Kill Chain: A Platform Cybersecurity Podcast

Fleet Defender
  • 4.5 (8)
  • Tech News
  • Updated Weekly

Kill Chain features experts and guests in the platform and vehicle cybersecurity space. Each week we'll discuss the latest in cybersecurity news as well as topics surrounding platform and vehicle cybersecurity.

  1. Aaron Cerrone: Build It Backwards — Define Success Before You Build the Business

    3d ago

    Aaron Cerrone: Build It Backwards — Define Success Before You Build the Business

    This week, Kill Chain takes a step back from cybersecurity for a different kind of conversation. Aaron Cerrone — a 28-year military veteran and former chief of operations at U.S. Strategic Command, longtime entrepreneur, and former University of Nebraska Omaha business instructor — joins the show to talk about what it actually takes to build a business and a life that last. It's a no-fluff conversation about defining success before you chase it, the myths around "follow your passion," the unglamorous reality of entrepreneurship, why relationships beat the best product, and why your health is the one thing you can't get back. In this episode: Why you should define success first, then reverse-engineer the businessThe fastest way to ruin your passion — and what employers really mean when they want "passionate" peopleThe grit it takes (ramen, sleepless nights, and the banker's 30-day ultimatum)Bootstrapping vs. chasing the VC, and why the customer is the real winWhy the smartest person rarely climbs the corporate ladderAaron's two-job recipe for becoming unstoppable in any businessThe hidden cost founders pay with their healthChapters: 0:00 Cold open 0:20 A different kind of episode 1:24 Meet Aaron: the chameleon 8:56 Define success first 11:14 The passion trap 15:33 Do you have the stomach for it? 20:57 Most people are better off employed 22:47 Bootstrapping vs. chasing the VC 24:15 Everybody sells something 25:15 The two-job recipe for success 33:38 Why the best product doesn't win 46:19 Health is the one thing you can't get back 1:01:30 Do hard things New episodes of the Kill Chain Podcast — like, comment, and subscribe. Learn more at fleetdefender.com Want to learn more about securing your fleets, platforms, or mission critical systems? Contact us at FleetDefender.com.

    1h 9m
  2. From CDL to CIO — Daragh Mahon, CIO of Werner Enterprises

    Jun 1

    From CDL to CIO — Daragh Mahon, CIO of Werner Enterprises

    In 1994, Daragh Mahon won the green card lottery and moved from Ireland to Atlanta. His first American job was driving an eighteen-wheeler for Schneider. Thirty years later, he runs IT for Werner Enterprises, one of the largest trucking companies in North America, with 12,000 drivers moving freight across the country every day. In this episode of Kill Chain, host Terry Reinert sits down with Daragh to unpack a career arc most CIOs never take and a perspective on cybersecurity, AI, and the future of transportation that most haven't earned. What you'll hear: Why Daragh asked every autonomous trucking company the same security question and never got an answerThe 3 critical infrastructure sectors a foreign adversary attacks first (and why transportation is on the list)Why he wants the tech industry to "stop talking about AI"The AI backlash brewing in colleges that CIOs aren't trackingThe story of signing a contract he had no authority to sign and getting 12 months to make it workWhy real innovation only happens at the startup level, and what the big software companies stopped doingBuilding security into corporate DNA instead of bolting it onThe Werner Accelerator and why every corporation should run onePredictions for the next ten years (and why he refuses to make them)About the guest: Daragh Mahon is the EVP and CIO of Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ: WERN). Before Werner, he led IT at Vonage and held senior roles at Sage and Peachtree Software. He emigrated from Ireland to the US in 1994 through the Morrison Visa Program. About the show: The Kill Chain Podcast is a conversation series about cybersecurity, transportation, and the future of fleet operations, hosted by Terry Reinert, CEO of Fleet Defender. New episodes drop every other week. Want to learn more about securing your fleets, platforms, or mission critical systems? Contact us at FleetDefender.com.

    50 min
  3. Why a Former Air Force Nuke Hunter Just Got Accepted Into the Werner Accelerator

    Apr 27

    Why a Former Air Force Nuke Hunter Just Got Accepted Into the Werner Accelerator

    Jorden Gershenson spent 8 years in the Air Force detecting nuclear tests from a basement full of seismometers. Now he's building Aulendur Labs — a startup that wants to forecast everything from freight loads to geopolitical events using the same machine learning powering global weather models. In this episode we dig into Jorden's path from Air Force technical application specialist to software engineer to startup founder, how he won a DoD SBIR for nuclear plume modeling, why he thinks the government never knows what it actually wants, and how Aulendur Labs just got accepted into the Werner Enterprises accelerator here in Omaha. Topics include AI forecasting, digital twins, defense vs commercial strategy, the Palantir and Anduril paradigm, and why Omaha could be the next defense tech hub. Want to learn more about securing your fleets, platforms, or mission critical systems? Contact us at FleetDefender.com.

    1h 2m

  4. Apr 16

    AI Is as Bad as It's Ever Going to Be

    Danny Lilley joins the Kill Chain podcast to talk about his journey from managing hundreds of people at enterprise giants like Swift Transportation and Werner, to building lean and fast at HOPTEK, a startup using AI to transform freight procurement. Danny shares his unfiltered take on agentic AI, why curiosity is now the most valuable professional skill, the real risks of tools like OpenClaw, AI in education, and what zero-day exploits powered by AI mean for the future of cybersecurity. If you think AI is just a chatbot that writes emails, this episode will change your mind. Want to learn more about securing your fleets, platforms, or mission critical systems? Contact us at FleetDefender.com.

    45 min

  5. Mar 23

    AI Gives Everyone the Same Starting Line

    What does Android have to do with trucking? More than you'd think. In this episode of Kill Chain, Terry Reinert sits down with Darrin Demchuk, VP of Strategy at Platform Science, to explore how the smartphone era quietly laid the blueprint for modern fleet technology — and why the lessons learned building apps for skiers on mountains translated directly to building software for truck drivers in blizzards. Darrin breaks down how AI is reshaping transportation from the inside out — from edge computing models running locally on devices in connectivity dead zones, to agentic workflows that could fundamentally change how drivers interact with their trucks. He also unpacks why the playing field has never been more level for startups, what "going in parallel" means for software development, and why there was one specific day — November 24th — that changed everything for AI-assisted coding. Plus: legacy systems running on technology nobody learns anymore, the future of transportation in 2036, and why a giant metal shed almost broke their entire installation process. Want to learn more about securing your fleets, platforms, or mission critical systems? Contact us at FleetDefender.com.

    50 min

  6. Feb 24

    AI Lowers the Cost of Everything, Including Mistakes

    John Grange, Co-Founder of Move Venture Capital and CTO of OpsCompass, joins us from Omaha, Nebraska to unpack what AI is really changing — and what it’s quietly breaking. From the collapse of digital trust in a world of deepfakes to the hype around AI agents and “GPT wrappers,” John brings the perspective of a technical founder turned investor. We dig into why value creation matters more than ever, why compliance doesn’t equal security, and how AI is lowering the cost of building — and attacking — software systems. We also explore the harder questions: Are we headed toward an era where nobody believes what they see?Does AI amplify existing cybersecurity weaknesses?Is regulation the solution — or a competitive liability?And in a world where technology is commoditized, what’s the real moat left for startups?This episode connects venture capital, cloud security, AI infrastructure, social media’s psychological impact, and the future of trust into one central theme: AI is accelerating everything — including our mistakes. If you care about startups, cybersecurity, infrastructure, or the societal consequences of AI, this conversation goes well beyond the buzzwords. Want to learn more about securing your fleets, platforms, or mission critical systems? Contact us at FleetDefender.com.

    1h 34m

  7. 01/09/2024

    Preventing Cargo and Vehicle Theft With New Tech

    In this episode of the Kill Chain Podcast hosts Terry Reinert and Marcus Q discuss new technologies aimed at preventing theft of cargo and vehicles.  Want to learn more about securing your fleets, platforms, or mission critical systems? Contact us at FleetDefender.com.

    18 min

  8. 12/12/2023

    The Future of Telematics

    In this episode of the Kill Chain Podcast hosts Marcus Q and Terry Reinert discuss the current state of telematics and where the technology is heading. We dive into the different data layers involved in telematics and vehicle technologies including the advantages and disadvantages of more data. Want to learn more about securing your fleets, platforms, or mission critical systems? Contact us at FleetDefender.com.

    17 min
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Ratings & Reviews

4.5
out of 5
8 Ratings

About

Kill Chain features experts and guests in the platform and vehicle cybersecurity space. Each week we'll discuss the latest in cybersecurity news as well as topics surrounding platform and vehicle cybersecurity.

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