Adversarial Content
— Browse our blog posts, articles, and episodes of The Adversarial Podcast
The Adversarial Podcast Ep. 17 - 2025 CISO Compensation Survey, Okta layoffs and employee value, TLS inspection
PodcastEpisode notes ⬇️ See below for timestamps/summaries/references for each topic Adversarial Podcast Ep. 17 - 2025 CISO Compensation Survey, Okta layoffs and employee value, TLS inspection 00:00 Highlight/theme 00:37 Intro 1:21 Hitch Partners survey of CISOs 13:34 Dangling S3 buckets 24:35 Update on Cybersecurity Innovation Executive Order 32:58 Cyber stocks - NET and CRWD at all-time highs 44:07 Okta lays off 180 employees, including security engineers 55:47 Is anyone actually doing
The Adversarial Podcast Ep. 16 - Cyber policy wishlist, RedNote/TikTok, Marsh's cyber insurance report, do CISOs need deep technical skills?
Podcast1:33 Biden's Executive Order on Cyber Security 5:18 Cyber policy wishlist 21:30 TikTok and RedNote 29:36 Marsh's report on cyber insurance 49:21 Do CISOs need to be highly technical? Adversarial Podcast Ep. 16 - Cyber policy wishlist, RedNote/TikTok, Marsh's cyber insurance report, do CISOs need deep technical skills? Executive Order on Strengthening and Promoting Innovation in the Nation’s Cybersecurity The outgoing Biden administration issues an executive order aimed at enhancing cyb
The Adversarial Podcast Ep. 15 - US-China-Taiwan cyber relations, mobile app ads facilitating spying, holiday DoS vulnerabilities
PodcastJoin former CISOs Jerry, Mario, and Sounil as they dissect the latest cybersecurity news, discuss evolving threats, and share their seasoned perspectives on infosec. The Adversarial Podcast Ep. 15 - US-China-Taiwan cyber relations, mobile app ads facilitating spying, holiday DoS vulnerabilities 1:48 China accuses US of stealing trade secrets 10:05 Taiwan reports 2.4M Chinese cyberattacks/day 18:21 Christmas day Chrome Extension hacks, including Cyberhaven 23:28 Krebs: U.S. Army Soldie
The Adversarial Podcast Ep. 13 - East/west coast CISOs, top CISO expenses in 2024, crypto regulation
PodcastIn this episode of The Adversarial Podcast, Jerry, Mario, and Sounil bring their adversarial insights to a packed discussion of the latest topics in enterprise cybersecurity. The Adversarial Podcast - East Coast vs. West Coast CISOs: The trio explores the divide between East Coast and West Coast CISOs. Is the East too focused on risk? Does the West overfit to AppSec and "shift-left" practices? - 2024 CISO Budget Report: Where are CISOs spending their increasing budgets in 2024? The hosts
The Adversarial Podcast Ep. 12 - RSA Conference making competition winners accept investment, inefficacy of phishing training
PodcastIn this episode of The Adversarial Podcast, former CISOs Jerry Perullo, Mario Duarte, and Sounil Yu explore critical topics shaping the cybersecurity landscape. The Adversarial Podcast Ep. 12 - RSA Conference ma | RSS.com 1. Crosspoint Capital’s RSA Innovation Sandbox Model The hosts discuss Crosspoint Capital's controversial $5 million SAFE investment requirement for Innovation Sandbox finalists. They examine the implications for startups, founders, and the cybersecurity ecosystem as a wh
The Adversarial Podcast Ep. 10 - the CISO job market, CRQ, beg bounties, cryptography...
PodcastThe Adversarial Podcast Ep. 10 - the CISO job market, CRQ, beg bounties, and cryptography (00:00) Intro (5:15) The CISO job market: present and future (25:57) Handling beg bounties and VDP (41:30) Quantum cryptography – how important is cryptography, really? Stories: * “Chinese Researchers Reportedly Crack Encryption With Quantum Computer” - https://www.pcmag.com/news/chinese-researchers-reportedly-crack-encryption-with-quantum-computer Hosts: * Jerry Perullo: https://www.l
The Adversarial Podcast Ep. 9 - NIST password guidelines, CUPS vulnerabilities, breach vs. hack
PodcastThe Adversarial Podcast Ep. 9 - NIST password guidelines, CUPS vulnerabilities, breach vs. hack Episode notes (00:00) Intro & NIST’s new password complexity requirements (13:19) CUPS vulnerability: critical or a distraction (31:26) Federal standards for cybersecurity in health care: should legal responsibility fall on individuals? (47:30) What constitutes a hack vs a breach? Stories: * “NIST Drops Password Complexity, Mandatory Reset Rules” - https://www.darkreading.com/identity-ac
The Adversarial Podcast Ep. 8 - Pagers and Supply Chain Attacks, GitHub stealers, “Founder Mode”
Podcast(00:00) Intro (02:24) Exploding pagers: are psychological attacks worse than breaches? (20:21) Are credit card breaches still a concern in 2024? (24:57) Infostealer delivered through GitHub Issues: how are trustworthy services being abused? (31:45) Founder mode: when is it time to switch from "founder mode" to "manager mode?" (44:02) Is open-source more secure than closed-source? The Adversarial Podcast Ep. 8 - Pagers and Supply | RSS.com Stories and books mentioned: * “Israel plant
The Adversarial Podcast Ep. 7 - Security Certs, Vulnerability Disclosure, and Effective Security Controls
PodcastEpisode notes Listen as CISOs-turned-founders Jerry Perullo, Mario Duarte, and Sounil Yu discuss the value of security exams and question the relevance of certain certifications in today’s industry. Then, they debate into the vulnerability disclosure process, exploring how CVEs impact companies outside the SaaS world and whether CISA’s "Secure by Design" initiative is truly effective across industries. Finally, they discuss security misprioritization, from school systems to corporate desktops,
The Adversarial Podcast Ep. 6 - SSN Leaks, Cloud Misconfigurations, and Passkeys
PodcastEpisode notes Join former CISOs-turned-founders Jerry Perullo, Mario Duarte, and Sounil Yu as they debate the impact of SSN leaks, discuss the effectiveness of recently implemented ransom payment bans in Miami, and recently reported AWS misconfigurations. Then, listen as they debate passkeys, vulnerability management, and board reporting. The Adversarial Podcast Ep. 6 - SSN Leaks, Cloud M | RSS.com 00:00 Intro 02:17 Social Security Number breach 14:48 Ransomware payment bans 21:47 AWS
The Adversarial Podcast Ep. 4 - CrowdStrike Lawsuits, Overhyped Exploits, and Fake Remote Employees
PodcastEpisode notes Join former CISOs-turned-founders Jerry Perullo, Mario Duarte, and Sounil Yu as they discuss upcoming lawsuits related to the recent CrowdStrike outage, switching costs, overhyped security vulnerabilities and their effect on practitioners' responsibilities, fake employees from North Korea, the information stealers and the state of password managers, and the increasing threat of deepfakes. The Adversarial Podcast Ep. 4 - CrowdStrike Lawsui | RSS.com Stories * “CrowdStrike i
The Adversarial Podcast Ep. 3 - CrowdStrike, Wiz Acquisition Rumors, and SolarWinds
PodcastEpisode notes In this episode, former CISOs-turned-founders Jerry Perullo, Mario Duarte, and Sounil Yu discuss the recent Crowdstrike outages, PR in the recent Wiz acquisition rumors, stakeholder value in Rapid7, and the SEC dropping charges in the SolarWinds case. Stories: - Activist Jana has a stake in Rapid7. There are two paths to bolster value at the cybersecurity company: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/29/two-paths-for-jana-to-bolster-shareholder-value-at-rapid7.html - Google Near $23
The Adversarial Podcast Pilot – Cybersecurity Investments, Secure Configurations vs. Code, and Risk Management
PodcastEpisode notes Join former CISOs-turned-founders Jerry Perullo, Mario Duarte, and Sounil Yu as they reflect on the state of cybersecurity investments in 2024, debate the importance of configuration vs. code security, and discuss the importance of governance in risk management. Stories: * ‘There’s A Lot Of Noise’ — VCs Trying To Find Clarity In Cluttered Cyber AI Landscape: https://news.crunchbase.com/cybersecurity/venture-funding-ai-wiz-ma-rsa/ * Wiz raises $1B at a $12B valuation to expan
The Adversarial Podcast Ep. 2 - Chrome Extension Vulns, Cyber Job Market, Mouse Jigglers, and the Ransomware Plague
PodcastEpisode notes In this episode, former CISOs-turned-founders Jerry Perullo, Mario Duarte, and Sounil Yu discuss malicious Chrome extensions, the cybersecurity job market, mouse jigglers and security policy, and the impact of the recent ransomware wave. They share insights from their experiences, exploring the challenges of managing browser security policies, job burnout, and banning ransom payments. Stories: * Millions under threat from malicious browser extensions — what to do: https://www.t
The Adversarial Podcast Ep. 1 - Snowflake, Shared Fate, and the Gili Ra’anan Model
PodcastIn this episode, former CISOs-turned-founders Jerry Perullo, Mario Duarte, and Sounil Yu discuss the recent wave of cyber-attacks using Snowflake and the model of shared fate. They debate the effectiveness of banning ransom payments and explore the complexities of cybersecurity regulation, using recent events involving UnitedHealth and Jerry's former employer as case studies. The conversation also touches on the ethical dilemmas CISOs face when interacting with venture capital, highlighting pers
Season 01 Episode 01 - The Portfolio Life
PodcastIn this introductory episode, host Jerry Perullo talks about the range of opportunities available to tech executives after the day job. Perullo leverages his 20 years of experience as the founding CISO of ICE and the New York Stock Exchange to discuss what you can do 3-5 years before leaving your post to get prepared. 00:08:43 Advisory Work 00:13:20 Consulting 00:16:00 Angel Investing 00:25:05 Board Directorship 00:35:12 Entrepreneurship 00:37:06 Teaching 00:39:12 Volunteering Episode
It's not the 2FA.. it's the 1TP!!!
AppSecMultifactor authentication (MFA / 2FA) is arguably the most powerful security control deployed over the past 20 years. But it dawned on me that it isn't multi that's really getting it done. It's the fact that one of those factors has been a one-time-password (OTP or 1TP) in a token or app that changes every 60 seconds. The unwritten math about MFA is that a single factor is difficult to compromise, and thus two of them = difficult^2. But in reality our static credentials have become easy thanks