Welcome back… to the show! Hacker Valley Studio podcast features Host Ron Eddings, as he explores the world of cybersecurity through the eyes of professionals in the industry. We cover everything from inspirational real-life stories in tech, to highlighting influential cybersecurity companies, and we do so in a fun and enthusiastic way. We’re making cybersecurity accessible, creating a whole new form of entertainment: cybertainment.
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Welcome back… to the show! Hacker Valley Studio podcast features Host Ron Eddings, as he explores the world of cybersecurity through the eyes of professionals in the industry. We cover everything from inspirational real-life stories in tech, to highlighting influential cybersecurity companies, and we do so in a fun and enthusiastic way. We’re making cybersecurity accessible, creating a whole new form of entertainment: cybertainment.
Defending Your Cyber Systems and Your Mental Attack Surface with Chris Hughes
Hacker Valley Studio
34 minutes
4 weeks ago
Defending Your Cyber Systems and Your Mental Attack Surface with Chris Hughes
When your firewall forgets to buckle up, the crash doesn’t happen in the network first, it happens in your blindspots.
In this episode, Ron is joined by returning guest Chris Hughes, Co-Founder of Aquia and host of the Resilient Cyber podcast. Chris helps reframe vulnerability work as exposure management, connect technical risk to human resilience, and break down the scoring and runtime tools security teams actually need today. Expect clear takeaways on EPSS, reachability analysis, ADR, AI’s double-edged role, and the one habit Chris swears by as a CEO. This episode fuses attack-surface reality with mental-attack-surface strategy so you walk away with both tactical moves and daily practices that protect systems and people.
Impactful Moments:00:00 - Intro02:00 - Breaking: Fortinet WAF zero-day & visibility lesson05:00 - Meet Chris Hughes: CEO, author, Resilient Cyber host08:00 - Mental attack surface explained and why it matters18:00 - From CVSS to EPSS, reachability, and ADR realities21:00 - AI as force-multiplier for attackers and defenders24:30 - Exposure vs vulnerability naming, market trends26:00 - Chris’s book & how to follow his work30:00 - Ron’s solo: 3 pillars to patch your mindset34:00 - Closing takeaways and subscribe reminder
Links:Connect with our guest, Chris Hughes, on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/resilientcyber/
Check out the article on the Fortinet exploit here: https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2025/11/14/fortinet-fortiweb-zero-day-exploited/
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Hacker Valley Studio
Welcome back… to the show! Hacker Valley Studio podcast features Host Ron Eddings, as he explores the world of cybersecurity through the eyes of professionals in the industry. We cover everything from inspirational real-life stories in tech, to highlighting influential cybersecurity companies, and we do so in a fun and enthusiastic way. We’re making cybersecurity accessible, creating a whole new form of entertainment: cybertainment.
