The ITSPmagazine Podcast

Ben Ikwuagwu is a vocalist, performer, and entrepreneur who has spent over 15 years navigating the live events world. That firsthand experience, combined with a degree in operations and years working in corporate America, gives him a unique vantage point on what makes the industry run and where it breaks down. Now, as CEO & Co-Founder of Soundcheck Live, he is channeling both worlds into a single platform designed to simplify how live event professionals manage their work.What does an all-in-one operations platform for live events actually do? Soundcheck Live focuses on four core pillars: booking, scheduling, payments, and coordination. Ikwuagwu explains that every event, regardless of size, comes down to these four elements. The platform provides a centralized dashboard where teams can manage gig details, client communication, and payment information without juggling spreadsheets, text threads, and scattered documents.How is Soundcheck Live building differently? From day one, the team has built the product around its users. Pilots with bands, production companies, and venues shaped the tool from the ground up. With advances in AI, the feedback loop has accelerated dramatically. Focus group insights that once took weeks to implement now translate into working features in hours, giving users the feeling that the platform is being custom-built for their specific workflows.This is a Brand Highlight. A Brand Highlight is a ~5 minute introductory conversation designed to put a spotlight on the guest and their company. Learn more: https://www.studioc60.com/creation#highlightGUESTBen Ikwuagwu, CEO & Co-Founder of Soundcheck LiveOn LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminikwuagwu/RESOURCESSoundcheck Live (Website): https://soundchecklive.io/Are you interested in telling your story?▶︎ Full Length Brand Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#full▶︎ Brand Spotlight Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#spotlight▶︎ Brand Highlight Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#highlightKEYWORDSBen Ikwuagwu, Soundcheck Live, Sean Martin, brand story, brand marketing, marketing podcast, brand highlight, live events, gig management, event operations, live music, booking platform, freelancer tools, event technology, live entertainment, artist management, talent agencies Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

There's a particular kind of clarity you get when you talk to someone who spends their days breaking into things for a living. Not with malice — with purpose. John Steigerwald, known to most in the industry simply as "Stigs," co-founded White Knight Labs in 2016 with a mission that sounds almost disarmingly simple: build the best penetration testing team anyone has ever seen, and actually deliver results. Nearly a decade later, the company has grown to 40 people, gone international, and is busier than ever. The question worth asking is: why?The uncomfortable answer, according to Stigs, is that the fundamental problems haven't changed. At all."Honestly, it's still 2015," he said during our most recent conversation on ITSPmagazine's Brand Story series. Not as a metaphor. As a diagnosis. The same misconfigurations, the same weak identity policies, the same unlocked back doors that red teamers were exploiting a decade ago are still wide open today. The apps built in a COVID-era frenzy — pushed out fast, tested never — are now running critical business infrastructure. And the organizations using them are only finding out when something breaks.What's changed is the surface area. Cloud, AI, Microsoft 365, vibe-coded production apps — each new layer of technology gets adopted at speed, and each one arrives carrying the same original sin: no one turned on the basics. Stigs used Microsoft 365 as a pointed example. Millions of businesses are running on it with DMARC turned off, default configurations untouched, Copilot layered on top, and not a single CIS Benchmark policy applied. "Every client is vulnerable," he said. "Not just 10% of clients. Every client."That's a striking statement. It's also, if you've been paying attention to breach headlines, not a surprising one.The AI angle adds a new and almost darkly comedic wrinkle. Vibe coding — the practice of using AI tools like Cursor or Claude to generate production-ready code at speed — has given entry-level developers intermediate-level output. Which sounds great, until you realize that the AI models many of them leaned on were trained on outdated, sometimes vulnerable data. Stigs described visiting multiple clients with nearly identical security weaknesses, all tracing back to the same ChatGPT-generated setup instructions. "You and your neighbor did the same thing," he told one client. That's not just a funny anecdote. It's a warning about what happens when an entire industry bootstraps its infrastructure from the same flawed source.And yet, Stigs isn't anti-AI. He uses it every day. He just sees it with the clarity of someone who also finds the holes it leaves behind. His prediction for the near future: a massive wave of secure code review requests, as companies start reckoning with the vibe-coded backlog they've been quietly accumulating. AppSec is about to have a very good year.Looking forward, White Knight Labs is watching the growing intersection of private sector expertise and government infrastructure testing with particular interest. Critical infrastructure in America, long overdue for rigorous physical and embedded testing, is starting to receive that attention. Stigs and his team are already in the room.What makes White Knight Labs different isn't just technical skill — it's the ability to communicate what they find in language that actually lands. In an industry full of reports that gather dust, that matters. The best penetration test in the world is useless if no one acts on it.The door is open. It's been open for years. The question is who you call to finally lock it.To learn more about White Knight Labs, visit their website or reach out directly. Listen to the full conversation on ITSPmagazine.GUESTJohn StigerwaltFounder at White Knight Labs | Red Team Operations Leaderhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/john-stigerwalt-90a9b4110/RESOURCESWhite Knight Labs:  https://whiteknightlabs.com_____________________________________________________________Are you interested in telling your story?▶︎ Full Length Brand Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#full▶︎ Brand Spotlight Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#spotlight▶︎ Brand Highlight Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#highlight Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What happens when AI agents inherit access to enterprise systems but nobody governs their identities? Ido Shlomo, Co-Founder and CTO of Token Security, joins the conversation to unpack a rapidly growing challenge that many organizations face but few have addressed. As businesses accelerate AI adoption, agents are being deployed to fetch data from CRMs, process emails, and execute actions across platforms. The problem is that these agents often operate with persistent access, no clear ownership, and little visibility into what they can reach.How should security teams approach AI agent identity governance? Shlomo explains that the first step is discovery. Most companies do not know what their AI agent inventory looks like, and without that baseline, effective governance is impossible. The good news, he notes, is that agents do not suffer from politics. They do exactly what they are told and operate within the boundaries they are given. That predictability makes the challenge more manageable if the right tooling is in place.What makes an effective access policy for AI agents? Rather than relying on prompt filtering or output controls that add latency and friction, Shlomo advocates for intent-based permission models that scope each agent to access only what it needs, when it needs it. He frames the prioritization process as a matrix of access and autonomy, where the agents with the highest levels of both deserve immediate attention. For business leaders, the visibility that comes from this approach also reveals waste and inefficiency, highlighting departments and services that are not delivering on their intended value. To learn more about how to identify, govern, and secure AI agent identities, connect with the Token Security team and follow Ido Shlomo for practical guidance.This is a Brand Highlight. A Brand Highlight is a ~5 minute introductory conversation designed to put a spotlight on the guest and their company. Learn more: https://www.studioc60.com/creation#highlightGUESTIdo Shlomo, Co-Founder & CTO of Token SecurityOn LinkedIn: https://il.linkedin.com/in/ido--shlomoRESOURCESToken Security (Website): https://www.token.security/Are you interested in telling your story?▶︎ Full Length Brand Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#full▶︎ Brand Spotlight Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#spotlight▶︎ Brand Highlight Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#highlightKEYWORDSIdo Shlomo, Token Security, Sean Martin, brand story, brand marketing, marketing podcast, brand highlight, AI agent identity, non-human identity, identity governance, AI agent security, identity risk, least privilege, AI agent access, machine identity, NHI security, AI agent inventory, intent-based access Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Agade: The AI-Powered Wearable Robots That Protect Workers, Not Replace Them AI Meets Human CraftsmanshipThere's something poetic about a technology born to help people with muscular dystrophy finding its second life on factory floors and logistics warehouses. That's the story of Agade, an Italian deeptech startup that began as a research project at Politecnico di Milano and evolved into something far more ambitious: a mission to preserve human craftsmanship in an age of automation.I sat down with Lorenzo Aquilante, CEO and co-founder of Agade, to talk about their journey from healthcare innovation to industrial exoskeletons—and what it was like showcasing their latest product at CES 2026.The origin story matters here. Back in 2017, researchers at Politecnico di Milano started developing exoskeletons for people affected by muscular dystrophy. They created something different—a semi-active model powered by AI that recognizes when a user is lifting and responds accordingly. It wasn't just about motors and sensors. It was about intelligence.Then companies came knocking. Manufacturing firms, logistics operations, industries where human workers still matter because their skills, experience, and judgment can't be replaced by machines. They saw potential. Why not use this technology to protect the people doing the heavy lifting—literally?Agade was founded in 2020 with a clear mission: preserve craftsmanship against the physical toll of material handling. Not replace humans. Protect them.The company now has two products. The first, launched in 2024, focuses on shoulder assistance. The second—the one they brought to CES 2026—targets the lower back, which makes sense when you consider that back pain is practically an occupational hazard for anyone moving materials all day.What makes Agade's approach different is that semi-active AI system. The exoskeleton knows when you're lifting. It responds. It's not just a passive brace or a fully motorized suit that takes over. It's somewhere in between—smart enough to help, light enough to wear all day.Lorenzo emphasized something that resonated with me: the importance of feedback. From day one, Agade has been obsessed with real-world testing. Not lab conditions. Actual workers doing actual jobs. Because the buyer isn't the user—companies purchase these for their employees—and that creates a unique dynamic. You need both sides to believe in the technology.The CES experience brought that home. There's always the initial wow factor when someone sees a wearable robot with motors and sensors. But the real work happens after the demo, when users tell you what needs to improve. That's where the collaboration lives.And here's what struck me most about this conversation: Agade isn't trying to remove humans from the equation. They're trying to keep humans in it longer, healthier, and more capable. In a world racing toward full automation, there's something refreshing about a company betting on human skill—and building technology to protect it.The products are available globally. You can reach Agade through their website at agadexoskeletons.com, find them on LinkedIn and other social channels, and even arrange trials before committing to a purchase.For those of us watching the intersection of AI, robotics, and human labor, Agade represents a different path. Not humans versus machines. Humans with machines. Tools that amplify rather than replace.That's a story worth telling.Marco Ciappelli interviews Lorenzo Aquilante, CEO & Co-Founder of Agade, for ITSPmagazine's Brand Highlight series following CES 2026.>>> Marcociappelli.comGUESTLorenzo Aquilante, CEO and co-founder of Agadehttps://www.linkedin.com/in/lorenzo-aquilante-108573b0/RESOURCESAGADE: https://agade-exoskeletons.comAre you interested in telling your story?▶︎ Full Length Brand Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#full▶︎ Brand Spotlight Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#spotlight▶︎ Brand Highlight Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#highlightKEYWORDSAgade, exoskeleton, CES 2026, wearable robotics, AI, future of work, industrial exoskeleton, made in Italy, workplace safety, deeptech, robotics. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog is one of the most referenced resources in vulnerability management, but how well do security teams actually understand what it tells them? In this Brand Highlight, Tod Beardsley, Vice President of Security Research at runZero and former CISA section chief who helped manage the KEV on a daily basis, breaks down what the catalog is designed to do and, just as importantly, what it is not.What is the KEV catalog and who is it really for? The KEV is mandated by Binding Operational Directive 22-01 (BOD 22-01), which tasks CISA with identifying vulnerabilities that are known to be exploited and have an available fix. Its primary audience is federal civilian executive branch agencies, but because the catalog is public, organizations everywhere use it as a prioritization signal. Beardsley notes that inclusion on the KEV requires a CVE ID, evidence of active exploitation, a patch or mitigation, and relevance to federal interests, meaning zero-day vulnerabilities and end-of-life systems without CVEs never appear.How should organizations think about KEV entries that are not equally dangerous? Beardsley explains that only about a third of KEV-listed vulnerabilities represent straight-shot remote code execution with no user interaction and no authentication required. The rest span a wide spectrum of severity. EPSS data reveals an inverse bell curve: many KEV entries have extremely low probabilities of exploitation in the next 30 days, while others cluster at the high end with commodity exploits widely available. This means treating every KEV entry as equally critical leads to wasted effort and alert fatigue.That gap between the catalog and real-world decision-making is exactly what KEVology addresses. The research, produced by Beardsley at runZero, enriches KEV data with CVSS metrics, EPSS scores, exploit tooling indicators, and ATT&CK mappings to help security teams filter and prioritize vulnerabilities based on what actually matters to their environment. Rather than prescribing a single priority list, KEVology treats the KEV as data to be analyzed, not doctrine to be followed blindly.To make this analysis accessible and interactive, runZero built KEV Collider, a free, daily-updated web application at runzero.com/kev-collider. The tool lets defenders sort, filter, and layer multiple risk signals across the entire KEV catalog. Because every filter combination is encoded in URL parameters, teams can bookmark and share custom views with colleagues instantly. Beardsley describes KEV Collider as an evergreen companion to the research, updating automatically as new vulnerabilities are added to the catalog each week.This is a Brand Highlight. A Brand Highlight is a ~5 minute introductory conversation designed to put a spotlight on the guest and their company. Learn more: https://www.studioc60.com/creation#highlightGUESTTod Beardsley, Vice President of Security Research at runZeroOn LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/todb/RESOURCESLearn more about runZero: https://www.runzero.comKEVology research report: https://www.runzero.com/resources/kevology/KEV Collider: https://www.runzero.com/kev-collider/Are you interested in telling your story?▶︎ Full Length Brand Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#full▶︎ Brand Spotlight Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#spotlight▶︎ Brand Highlight Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#highlightKEYWORDSTod Beardsley, runZero, Sean Martin, brand story, brand marketing, marketing podcast, brand highlight, KEVology, KEV Collider, CISA KEV, vulnerability management, exploit scoring, EPSS, CVSS, vulnerability prioritization, exposure management, BOD 22-01, known exploited vulnerabilities, cybersecurity risk, patch management Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What happens when AI safety filters fail to catch harmful content hidden inside images? Alessandro Pignati, AI Security Researcher at NeuralTrust, joins Sean Martin to reveal a newly discovered vulnerability that affects some of the most widely used image-generation models on the market today. The technique, called semantic chaining, is an image-based jailbreak attack discovered by the NeuralTrust research team, and it raises important questions about how enterprises secure their multimodal AI deployments.How does semantic chaining work? Pignati explains that the attack uses a single prompt composed of several parts. It begins with a benign scenario, such as a historical or educational context. A second instruction asks the model to make an innocent modification, like changing the color of a background. The final, critical step introduces a malicious directive, instructing the model to embed harmful content directly into the generated image. Because image-generation models apply fewer safety filters than their text-based counterparts, the harmful instructions are rendered inside the image without triggering the usual safeguards.The NeuralTrust research team tested semantic chaining against prominent models including Gemini Nano Pro, Grok 4, and Seedream 4.5 by ByteDance, finding the attack effective across all of them. For enterprises, the implications extend well beyond consumer use cases. Pignati notes that if an AI agent or chatbot has access to a knowledge base containing sensitive information or personal data, a carefully structured semantic chaining prompt can force the model to generate that data directly into an image, bypassing text-based safety mechanisms entirely.Organizations looking to learn more about semantic chaining and the broader landscape of AI agent security can visit the NeuralTrust blog, where the research team publishes detailed breakdowns of their findings. NeuralTrust also offers a newsletter with regular updates on agent security research and newly discovered vulnerabilities.This is a Brand Highlight. A Brand Highlight is a ~5 minute introductory conversation designed to put a spotlight on the guest and their company. Learn more: https://www.studioc60.com/creation#highlightGUESTAlessandro Pignati, AI Security Researcher, NeuralTrustOn LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alessandro-pignati/RESOURCESLearn more about NeuralTrust: https://neuraltrust.ai/Are you interested in telling your story?▶︎ Full Length Brand Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#full▶︎ Brand Spotlight Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#spotlight▶︎ Brand Highlight Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#highlightKEYWORDSAlessandro Pignati, NeuralTrust, Sean Martin, brand story, brand marketing, marketing podcast, brand highlight, semantic chaining, image jailbreak, AI security, agentic AI, multimodal AI, LLM safety, AI red teaming, prompt injection, AI agent security, image-based attacks, enterprise AI security Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What happens when the security community stops debating whether AI belongs in the SOC and starts figuring out how to make it work? Monzy Merza, Co-Founder and CEO of Crogl, is helping answer that question, both through the autonomous AI SOC agent his company builds and through the inaugural AI SOC Summit, a community event designed to bring practitioners together for honest, no-nonsense conversation about what is real and what is hype in AI-driven security operations.Crogl builds what Merza describes as a "superhero suit" for SOC analysts. The platform investigates every alert in depth, working across multiple data lakes without requiring data normalization, and escalates only the issues that require human judgment. But the conversation here goes beyond any single product. Merza explains that the motivation for creating the AI SOC Summit came directly from community feedback. Security teams across enterprises are trying to determine what to buy, what to build, and how to govern AI in their environments, and they need a transparent, practical space to share those experiences.How are threat actors changing the game with agentic AI? Merza points to two critical shifts. First, adversaries are now conducting campaigns using agentic systems, which means defenders need to operate at the same speed. Second, the barrier to entry for sophisticated attacks has dropped significantly because agentic systems handle much of the technical detail, from crafting convincing phishing emails to automating post-exploitation activity. The implication is clear: security teams that do not adopt AI-driven capabilities risk falling behind attackers who already have.The AI SOC Summit, hosted March 3rd at the Hyatt Regency in Tysons, Virginia, is structured to serve the practitioners who are doing the daily work of security operations. The morning features keynotes from CISOs sharing what is working and what is not, along with perspectives on AI governance and privacy. The afternoon splits into two tracks: talk sessions from startups and established companies, and a five-and-a-half-hour hackathon where attendees get free access to frontier AI models and tools to experiment hands-on with real security data.Who should attend the AI SOC Summit? Merza identifies four key personas. SOC analysts at every tier who are buried in alert triage. Security engineers deploying AI-driven and traditional tools who want to see how other enterprises are rationalizing their investments. Incident responders and threat hunters who need to understand how to track agentic activity rather than just human activity. And builders, the security teams prototyping and testing AI capabilities in-house, who want to learn from what others have tried, what has failed, and what constraints can be overcome.What sets this event apart from the typical conference experience? The AI SOC Summit is intentionally vendor-agnostic. Sponsors range from reseller partners serving government organizations to household names like Splunk and Cribl, but the focus stays on community learning rather than product pitches. Many organizations still restrict employee access to frontier models and agentic systems, and the summit provides a space where attendees can kick the tires on these technologies without worrying about tooling costs or corporate restrictions. The goal is for every participant to leave with something practical they can take back and apply to their work immediately.This is a Brand Spotlight. A Brand Spotlight is a ~15 minute conversation designed to explore the guest, their company, and what makes their approach unique. Learn more: https://www.studioc60.com/creation#spotlightGUESTMonzy Merza, Co-Founder and CEO, Crogl [@monzymerza on X]https://www.linkedin.com/in/monzymerzaRESOURCESCrogl: https://www.crogl.comAI SOC Summit: https://www.aisocsummit.com/Are you interested in telling your story?▶︎ Full Length Brand Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#full▶︎ Brand Spotlight Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#spotlight▶︎ Brand Highlight Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#highlightKEYWORDSMonzy Merza, Crogl, Sean Martin, brand story, brand marketing, marketing podcast, brand spotlight, AI SOC Summit, AI SOC agent, security operations center, agentic AI, autonomous security, threat detection, SOC analyst, incident response, threat hunting, security engineering, AI governance, cybersecurity community, hackathon, frontier AI models, agentic speed, security automation Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What does it take to design a signature guitar from the ground up? Chris Buck sits down with Sean Martin at NAMM 2026 to talk about the journey of creating the Yamaha Revstar RS02CB, his first production signature model. Buck describes the experience as surreal, noting that the weight of joining Yamaha's legacy of signature artists continues to hit him in waves. The lengthy design process, he says, was about making sure every detail lived up to what the guitar could be.How did Chris Buck and Yamaha land on the right pickups for the RS02CB? Buck explains that the pickups were the centerpiece of the collaboration, with the team working through countless iterations of magnet types, wire specifications, and voicing options. The result is a set of custom P90-style pickups that deliver the dynamic, responsive tone he has built his sound around. The wraparound tailpiece, a feature less common on modern instruments, adds sustain and directness to the signal path, contributing to the guitar's massive volume and resonance.What makes the RS02CB stand apart from other Revstar models? Buck highlights a three-way pickup selector switch instead of the five-way found on the current generation of Revstars, along with custom inlays and his own signature squiggle on the back of the headstock. He caps the conversation by playing a lick that shows exactly what the guitar can do, leaving no doubt about the instrument's character and capability.This is a Brand Highlight. A Brand Highlight is a ~5 minute introductory conversation designed to put a spotlight on the guest and their company. Learn more: https://www.studioc60.com/creation#highlightGUESTChris Buck, Yamaha Signature Artist | On Instagram: @chrisbuckguitar | Website: https://www.chrisbuckguitar.shop/RESOURCESYamaha: https://usa.yamaha.com/Yamaha RS02CB Chris Buck Signature Revstar: https://usa.yamaha.com/products/musical_instruments/guitars_basses/el_guitars/rs02cb/index.htmlPart of ITSPmagazine's On Location Coverage at NAMM 2026. 🌐 https://www.itspmagazine.com/the-namm-show-2026-namm-music-conference-music-technology-event-coverage-anaheim-californiaAre you interested in telling your story?▶︎ Full Length Brand Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#full▶︎ Brand Spotlight Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#spotlight▶︎ Brand Highlight Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#highlightMore From Sean MartinMore from Music Evolves: https://www.seanmartin.com/music-evolves-podcastMusic Evolves on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnYu0psdcllTRJ5du7hFDXjiugu-uNPtWMusic Evolves: Sonic Frontiers Newsletter | https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7290890771828719616/Line of Sight Newsletter | https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7400591548452667392/ITSPmagazine YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@itspmagazineBe sure to share and subscribe!KEYWORDSChris Buck, Yamaha, Sean Martin, brand story, brand marketing, marketing podcast, brand highlight, Yamaha Revstar, RS02CB, signature guitar, P90 pickups, NAMM 2026, Cardinal Black, wraparound tailpiece, electric guitar, guitar design, custom pickups, signature artist Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

None of Your Goddamn BusinessJohn Morgan Salomon said something during our conversation that I haven't stopped thinking about. We were discussing encryption, privacy laws, the usual terrain — and he cut through all of it with five words: "It's none of your goddamn business."Not elegant. Not diplomatic. But exactly right.John has spent 30 years in information security. He's Swiss, lives in Spain, advises governments and startups, and uses his real name on social media despite spending his career thinking about privacy. When someone like that tells you he's worried, you should probably pay attention.The immediate concern is something called "Chat Control" — a proposed EU law that would mandate access to encrypted communications on your phone. It's failed twice. It's now in its third iteration. The Danish Information Commissioner is pushing it. Germany and Poland are resisting. The European Parliament is next.The justification is familiar: child abuse materials, terrorism, drug trafficking. These are the straw man arguments that appear every time someone wants to break encryption. And John walked me through the pattern: tragedy strikes, laws pass in the emotional fervor, and those laws never go away. The Patriot Act. RIPA in the UK. The Clipper Chip the FBI tried to push in the 1990s. Same playbook, different decade.Here's the rhetorical trap: "Do you support terrorism? Do you support child abuse?" There's only one acceptable answer. And once you give it, you've already conceded the frame. You're now arguing about implementation rather than principle.But the principle matters. John calls it the panopticon — the Victorian-era prison design where all cells face inward toward a central guard tower. No walls. Total visibility. The transparent citizen. If you can see what everyone is doing, you can spot evil early. That's the theory.The reality is different. Once you build the infrastructure to monitor everyone, the question becomes: who decides what "evil" looks like? Child pornographers, sure. Terrorists, obviously. But what about LGBTQ individuals in countries where their existence is criminalized? John told me about visiting Chile in 2006, where his gay neighbor could only hold his partner's hand inside a hidden bar. That was a democracy. It was also a place where being yourself was punishable by prison.The targets expand. They always do. Catholics in 1960s America. Migrants today. Anyone who thinks differently from whoever holds power at any given moment. These laws don't just catch criminals — they set precedents. And precedents outlive the people who set them.John made another point that landed hard: the privacy we've already lost probably isn't coming back. Supermarket loyalty cards. Surveillance cameras. Social media profiles. Cookie consent dialogs we click through without reading. That version of privacy is dead. But there's another kind — the kind that prevents all that ambient data from being weaponized against you as an individual. The kind that stops your encrypted messages from becoming evidence of thought crimes. That privacy still exists. For now.Technology won't save us. John was clear about that. Neither will it destroy us. Technology is just an element in a much larger equation that includes human nature, greed, apathy, and the willingness of citizens to actually engage. He sent emails to 40 Spanish members of European Parliament about Chat Control. One responded.That's the real problem. Not the law. Not the technology. The apathy.Republic comes from "res publica" — the thing of the people. Benjamin Franklin supposedly said it best: "A republic, if you can keep it." Keeping it requires attention. Requires understanding what's at stake. Requires saying, when necessary: this is none of your goddamn business.Stay curious. Stay Human. Subscribe to the podcast. And if you have thoughts, drop them in the comments — I actually read them.Marco CiappelliSubscribe to the Redefining Society and Technology podcast. Stay curious. Stay human.> https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7079849705156870144/Marco Ciappelli: https://www.marcociappelli.com/John Salomon Experienced, international information security leader. vCISO, board & startup advisor, strategist.https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnsalomon/  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Show NotesMost organizations treat cybersecurity as a technology problem. They invest in layers of defense, run phishing tests, and deploy identity and access management tools. Yet headlines about breaches keep coming. Dr. Keri Pearlson, Senior Lecturer and Principal Research Scientist at the MIT Sloan School of Management, argues that the real opportunity lies not in more technology but in changing how people across the organization think about and value cybersecurity.In this episode of the Human-Centered Cybersecurity Series, co-hosted by Julie Haney, Computer Scientist and Lead of the Human-Centered Cybersecurity Program at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Dr. Keri Pearlson introduces her framework for cybersecurity culture built around values, attitudes, and beliefs. Rather than simply training employees on what to do, the focus shifts to shaping why they do it. When people genuinely believe cybersecurity matters, they take action without waiting for mandates or programs to tell them how.Dr. Pearlson shares vivid examples from her research: a CISO who hired a marketing professional to run the cybersecurity culture program, a CEO who opens every all-hands meeting with a five-minute cybersecurity story, and organizations that use creative rewards like chocolate chip cookies and digital badges to reinforce positive behaviors. She also outlines a five-stage maturity model for cybersecurity culture, from ad hoc efforts all the way to a dynamic culture that self-regulates as new threats like AI-driven vulnerabilities emerge.The conversation also tackles the relationship between organizational culture and cybersecurity culture, the role of group-level accountability, and why consequences matter just as much as rewards. Dr. Pearlson makes the case that cybersecurity should move from being viewed as an infrastructure play to a strategic advantage, one that can attract customers, reduce costs, and build competitive differentiation.For any leader looking to move the needle on security culture, this episode offers a research-backed roadmap and practical steps that anyone can take starting tomorrow.HostSean Martin, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine, Studio C60, and Host of Redefining CyberSecurity Podcast & Music Evolves Podcast | Website: https://www.seanmartin.com/Guest(s)Dr. Keri Pearlson, Senior Lecturer and Principal Research Scientist at MIT Sloan School of Management | On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kpearlson/Julie Haney (Co-Host), Computer Scientist and Lead, Human-Centered Cybersecurity Program at National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) | On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-haney-037449119/ResourcesLearn more about Dr. Keri Pearlson's research: https://mitsloan.mit.edu/faculty/directory/keri-pearlsonLearn more about the NIST Human-Centered Cybersecurity Program: https://csrc.nist.gov/projects/human-centered-cybersecurityCybersecurity at MIT Sloan (CAMS): https://cams.mit.edu/The Future of Cybersecurity Newsletter | https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7108625890296614912/More Redefining CyberSecurity Podcast episodes | https://www.seanmartin.com/redefining-cybersecurity-podcastRedefining CyberSecurity Podcast on YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnYu0psdcllS9aVGdiakVss9u7xgYDKYqKeywordsdr. keri pearlson, julie haney, mit sloan, nist, sean martin, cybersecurity culture, security culture, values attitudes beliefs, cyber resilience, human-centered cybersecurity, security awareness, phishing, cybersecurity maturity model, security behavior, cybersecurity strategy, redefining cybersecurity, cybersecurity podcast, redefining cybersecurity podcast Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Innovation and Tradition: Taylor Guitars at NAMM 2026Walking into the Taylor booth at NAMM 2026 felt like stepping into a sonic candy store. Jim Kirlin's words, not mine—but he's right.I sat down with Jim to talk about what Taylor is bringing to the table this year, and it comes down to two distinct directions: the Next Generation Grand Auditorium series and the Gold Label Collection. Modern innovation on one side, vintage inspiration on the other.The Next Gen guitars build on Taylor's flagship Grand Auditorium—that versatile middle-size body that works for everything from fingerpicking to strumming. But they've added three significant upgrades.First is the Action Control Neck. It's a patented design with a long tenon joint that enhances resonance and tonal transfer between neck and body. More importantly, it lets players adjust string height in seconds through the sound hole. Climate changes, different venues, personal preference—you can dial it in on the fly. That's the kind of player-centric thinking that removes obstacles from the playing experience.Second is Scalloped V-Class Bracing. Andy Powers introduced V-Class back in 2018, and this evolution adds warmth and low end while maintaining that clear, balanced Taylor articulation. You get more of everything without losing what makes a Taylor sound like a Taylor.Third is the new Claria Pickup system. It's discreet—sound hole mounted with volume, mid contour, and tone controls. The goal was simplicity. Plug in, play, express yourself. No fussing with complicated setups depending on the venue. Just reliable amplified sound wherever you are.Then there's the Gold Label Collection—a completely different approach.These are non-cutaway guitars with traditional styling inspired by instruments from the 1930s and 40s. Andy Powers designed them to broaden Taylor's tonal palette and reach players who've never been drawn to the brand before.The new square shoulder dreadnought caught my attention. Deeper body dimensions than a traditional Taylor dread, with serious lung capacity inside. You strum those chords and feel the low end push back. Fan V-Class Bracing gives it projection and response that traditional dreadnought fans will appreciate.There's also round shoulder dreadnoughts and super auditoriums—the latter based on the Grand Auditorium but with all the curves pushed out for more air mass. Many feature torrified tops that give them an aged, played-in character right out of the case.The headstock shape is different. The logo styling is older. It's Taylor paying respect to tradition while still building with modern precision.What struck me most was how intentional both directions are. Taylor isn't abandoning their modern sound—they're expanding what's possible. Next Gen for players who want cutting-edge innovation. Gold Label for players who want vintage warmth and resonance.Two paths. Same commitment to removing obstacles and inspiring players.That's 50 years of guitar making at work.Sean Martin interviews Jim Kirlin from Taylor Guitars at NAMM 2026 for ITSPmagazine.__________________________This is a Brand Highlight. A Brand Highlight is an introductory conversation designed to put a spotlight on the guest and their company. Learn more: https://www.studioc60.com/creation#highlightGUESTSJim KirlinEditorial Director at Taylor GuitarsRESOURCESLearn more about Taylir Guitars Strings Guitars: https://www.taylorguitars.comAre you interested in telling your story?▶︎ Full Length Brand Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#full▶︎ Brand Spotlight Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#spotlight▶︎ Brand Highlight Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#highlight Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Wine Barrels, Duomo Marble, and Florence: Paoletti Custom Guitars at NAMM 2026I've been away from Florence for 25 years. I didn't know there was a guitar company like this back home.At NAMM 2026, I found Filippo Martini from Paoletti Custom Guitars—a boutique manufacturer based in the heart of Tuscany, building instruments that are equal parts guitar and artwork.Paoletti does something no one else does: they build guitars from chestnut wood sourced from Italian wine barrels. The material offers a wide harmonic spectrum, but it's difficult to work with. You need to know how to handle it. Founder Fabrizio Paoletti figured it out, and now every guitar they produce shows the natural grain—no opaque finishes, no hiding the wood.The craftsmanship runs deep. Bridges, pickguards, pickups—all made in-house. Necks carved from Canadian maple, roasted on-site. 99% of the process happens in Tuscany. As Filippo put it, "Kilometer zero." Zero miles. Everything local except the screws.Their model is 100% custom. You don't buy a Paoletti off the rack. You tell them your style, your sound, the genre you play. They build around your vision while keeping the Italian essence intact—chestnut wood, Italian-made components, tailored to your idea.But what stopped me cold was the Duomo collection.Eight individual guitars, each hand-engraved by Fabrizio Paoletti himself. Three years of work. The subject: Florence's cathedral—the Duomo di Santa Maria del Fiore.This isn't just decoration. Paoletti secured an official partnership with the Opera del Duomo, the authority that oversees the cathedral. The back of each guitar reproduces the marble floor pattern from inside the Duomo. And when the collection is complete this October, every guitar will contain an actual piece of marble from the cathedral.I got shivers standing there.This is what happens when guitar making meets Italian heritage. It's not about specs or market positioning. It's about place, history, and craft passed down through generations.Filippo invited me to visit the workshop in Florence when I return in April. I'm going. I want to see where this happens—where wine barrel wood becomes an instrument, where cathedral marble gets embedded into a guitar body, where a team of artisans builds one-of-one pieces for players around the world.Florence is known for many things. Leather. Art. Architecture. The Renaissance itself. Now I know it's also home to some of the most distinctive guitars being made anywhere.Paoletti proves that boutique doesn't mean small ambitions. They're partnering with galleries in Dubai, working with the Duomo authorities, and bringing Florence to NAMM.Not bad for a company I didn't even know existed until I walked the show floor and heard an Italian accent.Sometimes you find home in unexpected places.Marco Ciappelli interviews Filippo Martini from Paoletti Custom Guitars at NAMM 2026 for ITSPmagazine.Part of ITSPmagazine's On Location Coverage at NAMM 2026.🌐 https://www.itspmagazine.com/the-namm-show-2026-namm-music-conference-music-technology-event-coverage-anaheim-california__________________________This is a Brand Highlight. A Brand Highlight is an introductory conversation designed to put a spotlight on the guest and their company. Learn more: https://www.studioc60.com/creation#highlightGUESTFilippo Martini Managing DIrector at Paoletti Guitars | Florence | Tuscany | ItalyRESOURCESLearn more about Paoletti Guitars: https://www.paolettiguitars.comAre you interested in telling your story?▶︎ Full Length Brand Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#full▶︎ Brand Spotlight Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#spotlight▶︎ Brand Highlight Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#highlight Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

60 Years Forward: Yamaha at NAMM 2026Yamaha at NAMM 2026: Chris Buck Revstar, Pacifica SC & 60 Years of Guitar InnovationSome brands chase nostalgia. Yamaha builds forward.At NAMM 2026, I spoke with Andy Winston to talk about 60 years of Yamaha guitar design—and why this company keeps delivering instruments that punch way above their price point.The conversation started with the Chris Buck Signature Revstar. Buck is the guitarist for Cardinal Black, and he's earned his own model. The specs tell the story: overwound P90 pickups for a hotter sound, wraparound tailpiece with adjustable saddles, stainless steel frets, lightweight tuners, and those old-school inlays from the first-generation Revstar. No boost circuit. Buck wanted it stripped to essentials.Then Andy dropped a tease: Matteo Mancuso is getting his own Revstar this summer. The Italian virtuoso. That's a statement.We moved to the new Pacifica SC—Yamaha's answer for T-style players. Humbucker in the neck, single coil in the bridge, and pickups designed in partnership with Rupert Neve's team. The boost circuit under the bridge pickup gives you five sounds from two pickups. Made in Indonesia at $999 or Made in Japan with compound radius fretboard and IRA wood treatment at $2,199.I bought my nephew a Pacifica. Entry level, around $200. It works. That's Yamaha's philosophy—you can start at $200 and work your way up to a Mike Stern signature model without ever leaving the family.But here's what stuck with me.Andy said something that defines Yamaha's approach: "We don't do reissues. You're never gonna see us reissue a 1972."Sixty years of guitar history, and they're not looking backward. The Revstar draws inspiration from the 1970s Super Flight, sure—but it's chambered mahogany, tuned to eliminate harsh mid-range frequencies. Yamaha builds pianos, violins, marimbas. They know how to tune wood. They apply that knowledge to electric guitars in ways other companies don't.The BB Bass series came next. String-through body with 45-degree break angle. Extra bolts pulling the neck tight into the pocket. A maple stripe running through the center of the body for note response. Active/passive switching. Five-ply neck. Professional features at prices that don't require a car payment."We give people more instrument than what a price tag says," Andy told me.That's not marketing. That's mission.Before we wrapped, Andy shared a personal story. In 1977, hair down to his shoulders, bell bottoms on, his mom decided he was serious about guitar. She bought him a Yamaha FG-75. His first real acoustic. He doesn't have that one anymore, but he found a replacement. Had to.That's brand loyalty earned over decades. Not through heritage mythology—through instruments that work, that last, that give players what they need without emptying their wallets.Sixty years of guitar design. No reissues. Just forward.Yamaha keeps proving that innovation and accessibility aren't mutually exclusive.Marco Ciappelli interviews Andy Winston from Yamaha at NAMM 2026 for ITSPmagazine.Part of ITSPmagazine's On Location Coverage at NAMM 2026.🌐 https://www.itspmagazine.com/the-namm-show-2026-namm-music-conference-music-technology-event-coverage-anaheim-california__________________________This is a Brand Highlight. A Brand Highlight is an introductory conversation designed to put a spotlight on the guest and their company. Learn more: https://www.studioc60.com/creation#highlightGUESTAndy WinstonProduct Training Specialist at YamahaRESOURCESLearn more about Yamaha Guitars: https://www.yamaha.com/Are you interested in telling your story?▶︎ Full Length Brand Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#full▶︎ Brand Spotlight Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#spotlight▶︎ Brand Highlight Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#highlight Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What happens when artificial intelligence enters the arena of ethical hacking? Laurie Mercer, Senior Director of Solutions Engineering at HackerOne, joins Sean Martin for a look inside the ninth annual Hacker-Powered Security Report, where the headline is clear: the bionic hacker has arrived. HackerOne connects the global security research community with enterprises, open source projects, and major organizations, all working toward a shared mission of building a safer internet by finding, fixing, and rewarding the discovery of vulnerabilities.How is AI reshaping the bug bounty landscape? Mercer describes a dramatic shift unfolding on the HackerOne platform. For the first time, autonomous AI agents are operating alongside human researchers, growing from a single agent to more than ten competing on the leaderboard. At the same time, customers are driving change from the other side, with a 270% increase in organizations placing AI models within the scope of their bug bounty programs. The platform has paid out a record $81 million in bounty rewards over the past 12 months, with an average payout of roughly $1,000 per vulnerability, underscoring the sheer volume of valid findings flowing through the system.What makes these findings so significant? Of the reports submitted, 23,700 are rated critical or high severity, representing vulnerabilities capable of causing serious data breaches. HackerOne estimates these remediations have helped organizations avoid up to $3 billion in potential breach costs. The collectives participating on the platform range from venture-capital-backed startups building AI-powered offensive tools to informal groups of researchers pooling resources for greater efficiency. Mercer highlights three vulnerability categories that have surged over the past year: prompt injection, sensitive information exposure through large language models, and insecure plugin design. For any organization deploying AI-powered tools, these represent the most urgent areas to assess and secure.This is a Brand Highlight. A Brand Highlight is a ~5 minute introductory conversation designed to put a spotlight on the guest and their company. Learn more: https://www.studioc60.com/creation#highlightGUESTLaurie Mercer, Senior Director of Solutions Engineering at HackerOneOn LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauriemercer/RESOURCESLearn more about HackerOne: https://www.hackerone.comAre you interested in telling your story?▶︎ Full Length Brand Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#full▶︎ Brand Spotlight Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#spotlight▶︎ Brand Highlight Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#highlightKEYWORDSLaurie Mercer, HackerOne, Sean Martin, brand story, brand marketing, marketing podcast, brand highlight, bug bounty, ethical hacking, bionic hacker, AI agents, autonomous hacking, vulnerability discovery, hacker-powered security, offensive security, prompt injection, insecure plugin design, LLM security, AI vulnerability, cybersecurity, breach avoidance, bug bounty platform, responsible disclosure Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Show NotesAt NAMM 2026, Sean Martin sits down with Chuck Tennin, the President and CEO of Big Fish Music and Big Fish Music Publishing Group, for a candid conversation about the role of AI in the music industry and why the human element remains irreplaceable. Known as "The Big Fish" and "The Alligator," Chuck has spent more than five decades working as an engineer, record producer, music publisher, and consultant, and he pulls no punches when it comes to the limits of technology in creative work.Chuck draws a sharp line between AI as a tool and AI as a replacement for human creativity. He points to organizations like ASCAP, BMI, and the Recording Academy as allies in the fight to protect the creative process, arguing that AI cannot replicate the feel, the instinct, and the emotional investment that go into producing a record. For Chuck, the difference between producing music and producing a record is everything: a record has to connect with an audience on a level that no algorithm can manufacture.The conversation takes listeners through Chuck's journey from two-track analog recording to the digital era of Pro Tools, exploring how each technological leap brought efficiency but never fully captured the warmth and authenticity of tape. He reflects on the critical distinction between an MP3 and a WAV file, between convenience and quality, and between what sounds good enough and what sounds like a record.Chuck also shares hard-earned wisdom about the business side of music: the perseverance required, the reality that 90% of aspiring artists fail, and the belief in oneself that separates survivors from those who walk away. Drawing on stories from legendary artists he has worked with over the decades, he reminds listeners that every big name started in the same place and climbed out of the same struggle.This is a conversation about what technology can assist with and what it can never touch: the soul of music and the humans who create it.HostSean Martin, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine, Studio C60, and Host of Redefining CyberSecurity Podcast & Music Evolves Podcast | Website: https://www.seanmartin.com/GuestChuck Tennin, President and CEO of Big Fish Music and Big Fish Music Publishing Group | On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuck-tennin-3468b6105/ResourcesThe NAMM Show 2026 is taking place from January 20-24, 2026 | Anaheim Convention Center, Southern California — Follow our coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/the-namm-show-2026-namm-music-conference-music-technology-event-coverage-anaheim-californiaMusic Evolves: Sonic Frontiers Newsletter | https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7290890771828719616/Keywordschuck tennin, big fish music, sean martin, AI in music, analog vs digital recording, record producer, music publishing, Pro Tools, ASCAP, BMI, Recording Academy, NAMM 2026, music industry, human creativity, songwriting, music, creativity, art, artist, musician, music evolves, music podcast, music and technology podcastMore From Sean MartinMore from Music Evolves: https://www.seanmartin.com/music-evolves-podcastMusic Evolves on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnYu0psdcllTRJ5du7hFDXjiugu-uNPtWMusic Evolves: Sonic Frontiers Newsletter | https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7290890771828719616/On Location with Sean and Marco: https://www.itspmagazine.com/on-locationITSPmagazine YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@itspmagazineBe sure to share and subscribe! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

At the Guitar Center Foundation, music is treated as a shared resource rather than a luxury. During this conversation at the NAMM Show 2026, Michelle Wolff, representing the Foundation, explains how access to real instruments can change the trajectory of a student, a patient, or a veteran simply by making music possible in the first place.The Foundation’s work centers on donating thousands of instruments to schools, hospitals, and veteran centers, with a focus on communities where funding for music programs is often the first thing cut. Through a structured grant process, organizations apply for instruments quarterly, with roughly 150 requests reviewed each cycle. About 30 of those requests are fulfilled, helping sustain programs that might otherwise disappear.Beyond instrument donations, the Foundation is expanding how it shows up in communities. Plans include live donation events that bring instruments directly into schools and hospitals, often paired with artist participation to create meaningful, memorable moments. New donor and ambassador programs are also taking shape, designed to broaden awareness and bring more voices into the mission.Partnerships play a major role in that effort. The conversation highlights recent collaboration tied to the 100 Billion Meals initiative, where music, visual art, and social impact intersect to amplify multiple causes at once. These partnerships extend the Foundation’s reach while reinforcing the idea that music can support broader humanitarian goals.Wolff also shares a personal connection to the mission. As a former vocal performance major at the University of Texas Butler School of Music, she understands how deeply musicians identify with their craft. After experiencing vocal injury herself, she speaks to the importance of supporting musicians through change and helping them build identities that extend beyond a single instrument, without losing music as a core part of who they are.That perspective brings the Foundation’s work full circle. Access to instruments is not only about creating future professionals. It is about expression, resilience, and giving people the chance to discover what music can mean in their own lives.Part of ITSPmagazine's On Location Coverage at NAMM 2026.🌐 https://www.itspmagazine.com/the-namm-show-2026-namm-music-conference-music-technology-event-coverage-anaheim-california__________________________Guitar Center Foundation: https://www.guitarcenterfoundation.org100 Billion Meals initiative: https://100billionmeals.orgThe NAMM Show 2026: https://www.namm.org/thenammshow/attendMusic Evolves: Sonic Frontiers Newsletter | https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7290890771828719616/More from Marco Ciappelli on Redefining Society and Technology Podcast: https://redefiningsocietyandtechnologypodcast.com/Want to share an Event Briefing as part of our event coverage? Learn More 👉 https://www.studioc60.com/performance#briefingWant Sean and Marco to be part of your event or conference? Let Us Know 👉 https://www.studioc60.com/performance#ideasKEYWORDS: music charity, instrument donations, namm show 2026, music education access, supporting musicians, music nonprofit, guitar center foundation, music programs schools, music and community, philanthropy in music, guitar center, michelle wolff, marco ciappelli Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The renewable energy sector faces a fundamental disconnect. Cybersecurity teams generate endless alerts and vulnerability reports, while operational managers focus on asset performance and site availability. Neither group speaks the other's language, leaving executives struggling to make informed decisions about where to invest limited resources. Rafael Narezzi, Co-Founder and CEO of Centrii, has built his company specifically to bridge this gap, translating technical cyber risks into the financial business outcomes that drive executive decision-making.Centrii, emerging from its predecessor Cyber Energia, represents a new approach to OT security in the energy sector. The name itself carries meaning: the sentinel of industrial intelligence, signified by the double I at the end. Rather than simply identifying vulnerabilities and presenting red alerts, the platform contextualizes risks in terms that matter to the business. How does a potential compromise affect your power purchase agreements? What happens to your revenue when energy prices fluctuate and your site goes offline? These are the questions that Centrii answers.The company prices its services per megawatt hour, demonstrating its commitment to speaking the language of energy rather than traditional IT security. This approach reflects a deeper understanding that renewable energy assets present vastly different risk profiles. A biomass facility with 24/7 personnel on site faces different challenges than an unmanned offshore wind installation. Solar farms, hydrogen facilities, and battery storage systems each require tailored risk assessments that account for their unique operational characteristics and regulatory requirements.Recent attacks on distributed energy resources, including the compromise of Poland's renewable grid, underscore the urgency of this work. With regulations like NERC CIP 15 in the United States, NIS 2.0 in Europe, and the UK Cyber Security Bill now holding asset owners personally accountable for cybersecurity failures, organizations can no longer afford to treat OT security as an afterthought. Narezzi observes that compliance has become the driving force pushing companies to take responsibility for their critical infrastructure assets.What sets Centrii apart is its ability to help executives identify which risks actually matter. When every cybersecurity tool reports critical alerts, organizations face paralysis. Which red is the red that demands immediate attention? Centrii provides clarity by mapping technical findings to financial impact, reputational damage, and operational consequences specific to each asset type and technology.The company's presentation at DistribuTECH 2026 focuses on battery energy storage systems, an area of explosive growth driven by data center demand and the expanding role of AI. Narezzi draws a parallel to Ocean's 11, where coordinated manipulation of power systems creates cascading failures. As batteries become essential for grid balancing, the risks of compromised dispatch commands affecting multiple installations simultaneously represent a scenario that demands serious attention from asset owners and regulators alike.Operating across 16 countries with diverse energy technologies, Centrii provides a unified platform for organizations managing hundreds of sites across different regions and regulatory environments. The goal is straightforward: give every stakeholder, from technical teams to the C-suite, a common language for understanding and acting on cyber risk in the energy sector.This is a Brand Story. A Brand Story is a ~35-40 minute in-depth conversation designed to tell the complete story of the guest, their company, and their vision. Learn more: https://www.studioc60.com/creation#fullGUESTRafael Narezzi, Co-Founder and CEO, Centriihttps://www.linkedin.com/in/narezzi/RESOURCESCentriihttps://centrii.comCyber Energiahttps://cyberenergia.comAre you interested in telling your story?▶︎ Full Length Brand Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#full▶︎ Brand Spotlight Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#spotlight▶︎ Brand Highlight Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#highlightKEYWORDSRafael Narezzi, Centrii, Sean Martin, brand story, brand marketing, marketing podcast, brand story, OT security, renewable energy cybersecurity, battery energy storage systems, BESS, critical infrastructure protection, energy sector cybersecurity, NERC CIP, NIS 2.0, power purchase agreements, distributed energy resources, industrial intelligence, cyber risk quantification Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Last Touch: Why AI Will Never Be an ArtistI had one of those conversations... the kind where you're nodding along, then suddenly stop because someone just articulated something you've been feeling but couldn't quite name.Andrea Isoni is a Chief AI Officer. He builds and delivers AI solutions for a living. And yet, sitting across from him (virtually, but still), I heard something I rarely hear from people deep in the AI industry: a clear, unromantic take on what this technology actually is — and what it isn't.His argument is elegant in its simplicity. Think about Michelangelo. We picture him alone with a chisel, carving David from marble. But that's not how it worked. Michelangelo ran a workshop. He had apprentices — skilled craftspeople who did the bulk of the work. The master would look at a semi-finished piece, decide what needed refinement, and add the final touch.That final touch is everything.Andrea draws the same line with chefs. A Michelin-starred kitchen isn't one person cooking. It's a team executing the chef's vision. But the chef decides what's on the menu. The chef check the dish before it leaves. The chef adds that last adjustment that transforms good into memorable.AI, in this framework, is the newest apprentice. It can do the bulk work. It can generate drafts, produce code, create images. But it cannot — and here's the key — provide that final touch. Because that touch comes from somewhere AI doesn't have access to: lived experience, suffering, joy, the accumulated weight of being human in a particular time and place.This matters beyond art. Andrea calls it the "hacker economy" — a future where AI handles the volume, but humans handle the value. Think about code generation. Yes, AI can write software. But code with a bug doesn't work. Period. Someone has to fix that last bug. And in a world where AI produces most of the code, the value of fixing that one critical bug increases exponentially. The work becomes rarer but more valuable. Less frequent, but essential.We went somewhere unexpected in our conversation — to electricity. What does AI "need"? Not food. Not warmth. Electricity. So if AI ever developed something like feelings, they wouldn't be tied to hunger or cold or human vulnerability. They'd be tied to power supply. The most important being to an AI wouldn't be a human — it would be whoever controls the electricity grid.That's not a being we can relate to. And that's the point.Andrea brought up Guernica. Picasso's masterpiece isn't just innovative in style — it captures something society was feeling in 1937, the horror of the Spanish Civil War. Great art does two things: it innovates, and it expresses something the collective needs expressed. AI might be able to generate the first. It cannot do the second. It doesn't know what we feel. It doesn't know what moment we're living through. It doesn't have that weight of context.The research community calls this "world models" — the attempt to give AI some built-in understanding of reality. A dog doesn't need to be taught to swim; it's born knowing. Humans have similar innate knowledge, layered with everything we learn from family, culture, experience. AI starts from zero. Every time.Andrea put it simply: AI contextualization today is close to zero.I left the conversation thinking about what we protect when we acknowledge AI's limits. Not anti-technology. Not fear. Just clarity. The "last touch" isn't a romantic notion — it's what makes something resonate. And that resonance comes from us.Stay curious. Subscribe to the podcast. And if you have thoughts, drop them in the comments — I actually read them.Marco CiappelliSubscribe to the Redefining Society and Technology podcast. Stay curious. Stay human.> https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7079849705156870144/Marco Ciappelli: https://www.marcociappelli.com/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

131 years. Still handcrafted in Nashville. Still changing music.At NAMM 2026, Sean Martin and Marco Ciappelli sat down with Jeff Stempka, Global Brand & Marketing at Gibson & Gibson Custom, to talk about what makes this brand untouchable—the craftsmanship, the artist connection, and why people will stretch their budget just to hold one.From the Les Paul Studio Double Trouble to the ES-335 Fifties and Sixties refresh, Gibson is honoring its legacy while pushing forward.Jeff said it best: "These are tools that enable incredible musicians to take the instruments and do something we never intended."🎸 Les Paul Studio Double Trouble – Modern collection, coil splits, pure bypass 🎸 ES-335 Fifties & Sixties – Neck profiles for every player 🎸 100 Years of Flat Tops – From Orville Gibson to todayThis isn't just gear. It's functional art. It's history. It's emotion.Part of ITSPmagazine's On Location Coverage at NAMM 2026.🌐 https://www.itspmagazine.com/the-namm-show-2026-namm-music-conference-music-technology-event-coverage-anaheim-california__________________________This is a Brand Highlight. A Brand Highlight is an introductory conversation designed to put a spotlight on the guest and their company. Learn more: https://www.studioc60.com/creation#highlightGUESTJeff StempkaGlobal Brand & Marketing at GibsonRESOURCESLearn more about Gibson Guitars: https://www.gibson.com/Are you interested in telling your story?▶︎ Full Length Brand Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#full▶︎ Brand Spotlight Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#spotlight▶︎ Brand Highlight Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#highlight Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Snowboards and Guitars: Circle Strings x Burton at NAMM 2026Some collaborations make you stop and ask how nobody thought of this before.At NAMM Media Day 2026, Sean Martin caught up with Adam Buchwald and William Hylton from Circle Strings, a Vermont-based guitar company, to talk about their partnership with Burton. The concept is deceptively simple: matching snowboards and custom guitars built from the same materials.But the execution is anything but simple.Buchwald owns a wood company in Vermont. He had an entire tree of figured mahogany set aside, waiting for the right project. When Burton agreed to collaborate, he knew exactly what to do with it. The wood became the centerpiece—the visual and sonic foundation of everything that followed.Then William Hylton got to work.Hylton, Circle Strings' designer and CNC specialist, is a backcountry snowboarder. He chose Burton's Alakazam powder board shape as his starting point, drawn to its distinctive tail curve. That curve, he realized, was already guitar-esque. So he wove it through the entire instrument—the fingerboard extension, the pickguard, the bridge tips. The snowboard's DNA lives in every contour.But here's where it gets interesting.The core of a Burton snowboard is wood. Lightweight, durable, designed for performance. Hylton took that same core material and built a guitar body from it. The result feels right in your hands—balanced, resonant, purposeful. It's not a gimmick. It's a genuine instrument built from materials engineered to perform.The acoustic model features a sound hole that mirrors the snowboard's design. Inlays are crafted from Burton's core material, tying everything together visually and conceptually. Both guitars showcase snowflake inlays inspired by Snowflake Bentley, the Vermont photographer who first captured snowflakes in their true crystalline form over a century ago.It's a detail that says everything about how Circle Strings approaches their work. History. Craft. Place.Vermont runs through this collaboration. Buchwald and Hylton are snowboarders. They source their wood locally. They build instruments that reflect where they come from. Burton, also rooted in Vermont's snow culture, was a natural partner.The Burton team, according to Hylton, is thrilled. Many of them are musicians. Some are fans of the artists Circle Strings builds for. The connection was already there—this project just made it tangible.What strikes me about this collaboration is the underlying philosophy. Snowboards and guitars aren't that different when you strip them down. Both are built from wood. Both demand precision. Both exist to help someone express themselves—whether carving powder or carving a melody.Circle Strings and Burton understand this. They didn't force a partnership. They found the common thread and followed it.The result is a set of instruments that belong in a museum and on a stage. Objects that tell a story about craft, place, and the people who refuse to separate their passions.Snowboards and guitars. Same wood. Same craft. Different ride.Sean Martin reports from NAMM 2026 for ITSPmagazine.__________________________This is a Brand Highlight. A Brand Highlight is an introductory conversation designed to put a spotlight on the guest and their company. Learn more: https://www.studioc60.com/creation#highlightGUESTSAdam Buchwald and William HyltonRESOURCESLearn more about Circle Strings Guitars: https://circlestrings.comLearn more about Burton Snowboards: https://www.burton.comAre you interested in telling your story?▶︎ Full Length Brand Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#full▶︎ Brand Spotlight Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#spotlight▶︎ Brand Highlight Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#highlightKEYWORDSNAMM 2026, Burton, Circle Strings, custom guitars, snowboard guitar, handmade guitars, Vermont, guitar collaboration, Burton snowboards, NAMM, luthier, unique guitars Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.