In this episode of The Digital Executive podcast, Brian Thomas speaks with Valentina Flores, CEO and co-founder of Red Sentry, a proactive cybersecurity firm that “breaks into your network so hackers never get the chance.” With a career that spans from federal task force detective tracking cybercriminals to award-winning cybersecurity leader and advocate for women in tech, Valentina shares how her unique background shapes her approach to protecting organizations. She explains how Red Sentry’s real-world attack simulations go beyond compliance checkboxes, combining hacker psychology, dark web intelligence, and hands-on penetration testing to uncover vulnerabilities that automated scans often miss. Valentina also sheds light on the enterprise-like sophistication of hacker groups, why SMBs are frequent targets, and how businesses can disrupt attackers by removing easy wins. Looking ahead, she highlights AI as both the biggest opportunity and threat in cybersecurity—powering more convincing social engineering attacks while also giving defenders stronger detection and automation tools. Her perspective underscores the importance of blending AI precision with human creativity, while building a security-first culture that spans every level of an organization. Tags: #Cybersecurity #HackerPsychology #WomenInTech #AIandSecurity #ProactiveDefense If you liked what you heard today, please leave us a review. Apple or Spotify See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.