The Cyber Security Matters Podcast

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Jun 2026

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A series of interview with key leaders through the Cyber Security industry. All brought to you by the Cyber Security team at neuco a specialist global recruitment and executive search firm.

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June 10, 202637 min

AI Agent Authentication & the Future of Identity Security – Ep. 72 – Brian Bell, FusionAuth

In this episode of Cyber Security Matters, brought to you by neuco, hosts Harry Baldwin and Matt Rose sit down with Brian Bell, CEO of FusionAuth, to explore why customer identity has evolved from a back-office IT function into mission-critical infrastructure, and what the rise of AI agents means for the future of authentication and access management.Key Topics CoveredHow Brian's career across Japan, BCG, and consumer products shaped his approach to leadership and customer-centricityWhy identity sits at the unique intersection of security, user experience, and revenue growthThe evolution of CIAM from back-office IT utility to critical digital infrastructureLessons from leading Split Software through its acquisition by Harness - balancing customers, employees, and investorsWhat Brian looks for when hiring at growth-stage companies: the "say, do, say" framework and the Japanese concept of Shoshin (beginner's mind)How the talent landscape has shifted toward mission, culture, and leadership quality over compensationWhat drew Brian to FusionAuth: real business problem, massive market, developer-first architecture, and strong unit economicsFusionAuth's European expansion and traction in regulated industries including US government agenciesThe next frontier: non-human identity, AI agent authentication, and why CIAM is the critical infrastructure layer for agentic AIWhy businesses should own and control their identity infrastructure rather than being locked into multi-tenant SaaS platformsAbout Brian BellBrian Bell is CEO of FusionAuth, the developer-first Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) platform and the only enterprise-grade hybrid deployment solution in the market. With over 20 years of experience scaling enterprise software companies through IPOs, PE deals, and strategic acquisitions, Brian previously led Split Software through its acquisition by Harness, and served as CMO at Ping Identity and Zuora. Connect with Brian on LinkedIn.About neucoThis podcast is brought to you by neuco, the specialist recruitment and executive search firm for the cyber security industry. With deep sector expertise and a global network spanning 60+ countries, neuco connects the world's leading cyber security businesses with the talent they need to grow — from specialist hires to C-suite leaders. Whether you're scaling a security product company or building out a new market, neuco's dedicated cyber security recruitment team understands your world. Explore neuco's cyber security recruitment services.

June 3, 202638 min

Fix It, Don't Just Find It: How AI Is Finally Solving Vulnerability Management – Episode 71 – Dominik Richter, Mondoo

In Episode 71 of Cyber Security Matters, hosts HarryBaldwin and Matt Rose sit down with Dominik Richter, Co-Founder and CPO of Mondoo, the agentic vulnerability management platform that doesn't just findsecurity flaws, it actually fixes them. Dom's journey into cybersecurity started with the 1995 film Hackers (and yes, Angelina Jolie may have played a part), which sent him down a path of learning to break into computers, reading Phrack magazine, and exploring bulletin boards. From there, he built a career spanning Deutsche Telekom, Chef Software, and Google before founding Mondoo.About the GuestDominik Richter is a founder, coder, and hacker who hashelped shape the DevOps and security space through projects like Chef InSpec and dev-sec.io. He co-founded VulcanoSec (acquired by Chef Software in 2015),headed security for Deutsche Telekom's first OpenStack Cloud, and worked at Google Cloud before co-founding Mondoo in 2021. At Mondoo, he leads product asCPO, building an AI-native platform that helps organisations prioritise and remediate vulnerabilities across cloud, on-prem, SaaS, endpoints, and the SDLC.Key Topics Covered● How the 1995 film Hackers sparked Dom'scybersecurity career● Lessons from building at Deutsche Telekom, ChefSoftware, and Google and the moments that inspired him to go the startup route(twice)● The qualities Dom looks for when hiring in startups: noego, comfort with ambiguity, willingness to be wrong and learn● How the hiring process has evolved at Mondoo especiallyfor engineers in the AI era, where interviews now include coding with andwithout AI agents● The biggest learning curve: hiring salespeople● The origin of the Mondoo name (German for"moon" tied to their extensible security graph concept)● How AI is accelerating both attack and defence morecode, more vulnerabilities, more automation on both sides● Where AI falls short: companies rushing to adoptwithout considering security, particularly around AI agent skills and supplychain risks● Why coding skills changed "overnight" but theneed for people who understand customer problems is greater than ever● What Mondoo does: agentic vulnerability managementfocused on prioritisation and remediation, not just scanning and reporting● How Mondoo uses AI agents for prioritisation (businesscriticality, blast radius, exploitability) and remediation (producingautomation code for tools like Terraform, Chef, Ansible)● Dom's advice: don't be afraid jump into AI, explore,and learn how to solve real problems with modern tools About neuco:neuco Group is a global specialist recruitment and executive search firm focused on the Cyber Security, Media & Sports Technology, and Satellite, Space & Defence industries.We help organisations hire niche specialist talent at mid-to-senior and executive levels, connecting businesses with professionals who possess the expertise needed to drive growth and innovation in highly competitive markets.Whether you're hiring now, planning future growth, or simply looking for expert talent market advice, we'd be delighted to help.Get in touch: hello@neuco-group.com

May 14, 202629 min

Securing the Agentic Endpoint: How Manifold Is Building AI Detection & Response - Episode 70 - Mike McKenna, Manifold Security

Mike McKenna, Co-Founder and CRO of Manifold Security, to dig into why the jump from LLMs to autonomous agents is the biggest inflexion point in cybersecurity and why most existing security tools aren't built for it. Mike's path into cyber started with a stroke of luck: his then-girlfriend (now wife) fielded a cold recruiting call for Coalfire and pointed them his way. What followed was eight years watching Coalfire scale from 100 people and $30M in revenue to a compliance powerhouse, with Mike's average deal size growing from $30–40K to $300K. A formative stint at Protect AI under three-time founder Ian Swanson showed him what elite decision-making looks like at startup speed. When Protect AI sold to Palo Alto Networks, Mike and his co-founders, Neal Swaelens and Oleksandr Yaremchuk saw the next big gap: first-generation AI security was built for chatbots, not for agents that act autonomously across enterprise systems. Key Topics Covered: How a cold call and a quick-thinking girlfriend launched a 15-year cybersecurity career The mentors who shaped Mike's sales philosophy from craft improvement to enterprise rigour Why the jump from LLMs to agents is more impactful than most people realise Hiring sales talent for a category that barely exists yet prioritising plasticity over pedigree When to transition from founder-led sales to a dedicated team How AI is changing outbound sales and the second-order consequences of flooded inboxes First-gen vs. second-gen AI security: why classifying natural language isn't enough What Manifold actually does: runtime visibility into agent behaviour on the endpoint The AI bubble debate and why the demand curve looks different from late-90s dark fibre Mike's advice for anyone considering a career in cybersecurity Mike McKenna is Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer at Manifold Security, an AI Detection & Response platform securing autonomous AI agents on enterprise endpoints. Before founding Manifold, Mike spent eight years at Coalfire and served as part of the early go-to-market team at Protect AI (later acquired by Palo Alto Networks). Mike and his co-founders launched Manifold out of stealth in March 2026 with an $8M seed round led by Costanoa Ventures. He holds a degree from Johns Hopkins University and is based in San Diego. Find Mike on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mikemckenna9 Learn more about Manifold: manifold.security This episode of Cyber Security Matters is brought to you by neuco.

May 5, 202641 min

AI Is Making Social Engineering Unstoppable, Here's What You Need to Know - Episode 69 – Bobby Ford, Doppel

In this episode of Cyber Security Matters, hosts Harry Baldwin and Matt Rose sit down with Bobby Ford, Chief Strategy & Experience Officer at Doppel, to explore how AI is fundamentally reshaping the social engineering threat landscape. With nearly three decades in cybersecurity, from founding member of the Pentagon's Computer Incident Response Team to CISO roles at Exelis, Abbott, Unilever, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Bobby brings a rare blend of operational depth and strategic vision to one of the industry's most pressing challenges. Key Topics Covered: How Bobby accidentally fell into cybersecurity through a military assignment no one wanted The importance of being "gifted with opportunity" and the mentors who shaped his career Why Bobby believes there's an experience gap, not a talent gap, in cybersecurity The evolution of the CISO role, from firewall manager to business partner to two diverging paths What keeps CISOs up at night: personal liability and regulatory scrutiny Bobby's three hiring imperatives: appreciation, consistency, and the ability to listen Where the next generation of security talent will come from How AI is changing social engineering in four key ways: hyper-personalisation, volume, speed, and multi-channel attacks Why legacy technologies and awareness training alone can no longer defend against AI-enabled threats A real-world vishing simulation where help desk staff stayed on the phone with a deep fake agent for over seven minutes How AI reduces adversary reconnaissance from weeks to seconds Bobby's career advice: chase the problem, not the title. neuco are a Global Specialist Recruitment and Executive Search company in the Satellite, Space and Defence, Cyber Security and Media & Sports Technology sectors.

April 13, 202634 min

Securing the Future of Software: ASPM, AI Code & the New AppSec Frontier | Episode 68 | Liav Caspi, Legit Security

Application security has always been a balancing act but AI-generated code has tipped the scales entirely. In this episode, Harry and Matt sit down with Liav Caspi, Co-Founder & CTO of Legit Security, to explore how organisations can secure modern software pipelines without slowing development to a crawl. From his early days in Israel's elite cyber intelligence Unit 8200, to co-founding one of the most forward-thinking AppSec companies in the market today, Liav brings a rare blend of deep technical expertise and product-led thinking to one of the most urgent challenges in cybersecurity.They cover the lose-lose dilemma that inspired Legit Security's founding, why ASPM is becoming the cornerstone of enterprise security strategy, how AI is dismantling the technical moats of legacy vendors and what it means to secure software when AI agents are doing most of the building.Key Topics:Why the traditional approach to application security puts both developers and security teams in an impossible positionWhat Application Security Posture Management (ASPM) actually means in practice, and why it's becoming essentialHow AI is disrupting legacy AppSec vendors like Checkmarx and Veracode and lowering barriers to entry for challengersThe rise of "agentic AppSec" and what it means to secure AI-driven development pipelinesWhy AI fluency is now a baseline hiring requirement across every role in cybersecurityLiav's prediction that source code itself will become less relevant as AI takes over the build processThe talent challenge in AppSec: finding people who understand both security and software developmentGuest Bio:Liav Caspi is the Co-Founder and CTO of Legit Security, where he leads the company's technology vision and product strategy. He began his career in Israel's elite cyber intelligence Unit 8200, spending around a decade in various engineering, team lead, and project management roles. He went on to serve as Senior Software Engineer and Project Lead at Argus Cyber Security, before joining Checkmarx one of the pioneers in application security where he led architecture and product management for the SCA solution. In 2021, he co-founded Legit Security, which provides an AI-native Application Security Posture Management (ASPM) platform that helps large enterprises secure their entire software development lifecycle, from code to cloud. Legit Security is purpose-built for the era of AI-powered development, securing CI/CD pipelines, coding agents, and vibe coding environments.Sponsored by neuco. Cyber Security Matters is brought to you by neuco, the specialist recruitment partner for the cybersecurity industry.

April 7, 202644 min

Stopping Ransomware Before It Starts - Episode 67, Glenn Wilkinson, Agger Labs

From dial-up curiosity to killing ransomware in milliseconds, Glenn Wilkinson has been inside the attacker's mind his entire career, and now he's using it to defend you. Hosts Harry Baldwin and Matt Rose sit down with Glenn Wilkinson, CEO and Co-Founder of Agger Labs, for a wide-ranging conversation covering Glenn's journey from self-taught teenage hacker in the 90s to serial founder, and a deep dive into everything ransomware where it came from, how it became a thriving criminal industry, who it's really targeting, and what businesses can actually do about it. Key topics covered: How Glenn went from dial-up internet and underground hacker forums to founding multiple cyber security companies The hard lessons of the hacker-to-founder transition why great engineers often miss the business fundamentals The origins of ransomware: from the AIDS Trojan in 1989 (distributed on a floppy disk) to CryptoLocker's Bitcoin pivot in 2013 Double and triple extortion why backups alone no longer protect you How NotPetya (2017) marked the first major nation state supply chain attack, and why cyber is now a precursor to kinetic warfare Ransomware as a Service: the industrialisation of cybercrime, affiliate models, and initial access brokers Law enforcement fighting back Operation Kronos, hack-back legislation, and the moped theft analogy AI's actual (limited) impact on ransomware today and where the real risk lies Why SMBs are consistently the most vulnerable and the least prepared What any business can do right now to reduce ransomware risk The debate around banning ransomware payments How Agger Labs fits into the modern security stack: one thing, done well About the guest: Glenn Wilkinson is an ethical hacker, keynote speaker, and 3x founder. With a computer science background from Oxford and decades of hands-on penetration testing, Glenn has legally hacked 100+ organisations, spoken at Black Hat and DEF CON, and appeared on CNN and BBC. He is the CEO and Co-Founder of Agger Labs, which builds lightweight ransomware protection that detects and kills attacks before encryption begins running from Windows 7 to the latest server editions, no signatures or AI required. Connect with Glenn: LinkedIn | glenn-wilkinson.com | agger-labs.com Cyber Security Matters is brought to you by neuco.

March 10, 202644 min

People Over Product: What Really Makes Cybersecurity Startups Succeed - Episode 66, Alison Eastaway, Push Security

In this episode of the Cyber Security Matters podcast, hosts Harry Baldwin and Matt Rose sit down with Alison Eastaway, VP of People and Culture at Push Security. Alison brings a refreshingly pragmatic perspective to the often-overlooked human infrastructure behind high-growth startups and shares why, in cybersecurity especially, the team really is everything. Alison's career is anything but conventional. Having started working at 14 in Australia and bypassed a traditional university route, she's built her expertise through hands-on experience across telco, hospitality, advertising tech, HR tech, and now cybersecurity, including a formative stint at screen, which was later acquired by Datadog. Throughout the conversation, she shares hard-won insights on hiring for culture fit in remote-first organisations, navigating today's complicated talent market, and why the best thing a great candidate can do in a first interview is simply avoid scoring an own goal. Key Topics: How Alison fell into cybersecurity and what drew her to the industry's pragmatic, low-BS culture Why she views her proudest professional achievement not as the Datadog acquisition, but as the Screen team group chat that still pings years later The "culture as a savings account" philosophy and why you need to invest before you need to draw on it The unique challenges of building and maintaining culture in fully remote or distributed teams The state of the talent market right now: why it's a buyer's market for employers, and what candidates can do to stand out amid AI-generated application noise Practical interview advice including why a first interview is really about not scoring an own goal How to handle having multiple offers on the table (and the smart question Alison always asks candidates first) What candidates switching from big companies to startups need to get right and the language mistakes that give them away Career advice for anyone looking to enter cybersecurity or move into a people and talent function Guest Bio: Alison Eastaway is a senior people and talent leader with extensive global experience across high-growth startups and scale-ups. She has led recruitment, people operations, and organisational development across Europe, the US and beyond, with leadership roles at companies including Poolside and screen the latter acquired by Datadog in 2021. Alison is currently VP of People and Culture at Push Security, where she leads global people strategy in support of long-term business growth. About neuco:We are a specialist recruitment and executive search firm, working globally in four sectors; Content & Media, Satellite & NewSpace, Connectivity & Cyber Security.If you are hiring for a new role or want to discuss your growth plans. Please do reach out to hello@neuco-group.com

March 2, 202648 min

Proactive Cyber Defense & Offensive Security Leadership - Episode 65, Ray Ruemmele, Evolve Security

In this episode of Cyber Security Matters, hosts Harry Baldwin and Matt Rose sit down with Ray Ruemmele, Chief Revenue Officer at Evolve Security.Ray shares insights from his 20+ year journey through enterprise technology, from selling typewriter ribbons at IBM to leading offensive security initiatives. The conversation explores the evolution of proactive cybersecurity, building high-performing teams, and why understanding your people is the foundation of great management.About Ray RuemmeleRay brings over two decades of leadership experience in enterprise technology and cybersecurity. Before joining Evolve Security as CRO, he led major growth initiatives as VP of Sales at Kudelski Security and held leadership positions at IBM, Lenovo, Juniper Networks, and Okta. Ray is known for building high-performing teams that drive sustainable revenue growth and specialises in offensive, proactive cybersecurity solutions.Key Topics Discussed:Career evolution from IBM typewriter ribbons to offensive security leadershipThe strategic value of big company experience versus startup agilityLearning strategic thinking through Harvard training and the Five Forces frameworkManagement philosophy: Understanding what makes your people tickThe 45 sales kickoffs spanning a career in enterprise techHow the COVID pivot changed sales forever and hiring for the new realityThe journey from individual contributor to managementBuilding effective sales teams: What Ray looks for in candidatesOffensive security and Evolve's Academy training missionWhat attracted Ray to Evolve Security and the Chicago connectionFirst year as CRO: Team assessment, tools, and the 1985 Bears analogyThe Zafran partnership and building a partner ecosystemAdvice for entering cybersecurity: Learning, labour, and patienceAbout Evolve SecurityEvolve Security is a leader in offensive, proactive cybersecurity solutions, specialising in continuous penetration testing and security validation. The company helps organisations move from reactive security postures to proactive threat identification and remediation.Connect with Ray Ruemmele on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rayruemmele/

February 10, 202637 min

Why $50 Bribes Are Breaching Enterprises - Ep64 - Michael Waite, Dune Security

On this episode of Cyber Security Matters, hosts Harry Baldwin and Matt Rose sit down with Michael Waite, Co-founder and CTO of Dune Security. Michael shares his journey from enterprise consulting to building a venture-backed startup tackling one of security's stickiest problems: the human element.Episode SummaryMichael discusses how traditional security awareness training fails to change human behaviour and why the threat landscape has shifted dramatically toward off-channel attacks via WhatsApp and encrypted apps. He reveals how attackers are using AI-powered voice cloning and open-source intelligence to launch sophisticated social engineering campaigns, and shares his personal security practices. Michael also explains how Dune Security uses AI defensively to quantify individual risk and drive targeted interventions that achieve a two-order-of-magnitude improvement in employee security posture.Key Topics CoveredThe transition from hands-on-keyboard building to strategic leadership as a startup scalesHow Dune's CISO Advisory Council shaped the product from day oneWhy soft skills and curiosity matter more than technical expertise in hiringThe shift from email phishing to off-channel attacks on personal devicesReal-world examples including the MGM breach and $50 bribes in lower-cost delivery centresPersonal security practices anyone can adoptUsing AI defensively for individual-level risk quantificationChapters00:00 – Introduction01:12 – How Michael got into cybersecurity04:43 – Key influences and leadership lessons from consulting07:05 – Mindset shift from consultant to co-founder/CTO09:05 – Building the CISO Advisory Council10:59 – Talent acquisition strategy and team building13:51 – The skills shortage debate and what really matters in hiring16:58 – The state of enterprise security and the human element19:42 – Off-channel attacks and the WhatsApp threat23:03 – What motivates attackers: bribes, data, and disruption25:00 – Why no business is safe from AI-powered attacks27:00 – Personal security tips29:24 – AI on the defensive side: how Dune Security uses it32:47 – Changing the "tick the box" compliance mindset35:42 – Advice for those entering cybersecurityGuest BioMichael Waite is the Co-founder and CTO of Dune Security, a company focused on protecting enterprises from modern social engineering threats. His career spans building secure platforms, leading large-scale cloud migrations, and scaling security solutions for Fortune 50 organisations. Under his technical leadership, Dune Security has raised $8 million in pre-seed and seed funding.

February 2, 202646 min

Why Patience Beats Shortage in Cyber Security - Episode 63 - Benny Czarny, OPSWAT

Welcome to Episode 63 of the Cyber Security Matters Podcast, brought to you by neuco. In this episode, hosts Gia Thomas and Harry Baldwin sit down with Benny Czarny, Founder and CEO of OPSWAT, for a wide-ranging conversation about rethinking cybersecurity from the ground up, the power of patience in building teams, and what inspired him to write his upcoming book Cybersecurity Upside Down. With over 20 years leading OPSWAT, Benny shares the journey behind building deep CDR (Content Disarm and Reconstruction) technology, why the industry's detection-focused mindset needs to be flipped, and how he's aiming to influence regulators worldwide. We also explore OPSWAT's exciting roadmap for 2026, including AI-powered engines, an optical firewall, a cybersecurity TV series, and ambitions for a public offering. Key topics covered: Why Benny wrote Cybersecurity Upside Down and how the book challenges industry norms The limitations of antivirus technology and why it was never designed to scan files Deep CDR explained: regenerating files to eliminate threats rather than detecting them Why cybersecurity training needs to be more holistic and less tactical The case against "talent shortage" - and why patience and training matter more Skills the next generation of cyber professionals will need, including fluency across LLM models OPSWAT's 2026 roadmap: AI prediction engine, optical firewalls, proactive DLP, and a Mythbusters-style TV series Leadership philosophy: the three honourable ways to leave a company Advice for newcomers: listen to your gut, innovate, and delight your customers Chapters: 00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome 00:33 Benny's Journey into Cybersecurity 01:26 The Story Behind Cybersecurity Upside Down 04:37 Book Walkthrough and Key Concepts (slides) 19:21 Upcoming Technology and Announcements 22:23 OPSWAT's Cybersecurity TV Series 25:37 Advice for Writing a Book 27:52 Talent Challenges in Cybersecurity 32:04 Why Patience Beats Shortage 33:06 Skills for the Next Generation 36:55 Leadership Principles and Retention 38:06 Three Honourable Ways to Leave a Company 40:30 OPSWAT's 2026 Roadmap and IPO Ambitions 44:29 Final Advice for Aspiring Professionals About our guest: Benny Czarny is the Founder and CEO of OPSWAT, a global leader in critical infrastructure protection and cybersecurity solutions trusted by governments, utilities, and enterprises worldwide. With over two decades of experience, Benny has built OPSWAT into a company serving customers across nuclear, banking, manufacturing, and defence sectors. He is also a respected speaker and author, with his upcoming book Cybersecurity Upside Down set to challenge conventional thinking in the industry. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bennyczarny/ The Cybersecurity Matters Podcast is brought to you by neuco, a global recruitment agency that specialises in sourcing brilliant people for groundbreaking companies in the cybersecurity space.