The SafeHouse

Hosted by The SafeHouse Initiative

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Latest episode

May 2026

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About the show

The SafeHouse Podcast series is presented by The SafeHouse Initiative (safehouseinitiative.org). The SafeHouse Initiative was organized to provide education and awareness to businesses who are inundated with technical concepts, jargon and terms around the concepts of Business Continuity and Cyber Security. The SafeHouse Initiative is a collaborative organization where organizations can turn to gain a holistic view of solutions, education information, and cyber security insights. Reach out to any of the SafeHouse Initiative contributors to learn more. Be sure to rate us and leave some comments!

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60 recent

May 22, 2026Episode 1326 min

Protecting Rural America from Cyber Threats: Inside the PISCES Mission with Mike Hamilton

In this episode of The SafeHouse Podcast, Jeff Edwards sits down with Mike Hamilton, former Seattle CISO and Chief Technical Officer of PISCES International, a nonprofit organization providing free cybersecurity monitoring and workforce development for underserved communities across the United States.Mike shares his remarkable journey from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and early cybersecurity consulting to building one of the most impactful community-focused cyber defense initiatives in the country.The conversation explores:Why rural hospitals, school districts, utilities, and local governments are increasingly vulnerable to cyberattacksHow PISCES delivers enterprise-grade monitoring capabilities to organizations that otherwise could not afford themThe growing cybersecurity workforce shortage and how hands-on training is changing livesHow AI is rapidly transforming Security Operations Centers (SOCs)One simple policy change organizations can make today to dramatically improve security postureThis episode is a powerful discussion about resilience, public infrastructure protection, workforce development, and the future of operational cybersecurity.Learn more about the SafeHouse Initiative and its mission to educate underserved communities on cybersecurity and operational resilience.#CyberSecurity #CyberDefense #CyberAwareness #OperationalResilience #CriticalInfrastructure #RuralCybersecurity #PublicSectorSecurity #SOC #AI #WorkforceDevelopment #CommunityResilience #SafeHousePodcast #SafeHouseInitiative #PISCES

April 23, 2026Episode 1228 min

What to Do If You Get Hacked: A Practical Survival Guide with Alan Gin

What would you do if you got hacked today?Not in theory. In real life.In this episode of The SafeHouse, Jeff Edwards sits down with Alan Gin to walk through exactly what happens when a cyber incident hits close to home.Based on Alan’s three-part series on what to do if you get hacked, this conversation breaks down the reality most people aren’t prepared for.They cover:The most common ways people get compromisedHow to recognize the early signs of a breachWhat to do in the first 24 hoursHow to contain the damageWhere to go for helpThe mistakes that make things worseHow to prepare before it happensThis is not a technical discussion. It’s a practical one.Because when something goes wrong, there’s no help desk for your personal life.#CyberSecurity #CyberRisk #CyberAwareness#OnlineSafety #CyberAttack #SafeHousePodcast

March 26, 2026Episode 1130 min

Why SMBs Still Don’t Buy Cyber Insurance and What to Do Instead with Kurt Suhs

Most small and mid-sized businesses don’t have a standalone cyber insurance policy. Not because they don’t care. Not because they don’t face risk, but because the system around them isn’t built in a way that’s practical to navigate.In this episode, Jeff Edwards sits down with Kurt Suhs, Founder and CEO of Concierge Cyber, to unpack why adoption remains low, what’s changed in the cyber insurance market, and what businesses are actually doing instead.Kurt brings a rare perspective. From his early days at the FDIC investigating failed financial institutions, to helping shape some of the first cyber insurance policies in the late 90s, to building a “Plan B” model designed for the real world.This conversation goes beyond policy language and into something more useful:How businesses think about risk when they don’t have coverageWhy complexity and policy structure are major barriersWhat happens when something goes wrong and there’s no safety netAnd what a practical, response-first approach actually looks likeIf you’re an SMB owner, advisor, or part of the cyber insurance ecosystem, this is a grounded look at the gap between coverage and reality.#CyberInsurance #CyberRisk #SMB #Ransomware #BusinessContinuity #Resilience #Insurance #SafeHouse #FailureGap

March 12, 2026Episode 1029 min

Cyber Risk: Where Mitigation Meets Insurance With Michael Phillips

Cyber risk management is often framed as a choice between prevention and insurance. In reality, the most resilient organizations combine both.In this episode of The SafeHouse, Jeff Edwards speaks with Michael Phillips, Global Head of Cyber at Coalition, about how insurers evaluate cyber risk and why mitigation and insurance must work together. Building on a previous discussion about the elements of risk management, the conversation explores how underwriters think about cyber exposure, what signals insurers look for when assessing organizations, and why operational resilience is becoming central to modern cyber insurance. The result is a practical discussion about how businesses should approach cyber risk today.#SafeHousePodcast #CyberRisk #CyberSecurity #CyberResilience #RiskManagement #CyberSecurityPodcast #OperationalResilience

February 26, 2026Episode 929 min

Making Sense of Risk Management with Davis Hake

Cyber risk is no longer just a technical issue. It’s a financial one.In this episode of The SafeHouse Podcast, Jeff Edwards sits down with Davis Hake, leader of Venable’s San Francisco cybersecurity practice, to unpack what risk management actually means in today’s cyber environment.Davis shares his early exposure to national critical infrastructure risk, the moment he saw one of the first comprehensive cyber breach tracking lists, and how Stuxnet changed the public conversation around digital vulnerability. From there, the discussion moves into something most organizations still struggle with: measuring cyber risk in financial terms.You’ll hear:• The five elements of risk explained in plain language• Why most cyber programs fail to quantify exposure• How to think about cyber risk like a CFO• The growing need for financial risk measurement training• Practical resources for professionals who want to level up If you work in cybersecurity, insurance, enterprise risk, or resilience strategy, this conversation will sharpen how you think about exposure, impact, and accountability.Cyber risk isn’t abstract. It’s measurable. And it’s time we treated it that way.#CyberRisk #RiskManagement #CyberSecurity#CyberInsurance #OperationalResilience.#BusinessContinuity

February 12, 2026Episode 830 min

When Cybersecurity became a state responsibility with James Saunders

Nearly a year after federal cybersecurity policy shifted responsibility and funding to the states, what does that change actually look like in practice?In this episode of The SafeHouse Podcast, host Jeff Edwards sits down with James Saunders, Chief Information Security Officer for the State of Maryland, to unpack how cybersecurity leadership, resilience, and public service are evolving at the state level.James shares his career journey from frontline technical support at Comcast to federal cybersecurity leadership during COVID, and now to safeguarding Maryland’s digital infrastructure. Along the way, he explains Maryland’s IT Master Plan, the state’s five-pillar cybersecurity strategy, and why partnerships, talent development, and resilience matter more than ever.The conversation goes beyond policy and architecture, touching on leadership, empathy, burnout, and what it really takes to sustain a career in cybersecurity.If you work in cybersecurity, IT leadership, government, or risk management, this episode offers a rare, candid look inside how states are adapting to a new national reality.Key topics include:The shift of cybersecurity responsibility from federal to state governmentsMaryland’s IT Master Plan and cybersecurity strategyCyber resilience beyond technology aloneBuilding and retaining cybersecurity talentInformation sharing across statesLeadership lessons from crisis moments like COVIDOne practical thing everyone can do to improve their security posture#SafeHousePodcast #CyberRisk #CyberSecurity #StateCybersecurity#RiskManagement #CyberSecurityPodcast #Resilience #PublicSectorIT

January 22, 2026Episode 740 min

Why Cyber Warranties Are Not Insurance — and Why That Matters

Most people think warranties and insurance are interchangeable.They’re notInsurance transfers risk after loss. Warranties enforce behavior before loss.In this episode of The SafeHouse Podcast, Jeff Edwards speaks with Kirsten Bay, CEO and co-founder of Cysurance, about why warranties are becoming a critical layer in cyber risk management.We discuss:Why traditional cyber insurance struggles with preventionHow warranties tie security controls to real accountabilityThe role of embedded security and measurable outcomesHow warranties reduce loss severity and support underwritingWhat this shift means for insurers, brokers, CISOs, and boardsThis conversation reframes how cyber risk is reduced, not just insured.If you care about resilience, insurability, and prevention-first models, this episode is for you.#SafeHousePodcast #CyberRisk#CyberInsurance #RiskManagement#CyberSecurityPodcast #Resilience #Cysurance

January 9, 2026Episode 631 min

Cybersecurity Frameworks Made Practical: From Confusion to Clarity,

In this episode of The SafeHouse Podcast, we’re joined by Ryan Ettridge, CEO of CyberCert, an Australian innovator helping SMBs and enterprises turn compliance into measurable cyber resilience.Titled “Cybersecurity Frameworks Made Practical: From Confusion to Clarity,” this conversation tackles a problem many organizations face: frameworks and standards that look good on paper but feel impossible to implement in the real world.Ryan breaks down how AI-driven cyber certification can help organizations predict where risk is most likely to emerge, prevent disruption before it becomes a claim, and protect both insureds and carriers by creating clear, defensible signals of cyber maturity.We also explore how certification data can bridge the long-standing gap between technology teams and the cyber insurance ecosystem — giving brokers, underwriters, and policyholders a shared language for risk, resilience, and insurability.If you’ve ever wondered how to move from framework fatigue to practical cyber readiness, this episode delivers clarity.Predict. Prevent. Protect.#CyberResilience #AI #CyberInsurance #SafeHousePodcast #PredictPreventProtect #CyberCert

December 18, 2025Episode 520 min

Cybercrime Is a Human Problem: A Conversation with Charlotte Hooper of The Cyber Helpline

When cybercrime hits, most people don’t know where to turn.In this episode of The SafeHouse Podcast, Jeff Edwards sits down with Charlotte Hooper, Co-Founder and Head of Operations at The Cyber Helpline, a nonprofit providing free, human-led support to victims of cybercrime in the UK, US, and beyond.Charlotte shares how a deeply personal experience with cyberstalking led her from policing into building one of the most practical cyber victim support models in operation today. We unpack how The Cyber Helpline handles more than 600 cases a month across 50+ categories of cybercrime using a mix of self-help tools, machine learning, and a global volunteer network.What we cover:• What actually happens after someone realizes they’ve been hacked, scammed, or stalked• Why most victims fall through the cracks of law enforcement and insurers• How a volunteer-driven model can scale without losing empathy or accuracy• Where AI and chatbots help and where they absolutely don’t• The fastest-growing cyber threats targeting individuals and small organizations• What “cyber victim support done right” should look like in the next five yearsThis is a grounded, honest conversation about cybercrime at the human level and what it really takes to help people recover when prevention fails.If you work in cybersecurity, insurance, IT, incident response, or simply want to understand the reality victims face, this episode is worth your time.🔔 Subscribe for more conversations on cyber resilience, incident response, and building a world without downtime.#TheSafeHousePodcast #CyberHelpline #CyberCrime #CyberVictims#IncidentResponse #CyberResilience #CyberSecurityAwareness#DigitalSafety #OnlineScams #CyberStalking #NonprofitTech #HumanCenteredSecurity#AIandCyber #CyberInsurance #BusinessContinuity

December 4, 2025Episode 424 min

From Bootcamps to Battlefields: Keith Gologorsky on Modern Cyber Training

In this episode of the Safe House Initiative podcast, host Jeff Edwards welcomes Keith Gologorsky, Head of Public Sector at Hack the Box, for an in-depth conversation about building a successful career in cybersecurity. Keith shares his personal journey from computer science graduate to government analyst, recounting pivotal moments in military operations, threat analysis, and international collaboration. The discussion explores the limitations of traditional certifications, the importance of hands-on training, and the need for regularly updated, gamified learning experiences. Keith also addresses the cybersecurity skills gap, the evolving role of AI, and offers actionable advice for organizations of all sizes: prioritize cross-training and real-world practice to build resilient teams. Tune in for practical insights and strategies to future-proof your cybersecurity workforce.#CyberSecuirty #InfoSec #CyberSkillsGap#ContinuousLearning #HTB #HackTheBox #SafeHousePodcast