about dual-use technologies, and transparent government action to move from strategic announcements to real capital deployment, ensuring AUKUS can compete effectively on a global stage. James Tennant, Partner – Head of JAPAC, BOKA Capital James Tennant is a Fellow with ASPI’s Cyber, Technology and Security Program and a Partner at BOKA Capital, a leading AUKUS Investment House in London, Sydney and New York. His key role at BOKA is complemented by his service as an Officer in the Australian Army, where he specialises in Capability Development. He is also a Senior Partner at Gilmour Space Technologies, an Australian-based rocket company innovating in the field of low-cost small satellite launch vehicles. James is a seasoned investor and corporate leader with deep interests and investments in diverse fields such as Quantum, Artificial Intelligence, Space, CyberSec, Machine Learning, Internet of Things, Drones, Enterprise Infrastructure, and Autonomous Vehicles. His professional journey, spanning across different continents and industries, uniquely positions him at the intersection of finance, defence, and technology including artificial intelligence. James holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree with a specialisation in International Business from the University of Sydney, is a Graduate of Applied Finance at Macquarie University, and holds management courses in Private Equity and Venture Capital from Harvard Business School. He has also completed the Company Directors Course at the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

    40 min

  4. FEB 25

    Episode 356 Deep Dive: Simon Hodgkinson | The Burnout Crisis in the Cybersecurity Community

    In this episode, we sit down with Strategic Advisor at Semperis, as he shares his personal experience with burnout during his tenure as CISO at BP. Simon provides a candid look into the immense pressures and responsibilities of overseeing cybersecurity across a massive, global organisation, highlighting the challenges of balancing work with personal well-being and family life. He discusses the emotional toll of always being “on,” the importance of transparent communication about risks, and the necessity of setting clear boundaries—what he calls “red lines”—to safeguard health and relationships. Simon also reflects on the industry-wide burnout crisis, the tendency for CISOs to prioritize work over their own needs, and the critical role of organisational support and personal maturity in sustaining a long career in cybersecurity leadership. Simon Hodgkinson is a Strategic Advisor at cybersecurity firm Semperis, and a former Chief Information Security Officer at multinational energy company BP. In his 18 year tenure at BP, Simon held several senior IT leadership roles and was responsible for the company’s cybersecurity strategy, governance, architecture, education, counter threat operations, and incident response.   During this time, he drove a significant improvement in IT operational integrity, led a transformation program and spearheaded the commitment to improve employees’ IT experience. He led the CISO function in BP Supply & Trading, where he delivered a program to improve cyber-controls, many of which have been implemented across the BP group. Before joining bp, Simon worked in IT for a dotcom, an investment bank, and commercial software companies

    42 min

  5. FEB 18

    Episode 355 Deep Dive: Sam Cummings | Will we see current LLM technology reach it's limits in 2026?

    Samuel J. Cummings III is an award-winning data scientist, keynote speaker, and renowned thought leader in AI, specializing in complex reasoning and memory architecture. In his recent work he has created AI model architecture that runs 94% less tokens than standard LLMs. As Director of Education at Gen AI Works, Sam brings over a decade of expertise in AI and runs a podcast called Gen AI Talks. In this episode, we sit down with Sam Cummings, Director of Education at Gen AI Works, as he explores the current and future landscape of large language models (LLMs) and their impact on cybersecurity. Sam unpacks the technical and economic limitations of LLMs, highlighting issues such as model cost, scalability, hallucination, and the looming challenges around reasoning and memory management. The conversation delves into the shift from universal LLMs to specialized models, the inevitability of market monopolization by big tech firms, and the environmental cost of massive data centers. Sam also paints a vivid picture of the “arms race” in the cybersecurity sector, predicting a boom in both offensive and defensive capabilities powered by AI, and offers actionable insights for professionals and entrepreneurs looking to thrive in this rapidly-evolving environment.

    53 min

  6. FEB 11

    Episode 354 Deep Dive: Lili Infante | The Growing Prevalence of Crime in the Crypto Space

    In this episode, we sit down with Lili Infante, CEO of CAT Labs, as she discusses the evolving landscape of crime in the crypto space and her work combating crypto-enabled criminal activity. Lili, drawing from her experience as a former DOJ and DEA agent who pioneered the DEA Cyber Investigations Task Force, explains the rise of crypto as both a tool for criminals and a unique opportunity for law enforcement due to its traceability. She highlights the challenges surrounding self-custody private keys, the increased risks and opportunities for asset seizure, and the emerging insider threat within law enforcement agencies handling crypto evidence. Lili also shares her perspective on regulatory debates between banks and crypto exchanges, the necessity for policy grounded in technological understanding, and the innovations CAT Labs is bringing to government agencies, including tools for key management, data scanning, and digital asset recovery. Lili Infante is the CEO and Founder of CAT Labs, a technology company helping government agencies find, seize and secure illicit cryptocurrency assets hidden in their seized evidence. As a former DEA Special Agent, she pioneered the first federal task force focused on Dark Web and crypto investigations, leading landmark cases including the takedown of Hydra Market, the world’s largest dark-web marketplace. Her work has earned national awards for cybercrime investigation and helped establish the investigative and policy frameworks now used by law-enforcement agencies worldwide.

    46 min

  7. FEB 4

    Episode 353 Deep Dive: River Nygryn | Trust, Test, Transform: Executive Playbook for AI Leadership

    In this episode, we sit down with River Nygryn, CISO and AI thought leader, as she explores the critical concepts outlined in the executive playbook for AI leadership: Trust, Test, and Transform. River provides a comprehensive overview of AI’s evolution—from its historical roots in early automated machines and neural networks to the development of large language models (LLMs) and generative assistants. She emphasizes the importance of “trust but verify” in deploying AI, warning against overreliance and the risk of diminishing critical thinking skills. River introduces the 4Ds—dull, dangerous, difficult, and dirty work—where AI delivers the greatest value, and cautions about the loss of creativity and authenticity with widespread use of AI-generated content. She encourages organizations to leverage their unique data sets, underscoring that human judgment and oversight are essential for harnessing AI’s transformative opportunities. River is a visionary cybersecurity and technology leader with a dynamic career spanning traditional banking, cutting-edge blockchain innovation, and Web3 transformation. As a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and fractional C-suite executive, River has driven security and operational excellence across highly regulated industries, including healthcare, financial services, and emerging tech. Renowned for bridging the gap between strategic leadership and hands-on execution, River has played a pivotal role in modernising risk and security frameworks, scaling secure systems, and advising on crypto, digital asset infrastructure, and decentralized technologies. Her influence extends beyond the boardroom – she is a powerful voice in the tech community, advocating for digital trust, innovation, and ethical leadership in the AI era. In 2025, River was named one of The CEO Magazine’s Top 50 Women of Influence, recognised not only for her technical expertise but for her commitment to shaping a more secure and inclusive digital future. She is a sought-after speaker, frequently appearing on stage at leading conferences, panels, and keynotes to share insights on cybersecurity resilience, leadership, and the evolving Web3 landscape. With a storytelling style that blends bold insights with deep reflection, River continues to inspire the next generation of cyber leaders and disruptors.

    38 min

  8. JAN 28

    Episode 352 Deep Dive: Alex Loizou | The Human Impact of a Cyber Incident

    In this episode, we sit down with Alex Loizou, Managing Director at Intrinsic Security and former CISO of Medibank, as he shares firsthand insights into the human impact of navigating a major cyber breach. Alex walks us through the initial moments of discovery, the emotional and psychological toll on teams, and the importance of staying calm under pressure. He dives into Medibank’s approach to incident response, including the use of multiple IR partners for comprehensive investigations and the challenges of coordinating large incident teams in real time. The conversation highlights the value of practical, repeated exposure to incident scenarios, the pitfalls of “ambulance chasing” in the security industry, and the vital role of transparent, evidence-based communication during sensitive events. Alex emphasizes lessons learned about organisational preparedness, collaboration across the cybersecurity community, and the importance of building strong relationships with external media and government agencies. Alex Loizou is a seasoned cybersecurity leader with a proven track record of building and leading high-performing security teams. He has extensive experience as a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for major organisations such as Medibank, Flybuys, and Bupa. Notably, he served as the CISO at Medibank during their 2022 cyber incident, where he played a crucial role in leading the response and recovery efforts.

    42 min
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About

Unlike every other security podcast, we don’t get stuck down in the technical weeds. Our remit is to speak with experts around the globe at the strategic level – how security technology can improve the experience and risk optimisation for every organisation. The Voice of Cyber® - In Partnership with Vanta

Information

  • Creator
    KBI.Media
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    398
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025 KBI.Media
  • Show Website
    KBKAST