No Password Required: Next Gen - Ep. 3 - Kieran Human

How Lead Cybersecurity Engineers Actually Think

In this episode of No Password Required: Next Gen, Yazzel interviews Kieran Human, Lead Cybersecurity Engineer at ThreatLocker. From research to working directly with ThreatLocker's CEO on new security initiatives, Kieran gives an inside look at what it's really like to work on the front lines of cybersecurity.

Kieran stands out as a cybersecurity professional by hares why curiosity, strong communication, and understanding the bigger picture are just as valuable as technical skills. He also reflects on one of his proudest career moments, writing a compliance white paper that earned praise from ThreatLocker's CEO Danny Jenkins, and explains how that experience reinforced the importance of research, writing, and always looking for ways to improve.

Kieran also explains why Zero Trust security is becoming essential, teaches viewers a few cybersecurity terms that are guaranteed to impress at dinner, and even reveals why the Terminator would be his ultimate cybersecurity teammate!

Whether you're exploring a career in cyber or looking for practical advice from someone working in the field every day, this episode is packed with insights for the next generation of cybersecurity professionals.

Presented by ThreatLocker

Supported by DerScanner

Follow Kieran on Linked in here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kieran-human-5495ab170/

Chapter List:

00:00 Introduction to Cybersecurity and Career Path

02:54 Key Skills and Qualities for Success in Cybersecurity

06:07 Impact of AI and Zero Trust in Cybersecurity

06:56 Fun Insights and Closing Thoughts

Philipp Leo — Swiss cyber expert, diplomat, and military officer, always two steps ahead of the storm

No Password Required Season 7: Episode 7 - Philipp Leo

Philipp Leo co-founded Leo & Muhly Cyber Advisory, a strategic advisory firm specializing in cyber risk, resilience, and geopolitics. Now consulting with governments and private firms in Switzerland and abroad, Philipp has served as a UN observer on the Korean DMZ, trained the next generation of Swiss Armed Forces cyber specialists, and taught at the University of Glasgow. He is also part of Europol's network of experts in data protection and cybercrime and has published stateside in MIT Sloan Management Review.

In this episode, Philipp shares his journey from a Swiss bank he couldn't wait to leave to the Korean border, and eventually to the boardrooms of executives who still think cyber risk is someone else's problem. He breaks down the three most dangerous misconceptions executives have about cyber risk, why the CISO is too often a poster child rather than a decision-maker, and the challenges to cyber insurance in Europe.

Cyber attorney Jack Clabby and co-host Kayley Jerrell talk with Philipp about his live crisis simulation that nobody can win, how to train cyber warriors, and how nation-state cyber conflict is looking more and more like the age of Caribbean pirates.

In the Lifestyle Polygraph, Philipp reveals his favorite book, his eye-opening, go-to celebratory drink, and the weight of his luxury umbrella. He also shares his favorite escape when the complexity of modern life gets to be too much and introduces us to a Zurich commuting tradition that involves swimming home through a river.

In this episode:

• Philipp's journey from a Swiss bank he couldn't wait to leave to the Korean DMZ and eventually the boardrooms of Fortune 500 executives (00:27 - 02:22)
• The three most dangerous misconceptions executives have about cyber risk and why cyber risk is a corporate problem, not a technology problem (04:19 - 05:30)
• How Philipp's live crisis simulation works, why nobody can win it, and why that's exactly the point (05:49 - 08:47)
• Why cyber crisis teams have improved dramatically but leadership boards remain the weakest link (06:30 - 08:47)
• The CISO poster child problem: why most CISOs have the accountability without the authority (09:54 - 11:00)
• Why cyber insurance in Europe has largely failed to deliver and what happens when attackers find your policy before you do (11:17 - 13:44)
• The OFAC twist: what happens mid-exercise when a Swiss bank decides to pay and then learns the attackers are on the sanctions list (18:38 - 19:31)
• Training Swiss Armed Forces cyber specialists and why the first lesson is that the other side plays by no rules (19:47 - 21:37)
• Whether nation states can ever beat the cyber threat and why the east side of Vienna tells you everything you need to know (21:54 - 23:25)
• Why nation-state cyber conflict has become remarkably similar to the age of Caribbean pirates (23:46 - 24:23)
• The Lifestyle Polygraph: Endurance, Campari Red Bull, a three-ounce umbrella, a cabin in the Alps, and swimming home through a Zurich river (00:04 - 12:03)

Timestamp Highlights:

• (00:27) From Swiss banker to UN observer on the Korean DMZ
• (04:19) The three misconceptions executives have about cyber risk
• (05:49) The crisis simulation nobody can win and why that's the whole point
• (09:54) Why the CISO is too often a poster child without real power
• (11:17) Why cyber insurance in Europe has largely failed
• (18:38) The OFAC twist that stopped a Swiss bank mid-exercise
• (19:47) Training Swiss cyber warriors to understand the other side plays by no rules
• (21:54) Nation states vs. cyber threats: are defenders always outpaced?
• (23:46) How nation-state cyber conflict mirrors the age of Caribbean pirates
• (07:25) Always prepared: the three-ounce umbrella that nobody sees

Resources & Links:

• Leo & Muhly Cyber Advisory
• Philipp Leo on LinkedIn
• ThreatLocker — Presenting sponsor
• DerScanner — Supporter of this podcast
• Cyber Florida — The Mother Ship

In this episode:

• Why Rob always asks for the team nobody wants and what the turnaround process actually looks like (00:31 - 02:10)
• From sleeping in his car at 18 to Fortune 500 executive, and the kindness from strangers he still carries with him today (02:10 - 04:32)
• What a successful team turnaround actually looks like, including eight leaders in ten years and what changed (04:32 - 07:00)
• Servant leadership, why career leaders almost always fail, and the power of coming in with a partial idea instead of a completed thought (07:00 - 09:33)
• The truth about the cybersecurity job shortage and why open jobs almost never mean what you think they mean (09:33 - 11:37)
• Why communication skills matter more than technical ability and what happens when a technical score of 10 meets a communication score of two (11:37 - 13:22)
• Cyber is a marathon, not a race, and why passion got Rob a job at Disney over people with far more experience (13:22 - 15:27)
• Neurodiversity in the workplace, getting diagnosed with autism at 40, and why really smart doesn't get jobs anymore (15:27 - 17:51)
• The colleague who told Rob everyone thought he was a jerk, the boss who explained why, and the apology tour that followed (17:51 - 21:31)
• Getting laid off from Disney, becoming a ghost on the internet, and accidentally building the BowtieSecurityGuy brand (21:31 - 25:47)
• Tying self-worth to career, crying before job interviews, and the four words his wife said that changed everything (25:47 - 27:40)
• The 3am LinkedIn message from India that made Rob realize he was in this for life (27:40 - 29:40)
• Zero expectations, zero conditions, and why Rob messaged Rex about a hat with absolutely nothing to gain (29:40 - 31:40)
• Immersion therapy, D&D every Monday, and why a bad public speaker is more memorable than a good one (34:03 - 37:16)
• Rejection sensitivity dysphoria, masking, and why setting the tone in a room changes everything (37:16 - 39:23)
• The 3,000 manual LinkedIn messages, the algorithm daddy slap, and pricing yourself where you want to be (39:23 - 40:43)
• Zero expectations as a life philosophy and why people don't quit jobs, they quit bosses (40:43 - 42:27)
• Learning to walk three times, leg braces, and why cutting through grass almost brought Rob to tears (42:27 - 44:40)
• What Rob tells job seekers who have been at it for two years: you are ten nos away from your dream job (44:40 - 47:09)
• The cybersecurity salary reality check and why 3,500 to 4,500 people graduate with cyber degrees every single month (47:09 - 48:50)
• Rob's thank you to the people who know who they are, his battle buddies, and why vulnerability is a strength (48:50 - 51:28)
• Fail with style, the Walt Disney Haunted Mansion story, and why Rob never took no for an answer at Disney (51:28 - 56:39)

Timestamp Highlights:

• (00:31) Give me the team nobody wants
• (02:10) Homelessness at 18 and the kindness that stayed with him
• (07:00) Servant leadership and the power of a partial idea
• (09:33) The real reason there are so many open cybersecurity jobs that never get filled
• (11:37) Stop applying. Start connecting.
• (13:22) How passion got Rob hired at Disney over NSA agents
• (17:51) Getting diagnosed with autism at 40
• (21:31) Getting laid off from Disney and accidentally building a brand
• (27:40) The 3am message that changed everything
• (34:03) D&D, immersion therapy, and why bad public speakers are more memorable
• (42:27) Learning to walk three times and why Rob doesn't take anything for granted
• (51:28) Walt Disney, the Haunted Mansion, and failing with style

Resources & Links:

• BowtieSecurityGuy — Rob's brand across all platforms
• ThreatLocker — Presenter of No Password Required Breakout Room
• Cyber Florida — The Mother Ship