Cybernomics Radio

The Hiring Process Is Broken And We Have To Fix It

Ten months of job hunting can mess with your identity, even when you know you’re good at what you do. We sit down with Jennifer “Jen” T. Baca, a cybersecurity risk leader and single mom, to talk honestly about what it feels like to be qualified, visible, and still stuck in the silence of today’s hiring market. We get into the mental weight of layoffs, the endless loop of applications, and the weird reality that finding a job now demands its own set of skills: LinkedIn strategy, resume tactics, interviewing stamina, and relentless networking.   Jen also shares the silver linings she didn’t expect: conference exposure, community leadership, and the kind of communication and empathy that can turn a solid cybersecurity manager into a truly effective security leader. We talk imposter syndrome, culture fit, and why “overqualified” is often just a polite way of saying “not our person.” If you’re in governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) or cybersecurity leadership, you’ll recognize the tension between wanting meaningful work and needing stability now.   Then we shift into the work itself: real-world healthcare cybersecurity risks, the business cost of phishing and account compromise, and how to translate security risk into board-level language tied to revenue, trust, and HIPAA. We also dig into women in cybersecurity, minority experiences in male-dominated rooms, and why soft skills and emotional intelligence are not optional in modern security teams.   If you’ve ever been ghosted after a great interview, this one will hit. Subscribe to Cybernomics, share this with someone in the job hunt, and leave a review if you want more conversations that tell the truth and push the industry to do better. Josh's LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshbruyning/]

Security Appreciation, The Human Firewall, and The Future of AI

Most scams don’t start with “bad technology” they start with a perfectly normal human impulse to trust. Josh Bruyning sits down with security speaker Robert Siciliano to get honest about why cybersecurity still doesn’t stick for everyday people, even when the stakes are obvious to CISOs and security teams. We dig into the uncomfortable truth: denial feels good, and compliance training often turns security into a chore instead of a skill that protects real lives. Robert explains his idea of the “human blind spot” the biological default to trust what seems familiar, even when the message arrives by email, text, phone call, or a convincing deepfake. From there, we get practical about the basics that still move the needle: unique passwords, password managers, and two-factor authentication for critical accounts, especially email. If attackers “own the email,” they can reset passwords, take over financial apps, and cause damage that looks a lot like you doing it. We also reframe security as something healthy, not paranoid. Think seatbelts, home locks, and proactive protection rather than fear. Robert lays out the shift from security awareness (knowing) to security appreciation (caring), plus the “strategic human firewall” mindset that turns people into an active layer of detection at work and at the kitchen table at home. Then we look ahead: AI fraud, voice cloning, deepfakes, and pig butchering scams are scaling fast, and the old red flags are disappearing. If you want to follow Robert, find him across social media and at protectnowlc.com. Subscribe to Cybernomics, share this with someone who still says “why would they target me,” and leave a review so more people learn how to verify before they trust. Josh's LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshbruyning/]

Who's winning, the good guys or bad guys?

We dig into why security awareness fails even when the risks are obvious, and why the real challenge is human behavior rather than tools. Robert explains the “human blind spot” and how AI deepfakes and voice cloning make trust harder to manage at every level.  • CISOs and tech executives as unsung heroes protecting modern life  • why attackers target people instead of systems  • the human blind spot as biology overriding digital suspicion  • how social engineering uses trust and mental shortcuts  • AI deepfakes and voice cloning raising the stakes for fraud  • denial and convenience driving weak password habits  • low adoption of unique passcodes and two-factor authentication  • basic digital literacy questions like judging safe links  Josh's LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshbruyning/]

Why Security?

We talk with Robert Cicliano about why cybersecurity matters for people who do not work in security and why scams keep working even on smart, capable adults. We dig into how fraudsters build trust, why denial is so common, and why compliance-style training fails to create real risk awareness.  • why everyday people are targets, not exceptions  • fraud as a business model built on trust tricks  • common attack channels like phone, text, and email  • denial and “it can’t happen to me” thinking  • why compliance training fails under real pressure  • what a better approach looks like for spotting risk  Josh's LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshbruyning/]

Word on the Street - AI Security’s Rapid Gold Rush with Richard Stiennon

We reconnect with Richard Stiennon [https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiennon/]to chart how AI is rewriting cybersecurity, from the rise of 290 AI security vendors to SOC automation, investor momentum, and the criteria that separate true AI players from marketing. • Explosion of AI security vendors since late 2022 • Criteria for defining AI-first cybersecurity companies • Investor appetite, valuations, and looming acquisitions • SOC automation enabling full alert triage • Governance gains vs operational impact • Guidance for buyers and founders on proof and outcomes Yeah, you should definitely get my book Josh's LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshbruyning/]