🎙️ TCW Episode 101: The TopCyberDawg Way – Building Your Path in Blue Team

Cyberpsychology & AI with Lisa Ventura

Welcome to The Cyber Weekly! In this episode, we sit down with Lisa Ventura MBE FCIIS MBCS, a trailblazer in cybersecurity awareness, cyberpsychology, and neurodiversity advocacy. Lisa’s unconventional journey from broadcasting into cybersecurity has shaped her unique perspective on the human side of security. She explains how attackers exploit psychology, why AI is both a blessing and a curse, and how neurodiversity can transform SOC teams into powerhouses of resilience and innovation. We discuss: How attackers exploit urgency and fear in social engineering Why cyber psychology is critical in today’s AI-driven threat landscape The role of AI in both enabling attackers and empowering defenders How neurodiversity can be leveraged as a competitive advantage Building communities and associations that strengthen cybersecurity culture Her message is clear: “Security is a human problem before it’s a technical one.”   📑 Show Notes & Links 🔗 Follow Lisa Ventura LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisasventura/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisasventura/] Unity Group Solutions: https://unitysolutions.org.uk/ [https://unitysolutions.org.uk/] AI and Cyber Security Association: https://aisec.org.uk/ [https://aisec.org.uk/] 📢 Follow The Cyber Weekly LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thecyberweekly [https://www.linkedin.com/company/thecyberweekly] X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/thecyberweekly [https://twitter.com/thecyberweekly] 👥 Connect with the Hosts & Team Deogratius Okello LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deo-okello/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/deo-okello/] X: https://twitter.com/deookello51 [https://twitter.com/deookello51] Josephine Olok LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephine-olok/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephine-olok/] X: https://twitter.com/josephine_olok [https://twitter.com/josephine_olok] Angella Nabbanja LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angella-nabbanja-4b6361178/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/angella-nabbanja-4b6361178/] X: https://x.com/angellamukasa_ [https://x.com/angellamukasa_] Magala (Social Media Content Writer) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/magala-rogers/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/magala-rogers/] Aine (Graphics Designer) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aine-allan-60987916a [https://www.linkedin.com/in/aine-allan-60987916a]

From Big Tech to Private Eye, Building a Career in Digital Forensics

You think deleting a message means it's GONE. It's not. But here's what nobody's telling you—law enforcement doesn't have access to everything either. And that gap? It's where justice lives or dies. In this episode of The Cyber Weekly, I sit down with Kenneth Hartman—digital forensics expert, CISO, SANS instructor, and the guy defense attorneys call when they need the truth about digital evidence. Here's what hit me hardest: 🔹 Deleted texts might still be sitting in a database on your phone. 🔹 AI agents are walking around with YOUR credentials right now—and you don't even know it. 🔹 License plate readers are building a map of your life without a warrant. 🔹 The law is NOT keeping up with technology—and that affects ALL of us. Kenneth has worked inside Google, SAP, and Illumina. He's taught cybersecurity on five continents. And now, he's breaking it ALL down in plain language. This isn't just for tech people. This is for anyone who owns a phone, uses the cloud, or believes in the right to a fair trial. #DigitalForensics #CyberSecurity #TechTruths #PrivacyMatters #TheCyberWeekly #DataPrivacy #FutureOfTech #SmartPhoneHacks #tcw  Show Notes  Follow Kenneth G. Hartman https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennethghartman/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennethghartman/] https://x.com/KennethGHartman [https://x.com/KennethGHartman] Check out Ken’s whitepaper https://www.sans.org/white-papers/when-security-scanner-became-weapon [https://www.sans.org/white-papers/when-security-scanner-became-weapon] Check out the Algorithm Gavel paper  https://lucidtruthtechnologies.com/images/pages/The-Algorithmic-Gavel.pdf [https://lucidtruthtechnologies.com/images/pages/The-Algorithmic-Gavel.pdf] Check out the Team PCP webcast https://www.sans.org/webcasts/when-security-scanner-became-weapon [https://www.sans.org/webcasts/when-security-scanner-became-weapon] Like and Follow our LinkedIn page https://www.linkedin.com/company/thecyberweekly [https://www.linkedin.com/company/thecyberweekly] Like and Follow our X page https://twitter.com/thecyberweekly [https://twitter.com/thecyberweekly] Follow Deogratius Okello our Producer and Editor https://www.linkedin.com/in/deo-okello/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/deo-okello/] https://twitter.com/deookello51 [https://twitter.com/deookello51] Follow Josephine Olok  https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephine-olok/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephine-olok/] https://twitter.com/josephine_olok [https://twitter.com/josephine_olok] Follow Angella Nabbanja https://www.linkedin.com/in/angella-nabbanja-4b6361178/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/angella-nabbanja-4b6361178/] https://x.com/angellamukasa_ [https://x.com/angellamukasa_] Follow Magala our Social Media Content Writer  https://www.linkedin.com/in/magala-rogers/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/magala-rogers/]                                     Follow Aine our Graphics Designers https://www.linkedin.com/in/aine-allan-60987916a [https://www.linkedin.com/in/aine-allan-60987916a]

🎙️ TCW Episode 101: The TopCyberDawg Way – Building Your Path in Blue Team

What does it really take to break into cybersecurity—especially on the defensive side? In this episode of The Cyber Weekly, we sit down with Tijan Hydara, a selfbuilt cybersecurity analyst who turned handson IT experience into a thriving blue team career. From supporting over 30,000 users at Alaska Airlines to building advanced SOAR playbooks in his home lab, Tijan’s journey is a masterclass in consistency, practical learning, and discipline. Now the creator behind the growing TopCyberDawg YouTube channel, he’s helping the next generation of SOC analysts understand how to actually get started—without the confusion.    🔍 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:  What a SOC Analyst really does (no jargon, just clarity)  How Tijan transitioned from IT support into cybersecurity  The right way to approach certifications like A+, Network+, Security+, and CySA+  What happens when a security alert fires—and how analysts respond  Why detection engineering is one of the most important skills today  How to build your own cybersecurity home lab (even as a beginner)  The mindset required to stay consistent and break into the industry    🚀 Whether You’re:  Trying to land your first cybersecurity role  Curious about blue team / SOC careers  Overwhelmed by certifications and where to start   👉 This episode gives you a clear, realworld blueprint.    🎥 Connect with Tijan Hydara 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tijanhydara 📺 YouTube (TopCyberDawg):https://www.youtube.com/@topcyberdawg    🌐 Follow The Cyber Weekly 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thecyberweekly 🐦 X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/thecyberweekly    🎙️ Meet the Team 👤 Producer & Editor – Deogratius Okello 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/deo-okello/ 🐦 https://twitter.com/deookello51 👤 Josephine Olok 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephine-olok/ 🐦 https://twitter.com/josephine_olok 👤 Angella Nabbanja 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/angella-nabbanja-4b6361178/ 🐦https://x.com/angellamukasa_ 👤 Rogers Magala (Social Media Content Writer) 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/magala-rogers/ 👤 Allan Aine (Graphics Designer) 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/aine-allan-60987916a    💬 Join the Conversation What’s been your biggest challenge breaking into cybersecurity? Drop it in the comments 👇 #TCW #Cybersecurity #BlueTeam #SOCAnalyst #CyberSecurityCareer #Splunk #Elastic #DetectionEngineering #CompTIA #SecurityPlus #CySAPlus #BTL1 #TopCyberDawg #TheCyberWeekly #Homelab #SOAR #ThreatDetection #BreakIntoTech

From Sales Floors to Threat Feeds

Michael Rack went from decades in enterprise strategy to ranking in the top 0.3% of TryHackMe users worldwide. In this episode he explains why “learning by doing” beats book‑only knowledge, how he built an OpenCTI repository with millions of IOCs, and how he uses local LLMs and Kali to automate research and offensive tooling. Show Notes  Follow Michael Rack https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelrack [https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelrack]   Like and Follow our LinkedIn page https://www.linkedin.com/company/thecyberweekly [https://www.linkedin.com/company/thecyberweekly]   Like and Follow our X page https://twitter.com/thecyberweekly [https://twitter.com/thecyberweekly]   Follow Deogratius Okello our Producer and Editor https://www.linkedin.com/in/deo-okello/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/deo-okello/] https://twitter.com/deookello51 [https://twitter.com/deookello51]   Follow Josephine Olok  https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephine-olok/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephine-olok/] https://twitter.com/josephine_olok [https://twitter.com/josephine_olok]   Follow Angella Nabbanja https://www.linkedin.com/in/angella-nabbanja-4b6361178/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/angella-nabbanja-4b6361178/] https://x.com/angellamukasa_ [https://x.com/angellamukasa_]   Follow Magala our Social Media Content Writer  https://www.linkedin.com/in/magala-rogers/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/magala-rogers/]                                     Follow Aine our Graphics Designers https://www.linkedin.com/in/aine-allan-60987916a [https://www.linkedin.com/in/aine-allan-60987916a]

Building Safe Browse: How Richard Kabanda is Protecting Everyday Users from Cyber Threats

In this episode of Cyber Weekly, we sit down with Richard Kabanda, a cybersecurity specialist with experience spanning Uganda and the United States, to explore his journey and latest innovation — Safe Browse. From managing large-scale IT infrastructure to tackling modern cyber threats, Richard shares how real-world challenges inspired him to build a lightweight browser extension designed to protect everyday internet users from phishing attacks and malicious websites. We dive into: Richard’s journey into cybersecurity The difference between cyber threats in Uganda vs the US How Safe Browse works in real time The role of cloud infrastructure like Cloudflare Workers Why simplicity is key in cybersecurity tools Advice for aspiring cybersecurity professionals Safe Browse is built to make online security accessible, fast, and easy for everyone — especially those most vulnerable online. If you're interested in cybersecurity, tech innovation, or building real-world solutions, this episode is packed with insights you don’t want to miss. 👉 Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more conversations like this. #CyberSecurity #SafeBrowse #TechInAfrica #CyberWeekly #PhishingProtection #CloudSecurity #Innovation   Show Notes  Follow Richard Kabanda https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-kabanda-a1838b52/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-kabanda-a1838b52/] Download on Chrome  https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/safebrowse/dhcggikjhdflbndcjaamalikknndbdfl?pli=1 [https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/safebrowse/dhcggikjhdflbndcjaamalikknndbdfl?pli=1] Download on Firefox   https://addons.mozilla.org/addon/safebrowse/ [https://addons.mozilla.org/addon/safebrowse/] Check out the documentation of Safebrowse https://rkabanda.github.io/safebrowse-docs [https://rkabanda.github.io/safebrowse-docs] Like and Follow our LinkedIn page https://www.linkedin.com/company/thecyberweekly [https://www.linkedin.com/company/thecyberweekly] Like and Follow our X page https://twitter.com/thecyberweekly [https://twitter.com/thecyberweekly] Follow Deogratius Okello our Producer and Editor https://www.linkedin.com/in/deo-okello/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/deo-okello/] https://twitter.com/deookello51 [https://twitter.com/deookello51] Follow Josephine Olok  https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephine-olok/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephine-olok/] https://twitter.com/josephine_olok [https://twitter.com/josephine_olok] Follow Angella Nabbanja https://www.linkedin.com/in/angella-nabbanja-4b6361178/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/angella-nabbanja-4b6361178/] https://x.com/angellamukasa_ [https://x.com/angellamukasa_] Follow Magala our Social Media Content Writer  https://www.linkedin.com/in/magala-rogers/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/magala-rogers/]                                     Follow Aine our Graphics Designers https://www.linkedin.com/in/aine-allan-60987916a [https://www.linkedin.com/in/aine-allan-60987916a]