Exploring Information Security - Exploring Information Security
Timothy De Block
100 episodes
2 days ago
Summary:
In this episode, Timothy De Block sits down with a panel of cybersecurity leaders—Chris Anderson, Roger Brotz, and Mike Vetri—to discuss the realities of moving from "boots on the ground" technical roles to senior leadership. The conversation explores the challenges of letting go of the keyboard, the critical importance of emotional intelligence, and why "empathy" is a high-performance tool in a high-stress industry.
Meet the Panel
Chris Anderson: Security Consultant and Architect known for his "pot-stirring" approach to solving complex organizational security problems.
Roger Brotz: CISO at Arcadia Healthcare with over four decades of experience, starting his journey in 1977.
Mike Vetri: Senior Director of Security Operations at Veeva and former Air Force cyber operations officer.
Main Topics & Key Takeaways
The "Passion" to Lead
The panel dives into the true meaning of leadership, noting that the word "passion" stems from the Latin word for "suffering". Leading a cyber team means being willing to suffer through mistakes and high-pressure incidents alongside your team.
Empathy as a Business Metric
Mike shares a pivotal study indicating that leaders who embrace emotional intelligence and empathy often exceed their annual revenue goals by 20%. Conversely, a lack of empathy directly correlates to high burnout and employee turnover.
Learning to Fail Fast
The leaders recount personal failures, from failing to recognize team burnout during 16-hour-a-day incident responses to the "pride" of holding onto technical tasks for too long. They emphasize that failure is not a roadblock but a necessary inflection point for growth.
Bridging the Gap: Technical vs. Business
A major challenge for new leaders is translating "this is bad" into actionable business risk. Leaders must learn to speak the language of the boardroom, focusing on profit protection and risk management rather than just technical vulnerabilities.
Actionable Advice for Aspiring Leaders
Set Boundaries Early: Don't let your job intrude on your personal life until it's too late; once you establish a habit of always being available, it’s hard to pull back.
Find Your Barometer: Use a spouse or a trusted peer as a "barometer" to tell you when your stress levels are negatively impacting your leadership style.
Work-Life Harmony: Move away from the idea of a perfect "50/50 balance" and strive for harmony where your professional and personal lives can coexist.
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Summary:
In this episode, Timothy De Block sits down with a panel of cybersecurity leaders—Chris Anderson, Roger Brotz, and Mike Vetri—to discuss the realities of moving from "boots on the ground" technical roles to senior leadership. The conversation explores the challenges of letting go of the keyboard, the critical importance of emotional intelligence, and why "empathy" is a high-performance tool in a high-stress industry.
Meet the Panel
Chris Anderson: Security Consultant and Architect known for his "pot-stirring" approach to solving complex organizational security problems.
Roger Brotz: CISO at Arcadia Healthcare with over four decades of experience, starting his journey in 1977.
Mike Vetri: Senior Director of Security Operations at Veeva and former Air Force cyber operations officer.
Main Topics & Key Takeaways
The "Passion" to Lead
The panel dives into the true meaning of leadership, noting that the word "passion" stems from the Latin word for "suffering". Leading a cyber team means being willing to suffer through mistakes and high-pressure incidents alongside your team.
Empathy as a Business Metric
Mike shares a pivotal study indicating that leaders who embrace emotional intelligence and empathy often exceed their annual revenue goals by 20%. Conversely, a lack of empathy directly correlates to high burnout and employee turnover.
Learning to Fail Fast
The leaders recount personal failures, from failing to recognize team burnout during 16-hour-a-day incident responses to the "pride" of holding onto technical tasks for too long. They emphasize that failure is not a roadblock but a necessary inflection point for growth.
Bridging the Gap: Technical vs. Business
A major challenge for new leaders is translating "this is bad" into actionable business risk. Leaders must learn to speak the language of the boardroom, focusing on profit protection and risk management rather than just technical vulnerabilities.
Actionable Advice for Aspiring Leaders
Set Boundaries Early: Don't let your job intrude on your personal life until it's too late; once you establish a habit of always being available, it’s hard to pull back.
Find Your Barometer: Use a spouse or a trusted peer as a "barometer" to tell you when your stress levels are negatively impacting your leadership style.
Work-Life Harmony: Move away from the idea of a perfect "50/50 balance" and strive for harmony where your professional and personal lives can coexist.
How BSides St Louis Can Help Take The Next Step in Cybersecurity
Exploring Information Security - Exploring Information Security
38 minutes 27 seconds
4 months ago
How BSides St Louis Can Help Take The Next Step in Cybersecurity
Summary:
Timothy De Block and Ben Miller discuss the upcoming BSides St. Louis conference. Ben shares the mission behind the event: to provide a low-cost, high-value conference for beginners and those new to the security community. They cover the importance of community-building, the value of professional skills alongside technical ones, and the power of networking at local events.
Key Takeaways:
BSides St. Louis Mission: Ben and his co-founders created BSides St. Louis in 2015 as a "passion project" with the motto, "bringing the interested to the connected". The goal is to offer a free or low-cost conference to make cybersecurity knowledge accessible to beginners and career-changers who can't afford larger, more expensive events.
Cost and Accessibility: This year's conference operates on a donation basis, with a recommended $25 charge to help estimate food and t-shirt orders. Ben clarifies that no one will be turned away for an inability to pay, and the organization is a 501(c)(3) charity.
Networking and Career Growth: Both Ben and Timothy stress that attending local conferences like BSides on a Saturday demonstrates a commitment to learning that employers value. Networking at these events can lead to job opportunities and valuable professional connections.
Professional Skills Over Hard Skills: Ben argues that professional skills—such as public speaking, running effective meetings, and communicating politely—are more crucial for career longevity than hard technical skills. He shares a personal story about how a poorly chosen phrase accidentally hurt a colleague and taught him the importance of careful communication.
Encouraging New Speakers: BSides St. Louis actively seeks out first-time speakers. Ben looks for people who have never given a talk before because the audience is forgiving and it helps them develop skills vital for interviewing and running meetings.
Family-Friendly Environment: The conference is explicitly family-friendly, encouraging attendees to bring children and high school students to explore the campus and participate in activities like lockpicking and soldering. Ben views "hackers" as anyone who does "something in a way that wasn't intended to be done".
Personal Philosophy: Ben shares his personal mission to help people "feel secure so they can sleep at night" and his belief that giving back through events like BSides is a way to help others who were not as fortunate as he was growing up.
Notable Quotes:
"Bringing the interested to the connected".
"One con talk isn't going to make you an expert, but learning just enough to know what to Google, so that you can become an expert when you need to later... Huge. So helpful".
"I can train somebody really easy to run NMAP... but telling somebody how to shut up in a meeting and listen way harder".
"Don't self-select yourself out of opportunities".
"My personal life goal is to help people feel secure so they can sleep at night".
Exploring Information Security - Exploring Information Security
Summary:
In this episode, Timothy De Block sits down with a panel of cybersecurity leaders—Chris Anderson, Roger Brotz, and Mike Vetri—to discuss the realities of moving from "boots on the ground" technical roles to senior leadership. The conversation explores the challenges of letting go of the keyboard, the critical importance of emotional intelligence, and why "empathy" is a high-performance tool in a high-stress industry.
Meet the Panel
Chris Anderson: Security Consultant and Architect known for his "pot-stirring" approach to solving complex organizational security problems.
Roger Brotz: CISO at Arcadia Healthcare with over four decades of experience, starting his journey in 1977.
Mike Vetri: Senior Director of Security Operations at Veeva and former Air Force cyber operations officer.
Main Topics & Key Takeaways
The "Passion" to Lead
The panel dives into the true meaning of leadership, noting that the word "passion" stems from the Latin word for "suffering". Leading a cyber team means being willing to suffer through mistakes and high-pressure incidents alongside your team.
Empathy as a Business Metric
Mike shares a pivotal study indicating that leaders who embrace emotional intelligence and empathy often exceed their annual revenue goals by 20%. Conversely, a lack of empathy directly correlates to high burnout and employee turnover.
Learning to Fail Fast
The leaders recount personal failures, from failing to recognize team burnout during 16-hour-a-day incident responses to the "pride" of holding onto technical tasks for too long. They emphasize that failure is not a roadblock but a necessary inflection point for growth.
Bridging the Gap: Technical vs. Business
A major challenge for new leaders is translating "this is bad" into actionable business risk. Leaders must learn to speak the language of the boardroom, focusing on profit protection and risk management rather than just technical vulnerabilities.
Actionable Advice for Aspiring Leaders
Set Boundaries Early: Don't let your job intrude on your personal life until it's too late; once you establish a habit of always being available, it’s hard to pull back.
Find Your Barometer: Use a spouse or a trusted peer as a "barometer" to tell you when your stress levels are negatively impacting your leadership style.
Work-Life Harmony: Move away from the idea of a perfect "50/50 balance" and strive for harmony where your professional and personal lives can coexist.
