Startup founders dream of success, but it's much harder than it looks. As a former founder, I know the challenges of cultivating an idea, establishing product market fit, growing revenue, and finding the right exit. Trust me, it doesn't always end well.
In this interview, we welcome Seth Spergel, Managing Partner at Merlin Ventures, to discuss how to accelerate that journey to lead to a successful outcome. Seth will share Merlin Venture's approach to helping startups tackle the largest markets in the world, including US enterprises and federal. He will also share what success looks like.
Segment Resources:
https://merlin.vc/we-have-liftoff/
https://merlin.vc/dig-security-talon-cyber-security-acquired-by-palo-alto-networks/
https://innovationisrael.org.il/en/digital-reports/
Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/bsw-346
Combadges, SISENSE, Microsoft, Malware Next-Gen, Lastpass, Palo Alto, Broadband, Aaran Leyland, and More, on this edition of the Security Weekly News.
Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/swn-377
This week, Tyler and Adrian discuss Cyera's $300M Series C, which lands them a $1.4B valuation! But is that still a unicorn? Aileen Lee of Cowboy Ventures, who coined the term back in 2013, recently wrote a piece celebrating the 10th anniversary of the term, and revisiting what it means. We HIGHLY recommend checking it out: https://www.cowboy.vc/news/welcome-back-to-the-unicorn-club-10-years-later
They discuss a few other companies that have raised funding or just come out of stealth, including Scrut Automation, Allure Security, TrojAI, Knostic, Prompt Armor.
They discuss Eclipsium's binary analysis tooling, and what the future of fully automated security analysis could look like.
Wiz acquired Gem, and Veracode acquired Longbow. Adrian LOVES Longbow's website, BTW.
They discuss a number of essays, some of which are a must read:
We briefly cover some other fun - reverse typosquatting, AI models with built-in RCE, and Microsoft having YET ANOTHER breach.
We wrap up discussing Air Canada's short-lived AI-powered support chatbot.
Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/esw-357
Ahoi new VM attacks ahead! HTTP/2 floods, USB Hid and run, forwarded email tricks, attackers be scanning, a bunch of nerds write software and give it away for free, your TV is on the Internet, Rust library issue, D-Link strikes again, EV charging station vulnerabilities, and rendering all cybersecurity useless.
Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/psw-824
In the days when Mirai emerged and took down DynDNS, along with what seemed like half the Internet, DDoS was as active a topic in the headlines as it was behind the scenes (check out Andy Greenberg's amazing story on Mirai on Wired). We don't hear about DDoS attacks as much anymore. What happened?
Well, they didn't go away. DDoS attacks are a more common and varied tool of cybercriminals than ever. Today, Michael Smith is going to catch us up on the state of DDoS attacks in 2024, and we'll focus particularly on one cybercrime actor, KillNet.
Segment Resources:
Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/esw-357
Jim joins the Security Weekly crew to discuss all things supply chain! Given the recent events with XZ we still have many topics to explore, especially when it comes to practical advice surrounding supply chain threats.
Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/psw-824
OWASP leaks resumes, defining different types of prompt injection, a secure design example in device-bound sessions, turning an ASVS requirement into practice, Ivanti has its 2000s-era Microsoft moment, HTTP/2 CONTINUATION flood, and more!
Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/asw-280
Dronepocalypse, Privacy, Microsoft, DLINK, Home Depot, Phishing, NIST, VenomRat, Josh Marpet, and more, are on this edition of the Security Weekly News.
Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/swn-376
We look into the supply chain saga of the XZ Utils backdoor. It's a wild story of a carefully planned long con to add malicious code to a commonly used package that many SSH connections rely on. It hits themes from social engineering and abuse of trust to obscuring the changes and suppressing warnings. It also has a few lessons about software development, the social and economic dynamics of open source, and strategies for patching software.
It's an exciting topic partially because so much other appsec is boring. And that boring stuff is important to get right first. We also talk about what parts of this that orgs should be worried about and what types of threats they should be prioritizing instead.
Segment Resources:
Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/asw-280
In this discussion, we focus on vendor/tool challenges in infosec, from a security leader's perspective. To quote our guest, Ross, "running a security program is often confused with shopping". You can't buy an effective security program any more than you can buy respect, or a black belt in kung fu (there might be holes in these examples, but you hopefully get the point). In fact, buying too much can often create more problems than it solves, especially if you're struggling to fill your staffing needs.
In part 2 of this 2-part episode, we'll discuss:
- The pros and cons of buying from different types of companies
- Who to look to for product recommendations
- Is making a plan to "ditch before you hitch" a good or bad idea?
- What to do when you inherit a mess
Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/bsw-345
In this discussion, we focus on vendor/tool challenges in infosec, from a security leader's perspective. To quote our guest, Ross, "running a security program is often confused with shopping". You can't buy an effective security program any more than you can buy respect, or a black belt in kung fu (there might be holes in these examples, but you hopefully get the point). In fact, buying too much can often create more problems than it solves, especially if you're struggling to fill your staffing needs.
In part 1 of this 2-part episode, we'll discuss:
Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/bsw-345
SEXi, AI Dreams, Powerhost, Acuity, Layerslider, JSOutProx, Byakugan, Josh Marpet, and More, on this edition of the Security Weekly News.
Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/swn-375
As we near RSA conference season, tons of security startups are coming out of stealth! The RSA Innovation Sandbox has also announced the top 10 finalists, also highlighting early stage startups that will be at the show.
In this week's news segment,
By the way, the thumbnail is a reference to the xz backdoor link we include in the show notes: https://lcamtuf.substack.com/p/technologist-vs-spy-the-xz-backdoor
Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/esw-356
NVD checked out, then they came back? Maybe?
Should the xz backdoor be treated as a vulnerability?
Is scan-driven vulnerability management obsolete when it comes to alerting on emerging threats?
What were some of the takeaways from the first-ever VulnCon?
EPSS is featured in over 100 security products, but is it properly supported by those that benefit from it?
How long do defenders have from the moment a vulnerability is disclosed to patch or mitigate it before working exploits are ready and in the wild?
There's SO much going on in the vulnerability management space, but we'll try to get to the bottom of some of in in this episode. In this interview, we talk to Patrick Garrity about the messy state of vulnerability management and how to get it back on the rails.
Segment Resources:
Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/esw-356
pfSense switches to Linux (April Fools?), Flipper panic in Oz, Tales from the Krypt, Funding to secure the Internet, Abusing SSH on Windows, Blinding EDR, more hotel hacking, Quantum Bleed, and more!
Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/psw-823
As most of you have probably heard there was a scary supply chain attack against the open source compression software called "xz". The security weekly hosts will break down all the details and provide valuable insights.
Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/psw-823
The OWASP Top 10 gets its first update after a year, Metasploit gets its first rewrite (but it's still in Perl), PHP adds support for prepared statements, RSA Conference puts passwords on notice while patching remains hard, and more!
Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/asw-279
Lena, XZ, WallEscape, AT&T, OWASP, Google, Microsoft, AI, Josh Marpet, and more, on this Edition of the Security Weekly News.
Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/swn-374
Sometimes infosec problems can be summarized succinctly, like "patching is hard". Sometimes a succinct summary sounds convincing, but is based on old data, irrelevant data, or made up data. Adrian Sanabria walks through some of the archeological work he's done to dig up the source of some myths. We talk about some of our favorite (as in most disliked) myths to point out how oversimplified slogans and oversimplified threat models lead to bad advice -- and why bad advice can make users less secure.
Segment resources:
Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/asw-279
In the leadership and communications section, The Strategic Implications of Cybersecurity: A C-Level Perspective, Leadership Misconceptions That Hinder Your Success , "Mastering Communication: Lessons from Two Years of Learning", and more!
Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/bsw-344
Harold Rivas has held multiple CISO roles. In his current CISO role, he's championing Trellix's overall mission to address the issues CISOs face every day, encouraging information sharing and collaborative discussions among the CISO community to help address challenges and solve real problems together - part of this is through Trellix's Mind of the CISO Initiative and the Trellix CISO Council. In this interview, we do a little CISO soul-searching. Harold will bring insights from the initiative to cover some of the top challenges CISOs face in this ever-evolving role, including:
and more! If you're a CISO or want to be a CISO, don't miss this episode.
Segment Resources: https://www.trellix.com/blogs/perspectives/introducing-trellixs-mind-of-the-ciso-initiative/ https://www.trellix.com/solutions/mind-of-the-ciso-report/ https://www.trellix.com/solutions/mind-of-the-ciso-behind-the-breach/
Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/bsw-344