The Cyber Security Matters Podcast

The Cyber Security Matters Podcast
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A series of interview with key leaders through the Cyber Security industry. All brought to you by the Cyber Security team at neuco a specialist global recruitment and executive search firm.

  1. 3d ago

    Autonomous Defense in the Age of AI | EP 82 | Alfredo Hickman, Kai

    In this episode of Cyber Security Matters, hosts Harry Baldwin and Matt Rose are joined by Alfredo Hickman, Chief Information Security Officer at Kai. Alfredo discusses his journey from a 1990s fascination with early internet technology, through infantry service in the US Marine Corps, national security roles, and nearly eight years building the security organisation at Obsidian Security, to his current role at Kai. The conversation explores why AI is fundamentally reshaping the balance between attackers and defenders, what needs to happen before organisations can hand more autonomy to AI in security operations, and whether the industry is heading toward a genuinely new security operating model rather than another generation of point solutions. Alfredo also shares his thinking on what separates the best cybersecurity professionals, the mentors who shaped his career, and the achievement he is most proud of. Key Topics Covered Alfredo's path into cybersecurity through 1990s internet and hardware culture Serving as a Marine Corps infantry sergeant in counterterrorism after 9/11 The mentors who shaped his career, including his mother and Dmitri Alperovitch Rising from individual contributor to CISO in one continuous run at Obsidian Security Why he joined Kai to help build autonomous defence for security teams What separates the best cybersecurity professionals from the rest How AI is changing the role and required skill set of security professionals Kai's mission to give defenders an asymmetric advantage through autonomous defence The structural imbalance between AI-augmented attackers and resource-constrained defenders What's needed - governance, guardrails, and a "trust fabric" - before AI can safely take autonomous security actions Emerging AI governance standards, including ISO/IEC 42001 and Cloud Security Alliance guidance Whether the future of security is a new operating model or another generation of point solutions His five-year prediction that at least 60% of manual security work will be automated The career achievement he describes as his proudest moment His advice for people entering cybersecurity: get comfortable being uncomfortable About Alfredo Hickman Alfredo Hickman is Chief Information Security Officer at Kai, an agentic AI cybersecurity platform built to help defenders execute security work at machine speed. Founded by Galina Antova (co-founder of Claroty) and Dr Damiano Bolzoni (co-founder of SecurityMatters), Kai emerged from stealth with $125 million in funding to build autonomous defence capabilities for enterprise security teams. Before joining Kai, Alfredo spent close to eight years at Obsidian Security, rising from an individual contributor to Chief Information Security Officer and building the company's security organisation from its earliest days. Earlier in his career, he led security product engineering at Rackspace Managed Security, and held roles at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the US Department of Defence. Alfredo's path into technology began in the early-to-mid 1990s, teaching himself to code and reverse-engineer software. That early interest was interrupted, and ultimately redirected, by his decision to enlist in the US Marine Corps as an infantry sergeant following the September 11th attacks, where he was later exposed to cyber operations in a national security and counterterrorism context. His work today sits at the intersection of cybersecurity leadership and AI governance, with a focus on helping organisations safely realise the benefits of autonomous, AI-driven defence. This episode is brought to you by neuco.

  2. Sep 24

    How AI Is Changing Cloud Security | EP 81| Gal Ordo, Native

    In this episode of Cyber Security Matters, hosts Harry Baldwin and Matt Rose are joined by Gal Ordo, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer at Native. Gal shares his journey from studying mathematics and developing early expertise in cybersecurity to leading product at AWS Security Hub and later founding Native.    The conversation explores why cloud security needs to move beyond simply detecting risk and towards secure-by-design environments. Gal explains how Native approaches cloud security across multiple cloud providers, and why AI is changing both the threat landscape and the role of security engineers. He also shares his views on product management, building early-stage teams, leadership, and the professional achievement he is most proud of.  Key Topics Covered  Cloud security moving from detection to prevention  The shift towards secure-by-design cloud environments  Why multi-cloud consistency matters across AWS, Azure, Google Cloud and Oracle Cloud  Native’s approach to cloud security controls  The challenge of turning security outcomes into practical cloud controls  How AI is changing the cloud threat landscape  Securing AI agents through deterministic controls  Why AI can support security engineering without replacing human expertise  The changing relationship between product management and engineering  Building lean product teams at an early-stage start-up  Hiring and developing strong security engineering talent  Gal’s “disagree and commit” approach to leadership  His transition from AWS to founding Native  The professional achievement he describes as his proudest moment  His advice for people entering cybersecurity: treat security as a puzzle to solve  About Gal Ordo  Gal Ordo is Co-founder and Chief Product Officer at Native, a cloud security company focused on helping organisations build secure-by-design cloud environments. Native describes itself as a cloud security control plane that turns security outcomes into enforceable controls across AWS, Azure, Google Cloud and OCI.    Before founding Native, Gal was a product leader for AWS Security Hub, where he worked closely with large enterprise customers and gained first-hand insight into the challenges organisations face when securing increasingly complex cloud environments. This experience helped shape the founding idea behind Native: that organisations need to move beyond identifying cloud risks after the fact and instead embed security outcomes directly into their cloud architecture.    Gal began his career in cybersecurity before pursuing an MBA in the US. His work today sits at the intersection of cloud security and product development, with a focus on helping organisations translate security objectives into practical, enforceable controls within their cloud environments.    This episode is brought to you by neuco.

  3. Sep 14

    Cybersecurity Is a Journey of Trust | EP 80 | Liz Drysdale, Outpost24

    In this episode of Cyber Security Matters, hosts Harry Baldwin and Matt Rose are joined by Liz Drysdale, Chief Marketing Officer at Outpost24, to explore what makes cybersecurity marketing different, why trust sits at the centre of the buying journey, and how marketing teams can stand out in an increasingly crowded security market. Liz shares lessons from more than 25 years of international marketing experience and her work across cybersecurity companies including CyberArk, BeyondTrust and SentinelOne. She discusses building brands across different cultures, the balance between global consistency and local relevance, and how she approached refreshing the Specops brand after joining Outpost24. Key Topics Covered: • Cybersecurity marketing is a journey of trust - Why trust is central to cybersecurity buying decisions. • Building strong marketing teams - Liz's three key qualities: resilience, coachability and resourcefulness. • Global vs local marketing - How to scale marketing while adapting to different cultures and markets. • Standing out in a crowded cybersecurity market - Why the right message and channel matter more than simply being louder. • AI and the future of marketing - Where AI adds value and where human expertise remains essential. • The importance of curiosity - Liz's advice for anyone entering cybersecurity marketing. About Liz Drysdale: Liz Drysdale is Chief Marketing Officer at Outpost24, where she leads global brand strategy, market expansion and customer engagement across the company's exposure management and identity security portfolio. She has more than 25 years of international marketing experience, including extensive experience in cybersecurity, and previously held senior marketing leadership roles at CyberArk, BeyondTrust and SentinelOne. Outpost24 describes itself as a global cybersecurity provider focused on exposure management and identity and access management, helping more than 3,000 organisations identify, manage and reduce cyber risk across digital and human attack surfaces. This episode is brought to you by neuco.

  4. Sep 3

    Why More Cybersecurity Tools Can Mean More Complexity | EP 79 | Aimée Roerink, Detectify

    In episode 79 of Cyber Security Matters, hosts Harry Baldwin and Matt Rose are joined by Aimée Roerink, Chief Marketing Officer at Detectify, for a wide-ranging discussion on cybersecurity, marketing, AI and the growing complexity facing modern security teams. Aimée offers a different perspective on the industry focused on customer value, clarity, commercial outcomes and the importance of translating complex technology into something people can actually understand and use. This fascinating conversation explores why businesses can end up with “scaling confusion” when they add more people, processes, channels and technology without first establishing clarity. Aimée discusses the dangers of buying cybersecurity tools because of fear of missing out, why AI should be treated as a means to solve a real problem rather than a reason to buy another platform, and what the rise of shadow AI can reveal about the environments employees are working in. Key Topics Covered • Clarity over complexity: Why Aimée says clarity matters more than skill, and how organisations can scale confusion without clear problems, priorities or value propositions. • Alignment beats local optimisation: How strong individual teams can still slow the wider business when they optimise towards different priorities, channels or value propositions. • Building teams that can thrive: The value of curiosity, drive, ownership, commercial judgement and low ego, plus a willingness to challenge without becoming territorial. • The changing role of marketing: Why marketing now reaches beyond lead generation into positioning, market selection, sales effectiveness, retention, pricing and revenue. • The human advantage in an AI world: Why judgement, customer insight, creativity, credibility and trust become more valuable as AI handles routine execution. • What Detectify does: How Detectify helps organisations understand their attack surface and find exploitable vulnerabilities through payload-based testing, security research, ethical hackers and AI. • Cybersecurity FOMO and tool sprawl: Why organisations buy fashionable tools without accounting for integrations, training, governance, maintenance and ownership. • Buy less, simplify more: Why a new security tool should replace, simplify or meaningfully improve something, not just add another layer. • Marketing AI without the hype: Why AI messaging should start with the customer problem, not the technology, and focus on what Alfred AI enables. • Shadow AI as a symptom: How unauthorised AI use can point to slow processes, unclear policies and inefficient workflows, not just poor employee behaviour. • Creating practical security cultures: Why secure behaviour should be built into everyday workflows so the safe option is also the clear and practical one. • Making it safe to admit mistakes: Why blame makes people hide errors, and why teams need a culture where issues can be reported quickly. • Advice for entering cybersecurity: Challenge what you see, understand what companies really do, and choose work that aligns with your values. About Aimée Roerink Aimée Roerink is the Chief Marketing Officer at Detectify, where she leads the company's marketing and commercial positioning. Aimée came into cybersecurity from a commercial leadership background rather than as a security practitioner. Across her career, she has focused on understanding complex markets, identifying where businesses can create customer value and building teams and commercial systems that turn strong products into sustainable growth. In the episode, she explains that what attracted her to cybersecurity was the combination of an urgent customer problem, sophisticated technology and an industry where trust is particularly important. Episode created by neuco neuco is a global specialist recruitment and executive search firm supporting companies across cyber security, satellite, space and defence, and media and sports technology with hiring and talent solutions.

  5. Jul 31

    Incident Response at Scale: Building Better Investigators in the Age of AI | EP 78 | Lee Sult, Binalyze

    In episode 78 of Cyber Security Matters, hosts Matt Rose and Harry Baldwin are joined by Lee Sult, Chief Investigator at Binalyze, for a fascinating discussion on the realities of modern incident response and the evolving role of cybersecurity investigators. Drawing on a career that spans law enforcement, digital forensics, incident response, entrepreneurship and product development, Lee explains why understanding attackers is just as important as understanding technology, and why incident response must evolve as cyber threats become faster, more sophisticated and increasingly AI-assisted. The conversation explores Lee's journey from investigating cybercrime within law enforcement to leading investigations into some of the world's most complex cyber incidents, before diving into how Binalyze is helping democratize digital forensics for security teams worldwide. Along the way, Lee shares practical frameworks for incident response, explains why evidence collection remains one of cybersecurity's hardest problems, and offers candid advice for aspiring investigators looking to build successful careers in the industry. Key Topics Covered ● From law enforcement to cybersecurity: How Lee's early experience as a police dispatcher and digital forensic investigator shaped his perspective on incident response and crisis management. ● Thinking like an investigator: Why curiosity, authenticity and understanding attacker behaviour are the most valuable qualities for anyone pursuing a career in incident response. ● Democratizing digital forensics: How Binalyze is making enterprise-grade investigations accessible beyond elite incident response teams by simplifying evidence collection and forensic analysis. ● The four questions every investigation must answer: Lee's practical framework for determining whether attackers remain in an environment, identifying affected systems, understanding initial compromise and assessing data exposure. ● AI as a force multiplier for attackers: Why artificial intelligence isn't necessarily creating more sophisticated attacks, but dramatically lowering the barrier to entry for less experienced threat actors. ● Using AI responsibly in cyber defense: Where AI genuinely accelerates investigations, where human expertise remains essential, and why accountability can never be delegated to machines. ● Why organisations over-invest in prevention: How the industry's focus on detection and prevention has left many organisations underprepared for responding effectively when attacks inevitably succeed. ● Building high-performing security teams: The importance of diversity of thought, mentoring future leaders and creating environments where curiosity drives innovation. ● Breaking into cybersecurity in 2026: Lee's practical advice on building a home lab, showcasing technical ability and demonstrating genuine passion to stand out during the hiring process. About Lee Sult Lee Sult is the Chief Investigator at Binalyze, where he helps organisations improve their incident response capabilities through scalable digital forensics and investigative technology. His career began in law enforcement, where he worked in digital forensics before moving into incident response, ultimately spending more than a decade investigating some of the world's most complex cyber incidents. Along the way, Lee has held roles spanning consulting, product development and entrepreneurship, including serving as a founding Forward Deployed Security Engineer at Palantir and co-founding Huirangi. Today, his focus is on helping organisations investigate cyber incidents faster, empowering security teams with better forensic capabilities, and making advanced incident response accessible beyond specialist experts. This episode is brought to you by neuco.

  6. Jul 27

    Why You Can't Ship Vulnerable Code Anymore | Ep 77 | Scott Gainey, Checkmarx

    In episode 77 of the Cyber SecurityMatters podcast, hosts Matt Rose and Harry Baldwin sit down with Scott Gainey, Chief Marketing Officer at Checkmarx, for a wide-ranging conversation on marketing transformation, leadership, and the seismic shift AI is forcing onapplication security. With nearly three decades leading marketing at companies like Cisco, Palo Alto Networks and SentinelOne, Scott brings a rare blend of go-to-market craft and deep security-category expertise and a clear-eyed viewof why AppSec has suddenly become one of the most urgent problems in cyber. Key topics covered: How Scott fell into security, marketing, and leadership, none of which he originally set out to doThe leadership lessons that shaped him: Chris Young, West Point's Thayer program, and ROI rigour under private-equity ownership at KKRWhy conference marketing is won before the event, not on the show floorThe "go local" community trend emerging alongside the big conferencesHow the CMO role has changed: AI, frontier models, and a buying committee that's - 70% through its decision before sales is involvedWhat separates great marketers: intellectual curiosity, self-drive, and field credibilityThe biggest shift in application security: AI's "two-front problem": more code and more vulnerabilities on one side, adversaries weaponising those same models on the otherWhat Checkmarx does, and why deterministic and probabilistic (AI) scanning need to work togetherCareer advice for anyone entering cybersecurity Guest bio: Scott Gainey is Chief Marketing Officer at Checkmarx, the application security company. He brings over twodecades of marketing leadership across Palo Alto Networks, SentinelOne, Cisco Security, NetApp and Nile, and has studied leadership at Stanford GSB and West Point's Thayer Leadership Development Group. Connect with Scott on LinkedIn About neuco:  neuco is a Global Specialist Recruitment and Executive Search firm based in Brighton, UK. We help recruit for mid-seniorhard-to-fill roles in Cyber Security, Satellite, Space & Defence and Media & Sports Technology sectors. If hiring or talent is on the radar now or in the future, get in touch for an initial conversation today via hello@neuco-group.com.

  7. Jul 15

    AI Hype vs Reality | Matthew Holland, Field Effect | EP 76

    In episode EP 76 of Cyber Security Matters, hosts Harry Baldwin and Matt Rose are joined by Matthew Holland, Founder and CEO of Field Effect, for a masterclass in building mission-driven cybersecurity companies. Matt takes us from his early days at Canada's Communications Security Establishment (CSE), where a summer job turned into a seven-year career in Tailored Access Operations, through co-founding and selling Linchpin Labs to L3 Harris, to his current mission: making enterprise-grade managed detection and response (MDR) accessible and affordable to small and medium-sized businesses. The conversation explores what it takes to compete against billion-dollar incumbents with a team of 165, why small high-performing teams consistently outperform bureaucratic giants, and the real story behind AI in cybersecurity - separating genuine innovation from marketing hype. Matt shares hard-won lessons on customer focus, the power of consistency across a 25-year career, and why solving "insanely hard problems" is both the challenge and the reward of entrepreneurship. Key Topics Covered: • From PhD plans to CSE: How a summer job at Canada's Communications Security Establishment changed Matt's career trajectory and introduced him to operating system internals and intelligence tradecraft • The Matrix generation: Early 2000s security research, breaking security boundaries, and building deep technical expertise before Google existed • The power of small teams: Why focus, mission-driven culture, and removing barriers consistently beat bureaucracy and layers of management • Building Linchpin Labs: Co-founding and scaling a privatised intelligence company, the "beer and pizza problem-solving method," and competing against Lockheed Martin and British Aerospace • Field Effect's mission: Making enterprise-grade MDR accessible and affordable to SMBs and mid-market organisations — "an insanely hard problem" • Competing with giants: Strategic lessons from going up against NSA, multi-billion dollar defence contractors, and today's trillion-dollar cybersecurity vendors About Matthew Holland: Matthew Holland is the Founder and CEO of Field Effect, a Canadian cybersecurity company headquartered in Ottawa that delivers managed detection and response (MDR) services to small and medium-sized businesses and mid-market organisations. Matt's career began at the Communications Security Establishment (CSE), Canada's national cryptologic agency, where he spent seven years in the Tailored Access Operations Group as a leading security researcher specialising in intelligence tradecraft and technology for top-secret Five Eyes projects. In 2007, Matt co-founded Linchpin Labs, growing it into a leader in the privatised intelligence industry before its acquisition by L3 Harris in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has built a reputation for tackling complex technical challenges, competing successfully against much larger competitors, and building high-performing teams united by mission focus and work ethic. Today, Field Effect operates with approximately 165 employees, delivering enterprise-grade cybersecurity to underserved markets at scale. About neuco: neuco is a global specialist recruitment and executive search firm, helping organisations find senior and specialist talent across Satellite, Space & Defence; Media & Sports Technology; and Cyber Security. Find out more at www.neuco-group.com, or explore our Cyber Security sector.

  8. Jul 9

    Rethinking Security Culture & Risk - Podcast EP 75 - Valentina Flores, Red Sentry

    Valentina Flores, Co-Founder and CEO of Red Sentry, joins hosts Harry Baldwin and Matt Rose for another fantastic edition of The Cyber Security Matters Podcast. Valentina shares her unconventional journey from cybercrime detective investigating human trafficking and child exploitation cases to building a penetration testing company focused on real-world attacker simulation and practical risk reduction. The conversation dives into why cybersecurity is fundamentally about people and psychology rather than just tools, the critical importance of diversity of thought and background in building effective security teams, and how organisations can move beyond checkbox compliance to proactive, human-centred security practices. Valentina emphasises starting simple, prioritising real risks, and fostering a culture where security is everyone’s responsibility. Key Topics Covered Valentina’s path from SVU detective to cybercrime investigations and the surprising normalcy of hacker motivationsWhy cybercrime is “just like every other crime” - victim psychology, criminal psychology, and real-world attacker behaviourBuilding Red Sentry: pivots, funding, and a non-sales-focused approach centred on teaching and simplificationDiversity beyond gender/race: the value of neurodiversity, unique backgrounds (including carnival life and law enforcement), and curiosity-driven hiringHuman-led penetration testing, tabletop exercises, and why third-party ethical hackers uncover what internal teams missSecurity culture in practice: integrating security into every department, honest adoption of tools, and avoiding tool fatigueAdvice for new cybersecurity professionals: avoid putting yourself in a box and learn every side of the businessAbout Valentina Flores Valentina Flores is the Co-Founder and CEO of Red Sentry, a penetration testing and vulnerability management company that delivers human-led offensive security services to help organisations identify and remediate real risks before attackers exploit them. With a background as a cybercrime detective on a federal task force, she gained firsthand insight into how real-world attackers operate. Valentina is a regular speaker on hacker psychology, security culture, neurodiversity, and why organisations must prioritise understanding risk over simply buying more tools. She is also a TEDx speaker. This episode is brought to you by neuco.

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About

A series of interview with key leaders through the Cyber Security industry. All brought to you by the Cyber Security team at neuco a specialist global recruitment and executive search firm.

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  • Creator
    The Cyber Security Matters Podcast
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    83
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © The Cyber Security Matters Podcast
  • Show Website
    The Cyber Security Matters Podcast

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