Hacker Valley Studio

Ken Underhill is an award-winning cyber security executive, entrepreneur, and teacher. His mission is to help others find their value and share it; ultimately leading to success both professionally and personally. Ken’s courses offer an intuitive approach to help start a career in cyber security. Whether you’re a budding cyber security professional or a seasoned veteran, Ken’s perspective can serve a purpose in your life.  Join Ron, Chris and Ken to dive into what it takes to create content, help others, and thrive in your career!   01:30 Guest Intro 02:14 Bio  11:30 Ken’s journey in content creation 13:22 Why focusing on giving value first matters 16:15 Ken’s future plan for content 23:50 The path to making an impact 29:40 Connecting with your audience 37:58 Get in touch with Ken    Hacker Valley Studio: Swag | LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Email Ron & Chris | Website Ken Underhill: Courses | YouTube | Website | LinkedIn  Support Hacker Valley Studio on Patreon. Join our monthly mastermind group via Patreon Visit our friends and sponsor Panther Labs

In this episode of Hacker Valley, Chris and Ron are joined by a familiar friend, Valentina Palacín, who you might have heard on HVS Blue season 1. Valentina is an author, public speaker, self-taught developer, and Threat Operations lead at Marqeta Incorporated, armed with a background in translation and interpretation.  Join Chris, Ron and Valentina for this round-table masterclass in all things Threat Hunting to discuss the questions you may be asking yourself: What is Threat Hunting? How do you become a Threat Hunter? What’s it like to be in the shoes of a Threat Hunter? Or work with one?    Key Takeaways:   0:00 Welcome to the podcast! 1:10 Introduction/ Bio 2:55 What is Threat Hunting? 5:25 Chris’ take on working with a Threat Hunter (Ron) 7:08 Valentina’s Threat Hunting flow 9:18 Ron and Valentina talk about progressions in Threat Intelligence 12:20 The group talks about the ideal characteristics of a Threat Hunter in both junior and senior level positions 18:00 How to get into Threat Hunting 20:55 Get in touch with Valentina!   Valentina Palacín: Book | LinkedIn | Twitter Hacker Valley Studio: Swag | LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Email Ron & Chris | Website Support Hacker Valley Studio on Patreon. Join our monthly mastermind group via Patreon

In this episode, Chris, Ron, and their special guest going to be talking about your table. Not the table itself, but what is on it. They are talking about food and following our passions. They've brought in Bri Van Scotter, professional Chef, author, hunter, and host of the TV series Wilderness to Table. Bri is so unbelievably talented in so many areas. Everyone is going to love this episode and learn a little bit about the food we eat.    Key Moments 00:56 - Intro to Bri 02:41 - Bri’s Background 03:59 - The darker side of food production 04:57 - The hunt begins 06:13 - For the love of food 11:41 - On going deep with your craft 16:10 - Getting more in touch with your food 21:33 -  Eating for Health 22:52 - Honoring our food sources 25:28 - Knowledge is power   Visit Bri at her website Follow Bri on Instagram Keep in touch with Hacker Valley Studio on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram Join our monthly mastermind group via Patreon Visit our friends and sponsor Panther Labs

Ron and Chris are the hosts and guests for this episode! This episode answers fundamental questions about Security Architecture. Learning about security architecture is absolutely essential for anyone on the path of becoming a cyber security expert just looking to learn more about a cybersecurity topic. Security Architecture is the foundation, the fabric and the process used to help secure your data, your privacy, and even your money. Now for a second, Imagine that you are an architect and your biggest strength is your ability to build banks. And a new client reaches out to you... We'll name this client Ray. And Ray asks you to build his company a new bank with all the bells and whistles. You're going to need to build Ray and his company something spectacular! This bank you build is going to need to serve as an office and boost productivity for the bank staff. The bank is also going to serve as a place where customers can deposit and withdraw money. But most importantly, Ray is going to want you to protect his crown jewel, his money! (Think of all those gold bricks and bars that Ray is going to want to keep under his possession )   Key Takeaways: 0:00 - Welcome back to the Hacker Valley Studio 1:10 - Ron's favorite topic! Security Architecture 1:45 - Security architecture is the foundation  2:21 - Where a security architecture starts and stops 4:00 - A security architect is playing a game of Tower Defense 6:27 - Using EASY Framework as a security architect 10:04 - Prerequisites for becoming a security architect 13:55 - Differences between security architect and security engineers 16:55 - Resources for learning more about security architecture 19:21 - Stay in touch with Hacker Valley Studio!   Keep in touch with Hacker Valley Studio on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram Join our monthly mastermind group via Patreon Learn more about our fantastic sponsor Upytcs

In this episode, we speak to a Detection and Response expert! Our guest is Nick Hakmiller, Senior Engineering Manager at Panther Labs. Nick was first exposed to technology in High School where he took an introduction to Visual Basic programming course. When learning about multi-threaded applications Nick became curious and began exploring how to open too many threads to crash a computer. Throughout Nick’s career he’s maintained an interest and focus on attack techniques and building defensive security programs. On occasions, security controls may fail to catch an attacker. A detection is logic that is applied to logs, security controls, and alerts to notify teams and automated processes. Nick describes Python as an exceptional programming language to apply detections and create detections as code. Nick describes many aspects of security as an engineering problem. As organizations transform and adopt new technologies, security issues arise and evolve. Nick describes that the team’s that are most successful with applying detection as code have chosen to view security as a function that engineering should participate in and help solve. As an organization’s security program matures, Nick mentions that the most impactful detections will likely be written and created by someone within the organization. For instance, creating a detection that defines which users should have access to sensitive data is likely to be created by a member of the organization with knowledge of team structure. Towards the end of the episode, Nick shares his wisdom to any practitioner that wants to step into the role of creating detections and providing impact while doing so.   Key Takeaways 0:00 - Welcome Back to the Hacker Valley Studio Podcast! 2:29 - Nick Hakmiller, Senior Engineering Manager at Panther Labs 4:20 - How Nick became interested in technology 6:00 - What is a detection? 7:25 - How detection as code applies to cybersecurity and software engineering 10:11 - Prerequisites to consider before applying detection as code 12:27 - Thinking beyond out of the box solutions and applying detections 15:54 - Categories of detections and which are most impactful 23:45 - Reducing alerts by engineering efforts 27:40 - Is it possible to automate everything for security? 32:56 - Advice on getting started with creating detections   Keep in touch with Nick Hakmiller on LinkedIn Reach out to Nick on Panther’s Community Slack Stay up to date with Nick’s work by viewing Panther Analysis Learn more about Panther Labs

Today’s guests are our very own hosts!  Ron and Chris.  Together they tackle everything that surrounds threat intelligence by answering both the hard and easy questions. Between the stories they share about past experiences, and the facts behind threat intelligence, you will learn something new, and that’s a promise! In essence, threat intelligence is taking the information about threats or things that can go wrong and applying it to their network and company.  It’s the processing, collection and analyzation of data to understand threat actors, motives, targets and attack behaviors.    Key Takeaways   1:10 Episode starts 2:39 Threat intelligence 3:00 Ron & Chris share what threat intelligence means to them 6:33 Organizations and threat intelligence 8:39 Back in the day 12:54 Benefits of threat intelligence 15:08 Skills needed to be in threat intelligence 19:22 Networking 23:34 E.A.S.Y.   Links: Email Ron & Chris Support Hacker Valley Studio on Patreon.  Follow Hacker Valley Studio on Twitter. Follow hosts Ron Eddings and Chris Cochran on Twitter. Hacker Valley Merch!

Today in the studio, we have Olivia Herriford, whose great and exceptional work is focused on equity in technology.  Olivia is the Regional Director and Employer Engagement at Bay Area Community College Consortium.   Olivia’s background is in technology, and with the Bay Area Community College Consortium, they support 28 community colleges in the San Francisco Bay region.  She often tells people she has what one would call an “ancient” computer science degree which she earned in 1973.  Olivia takes us back to what it was like to be a black woman in the mid-70s working with hardware and software engineers in the area of hardware design.  Sadly, she experienced a rather hostile work environment.   In today’s world, Olivia believes one of the best things we can do for reaching out to younger people is instill confidence.  These young people do not need to be swayed by comparing themselves to others, but rather realize we all bring something unique to the table.  Everyone needs to understand their own capabilities and power.   Key Takeaways: 2:26 Olivia’s background 6:38 How Olivia ended up where she is 15:45 How do we change the environment 17:17 Progress & future 20:42 Making an impact 23:04 Cultivating conversations 26:22 Equity in technology 29:08 Advice for awareness 32:35 Connecting with Olivia   Links: Olivia on LinkedIn Olivia on YouTube Support Hacker Valley Studio on Patreon.  Follow Hacker Valley Studio on Twitter. Follow hosts Ron Eddings and Chris Cochran on Twitter. Sponsored by Panther Labs

Welcome back to the Hacker Valley Studio podcast. I'm sure you've heard of the term personal brand, and maybe you've asked yourself, what does it mean and how do I promote it. In this episode, we speak to someone that helps others develop their personal brand. We speak to Stephen Hart, entrepreneur, marketer, and brand strategist. We've known Stephen since way back. He's been a huge supporter, and someone that's helped develop our podcast and our branding. And this episode is nothing but pure gold and entertainment. Can't wait for everyone to listen. Let's jump right into it.  Our guest this episode is Stephen Hart. Stephen is the founder of Isles Media LLC, creator of Brand in Demand, and podcast host of Trailblazers.fm. podcast. Stephen always starts conversations off from a place of gratitude. He is grateful for his daughters, who have given him a “home base to run everything through. Beyond that, his is a Marketer and a podcast host for the last five, five and a half years. He is a brand strategist and the creator of an amazing program that he will talk about in a bit here. Listen in as Stephen gives some great tips, and a special invitation.   00:59 Welcome and Intro to Steven Hart 2:16 Steven shares his background 3:45 Become a brand in demand 6:06 Creating a digital footprint 8:15 Desire to start a podcast 9:08 Share others success through Trailblazers.fm 10:00 Creating a course for others 11:23 Brand Management 13:05 Business Digital Footprint vs. Personal footprint 14:39 Brand does not equal logo 16:55 Recreating himself 18:26 Getting clear on goals 19:55 Lacking clarity & how to get clear 24:00 Foundation to your vision 27:10 Entrepreneurship can live simultaneously with employment 30:46 Investment vs. spending 32:45 Getting started on your own vision 35:00 Who do you want to serve? 37:47 Discount for Hacker Valley Tribe   Stephen Hart on LinkedIn Stephen Hart on Twitter Stephen Hart on Instagram Visit Stephen on his website, stephenahart.com Join Brand in Demand, brandindemand.co Coupon code: hackervalley200 Hacker Valley website, hackervalley.com Hacker Valley Studio on LinkedIn Hacker Valley Studio on Twitter Hacker Valley Studio on Instagram Sponsored by AttackIQ

It has been way too long in the making. But it's finally here! We have Hacker Valley merchandise available!  We have shirts, we have hats, we have sweatshirts that you can purchase.  You are in the Hacker Valley Studio with your hosts Ron and Chris. Welcome back to the show.  Today in the studio, we've brought in Nikki Ivey. Nikki is a B2B revenue growth and startup culture leader. She's recognized as a 2020 LinkedIn top voice, and she is the co-founder of SDR Defenders community.  For those that want to get to know Nikki and understand where she come from and what she is up to today, Nikki shares she works with Fortune 500 companies to help them make their outsides match their insides. In short, she helps folks close a gap, so everybody has access to a greater sense of belonging and purpose in the work that they do.   Sadly, Nikki started down this path because she felt she often did not belong or was not often treated like she belonged. Her mom says her first full sentence was, “That's not fair.” She actually studied broadcasting and journalism but then discovered that tech sales was an outlet for all of those things that she cared about. Nikki cares deeply about culture and has experienced so many issues as she has gone through her career.  The one thing she would love to change is people not being the gatekeepers rather be stewards.   Nikki has a lot of advice on “cancelling the cold call” and making connections.  She is full of beautiful ideas to make everyone, from top to bottom in a company feel included, important and connected.   Key Takeaways:   :58 Episode starts with Ron and Chris 1:40 Nikki shares her background 2:55 Bringing people into the fold 5:18 Culture issues 7:57 Nikki’s superpower 10:00 Making connections 14:20 Doubling down 19:09 Being genuine 23:11 Building your brand 26:54 Final piece of advice from Nikki Links: Email Nikki Nikki on LinkedIn Nikki on Instagram Nikki on Twitter Support Hacker Valley Studio on Patreon.  Follow Hacker Valley Studio on Twitter. Follow hosts Ron Eddings and Chris Cochran on Twitter. Get your Hacker Valley Merch here!

Today in the studio, we have Alexis Robertson, Director of Diversity and Inclusion at a large law firm and a recovering lawyer.  Alexis kicks in with a bit about herself, and shares “I am director of diversity inclusion at a large law firm but spent the first 10 years or so of my career dedicated to laws, going to law school and practicing as a lawyer for about seven and a half years before leaving legal practice closing in on six years ago, I grew up in the suburbs of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, spent most of my life in the Midwest, except for time spent in DC at American University for undergrad and then I went to the University of Michigan for law school. That's me in a nutshell.” Alexis shares throughout this episode how her health, exercise and food habits all became habit with some very big changes.  It isn’t about getting healthy; it is about a long journey of being healthy.  You will hear a little bit about her food choices and why she made them, the exercises she partakes in, and how she balances it all.     Key Takeaways:   1:27 Welcome 2:23 Alexis shares her background 3:25 Serendipity 5:33 Self-improvement journey 12:41 Healthy mentality with food 17:20 Next steps 21:12 Getting back on track 24:07 Fitness journey 28:16 Looking forward 31:13 Advice to others 33:17 Staying in touch with Alexis   Alexis on LinkedIn Alexis on Instagram The Path & The Practice Podcast Support Hacker Valley Studio on Patreon.  Follow Hacker Valley Studio on Twitter. Follow hosts Ron Eddings and Chris Cochran on Twitter. Learn more about our sponsor ByteChek.