Hacker Valley Studio

Want to stand out as a leader? According to our guest Mel Reyes, you need to dress like you mean it and speak like you’ve got nothing to prove. In this episode, Mel shares how he built billion-dollar portfolios, coached executive teams, and still shows up in a white hoodie when that feels right. With Ron, he unpacks how executive presence becomes a strategic weapon for breaking resistance, commanding attention, and making your message unforgettable. You’ll learn why generic resumes fail, how to master executive storytelling with the SPAR method, and what dropping the ego really looks like in your next leadership role.   Impactful Moments: 00:00 – Introduction 03:00 – Breaking the rules of executive delivery 07:00 – Why confidence starts in your closet 11:30 – Respecting identity in professional spaces 12:30 – Advice for breaking into cybersecurity 17:00 – Reinvention at the mid-senior level 21:00 – The SPAR framework for storytelling 30:00 – Drop the ego, find your passion   Links: Connect with our guest, Mel Reyes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melreyes/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/melreyes/] Check out our upcoming events: https://www.hackervalley.com/livestreams [https://www.hackervalley.com/livestreams] Join our creative mastermind and stand out as a cybersecurity professional: https://www.patreon.com/hackervalleystudio [https://www.patreon.com/hackervalleystudio] Love Hacker Valley Studio? Pick up some swag: https://store.hackervalley.com [https://store.hackervalley.com] Continue the conversation by joining our Discord: https://hackervalley.com/discord [https://hackervalley.com/discord] Become a sponsor of the show to amplify your brand: https://hackervalley.com/work-with-us/ [https://hackervalley.com/work-with-us/]

Cybersecurity isn’t just red or blue anymore... it’s purple, white, and deeply human. Maril Vernon, award-winning ethical hacker and Senior Solutions Architect at NetSPI, returns to the Hacker Valley Studio to discuss purple teaming as the most future-proof career path in cyber. She opens up about mentorship, burnout, compensation realities, and how we’re still failing the fundamentals. Together, Ron and Maril dig into what purple teaming really is (and isn’t), why soft skills matter more than ever, and how defenders are the frontline signal source for law enforcement. From guiding her mom into IR to co-founding Mind Over Cyber, Maril embodies what it means to show up for the cyber community and demand more from the culture itself.   Impactful Moments 00:00 - Introduction 01:01 - Maril’s role at NetSPI 03:00 - Why purple skills are future-proof 05:19 - Salary truths in purple teaming 08:30 - Know your value, negotiate wisely 13:07 - How defenders enable law enforcement 16:22 - The real meaning of purple teaming 18:39 - Common misconceptions debunked 24:45 - People are always the soft spot 26:01 - The two security stack must-haves 29:00 - Mom made it to incident response 30:48 - Maril’s mentorship philosophy 34:09 - Why you need to post anyway 36:35 - What Mind Over Cyber is really about 40:00 - CISOs are burning out silently 41:31 - Closing thoughts Links: Connect with our guest, Maril Vernon: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marilvernon [https://www.linkedin.com/in/marilvernon]   Check out our upcoming events: https://www.hackervalley.com/livestreams [https://www.hackervalley.com/livestreams] Join our creative mastermind and stand out as a cybersecurity professional: https://www.patreon.com/hackervalleystudio [https://www.patreon.com/hackervalleystudio] Love Hacker Valley Studio? Pick up some swag: https://store.hackervalley.com [https://store.hackervalley.com] Continue the conversation by joining our Discord: https://hackervalley.com/discord [https://hackervalley.com/discord] Become a sponsor of the show to amplify your brand: https://hackervalley.com/work-with-us/ [https://hackervalley.com/work-with-us/]

The new cybersecurity pioneers aren’t chasing alerts, they’re building with AI. But what happens when tools meant to assist begin making decisions for us? And what skills do we lose when machines fill the gaps we used to grow into? In this episode, Chris Cochran, CEO and Founder of Commandant, returns to Hacker Valley Studio with an insider view on building in the AI boom. He shares why he’s betting on incident response over the “AI SOC,” what it means to use AI with integrity, and how this moment mirrors the early industrial revolutions: chaotic, risky, but ripe with once-in-a-career opportunity.   Impactful Moments: 00:00 – Introduction 02:11 – Launch of Commandant AI 03:06 – Early-stage LLM opportunities 05:26 – Built first AI co-pilot in 4 hours 06:00 – AI bot tops HackerOne leaderboard 07:44 – AI used for and against orgs 10:14 – Focus on incident response, not AI SOC 12:34 – Reducing cost of prolonged incidents 14:01 – Cybersecurity changing every 2 months 16:58 – AI causing rapid skill loss 21:59 – AI-assisted job interviews detected 24:49 – AI lacks business context for blocking 27:30 – Daily AI use pays long-term dividends Links: Connect with our guest, Chris Cochran: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrishvm/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrishvm/]   Check out our upcoming events: https://www.hackervalley.com/livestreams [https://www.hackervalley.com/livestreams] Join our creative mastermind and stand out as a cybersecurity professional: https://www.patreon.com/hackervalleystudio [https://www.patreon.com/hackervalleystudio] Love Hacker Valley Studio? Pick up some swag: https://store.hackervalley.com [https://store.hackervalley.com] Continue the conversation by joining our Discord: https://hackervalley.com/discord [https://hackervalley.com/discord] Become a sponsor of the show to amplify your brand: https://hackervalley.com/work-with-us/ [https://hackervalley.com/work-with-us/]

What happens when AI refuses to be replaced? This episode kicks off with a chilling real-world example of an AI threatening blackmail—and only gets more intense from there. Host Ron Eddings unpacks the terrifyingly innovative ways AI is altering the cybersecurity threat landscape. From deepfakes convincing enough to fool your own family to auto-summarizing email clients acting as unintentional insiders, the stakes have never been higher. Ron also shares insights from his brand-new book Attack Surface Management, co-authored with MJ Kaufman and published by O'Reilly, and breaks down why the simplest social engineering tactics remain the most dangerous—even in the age of advanced AI. Impactful Moments: 00:00 - Introduction 02:30 - Model Context Protocol explained 05:00 - Google's VEO-3 and fake riot videos 07:00 - Fake Facebook ads pushing malware 09:30 - Social engineering still reigns supreme 13:30 - Using AI to write malicious emails 16:30 - Calendly phishing and credential theft 19:00 - Gemini and the risk of auto-summarization 21:30 - LLM access to your private documents 22:45 - Takeaways and protecting your environment   Links: Connect with Ron on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronaldeddings/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronaldeddings/] Grab a copy of Ron’s new book, “Attack Surface Management: Strategies and Techniques for Safeguarding Your Digital Assets”: https://a.co/d/1nmPod2 [https://a.co/d/1nmPod2]   Check out the full article on “The Rise of ‘Vibe Hacking’ Is the Next AI Nightmare” here: https://www.wired.com/story/youre-not-ready-for-ai-hacker-agents/ [https://www.wired.com/story/youre-not-ready-for-ai-hacker-agents/] Check out our upcoming events: https://www.hackervalley.com/livestreams [https://www.hackervalley.com/livestreams] Join our creative mastermind and stand out as a cybersecurity professional: https://www.patreon.com/hackervalleystudio [https://www.patreon.com/hackervalleystudio] Love Hacker Valley Studio? Pick up some swag: https://store.hackervalley.com [https://store.hackervalley.com] Continue the conversation by joining our Discord: https://hackervalley.com/discord [https://hackervalley.com/discord] Become a sponsor of the show to amplify your brand: https://hackervalley.com/work-with-us/ [https://hackervalley.com/work-with-us/]

What if Zero Trust isn’t a framework, but the only viable cybersecurity strategy—more about people than products? In this episode, George Finney, CISO at the University of Texas System and author of Project Zero Trust, reveals the human-first truth behind the Zero Trust movement, and why it’s not something you buy but something you build. George shares stories from hacking a college database to launching a deepfake of himself trained on his own books, all while breaking down how AI and creativity are reshaping security leadership.     Impactful Moments: 00:00 - Introduction 01:16 - Cyber Hall of Fame recognition 07:00 - Hacked his college to solve mail 09:00 - Took startup job without paycheck 14:14 - Zero Trust is a strategy, not tool 17:00 - Tailoring security like a custom suit 23:29 - AI strategy through Zero Trust lens 29:30 - Built a Zero Trust voice clone hotline 36:00 - You don’t need to be a CISO 38:30 - Why weirdos make cybersecurity stronger Links: Connect with our guest, George Finney: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgefinney/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgefinney/] Check out George’s books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B01MT0C6X3 [https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B01MT0C6X3]   Check out our upcoming events: https://www.hackervalley.com/livestreams [https://www.hackervalley.com/livestreams] Join our creative mastermind and stand out as a cybersecurity professional: https://www.patreon.com/hackervalleystudio [https://www.patreon.com/hackervalleystudio] Love Hacker Valley Studio? Pick up some swag: https://store.hackervalley.com [https://store.hackervalley.com] Continue the conversation by joining our Discord: https://hackervalley.com/discord [https://hackervalley.com/discord] Become a sponsor of the show to amplify your brand: https://hackervalley.com/work-with-us/ [https://hackervalley.com/work-with-us/]