The Cyber Security Recruiter Podcast

Hosted by Thomas Richard

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144

Latest episode

Jun 2026

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About the show

The mission is simple: To enhance your career growth within the Cybersecurity community & bring interesting and knowledgable guests onto the Podcast so that you can benefit from their experience.

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60 recent

June 15, 202636 min

The Cybersecurity Recruiter talks to Dale Hoak, Chief Information Security Officer, RegScale

In this Cybersecurity Recruiter podcast episode, Thomas chats with Dale Hoak, a former US Navy veteran who transitioned to the commercial sector and progressed from to senior director and now Chief Security Officer/CISO at RegScale.Dale explains that leaving the military is difficult because individuals must take ownership of healthcare, career planning, compensation negotiation, and resume-building, recommending an exit strategy starting two years before separation and seeking early help (including AI tools) while understanding one’s individual value.He credits his advancement to strong networks and mentors, hard work, and learning to understand business value and communicate cyber risk in non-technical terms to leaders and boards, using approaches like threat modeling and risk scoring. He discusses AI as a helpful but fallible tool requiring fact-checking, emphasizes continuous learning.Dale recommends as a starting point "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" and then progressing on to 2 series of books by Gary Hayslip. He listens to lots of podcastsincluding New CISO and CISO Tradecraft.00:00 Welcome and Introductions00:36 Dale’s Career Snapshot02:08 Life as a CSO03:06 Leaving the Military05:00 Certs Resumes and Value07:31 First Civilian Break08:51 Networking as a Superpower10:05 How Promotions Happen13:20 Building Business Awareness17:03 Speaking Board Level Risk17:40 Books and Daily Routines18:26 AI Needs Human Communication19:51 Phone Calls and Real Talk21:18 Using AI Responsibly22:15 AI Resumes and Hiring Reality23:29 Culture Fit and Honesty25:06 Never Stop Learning27:11 Learning Resources and Creativity30:26 AI Accelerates Skill Gaps32:22 Leadership Lessons and Quotes33:21 Books Podcasts and Wrap Up

June 9, 202648 min

The Cybersecurity Recruiter talks to Chris Tjotjos, Co-Founder, Simvay & Promithia

Chris Tjotjos on building businesses through crashes, advisory boards, and compounding growth Thomas chats with Chris Tjotjos on the Cybersecurity Recruiter podcast about his career from sales to leading Logos Communications and later co-founding Promithia and Simvay Systems Chris describes early entrepreneurial “full throttle” focus, reinvesting profits for years, and the power of compounding, including examples using pennies and leveraged real estate and recurring revenue. He recounts major disruptions - post-1999 internet implosion after buying out his partner and the 2008 crisis, and how transparency, profit-sharing via an EBIT plan, and shifting customer concentration helped stabilize and grow. A key turning point was meeting entrepreneur Jack Kale, starting an advisory board, and using book-based learning to reshape culture. Chris explains being approached to sell Logos to Black Box, scaling the division, and critiques lack of synergy in acquisitions. Book recommendations mentioned include "Financial Freedom" Mark Harrelson, "The Vital Difference," and "Leading From The Heart," by Jack Kale, "Rockefeller: The Titan," and "The 38 Letters Rockefeller Wrote to His Son." 00:00 Welcome and Setup 00:39 Meet Chris Tjotjos 01:58 Focus Then Scale 03:04 Early Entrepreneur Grind 04:34 Compounding Mindset 06:55 Leverage and OPM 09:27 Life After the Exit 13:22 Dotcom Crash Lessons 15:29 Open Books EBIT Plan 17:39 Jack Kale Book Club 22:26 Partnership Synergy 23:33 Faith Prayer Meditation 25:31 Perspective and Mortality 26:12 Greek Roots and Big Questions 27:20 Faith Over Wealth 27:50 Servant Leadership in Business 28:12 Why Logos Was Founded 32:26 Selling After the 2008 Storm 36:55 Acquisition Lessons and Synergy 38:54 Starting Again With Promethea 40:18 Advisory Boards That Scale 43:51 Building the Board and Jack Story 47:53 Closing Reflections and Thanks 48:27 AI as a Virtual Board 49:42 When to Form a Board

June 2, 202641 min

The Cybersecurity Recruiter talks to Shante Perrin, Director, Global Security Operations

Shante Perrin on SOC Leadership, Communicating Risk, and Curiosity-Driven Career GrowthThomas chats with cybersecurity leader Shante Perrin, who progressed from web developer and help desk roles to SOC leadership and Director of Global Security Operations. Shante describes SOC and MSSP work focused on preventing repeat incidents through policies, procedures, customer advisement, and deploying new services and tools that improve analyst efficiency and investigation quality. They discuss the challenge of convincing customers to prioritize security before a breach, emphasizing tailored communication, active listening, documenting risk, and framing guidance around business impact and reputation. Shante highlights interview and hiring themes such as curiosity, understanding why tools are used (not just clicking), teamwork, and cultural fit, plus using brown-bag sessions to share investigative thinking. Career advice centers on taking leaps into unfamiliar work, seeking support, and accountability. Shante recommends David Goggins’ book "Can’t Hurt Me" and mentions journaling and self-care for sustainable performance.00:00 Welcome and Introductions01:09 Shante's Security Ops Role02:58 Convincing Customers to Act04:50 Communication in the SOC07:04 Incident Calls and Risk09:39 Security as Business Partner14:24 Career Growth Through Curiosity20:01 Interviewing Beyond Tools21:51 Curiosity Stands Out22:45 Hiring For Likability24:56 Humor Under Pressure25:49 Help Desk Foundations28:54 Learning Styles That Stick29:56 Audio Diet And Mindset31:38 Confidence And Speaking Up34:16 Setbacks And Self Care36:30 Book Pick David Goggins38:28 Journaling And Control39:38 Sustainable Work Rhythms41:20 Final Thanks And Wrap

May 28, 202648 min

The Cybersecurity Recruiter talks to Thomas Donnelly, CTO & President, Co-Founder, Amplifier Security

From Security Executive to Startup Founder: Sales, Focus, and Raising a Pre-Seed RoundOn the Cybersecurity Recruiter podcast, Tom chats with Tommy Donnelly, CTO, President, and co-founder of Amplifier Security. Tommy describes founder life as high-ambiguity work requiring constant energy, disciplined routines, and learning new skills - especially sales - framing it as “finding” the right customers with urgency and budget rather than persuading everyone. He explains the value of narrowing product scope, defining an ICP, and iterating cheaply to reach product-market fit before scaling. Donnelly shares hiring traits he prioritizes (ambiguity tolerance, vision alignment, data-driven iteration), discusses leadership progression from technical roles to cross-functional and external influence, outlines how Amplifer raised a $3.3M pre-seed using design partners, networked VC outreach, and standardized SAFE notes (e.g., via Clerky), recommends TK Kader founder training, and cites Patrick Lencioni’s book “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team.” 00:00 Welcome and Banter01:06 Entrepreneurship Reality Check01:56 Energy and Founder Routines03:20 Tommy’s Career Intro04:02 Founder Life and Learning Sales05:18 Listening and Networking Wins09:21 Executive Communication Shift12:33 Finding the Right Customers17:46 Hiring for Ambiguity21:44 From Startup to Scale Lessons24:04 Structure vs Chaos24:23 Climbing to VP Reality25:54 Leaving Bullhorn for BetterCloud27:14 Going All In as Founder28:30 Staying Focused and Niche30:50 How the Pre Seed Happened36:28 Money Is a Commodity40:44 Founder Sales Qualification44:28 Best Founder Training Resource45:49 Teamwork and Hard Conversations48:16 Wrap Up and Thanks

May 26, 202627 min

The Cybersecurity Recruiter talks to Casey Murphy, Director of Revenue Marketing, Phosphorus Cybersecurity

Casey Murphy on Boundaries, Deep Work, and Learning Fast in Startup Revenue MarketingHad a great chat with Casey Murphy, who shares his career path from the US Navy submarine/nuclear program to Accenture, an MBA internship at Secure AI Labs, Microsoft, and his current role at Phosphorus Cybersecurity as Director of Revenue Marketing. Casey describes his identity as a Christian and frames his “Forrest Gump” career as a series of making the next right decision rather than following a grand plan, viewing successes and failures through faith and resilience. They discuss prioritizing family, creating boundaries to avoid burnout, and the importance of deep work, especially in remote settings, using examples like an Admiral’s early-morning focus block and a CFO’s handwritten index card of top priorities. They also discuss using AI as a learning aid while still doing painful, hands-on practice, and how printing, handwriting, and journaling improve thinking and retention.00:00 Welcome and Catch Up01:15 Casey Career Intro01:52 Identity and Navy Lessons05:35 Resilience and Priorities07:49 Work Boundaries and Burnout10:34 Remote Work Deep Focus15:18 Simple To Do Systems18:06 Learning and Upskilling19:25 Using AI Wisely23:38 Analog Thinking and Strategy27:05 Wrap Up and Next Time

May 22, 202648 min

The Cybersecurity Recruiter talks to Andrew Kirch, Director of Technical Operations, Stoic Cybersecurity

Andrew Kirch on Hacker Mindset, Insider Threats, and AI’s Impact on CybersecurityIn this Cybersecurity Recruiter podcast episode, Thomas chats with Andrew Kirch, Director of Technical Operations at Stoic Cybersecurity, who describes his wide-ranging background across IT, red and blue team work, tabletop exercises, and early experience running a major DNS blacklist that helped him understand how attackers think.Andrew argues hacker mindset is learnable through experience, stresses reputational and insider threats, and explains prioritizing vulnerabilities based on real exploitability. He shares stories involving Anonymous, Occupy Wall Street amplification, and law-enforcement work culminating in Operation Cyber Slam. The discussion covers increasing criminal organization, AI-driven risks (voice cloning, fake candidates, faster exploit development, and corporate secrets leaking via public AI), the need for continuous learning, and sources he follows such as YouTube, Ground News, CISA updates, and The Register.00:00 Podcast Welcome00:55 Andrew’s Background04:55 Hacker Mindset Tips06:51 Prioritizing Real Threats08:56 Anonymous Storytime12:00 Operation Cyber Slam15:24 Cybercrime As Business17:25 How To Level Up21:01 AI And IP Risks24:04 Generalist Security Skills24:41 AI Voice Fraud Threat26:17 Fake Candidates Remote Hiring27:39 AI Widens Attack Surface29:28 Breach Costs and Insurance31:01 Writing Reports With AI34:10 Tone and Social Engineering36:10 Cyber News Sources39:22 Geopolitics and Ransomware41:18 Utilities and SCADA Risks42:53 Zero Trust and Passkeys45:32 AI for SOC Defense47:25 Wrap Up and Farewell

May 18, 202638 min

The Cybersecurity Recruiter talks to Wylie Bayes, Director of Defensive Cyber, Dark Wolf

Wiley Bayes on Red Teaming, Networking Fundamentals, and Breaking into CybersecurityThomas hosts Wiley Bayes on the Cybersecurity Recruiter Podcast to discuss Wiley’s career path from early Linux curiosity and the US Navy into networking, systems/cloud engineering, penetration testing, and his current role as Senior Principal Red Team Operator at Dark Wolf Solutions. Wiley explains day-to-day red teaming on DoD contracts, emphasizing long preparation cycles, payload testing against major security tools, patience, and tailoring phishing to the audience. He advises career changers to keep learning, focus on fundamentals (especially networking), troubleshooting, and scripting/programming, and to break into IT first rather than fixating on a dream cybersecurity role unless you’re exceptionally advanced. They discuss Dark Wolf’s custom CTF-based hiring, communication skills gained from executive briefings, concerns about shortcuts and AI, and Wiley recommends OpenBSD and Peter N.M. Hansteen’s book “The Book of PF,” plus home lab tinkering.00:00 Welcome and Golf Talk01:27 Career Journey Intro02:26 Early Curiosity and Navy Roots03:17 Why Networking Matters04:04 Red Team Day to Day06:35 Phishing and Security Hygiene08:09 Transitioning to Civilian Life09:50 Hiring with Custom CTFs11:31 Breaking In Is Harder Now14:45 Finding Your Path in Security17:55 Staying Relevant and Next Steps20:39 Pentest To Architect Shift21:25 Communication Under Pressure23:17 Fundamentals And Hiring Quality25:43 Stop Chasing Dream Roles27:57 Learning Resources And Practice28:57 Troubleshooting War Story32:31 AI Shortcuts Vs Real Skills34:36 Code And Scripting Matters36:04 Books And Home Labbing38:37 Wrap Up And Thanks

May 11, 202645 min

The Cybersecurity Recruiter talks to Barak Engel, Founder and Chief Geek, Eammune

Barak Engel on Fractional CISO Life, Resilience, and Relationship-Driven Security Consulting Thomas chats with Barak Engel, founder/CEO of EAmmune and an advisor/board member across several security organizations, about his 23-year consulting journey, including creating the virtual/fractional CISO concept in 2003 and the realities of “feast or famine” work. Barak discusses rapid context switching (and hitting his limit while serving six CISOs at once), resilience through setbacks such as the 2008 crash and Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and how reputation and long-term relationships drive EAmmune’s referral-only growth through “concentric circles” as clients change jobs. He emphasizes transparency, accountability, avoiding short-term exploitation, delegating to strengths (including hiring a people manager), and focusing on minimizing damage rather than preventing all mistakes. Book recommendations include Anthony de Mello’s "Awareness," Malcolm Gladwell’s "Blink," and "The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy," plus Barak’s book "The Crack in the Crystal" 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 01:31 Origin of EAmmune Name 02:39 Resilience and Career Overview 04:51 Fractional CISO and Context Switching 06:38 Jessica Burnout Story 08:39 Lightning Angel Name Meaning 09:10 Relationships Over Everything 11:58 Bankruptcy and Customer Lifeline 15:15 Bootstrapping and Early Hustle 17:38 Strengths Focus and Delegation 19:33 Leaving Corporate and Forced Independence 22:34 Referral Growth Philosophy 23:58 Radical Transparency 24:59 Accidental Career Path 25:56 Reputation Compounds 28:12 Resilience Over Perfection 30:53 Trust Beats Skill 32:43 Owning Mistakes 34:39 Pretty Little Princess 36:04 Practice Context Switching 39:11 Humility and Humanity 43:00 Books and Farewell

April 28, 202630 min

The Cybersecurity Recruiter talks to Alise Barron, Senior Customer Success Manager, ReversingLabs

From Bartending to COO: Hospitality Skills, Remote Work, and Critical Thinking in CybersecurityThe host welcomes Alise Barron to the Cybersecurity Recruiter podcast and introduces her career path from hospitality and internet marketing into recruiting leadership roles at Experis Finance, Cylance, and Blackberry, and then multiple promotions at Cyvatar to COO.Elise describes a typical remote-work day balancing family routines, early email catch-up due to time zones, constant meetings, and handling unexpected escalations in cybersecurity operations. They discuss why hospitality backgrounds can drive rapid advancement: strong work ethic, quick critical thinking, customer and stakeholder management, resilience, and learning to set boundaries without adopting a victim mindset. Elise connects these skills to project management, noting she later recognized she had been applying PMP-style practices.They also discuss productivity tradeoffs between remote and office work, the value of networking, and how incident response requires structure, patience, and calm communication.00:00 Welcome and Catch Up00:42 Small World in Security01:47 Elise Career Intro02:59 COO Daily Routine04:58 Remote Work Realities08:44 From Bartender to COO13:39 Hospitality Skills in Corporate18:02 Boundaries and Ownership19:24 Project Management Mindset25:12 Hiring Through Networking26:59 AI and Recruiting Filters29:20 Closing Thoughts and Wrap

April 22, 202638 min

The Cybersecurity Recruiter talks to Ray DeMeo, Managing Director, Pulse Drive Group

Ray DeMeo on Cybersecurity Investing, AI Risk, and Building Resilient TeamsThomas chats with Ray, managing director at Pulse Drive Group with a background in senior roles across tech and venture advising, about current cybersecurity market dynamics and investing. Ray notes recent acquisitions focused on cyber AI and protecting AI applications and data, highlighting the need to reduce risk and address SOC alert overload. They discuss the Gartner Hype Cycle moving faster, hiring shifts toward broader, architecture-aware talent, and the possibility that top security individual contributors will become highly compensated as AI increases productivity. Ray contrasts slow government procurement with urgent geopolitical pressures, citing Ukraine’s drone-driven innovation. He shares career lessons from early customer-facing work, startup discipline, mentorship in large companies, and the responsibility of layoffs. Ray argues most security spending is post-deployment, urging stronger pre-deployment secure coding. Book recommendations include Nicole Perlroth’s “This Is How the World Ends,” plus “Team of Teams,” and Steve Martin’s “Born Standing Up.”00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro01:52 Ray’s Mission in Cybersecurity04:03 Market Pulse and Investor Sentiment04:25 AI Security and M&A Trends07:09 Hype Cycle and Skills Shift10:16 Government Pace and Ukraine Lessons12:34 Career Lessons and Early Hustle14:16 Startup Discipline and Customer Focus16:56 Founder High and Building Momentum18:23 Why Startups Hook You19:41 Client Facing Skills20:39 Caddying Lessons21:47 Building People Skills23:10 Big Company Mentors25:48 Hard Leadership Calls27:33 Secure Code Gap32:36 AI and Code Quality34:24 Books and Mindset36:28 Advisory Work Network37:51 Closing Thanks