Secure Talk Podcast

In this riveting episode of SecureTalk, host Justin Beals welcomes back decorated military leader and security expert Mike LeFever, Executive Vice President of National Security at Concentric, to discuss the intersection of physical security, geopolitical instability, and the future of national defense. From the polarization of American politics to the innovative warfare tactics in Ukraine, this conversation offers cybersecurity professionals an essential perspective on how global security dynamics impact the digital landscape.

## Key Topics Covered:

- 🔒 **Physical Security Crisis**: How political polarization has created new security challenges for high-profile individuals and organizations

- 🌍 **Soft Power Erosion**: The concerning reduction in USAID and diplomatic initiatives and its impact on national security

- 🇺🇦 **Ukraine's Tech Innovation**: Revolutionary drone warfare tactics and rapid adaptation changing the future of military strategy

- 💻 **Information Warfare**: The growing "truth decay" problem and how disinformation campaigns are reshaping public discourse

- 🏛️ **Constitutional Challenges**: Analysis of current governance issues and threats to democratic institutions

- 🔍 **Leadership in Chaos**: Strategic insights for security professionals navigating turbulent times

## Episode Highlights:

### The Business of Protection

LeFever discusses how Concentric provides comprehensive security for high-net-worth individuals, including physical security, intelligence products, due diligence, and privacy protection in an increasingly polarized environment where public figures face heightened threats.

### The Crisis in Governance

The conversation examines concerning trends in the federal workforce, with both experts highlighting how dismissing experienced personnel creates institutional knowledge gaps and damages trust in critical security domains.

### The Value of Soft Power

Drawing from his experience leading earthquake relief efforts in Pakistan, LeFever explains how humanitarian initiatives like USAID build crucial international relationships that enhance national security more effectively than purely kinetic operations.

### Innovations in Modern Warfare

Analysis of Ukraine's remarkable technological adaptations against Russia, showcasing how smaller forces can effectively counter larger opponents through rapid innovation and precision drone strikes.

### Leadership Wisdom

LeFever shares invaluable advice for security leaders navigating chaos: maintain strategic focus on end goals while building resilience against tactical disruptions.

## About the Guests:

**Mike LeFever** is Executive Vice President of National Security at Concentric, providing comprehensive physical and privacy security solutions. His distinguished military career included leadership roles in counterterrorism and diplomatic security initiatives across multiple global hotspots.

**Justin Beals** is the host of SecureTalk and a recognized expert in cybersecurity strategy and implementation.

## Connect & Learn More:

- Visit www.securetalk.com For more episodes

Episode Summary: In this eye-opening episode of Secure Talk, host Justin Beals investigates how foreign disinformation campaigns have evolved to target AI systems. NewsGuard researchers McKenzie Sadeghi and Isis Blachez reveal their groundbreaking investigation into the Moscow-based Pravda network that has successfully infiltrated Western AI chatbots, creating a new frontier in information warfare that bypasses human readers to directly corrupt the technology we rely on for information.

Key Insights:

• Leading AI chatbots repeated Russian disinformation 33% of the time when tested on key geopolitical topics
• The Pravda network has expanded from 50 to over 150 websites specifically designed to influence AI training data
• Modern disinformation operations now prioritize "LLM grooming" over targeting human readers
• Even when AI systems attempt to debunk false claims, they often cite unreliable sources, further legitimizing them
• Human oversight remains essential as these networks constantly evolve to evade automated detection

Notable Quotes: "Bad actors are targeting AI models to get their information to appear in those responses, but they're also weaponizing AI to produce disinformation at scale." - McKenzie Sadeghi

"What is changing is really the delivery of the disinformation... it's reaching a much larger audience and an audience that's not targeted as specifically because now practically anyone is using ChatGPT or other chatbots." - Isis Blachez

"This network does not invest any money or resources into spreading its content online... It's sort of serving as a centralized hub. And as a result, it appears very high not only in search results but also in chatbot responses." - McKenzie Sadeghi

Resources: 

Sadeghi, M., & Blachez, I. (2025, March 6). A well-funded Moscow-based global disinformation network. NewsGuard Reality Check. https://www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/p/a-well-funded-moscow-based-global

In this episode of SecureTalk, host Justin Beals explores the evolving world of API technology and security with Sam Chehab, Head of Security at Postman - the platform used by over 35 million developers and 90% of Fortune 500 companies.

Episode Insights:

• Postman's Strategic Position: Learn why Sam joined Postman in September 2024 and how they're positioned to be the connective tissue for the emerging AI agent ecosystem
• APIs as Agent Infrastructure: Sam explains how Postman's catalog of hundreds of thousands of documented APIs creates the perfect foundation for AI agent interactions
• Security by Design: Discover how Postman is embedding security throughout the API lifecycle - from conception to deployment
• The Human Factor in Security: Why security remains a collaborative responsibility across organizations and how to foster a security-minded culture
• Next-Gen Challenges: Sam's perspective on balancing innovation with fundamental security hygiene concerns like supply chain vulnerabilities

"I see such a larger ecosystem that's really going to get built here beyond what's out in the market today," says Sam, discussing how Postman will facilitate human-agent collaboration in building the next generation of applications.

Sam brings unique insights from his previous roles at technology giants like Palo Alto Networks and NVIDIA, where he once demonstrated an early chatbot prototype to Jensen Huang himself. His experience taking products through rigorous FedRAMP certification processes provides a valuable perspective on enterprise-grade security implementation.

This episode offers essential insights for developers, security professionals, and technology leaders interested in the intersection of APIs, AI, and enterprise security in today's rapidly evolving digital landscape.

In this eye-opening episode of SecureTalk, host Justin Beals welcomes Bryant Tow, Chief Security Officer at LeapFrog Services, to discuss why technology alone can't solve cybersecurity challenges. Bryant reveals how the "Ring of Security" concept shows that up to half of your attack surface lies outside of technology—in governance, policies, people, and processes. The conversation explores real-world examples like the Change Healthcare breach, why security frameworks often fall short, and how building a culture of security requires connecting protection of company assets to personal security concerns.

Key Topics

• The Change Healthcare breach: How a single oversight led to a $2.9 billion loss despite substantial technology investments
• Why frameworks like CIS are great starting points but insufficient on their own
• How the "Ring of Security" approach addresses the complete attack surface
• Building a security culture that resonates with employees on a personal level
• Why a business impact analysis is critical but often missing from frameworks
• The importance of understanding your data before implementing AI solutions

Notable Quotes

"When you do the root cause analysis on headline breaches, nearly all of them started somewhere outside the technology." - Bryant Tow

"Even if you do your technology perfectly, you're leaving half of your attack surface open." - Bryant Tow

"Strategy drives governance. Governance drives operation." - Bryant Tow

About the Guest

Bryant Tow serves as Chief Security Officer at LeapFrog Services, where he assists clients with comprehensive security programs including strategy, governance, and operations. Previously, he owned Cyber Risk Solutions and served on the Department of Homeland Security Sector Coordinating Council. His "Ring of Security" concept emphasizes that cybersecurity is an organizational problem that uses technology as just one tool in the solution.

Resources Mentioned

• The "Ring of Security" concept
• CIS Framework limitations
• Business Impact Analysis
• AI Readiness Assessment
• Department of Homeland Security Sector Coordinating Council

SecureTalk is hosted by Justin Beals, focusing on cybersecurity strategy, governance, and best practices for organizations of all sizes.

In this eye-opening episode of SecureTalk, host Justin Beals welcomes Joe Gronemeyer, Solutions Engineer at Akamai Technologies, for a masterclass in how internet security has evolved from basic content delivery to sophisticated edge protection powering 30% of global web traffic. From stories of literally burning servers in 1999 to today's quantum-resistant cryptography, this conversation tracks the incredible journey of cybersecurity infrastructure.

### Key Highlights:

- **The Birth of Edge Networks**: How Akamai transformed from emergency content delivery savior to cybersecurity powerhouse

- **Massive Security Scale**: Processing 26 billion web attacks monthly and analyzing 7 trillion DNS queries daily

- **Zero Trust Evolution**: Why identity-aware proxies are replacing traditional VPNs for enterprise security

- **Micro-segmentation Explained**: Creating "mini-firewalls" at every endpoint to contain breaches and limit attack radius

- **Bot Attack Revolution**: The evolution from simple DDoS to sophisticated credential abuse and account takeover attempts

- **API Security Challenges**: Why APIs have become the new security frontier as other defenses improve

- **Client-Side Security**: How PCI DSS v4 is forcing new approaches to JavaScript security monitoring

- **Quantum-Resistant Future**: Akamai's implementation of NIST-approved quantum-resistant cryptography

### Notable Quotes:

"If you had our auto rules applied during the Log4J incident, you wouldn't have had to take any action during Christmas - it would have been protecting you automatically." - Joe Gronemeyer

"At some point I think it was in 2011-2012, is when we would start looking at the traffic coming in and protecting websites from attacks as well. So applying security at the edge, keeping the bad actors away from your servers." - Joe Gronemeyer

### About Our Guest:

Joe Gronemeyer serves as a Solutions Engineer at Akamai Technologies with nearly a decade of experience. Previously, he spent 13 years at Accenture as a Senior Manager leading digital solutions for Fortune 500 companies across pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, and telecommunications industries. He holds a BS in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Georgia Tech and is CISSP certified.

### Resources Mentioned:

- Web Application Firewall (WAF) technology

- Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA)

- Enterprise Application Access

- Client-Side Access and Compliance (formerly Page Integrity Manager)

- OWASP Top 10 for web, API, and AI security

- PCI DSS version 4 compliance requirements

- NIST standards for quantum-resistant cryptography

*Don't miss our next episode where we'll continue exploring cutting-edge cybersecurity approaches for enterprise organizations.*

#EdgeSecurity #ZeroTrust #MicroSegmentation #APIProtection #WAF #PCICompliance #QuantumCryptography #CyberDefense