Breach Ready Radio

Securonix

Breach Ready Radio is a series of candid conversations with the practitioners, researchers, and security leaders who are changing how defense actually happens. These are the people building new approaches, experimenting with new ideas, and pushing security operations forward in real environments.Each episode explores what they are working on, what they are seeing in the wild, and how security is evolving across the SOC, threat intelligence, AI, and incident response. The best insights usually come from the stories. The investigation that took an unexpected turn. The tool that changed how a team works. The moment someone realized the industry needed to rethink an old assumption.We talk to the people behind modern defense. What they are building. What they are learning. And how security operations is changing in real time. Hosted by Sean Ferguson, Securonix.

Episodes

  1. Signals & Shadows: Inside Cyber with Ken Westin

    1D AGO

    Signals & Shadows: Inside Cyber with Ken Westin

    Send a text AI is moving into security operations fast, but the uncomfortable truth is that “autonomous SOC” talk can create more risk than it removes. I sit down with Ken Weston, Senior Solutions Engineer at LimaCharlie, to get brutally practical about agentic AI in cybersecurity, what it can reliably automate today, and where humans still need to be firmly in the loop. We dig into how AI changes Level 1 and Level 2 analyst work, why the cybersecurity skills gap may actually get worse before it gets better, and how sloppy AI-assisted coding can quietly introduce new vulnerabilities. Then we switch gears into a wild hacker story that starts with stolen camera gear and ends with a lesson on EXIF metadata, OSINT, and real-world investigations. Ken explains how camera make, model, and serial numbers embedded in images can be mined and searched, why many platforms now scrub metadata, and what that means for privacy and forensics when companies may still archive data behind the scenes. We close with a clear-eyed look at the 2026 SOC: hybrid AI as “cyborg security,” MCP servers, Cloud Code style automation, guardrails for production, and the looming data pipeline problem of token costs and compute. If you’re modernizing your SIEM, EDR, MDR workflows, or cloud security operations, you’ll leave with sharper questions to ask vendors and a safer way to experiment without handing the keys to a black box. Subscribe, share this with a security leader who needs a reality check, and leave a review with your biggest question about AI in the SOC. Ken Westin is currently Senior Solutions Engineer at LimaCharlie, and an adjunct cybersecurity instructor at Lewis & Clark College. He has beenin the cybersecurity field for over two decades, working with companies to improve their security posture through threat hunting, insider threat programs, and vulnerability research.In the past, he has worked closely with law enforcement helping to unveil organized crime groups. His work has been featured in Wired, Forbes, New York Times, Good Morning America, and others, and he is regularly reached out to as an expert in cybersecurity, cybercrime, data science, and surveillance.

    33 min
  2. Testing Deepfakes: The Reality of AI Impersonation Attacks

    03/21/2025

    Testing Deepfakes: The Reality of AI Impersonation Attacks

    Send a text What happens when your company's cyber defenses face a deepfake attack impersonating leadership? Bill Shearstone, Director of Information Security in the energy sector, shares the eye-opening results from a penetration test where his team used AI-generated deepfake technology to trick an employee into resetting credentials. Despite technical limitations and the employee's "gut feeling that something wasn't right," the attack succeeded - revealing crucial lessons about human psychology in security. Drawing from both his extensive commercial experience and previous work at the NSA during the global war on terrorism, Shearstone offers practical insights on how organizations should approach penetration testing. Rather than repeatedly testing external defenses, he advocates starting tests with internal access to thoroughly evaluate detection capabilities, incident response procedures, and lateral movement controls. This approach uncovered a critical finding: security tools detected suspicious activity but failed to provide the complete picture of what was happening. Shearstone emphasizes why cybersecurity's strength lies in continuous improvement and incident response preparation: "If I look at an attack coming in and I'm able to contain it without impacting business operations tremendously, to me that's just as good as preventing an attack." His pragmatic approach acknowledges that perfect prevention is impossible, making effective detection and response capabilities equally crucial for organizational resilience.

    42 min
  3. Securing the Digital Battlefield: The Role of Threat Research in Cyber Defense

    02/12/2025

    Securing the Digital Battlefield: The Role of Threat Research in Cyber Defense

    Send a text Discover the world of cybersecurity through the eyes of Tim Peck, the Senior Security Researcher at Securonix, as he shares his journey from a sysadmin role to a leading figure in threat research and incident response. Learn how Securonix integrates advanced threat intelligence into its products to outsmart cyber adversaries and enhance detection capabilities, offering unparalleled value to both the industry and their customers. Tim reveals how timely advisories can disrupt the plans of threat actors, highlighting the proactive nature of modern cybersecurity. Join us as we unravel the complexities of modern cyber warfare, focusing on the tactics of high-profile APT groups and the innovative challenges posed by malware like STEEP#MAVERICK. Understand the necessity of a layered security approach and how pairing technologies can close potential gaps in detection, particularly through SIEM systems. This episode sheds light on the evolving strategies of cyber adversaries and explores how organizations can bolster their defenses against sophisticated threats. Explore the dual impact of AI on cybersecurity, where it serves as both an ally and a threat. While AI enhances our capabilities, it also empowers malicious actors to deploy threats at unprecedented speed and scale. Despite these challenges, threat intelligence remains a cornerstone of cybersecurity, transforming into actionable insights that fortify defenses. By understanding threat actors' methodologies, organizations can not only react to known threats but also anticipate and mitigate future risks, proving that informed strategies are key to securing the digital frontier.

    42 min

About

Breach Ready Radio is a series of candid conversations with the practitioners, researchers, and security leaders who are changing how defense actually happens. These are the people building new approaches, experimenting with new ideas, and pushing security operations forward in real environments.Each episode explores what they are working on, what they are seeing in the wild, and how security is evolving across the SOC, threat intelligence, AI, and incident response. The best insights usually come from the stories. The investigation that took an unexpected turn. The tool that changed how a team works. The moment someone realized the industry needed to rethink an old assumption.We talk to the people behind modern defense. What they are building. What they are learning. And how security operations is changing in real time. Hosted by Sean Ferguson, Securonix.