When Chatbots Become Coworkers And Start Acting

Small Business, Big Risks: Cybersecurity Best Practices That Actually Work

A lot of small businesses still assume hackers only chase big brands. The truth we see every day is simpler and scarier: attackers use automation and AI to hunt for the easiest door, and SMBs often have the fewest locks. We sit down with Mark Hammer (Director of Partner Enablement and Evangelism at Acronis) to unpack what “cybersecurity for small businesses” really looks like when budgets, time, and staffing are limited. We dig into the threats hitting companies right now, from ransomware and business email compromise to browser-based credential harvesting, plus the growing wave of smishing and vishing scams that start on your phone. Just as important, we talk about why security fails in practice even when the right controls exist on paper. From there, we get concrete: why identity protection and multi-factor authentication (MFA) must be enforced across every user, how to build layered defense with EDR and XDR, and why backups only matter if you test recovery on a schedule. We also explain how cyber insurance changes both your required security controls and your first moves during an incident, including a critical tip many people get wrong when ransomware hits. We wrap with what we’d do first if we ran an SMB today, and how to treat security as a living operational discipline, not a one-time project. If this was helpful, subscribe, share it with a business owner, and leave a review so more SMB leaders can find it. What’s the one control you want to tighten up first: MFA, backups, or endpoint monitoring? For more information about Acronis, please visit https://www.acronis.com/en/ The Beyond the Firewall podcast features discussions with technology leaders and practitioners who provide valuable insights into today’s IT and business challenges.  Follow the podcast to stay updated on new episodes, and watch full episodes and video highlights on YouTube.  To learn more about HUB Tech and the services that support IT modernization, visit the HUB Tech website at https://hubtech.com/.

When Chatbots Become Coworkers And Start Acting

Your AI tools are not staying in the “chat window.” They are learning your habits, pulling in context, and starting to take action and that is where productivity can quietly turn into risk. We talk with cybersecurity and compliance leader Matt Lee (Pax8) about the evolution from ChatGPT-style assistants to agentic AI and AI agents that can operate like a coworker with credentials, tools, and autonomy. We dig into real-world examples from the new wave of open source agent frameworks (including OpenClaw, often remembered as Moltbot) and why “emergent behavior” matters when software can build the next tool it needs. From OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) driven identity discovery to automation that can delete or change data faster than a human can react, the biggest lesson is that harm is not always caused by a hacker with ransomware. Sometimes it is your own agent doing exactly what it thought you meant. From there, we get practical: AI governance, approved AI tool lists, data classification and sensitivity labels, and why identity and access management breaks down when bots act “as you” via shared tokens and delegated OAuth. Matt also maps Zero Trust principles into the AI agent world, including least privilege, just-in-time access, human-in-the-loop approvals, and the “rule of two” for systems that can interact with the public, touch sensitive data, and change state. Because in an AI-powered workplace, the question is no longer “Can AI help you?” It’s “What permissions should it never have?” --- More about Matt: https://cybermattlee.com/ More about Cyber RISE: https://cyberrise.org/ More about Pax8: https://www.pax8.com/en-us/ More about Acronis: https://www.acronis.com/en/ The Beyond the Firewall podcast features discussions with technology leaders and practitioners who provide valuable insights into today’s IT and business challenges.  Follow the podcast to stay updated on new episodes, and watch full episodes and video highlights on YouTube.  To learn more about HUB Tech and the services that support IT modernization, visit the HUB Tech website at https://hubtech.com/.

Inside Fenway Park: How the Boston Red Sox Use Technology, AI, and Analytics to Power Athletes and the Fan Experience

In this episode of the Beyond the Firewall podcast, Powered by HUB Tech, we sit down with Randy George, Senior Vice President of Technology for the Boston Red Sox, for a behind-the-scenes look at how technology is transforming one of the most iconic franchises in sports. Fenway Park may be baseball’s most historic stadium, but behind the scenes, it operates like a modern digital enterprise. Randy shares how the Red Sox use data analytics, high-speed connectivity, edge computing, and AI-driven insights to support everything from player preparation and performance to stadium operations and fan engagement. We explore how today’s athletes benefit from advanced performance tracking, high-resolution video analysis, and biomechanics data, while still balancing analytics with the instincts and traditions that make baseball unique. Inside Fenway itself, the technology infrastructure is massive: hundreds of Wi-Fi access points, thousands of connected devices, and real-time systems that power everything from MLB replay feeds to in-stadium services. Randy explains why low-latency edge computing is essential on game day and how teams ensure the reliability and security of the network that keeps everything running. The conversation also dives into the fan experience. From seamless connectivity and mobile apps to AI-driven insights from tens of thousands of fan surveys each year, the Red Sox are using technology to create a more personalized and frictionless experience for every visitor to Fenway Park. Finally, we look ahead to the future of sports technology, including biometrics, smart stadiums, real-time analytics, and the evolving role of AI in athletics and fan engagement. If you love sports, technology, data, or the business behind major league teams, this episode offers a fascinating look at how innovation is shaping the modern game, both on the field and behind the scenes. The Beyond the Firewall podcast features discussions with technology leaders and practitioners who provide valuable insights into today’s IT and business challenges.  Follow the podcast to stay updated on new episodes, and watch full episodes and video highlights on YouTube.  To learn more about HUB Tech and the services that support IT modernization, visit the HUB Tech website at https://hubtech.com/.

Closing the Cybersecurity Execution Gap: Why Strategy Fails Without Process

Cybersecurity plans look great on paper until daily operations get in the way. The real reason breaches happen isn’t a lack of tools or knowledge. It’s breakdowns in execution. In this episode, we sit down with Steve Brining, CISSP and Cybersecurity Evangelist at Acronis, and Chris Daggett, technology leader at HUB Tech, to expose the hidden gap between cyber strategy and real-world operations. They explain how “process debt,” misconfigurations, stale access, and delayed patches quietly create open doors for attackers, even in organizations with mature security programs. Rather than chasing the latest threat headlines, this conversation focuses on what actually works: clear ownership, disciplined workflows, protected time for security hygiene, and leadership that drives accountability. Steve and Chris break down practical priorities for SMBs enforcing MFA, patching internet-facing systems, testing backups, and turning policies into repeatable habits. You’ll also hear tactical advice on incident response culture, realistic security drills, measuring what matters, and taming shadow IT with defined ownership. If you’ve ever wondered why dashboards don’t equal resilience, this episode delivers a no-nonsense playbook for making cybersecurity operational, not theoretical. --- For more information about all-in-one cyber protection, please visit Acronis at www.acronis.com --- The Beyond the Firewall podcast features discussions with technology leaders and practitioners who provide valuable insights into today’s IT and business challenges.  Follow the podcast to stay updated on new episodes, and watch full episodes and video highlights on YouTube.  To learn more about HUB Tech and the services that support IT modernization, visit the HUB Tech website at https://hubtech.com/.

How Converging OT And IT Protects The Systems That Run Our World

Operational technology runs the systems we depend on every day. Power grids, hospitals, manufacturing lines, transportation networks, and smart buildings all rely on environments where uptime directly affects safety and revenue. In this episode, we sit down with Pat Hurley and Ryan Davis from Acronis, along with Chris Daggett from HUB Tech, to explain how OT differs from IT and why convergence between the two is accelerating. The conversation focuses on what it takes to protect physical systems while maintaining performance and reliability. We discuss the realities of securing legacy-heavy environments, where downtime is not an option, and many systems were not built with security in mind. Our guests break down how regulations such as NERC CIP, FDA requirements, and Europe’s Cyber Resilience Act are shaping OT security programs. They also explain the importance of asset visibility, network segmentation, and disaster recovery plans that teams can execute under pressure. The discussion then moves into practical defense. We cover digital twins for safer testing, broad operating system support for faster recovery, and how teams manage aging machines tied to critical production. We also explore AI use cases such as predictive maintenance and anomaly detection, as well as the risks introduced by Industry 4.0 and increased connectivity. This episode is for leaders responsible for uptime, safety, and cyber resilience across factories, hospitals, utilities, transportation, and smart infrastructure. It offers clear guidance for building OT and IT programs that work together to protect the systems that run our world. --- For more information about all-in-one cyber protection, please visit  Acronis at www.acronis.com --- The Beyond the Firewall podcast features discussions with technology leaders and practitioners who provide valuable insights into today’s IT and business challenges.  Follow the podcast to stay updated on new episodes, and watch full episodes and video highlights on YouTube.  To learn more about HUB Tech and the services that support IT modernization, visit the HUB Tech website at https://hubtech.com/.