Did you know the best way to bring down hackers is to punch them in the face? That if you don’t have a seven screen set up you’re a rogue amateur? Or that the best hackers have fins? This Episode we are joined by Simon Painter a senior software engineer with nearly 20 years of experience in the industry and author of the book Functional Programming with C#. In this episode, Hack The Movies! The Best And Worst Hacker Movies Part 2! Our regular programming has been hijacked to bring you a discussion on the best, and worst, hacker movies! In this episode we cover The Beekeeper (2024), Swordfish (2001), Jonny Mnemonic (1995), Paper Man (1971) and The Italian Job (1969). So boot up that modem, turn off the lights and enter the deepest darkest web of hacker forums, and try not overload your memory bank, as we explore this sometimes brilliant and sometimes bonkers sub-genre!

We all know running a cybersecurity function is expensive and many of us have a hard time successfully negotiating the budgets we need to keep our organisation safe. But what if we let you in on the secrets of successfully securing your cybersecurity budget? This week we are joined by Scott Robertson, CFO of CreateFuture and he gives us the insights on what you should ask for when it comes to your next yearly budget, how to ask for it and crucially (because timing is everything when it comes to money!) when to ask for it!

The data landscape is changing faster than ever, and with it, the security threats - so whose responsibility is it to make sure your data is safe? Is it the data team? Or is it the cyber team? We tackle this question and more with Head of Data at AND Digital, Tim Hatton. From leveraging AI to secure data to the importance of real user testing, to how Tim threat models his client’s data capability, you won’t want to skip this ever-important topic! We also talk about ‘data mesh’ and if you’re not familiar with that term - it’s a data management framework that decentralises data ownership and responsibility to the teams that use the data. The idea is to make data more accessible and available to business users by directly connecting data owners, data producers, and data consumers. So you can see why we thought that was an important topic to cover because, with this model, comes a lot of trust in others doing the right thing when it comes to data security! So you won’t want to ‘mesh it up’ if people are following this framework in your organisation.

LinkedIn is very divisive! Some people love it, and others hate it and everything it stands for. And if you’ve ever hangout on the subreddit, LinkedIn lunatics, then you can see why. Now for all the braggarts and the ‘what working during my wedding taught me about b2b sales’ posts, there is a lot to like about LinkedIn and many opportunities to be had…if you do it right! We can all learn how to be good LinkedIn citizens, So if you’re LinkedIn has two followers, or 20,000, there is plenty to be getting your ears around in this conversation with John Moore -the question is…have you endorsed me yet?

No new episode this week because we’re are both speaking at the AI for the Rest of Us conference this week. So instead we’ve hit up the vaults for the wonderful Paula Cizek, Chief Research Officer at Nobl. She guides leaders and teams through the change management process, from assessing the organization’s readiness for change to implementing initiatives. In this episode, we explore the fascinating topic of Corporate Change and how its lessons can be applied to cybersecurity. Normal service resumes next week but for now keep secure!

Dreaming of a career in Cybersecurity? Currently a Student and wondering how to succeed? In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Thalita Vergilio. Thalita is a passionate technologist and cybersecurity expert dedicated to demystifying complex concepts. This episode is for those dreaming of a thrilling career in cybersecurity as Thalita gives her roadmap for success from cybersecurity student to your first job in cyber. She also highlights where cybersecurity professionals can do better now that she’s on the other side, working with developers as a consultant at Create Future. So it’s not just an episode for students!

This episode we are joined by Marcy Charollois.  Marcy is a social tech writer, content strategist, and the founder of Merci Marcy and The Safe Place. Her mission is to enable teams to embody a culture of genuine inclusion beyond superficial measures. This week we explore the complex, important, and under-discussed topic of diversity, equity and inclusion in cybersecurity. As an industry, we do an alright job talking about hiring diversity in cyber, but that is not where the topic should end. With more and more people from a wide range of backgrounds and abilities interacting with our security controls, we need to think about whether the security measures we put in place are accessible. We explore how can make a more accessible cybersecurity user journey, design inclusive password patterns, how to be an ally in this space and make sure that we always act ethically when we think about security.  This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in creating a more equitable and effective cybersecurity landscape.

In this Episode we are joined by Kelly Paxton. Kelly Paxton has more than 20 years of investigative experience. Kelly is a Certified Fraud Examiner, author, and podcast host-founder of Fraudish. This week’s episode asks why it is so hard to commit a crime these days! But when people do, what is their motivation behind it! We also look at the nature of surveillance, how it can be used to catch criminals but also the implications of being willing to bring in surveillance devices into your home and life - yes I’m looking at you iPhone! How fraud in the workplace happens, what are the signs to spot for and how to prevent it happening and how sometimes it’s not so pretty in pink, as we explore Kelly’s specialism, Pink Collar Crime!

In this Episode we are joined by Dr. Rebekka Reinhard. Dr Reinhard is a philosopher and the founder and editor-in-chief of Human magazine, which aims to holistically address the impact of AI beyond the technical to include the cultural and the human. In this episode, Hacking Our Capacity to Think - The Philosophy of Trust, Cybersecurity and AI, we explore these topics and more within the lens of philosophy. We discuss the importance of an interdisciplinary dialogue between tech experts and humanities experts. How AI is Impacting democracy and our concept of trust and safety within the context of cybersecurity, and new threats like deepfakes and misinformation.

In this Episode we are joined by Sergès Goma, a Paris-based software developer specialising in JavaScript. In this episode, Sometimes, we are the Villains - Tech ethics in software development, we dive deep into the ethical dilemmas we face as workers and creators of technology. Heroes are few and far between in this tech landscape, even if we don’t like to admit it, and that includes us in cybersecurity! So it is important we have these conversations and look inward at our industry and the impact it has on culture and society. We also talk about why developers always seem to top the leader board when it comes to phishing simulation click rates, the complexity of the word ‘privacy’ in different countries, and ask if we are heading towards a more regulated industry and what that might mean for innovation and creativity.

This episode we are joined by the awesome Steve Trapps. Steve is the co-owner of Scrum Facilitators, an experienced Scrum Master, and a Professional Scrum Trainer with 20 years plus of experience in delivering complex products in many different business sectors. This week we answer that age old question, Can Cybersecurity Teams Actually Do Scrum? To answer that, we do a deep dive into when you should and shouldn’t use scrum in your cybersecurity teams and of course, we will learn exactly what a scrum master does! Together we will explore how scrum can be used to foster better conversations, create transparency and help you achieve your goal; what it takes to be an A1 facilitator, like Steve, as well as how not to get caught up in the dogma of ‘the scrum guide’!

This episode we are joined by the brilliant Stefan Gaillard, the co-founder and current chair of the Journal of Trial & Error, a journal dedicated to highlighting the importance of trial and error in scientific practice and scholarship. Trial and error is part of the scientific method but most of us are risk averse because we are so afraid of failure or we take great lengths to cover up anyone finding out that we have failed. There is so much shame around admitting to failure, especially in cybersecurity when, lets face it, most of us will experience the failure of our security controls eventually. But to hide from failure, not only from ourselves but also our peers, means missing out on important learning opportunities. We need to change this! If we don’t think about failure more, we are doomed to keep failing. This episode we explore the importance of removing the stigma from failure, the benefits AND the dangers of tech’s ‘fail-fast’ mentality, what it’s like to live in the information overload age and finally, the importance of trial and error.

This episode we are joined by the wonderful Jamie Sherman, a cultural anthropologist and principal UX researcher at ESRI. We explore how words like ‘security and privacy’ are slippery and that can lead to a lot of confusion and misunderstanding. How to ask better questions to really understand how to protect the people and our customers in an organisation and how to create the perfect ‘sniff test’ in our organisations so people feel more able to trust their intuition rather than relying on crap passwords. And Finally we unpack the importance of hiring more anthropologists in cybersecurity because not everybody does it like us.

This Episode we’re heading back into the vaults to bring you the unabridged version of our fantastic and extremely popular interview with Bec McKeown, a chartered psychologist with extensive experience in carrying out applied research for organisations including the UK Ministry of Defence and the founder and director of Mind Science, an independent organisation that works with cybersecurity professionals. Ever wanted to know the psychology behind cybersecurity? Bec takes us an a fascinating journey into the mind as we get acquainted with a smorgasbord of psychological concepts to help you understand your cybersecurity posture - especially during a dreaded cybersecurity incident!

We’re still on a summer break but in the meantime we are delighted to share with you an episode from friend of the show, Cyber Empathy which Lianne appeared on earlier this year. In this episode Lianne discussed how she hates the term ‘weakest link’ when talking about our colleagues, how the language that we use in cybersecurity can be incredibly harmful to our cybersecurity posture, and how she applies her skills as an anthropologist to her organisation. Thank you kindly to Cyber Empathy for giving us permission to share this episode!

We’re still on a summer break but in the meantime we are delighted to share with you an episode from friend of the show, The Modern.Net Show in which Jeff and Lianne we’re interviewed on. In this discussion we talked about how you protect your ass-ets, your SDLC, and how to overall improve cybersecurity practices within your organisation. Jamie is a great interviewer and we are sure you’ll enjoy his show. And if you do, don’t forget to look him up and subscribe to his channel. We’ve put details of where to find him in the show notes. Enjoy! Thank you kindly to The Modern.Net Show for giving us permission to share this episode!

Welcome to Compromising Positions! The award-winning tech podcast that asks non-cybersecurity professionals what we in the industry can do to make their lives easier and help make our organisations more prepared to face ever-changing human-centric cyber threats!  This Episode we’re heading back into the vaults to bring you the unabridged version of our fantastic and extremely popular interview with Christian Hunt, the founder of Human Risk. He's a Behavioural Science expert and author of the award-winning book 'Humanizing Rules'.

This Episode we are joined by Simon Painter a senior software engineer with nearly 20 years of experience in the industry and author of the book Functional Programming with C#. In this episode, Hack The Planet! The Best And Worst Hacker Movies Reviewed! Our regular programming has been hijacked to bring you a discussion on the best, and worst, hacker movies! In this episode we cover greats like Hackers, Sneakers, Jurassic Park and War Games, and not so great movies like The Net! So boot up that modem, turn off the lights and enter the deepest darkest web of hacker forums, and try not to accidentally trigger thermonuclear war, as we explore this sometimes brilliant and sometimes bonkers sub-genre!

This Episode we are joined by Simon Painter a senior software engineer with nearly 20 years of experience in the industry and author of the book Functional Programming with C#. In this episode, There is no perfect cybersecurity but you could at least put a padlock on it! we look at how to get your first technical book published, what developers really need from the cybersecurity team (hint - its probability more than you are giving!) and what developers really think of security reviews!

This Episode we are joined by Martina Mitz, a UX Psychologist, Strategist and Designer. In this episode, When Perception is Everything: Is it Time to Ditch the name "Cybersecurity"?, we explore how people feel when they see the title ‘cybersecurity’ and ask the question: is the term ‘cybersecurity’ it actually putting people off engaging with us! We also talk about the power of perception, how to learn from failure, and supporting cognitive shifts so people feel like a contributing cog for the securing of our organisations rather than just a spare part! And Martina also shares a story about the time when she got hacked and you won’t believe what the hacker did next!