Data Security Decoded

Secure by Design, Secure by Default, Secure by Demand

Host ⁠Caleb Tolin⁠ is joined by guest ⁠Lauren Zabierek⁠, Senior Vice President for the Future of Digital Security at the Institute for Security and Technology. A former CISA leader and long-time national security professional, Lauren unpacks the principles of Secure by Design, Secure by Default, and Secure by Demand and how these frameworks are reshaping the software supply chain.Why security must be a business decision led by executives rather than a technical afterthought.

Three Threats Reshaping Financial Services: Identity, Supply Chain, and AI

Cyber resilience in financial services is often treated as a checklist of tools and controls, rather than what it truly is: a system of people, intelligence, and collaboration working together.

Scattered Spider: the Evolution of Identity-Based Ransomware

Identity-based ransomware is no longer a fringe tactic; it’s becoming the playbook of today’s most dangerous adversaries. Scattered Spider, a financially motivated e-crime group, has shifted the model from smash-and-grab encryption to a far more devastating combination of double extortion, social engineering, and hypervisor encryption attacks.

Five-Year Plans, Forever Wars: China's Blueprint for Cyber Dominance

Chinese state-backed cyber operations are often misunderstood as a single, centrally controlled machine. In reality, they are fragmented, diverse, and strategically aligned with China’s national objectives, from economic development to critical infrastructure positioning.

Breaking the Intelligence-Defense Divide with Scott Scher

Cyber threat intelligence is often misunderstood, seen as a niche reporting function instead of the connective tissue that links defenders, leaders, and strategy.