"This Is Fine" with Hunter Strategy

Hunter Strategy
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Technology
  • Updated Weekly

Welcome to "This Is Fine" with Hunter Strategy, because who doesn't need another podcast, right? But hold on, this isn't your typical corporate spiel. "This Is Fine" dives deep into topics like Cloud security and agile methods, but with a twist of humor, sarcasm, and a sprinkle of dad jokes. Instead of boring PDFs, we bring lively discussions to life, offering a peek behind the curtain at our quirky team. Join us for a roller coaster ride through tech talk and more. Trust us, it's going to be fine... probably!

  1. 3d ago

    Effective PMOs

    Matt Triner talks with PMO leaders Monique Williams and Tom Arnold about what separates a project management office that actually helps from one that's just overhead in government IT. They dig into the gap between mission goals and what the systems can really do, how to deal with tech debt, and what happens when siloed stakeholders keep stalling delivery. Later in the episode they get into agility, earning buy-in, and building trust on hybrid teams. Worth a listen if you're standing up a new PMO or trying to fix the one you've got. Episode Chapters: 00:00 The Role of PMOs in IT Initiatives 01:14 Critical Competencies of Effective PMOs 06:09 Understanding Technical Aspects in PMOs 10:45 Balancing Stakeholder Needs and Project Goals 16:20 Measuring PMO Effectiveness 20:58 Evaluating Good vs. Bad PMOs 23:45 Agility in Project Management 28:11 Engagement in a Hybrid Workforce 34:38 Trends in PMO Operations 41:06 Key Recommendations for Establishing a PMO

  2. Sep 24

    Secure Software Development

    Cloud and code don't sit in separate lanes anymore, and neither do their vulnerabilities. Dan Beller (Director of Cloud Solutions) and Greg Vanore (Director of Software Development) join This Is Fine to dig into what secure software development actually demands once the checklist runs out. They cover the widening blast radius of cloud misconfigurations, the quiet risk of open source dependencies that lose their maintainers, and why "shift left" stays a slogan until contracts actually fund it. A detour through JavaScript's messy history makes the case that unchecked abstraction is its own security problem, tooling included. They also dig into why government agile adoption keeps colliding with government security posture, and what the NIST SSDF gets right about treating security as a mindset rather than a gate. It's a candid, occasionally cursed (RIP JScript) conversation about building software that survives contact with reality.Episode Chapters: 00:00 Introduction and Podcast Production 00:44 Exploring Secure Software Development 01:43 The Changing Threat Landscape 03:05 Impact of Open Source Software 04:55 Infrastructure Security and Open Frameworks 05:57 Balancing Tooling and Understanding 06:53 The Evolution and Challenges of JavaScript 10:22 The Stabilization of UI Frameworks 12:18 Challenges in Government Cloud Environments 15:01 Agility and Security in Government 16:40 Reconciling Agile Processes with Security 22:35 Embedding Security in the Development Process 24:55 The Scope of Secure Software Development

  3. Sep 17

    QA and Automated Testing

    Everyone claims their testing tool does AI now, and Jay Newlin (Director of Quality Assurance) has the flooded inbox to prove it. He and Greg Vanore (Director of Software Engineering) join host Matt Triner to talk about cutting through that noise, why customers still don't believe automation is worth paying for, and the readable, declarative test frameworks that actually change their minds. Then things get personal with the two worst legacy code handoff stories you'll hear this year, one on burned CDs, one on three-ring binders of printed source code, and what disciplined test automation looks like when you inherit either one.Episode Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 00:07 Automated Quality Assurance Testing in Software Development 01:22 Challenges in Assessing Tools for Automation Testing 02:42 The Importance of Automation in Testing 03:50 Educating Customers on the Value of Automation Testing 04:41 Expanding Testing Techniques Beyond Traditional Methods 05:48 Customer Perception of Automated Testing 07:09 The Future of Automated Testing 15:57 Balancing Rapid Deployment and Quality 16:58 The Importance of Unit Test Coverage 17:56 Maintaining Test Automation During Rapid Deployment 20:41 The Role of Tooling in Government Environments 22:56 Deliverables and Documentation in Government Contracts 25:12 Testing Legacy Systems 27:56 Considerations for Legacy Systems in Test Automation 34:43 The Future State of Automated Testing

  4. Sep 10

    Applied Cyber Threat Intelligence

    Ask 5 people to define threat intelligence and you'll get 5 different answers, and that's exactly where this episode starts. Will Elchert (Senior CTI Analyst, Hunter Strategy) and Jake Williams (VP of R&D, Hunter Strategy) join host Matt Triner alongside two clients living this from the buyer's side: Keith McCartney, SVP of Security and IT at DNA Nexus, and Billy Martin, CTSO at Vigor. Together, they break down what separates a threat intel program that actually drives decisions from one that's just, as Jake puts it, "cyber story time with the CTI team." The conversation covers where AI genuinely helps in CTI workflows and where it falls flat, how red and blue teams each get value out of the same intelligence, and what metrics actually prove a security program's worth to leadership. Episode Chapters: 00:00 Introduction to Cyber Threat Intelligence 02:51 Defining Threat Intelligence 05:41 Stakeholder Engagement in Cybersecurity 08:34 Risk Management and Cyber Threat Intelligence 11:36 Industry-Specific Approaches to Threat Intelligence 14:25 The Importance of Context in Threat Intelligence 17:07 Integrating Cybersecurity Functions 19:51 Actionability of Threat Intelligence 25:24 The Evolution of Cyber Threat Intelligence 28:58 AI's Role in Cybersecurity 32:19 Data Analysis and AI Integration 37:14 Challenges and Opportunities with AI 41:27 Human Element in Cyber Threat Intelligence 49:57 Red Team vs Blue Team Dynamics 52:28 Red Team vs Blue Team: Who Leverages CTI Better? 55:02 Funding and Capability Development in Cybersecurity 58:11 The Importance of Communication and Collaboration 01:01:14 Metrics for Measuring Threat Intelligence Effectiveness 01:09:45 Building a Cybersecurity Program from Scratch

  5. Sep 3

    Threat Modeling Techniques in Defense Cybersecurity

    Threat modeling is one of cybersecurity's most valuable practices, and one of the most skipped. Xander Keele (Director of Solution Architecture) and Greg Vanore (Director of Software Engineering) join host Matt Triner to break down frameworks like STRIDE and PASTA, why developers push back on it, and how to get buy-in without falling into pure theory. They also dig into how AI is changing the pace of both attacks and defenses. Episode Chapters: 00:00 Introduction to Threat Modeling in Cybersecurity 02:12 Defining Threat Modeling and Its Overlooked Nature 07:13 The Role of Risk Assessment in Threat Modeling 12:09 Social Skills in Threat Modeling and Development 22:06 Higher-Level Threat Modeling and Industry Context 24:45 Real-World Applications of Threat Modeling Techniques 31:49 Enhancing Threat Models with Market Insights 34:10 The Role of Market Share in Risk Assessment 36:36 Contractual Implications of Threat Modeling 41:34 Integrating Threat Modeling into Development Culture 52:02 Adapting Threat Modeling for Emerging Technologies

  6. Aug 27

    Opensource Software Security in the DoD

    Open source software promises cost savings and faster innovation, but the Department of Defense's approach to it is messier than most people realize. Host Matt Triner sits down with Hunter Strategy's Greg Vanore (Director of Software Engineering) and Nate Kingsley (CIO) to unpack the real risks: contributor license agreements that can sign away government-funded code, foreign ownership questions that don't always get consistent answers, and a supply chain that's only as trustworthy as its weakest link. They also dig into what's actually fixing the problem, from CI/CD pipelines to continuous ATO. This one gets spicy.Episode Chapters: 00:00 Introduction and Overview 01:59 Defining Open Source Software 03:49 Contributor License Agreements and Licensing Issues 06:08 The Challenges of Open Source Software in the DoD 08:39 The Need for Clear Policies 11:25 The Financial Challenges of Open Source Software 17:19 The Risk of Support and Lack of Governance 20:12 The Permissiveness of Open Source Software in the DoD 24:02 Supply Chain Risk and Software Sourcing 30:11 Improving the Use of Open Source Software 35:16 The Role of S-BOMs and Information Sharing 37:49 Conclusion and Call to Action

  7. Aug 20

    The Most Useless NPM Repos

    TIL: npm has a package called "none." It does exactly what it sounds like: nothing. It still gets 300 downloads a week. There's also "is-even," which calls out to an AI model to check whether a number is even, with about 80% accuracy, because apparently modulo operators were too much work. Matt Triner sits down with Matt D'vertola, Greg Vanore, and Jeff Segal to laugh at npm's most absurd packages and then get serious about what they expose: arbitrary code execution on install, a transitive dependency system that snowballs trust across thousands of hands, and why typosquatting a familiar package name still works embarrassingly well. The jokes are the hook. The supply chain risk is the point. Episode Chapters: 00:00 Introduction to NPM and Its Impact 06:45 The Dark Side of NPM: Security Risks 11:49 Micro Packages: A Double-Edged Sword 14:45 Cultural Reflections on Node.js and NPM 19:41 The Evolution of UI and UX Development 24:24 Cultural Divide in Application Development 28:47 The Rise of JavaScript and Node.js 33:47 The Importance of Software Engineering Fundamentals 35:30 Best Practices for NPM Security

  8. Aug 13

    Team Death Spiral

    Your product is getting worse, not better, and everyone's too busy bailing water to notice the boat isn't even the problem. Hunter Strategy's Greg Vanore, Scott Hiland, and Jeff Segal break down the Team Death Spiral: the slow, often invisible slide from a healthy team into one buried in tech debt, low morale, and busted trust. They get into why "tech debt" is the wrong word to bring into a leadership conversation, what it actually means when a team isn't allowed to lead, and why more money or headcount rarely saves a struggling team. Spoiler: the fix usually has nothing to do with the budget.Episode Chapters: 00:00 Understanding the Team Death Spiral 03:30 Identifying Warning Signs 07:18 The Role of Leadership in Preventing the Spiral 13:36 Communication and Team Dynamics 18:03 Tech Debt: A Deeper Dive 21:50 The Necessity of Automation in Agile Development 22:49 Challenges in Team Automation and Ownership 25:14 Leadership's Role in Preventing Team Death Spirals 27:11 Effective Communication and Empathy in Leadership 29:31 Balancing Fun and Seriousness in Team Dynamics 30:11 Empathy Towards Non-Human Factors 34:54 Navigating Difficult Conversations with Stakeholders 37:18 Understanding Profitability and Team Efficiency 39:09 The Importance of Maintenance Over Replacement 48:02 Agency and Resource Allocation in High-Performing Teams 54:48 The Impact of Resources on Team Performance

    Team Death Spiral
See All (40)

Trailer

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Welcome to "This Is Fine" with Hunter Strategy, because who doesn't need another podcast, right? But hold on, this isn't your typical corporate spiel. "This Is Fine" dives deep into topics like Cloud security and agile methods, but with a twist of humor, sarcasm, and a sprinkle of dad jokes. Instead of boring PDFs, we bring lively discussions to life, offering a peek behind the curtain at our quirky team. Join us for a roller coaster ride through tech talk and more. Trust us, it's going to be fine... probably!

Information