On Location With Sean Martin And Marco Ciappelli

Show NotesSinger, songwriter, and guitarist Margaret Glaspy joins Sean Martin and Marco Ciappelli for a Music Evolves conversation recorded in the context of the NAMM Show and the She Rocks Awards, where Glaspy is recognized as a 2026 honoree. The discussion centers on how artists develop a voice, how creative practice sustains a career, and why music functions as a form of public service rather than a commodity alone. Glaspy shares how growing up in a musically active household normalized creativity and removed the idea that music must be exceptional to be meaningful. Early immersion in Texas-style fiddle competitions, alongside exposure to jazz, songwriter traditions, and alternative rock, shapes a foundation rooted in lineage rather than trend. That sense of lineage continues to guide her current work, where influence is acknowledged openly rather than hidden.Songwriting, as Glaspy describes it, is a daily practice rather than an output-driven process. Writing consistently, sometimes a song a day, becomes a way to maintain agency in a career shaped by touring cycles, releases, and expectations. Albums emerge from accumulation and reflection, not from pre-defined concepts. This approach reframes productivity as presence, with creativity tied to well-being and continuity.The conversation also explores how artists navigate maturity. Early attempts to emulate heroes eventually give way to self-recognition. Glaspy speaks to the value of being a student of music, letting imitation serve as a bridge to personal expression rather than a destination. That perspective resists the myth of originality in isolation and places artists within an ongoing cultural thread.Recognition at the She Rocks Awards introduces another dimension. Glaspy views the honor with humility, emphasizing the importance of creating space to acknowledge women’s contributions in music without turning the work itself into a competition. In that context, the NAMM Show represents the maker side of music, instrument builders, technologists, and craftspeople whose work enables creative expression.This episode positions music not as a product to be optimized, but as a practice to be protected, cultivated, and shared.GuestMargaret Glaspy, Singer, Songwriter, and Guitarist | Website: https://margaretglaspy.com/HostSean Martin, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine, Studio C60, and Host of Redefining CyberSecurity Podcast & Music Evolves Podcast | Website: https://www.seanmartin.com/Marco Ciappelli, Co-Founder, ITSPmagazine and Studio C60 | Website: https://www.marcociappelli.comResources2026 She Rocks Awards: https://sherocksawards.com/The NAMM Show 2026 is taking place from January 20-24, 2026 | Anaheim Convention Center • Southern California — Coverage provided by ITSPmagazine — Follow our coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/cybersecurity-technology-society-events/the-namm-show-2026The NAMM Show 2026: https://www.namm.org/thenammshow/attendMusic Evolves: Sonic Frontiers Newsletter | https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7290890771828719616/Keywordsmargaret glaspy, sean martin, marco ciappelli, namm, she rocks awards, music, creativity, art, artist, musician, music evolves, music podcast, music and technology podcast, singer, songwriter, guitarist, guitar playingMore 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.

Show NotesBass rarely leads the conversation about music innovation, yet it quietly shapes how songs move, how bands connect, and how audiences feel rhythm in their bodies. In this episode of Music Evolves, hosts Sean Martin and Marco Ciappelli explore that idea with Jon D’Auria, Editor in Chief of Bass Magazine, through the lens of community, technology, and cultural relevance.D’Auria describes bass not as a background instrument, but as a stabilizing force. It anchors songs while allowing others to shine, a role mirrored by bass players themselves. That identity informs how the bass community operates: collaborative, inclusive, and deeply connected across generations. Events like the Bass Magazine Awards, held alongside the NAMM Show, are not about spectacle alone. They are about recognition, continuity, and shared lineage.Technology plays a central role in how this community grows. Digital publishing allowed Bass Magazine to expand reach beyond the limits of print, creating immediate access to news, gear releases, artist stories, and cultural moments. Social platforms now surface bass players from bedrooms and rehearsal spaces worldwide, creating opportunity while also reshaping how success is measured.Innovation, however, is not framed as progress for its own sake. The conversation questions where technology supports creativity and where it distracts from it. Lightweight amps, compact gear, and modeling tools solve real problems for working musicians. AI, on the other hand, introduces unresolved tension. While it lowers barriers to creation, it also challenges authorship, labor, and artistic value.Through it all, the episode reinforces a simple truth: music remains human at its core. Technology can amplify access, speed, and scale, but it does not replace intention, emotion, or community. Bass, often overlooked, becomes the perfect metaphor for that balance. Present, essential, and powerful without demanding the spotlight.This episode positions bass not just as an instrument, but as a signal of how music culture adapts while staying grounded in human connection.GuestJon D’Auria, Editor in Chief of Bass Magazine | On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-d-auria-2a7b5089/HostSean Martin, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine, Studio C60, and Host of Redefining CyberSecurity Podcast & Music Evolves Podcast | Website: https://www.seanmartin.com/Marco Ciappelli, Co-Founder, ITSPmagazine and Studio C60 | Website: https://www.marcociappelli.comResourcesBass Magazine: https://bassmagazine.comBass Magazine Awards: https://bassmagazineawards.com/The NAMM Show 2026 is taking place from January 20-24, 2026 | Anaheim Convention Center • Southern California — Coverage provided by ITSPmagazine — Follow our coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/cybersecurity-technology-society-events/the-namm-show-2026The NAMM Show 2026: https://www.namm.org/thenammshow/attendMusic Evolves: Sonic Frontiers Newsletter | https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7290890771828719616/Keywordssean martin, marco ciappelli, jon dauria, bass magazine, namm, bass, music, technology, community, creativity, 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.

Show NotesMusic careers are often discussed through the lens of performance, technology, or commercial success. Less visible is the connective tissue that sustains those careers: community, advocacy, and long-term support systems. In this episode of Music Evolves: Sonic Frontiers, the conversation centers on how structured networks and intentional recognition shape opportunity across the music industry.Laura Whitmore, Founder of The Women’s International Music Network and Senior Vice President of Marketing at Positive Grid, shares how the organization was created to address a simple but persistent issue: women working across music often operate in parallel, rarely connected despite facing similar challenges. The network focuses on bridging that gap by creating shared spaces for visibility, mentorship, and collaboration across roles including artists, executives, engineers, marketers, and legal professionals.A central anchor of that effort is the She Rocks Awards, now in its fourteenth year. The awards, taking place during The NAMM Show 2026, highlight women contributing across all layers of the industry, not only those on stage. The emphasis is on storytelling and presence, giving space for honorees to speak openly about career paths, obstacles, and resilience. That visibility has a ripple effect, normalizing leadership diversity and encouraging others to see themselves as part of the industry’s future.The discussion also addresses how technology fits into this ecosystem. From AI-assisted music tools to digital platforms that broaden access, innovation plays a role when it amplifies creativity rather than replacing it. The focus remains on preserving human expression while using technology to remove friction and expand reach.Another recurring theme is generational continuity. Younger creators and professionals bring new perspectives on consumption, creation, and community. Engaging them early, listening closely, and building inclusive pathways ensures the industry remains relevant and sustainable.This episode frames music not only as art or business, but as a shared cultural system. Networks like this one reinforce that progress does not happen automatically. It is built through intentional connection, recognition, and sustained effort.GuestLaura Whitmore, Founder of The Women’s International Music Network and Senior Vice President of Marketing at Positive Grid | On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurabwhitmore/HostSean Martin, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine, Studio C60, and Host of Redefining CyberSecurity Podcast & Music Evolves Podcast | Website: https://www.seanmartin.com/ResourcesThe Women's International Music Network: https://thewimn.com/2026 She Rocks Awards: https://sherocksawards.com/The NAMM Show 2026 is taking place from January 20-24, 2026 | Anaheim Convention Center • Southern California — Coverage provided by ITSPmagazine — Follow our coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/cybersecurity-technology-society-events/the-namm-show-2026The NAMM Show 2026: https://www.namm.org/thenammshow/attendMusic Evolves: Sonic Frontiers Newsletter | https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7290890771828719616/Keywordssean martin, laura whitmore, women’s international music network, she rocks awards, positive grid, namm, music advocacy, music marketing, women in music, music leadership, 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.

As NAMM approaches its 125th year, the conversation around The NAMM Show 2026 centers less on products alone and more on the people, relationships, and creative energy that sustain the music industry. In this episode, John Mlynczak, President and CEO of NAMM, joins Sean Martin and Marco Ciappelli to frame the upcoming show as a moment shaped by resilience, adaptation, and shared purpose.Mlynczak positions NAMM’s history as a long record of responding to disruption. Musical genres shift. Technologies rise and fall. Companies appear and disappear. Music itself remains. That continuity shapes how NAMM views its role today, particularly amid global trade pressures and ongoing debates around AI in music creation. These pressures are not framed as endpoints, but as forces the industry has encountered many times before, each eventually reshaped into opportunity.A major theme is the renewed emphasis on human connection. While innovation remains central, differentiation increasingly comes through artists, creators, and authentic storytelling. Product launches are no longer just technical showcases. They are expressions of identity, collaboration, and trust between musicians and the tools they choose. According to Mlynczak, this shift is driving a larger presence of artists and creators at The NAMM Show 2026, reinforcing the idea that brands are ultimately represented by people, not specifications.Education also plays a defining role. With more than 200 sessions planned, alongside new half-day and full-day summits, The NAMM Show 2026 expands its commitment to learning across experience levels and professional communities. Retailers, educators, engineers, marketers, and performers each have distinct paths through the show, designed intentionally rather than left to chance. Data-driven planning allows NAMM to understand how attendees engage, enabling more tailored experiences now and in the years ahead.Underlying it all is energy. Not hype, but momentum built through in-person connection. The NAMM Show is described as a space where competitors share ideas, musicians find inspiration, and creativity compounds simply by being present. For those who attend, The NAMM Show 2026 serves as a springboard into the year ahead, shaped by music’s enduring ability to connect, adapt, and move people forward.The NAMM Show 2026 is taking place from January 20-24, 2026 | Anaheim Convention Center • Southern California — Coverage provided by ITSPmagazine — Follow our coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/cybersecurity-technology-society-events/the-namm-show-2026GUEST:Guest: John Mlynczak, President and CEO of NAMM | View Website | Visit NAMMHOSTS:Sean Martin, Co-Founder, ITSPmagazine and Studio C60 | Website: https://www.seanmartin.comMarco Ciappelli, Co-Founder, ITSPmagazine and Studio C60 | Website: https://www.marcociappelli.comNAMM Organization: https://www.namm.org/The NAMM Show 2026: https://www.namm.org/thenammshow/attendCatch more stories from NAMM Show 2026 coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/cybersecurity-technology-society-events/the-namm-show-2026Music 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: sean martin, marco ciappelli, john mlynczak, the namm show, the namm show 2026, namm 2026, music industry, music technology, music education, artist collaborations, event coverage, on location, conference Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

____________Guests:Suzy PallettPresident, Black Hat. Cybersecurity.On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzy-pallett-60710132/The Cybersecurity Community Finds Its Footing in Uncertain TimesThere is something almost paradoxical about the cybersecurity industry. It exists because of threats, yet it thrives on trust. It deals in technical complexity, yet its beating heart is fundamentally human: people gathering, sharing knowledge, and collectively deciding that defending each other matters more than protecting proprietary advantage.This tension—and this hope—was on full display at Black Hat Europe 2025 in London, which just wrapped up at the ExCel Centre with attendance growing more than 25 percent over last year. For Suzy Pallett, the newly appointed President of Black Hat, the numbers tell only part of the story."What I've found from this week is the knowledge sharing, the insights, the open source tools that we've shared, the demonstrations that have happened—they've been so instrumental," Pallett shared in a conversation with ITSPmagazine. "Cybersecurity is unlike any other industry I've ever been close to in the strength of that collaboration."Pallett took the helm in September after Steve Wylie stepped down following eleven years leading the brand through significant growth. Her background spans over two decades in global events, most recently with Money20/20, the fintech conference series. But she speaks of Black Hat not as a business to be managed but as a community to be served.The event itself reflected the year's dominant concerns. AI agents and supply chain vulnerabilities emerged as central themes, continuing conversations that dominated Black Hat USA in Las Vegas just months earlier. But Europe brought its own character. Keynotes ranged from Max Meets examining whether ransomware can actually be stopped, to Linus Neumann questioning whether compliance checklists might actually expose organizations to greater risk rather than protecting them."He was saying that the compliance checklists that we're all being stressed with are actually where the vulnerabilities lie," Pallett explained. "How can we work more collaboratively together so that it's not just a compliance checklist that we get?"This is the kind of question that sits at the intersection of technology and policy, technical reality and bureaucratic aspiration. It is also the kind of question that rarely gets asked in vendor halls but deserves space in our collective thinking.Joe Tidy, the BBC journalist behind the EvilCorp podcast, delivered a record-breaking keynote attendance on day two, signaling the growing appetite for cybersecurity stories that reach beyond the practitioner community into broader public consciousness. Louise Marie Harrell spoke on technical capacity and international accountability—a reminder that cyber threats respect no borders and neither can our responses.What makes Black Hat distinct, Pallett noted, is that the conversations happening on the business hall floor are not typical expo fare. "You have the product teams, you have the engineers, you have the developers on those stands, and it's still product conversations and technical conversations."Looking ahead, Pallett's priorities center on listening. Review boards, advisory boards, pastoral programs, scholarships—these are the mechanisms through which she intends to ensure Black Hat remains, in her words, "a platform for them and by them."The cybersecurity industry faces a peculiar burden. What used to happen in twelve years now happens in two days, as Pallett put it. The pace is exhausting. The threats keep evolving. The cat-and-mouse game shows no signs of ending.But perhaps that is precisely why events like this matter. Not because they offer solutions to every problem, but because they remind an industry under constant pressure that it is not alone in the fight. That collaboration is not weakness. That sharing knowledge freely is not naïve—it is strategic.Black Hat Europe 2025 may have ended, but the conversations it sparked will carry forward into 2026 and beyond.____________HOSTS:Sean Martin, Co-Founder, ITSPmagazine and Studio C60 | Website: https://www.seanmartin.comMarco Ciappelli, Co-Founder, ITSPmagazine and Studio C60 | Website: https://www.marcociappelli.comCatch all of our event coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/technology-and-cybersecurity-conference-coverageWant to share an Event Briefing as part of our event coverage? Learn More 👉 https://itspm.ag/evtcovbrfWant Sean and Marco to be part of your event or conference? Let Us Know 👉 https://www.itspmagazine.com/contact-us Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What Security Congress Reveals About the State of CybersecurityThis discussion focuses on what ISC2 Security Congress represents for practitioners, leaders, and organizations navigating constant technological change. Jon France, Chief Information Security Officer at ISC2, shares how the event brings together thousands of cybersecurity practitioners, certification holders, chapter leaders, and future professionals to exchange ideas on the issues shaping the field today.  Themes That Stand OutAI remains a central point of attention. France notes that organizations are grappling not only with adoption but with the shift in speed it introduces. Sessions highlight how analysts are beginning to work alongside automated systems that sift through massive data sets and surface early indicators of compromise. Rather than replacing entry-level roles, AI changes how they operate and accelerates the decision-making path. Quantum computing receives a growing share of focus as well. Attendees hear about timelines, standards emerging from NIST, and what preparedness looks like as cryptographic models shift.  Identity-based attacks and authorization failures also surface throughout the program. With machine-driven compromises becoming easier to scale, the community explores new defenses, stronger controls, and the practical realities of machine-to-machine trust. Operational technology, zero trust, and machine-speed threats create additional urgency around modernizing security operations centers and rethinking human-to-machine workflows.  A Place for Every Stage of the CareerFrance describes Security Congress as a cross-section of the profession: entry-level newcomers, certification candidates, hands-on practitioners, and CISOs who attend for leadership development. Workshops explore communication, business alignment, and critical thinking skills that help professionals grow beyond technical execution and into more strategic responsibilities.  Looking Ahead to the Next CongressThe next ISC2 Security Congress will be held in October in the Denver/Aurora area. France expects AI and quantum to remain key themes, along with contributions shaped by the call-for-papers process. What keeps the event relevant each year is the mix of education, networking, community stories, and real-world problem-solving that attendees bring with them.The ISC2 Security Congress 2025 is a hybrid event taking place from October 28 to 30, 2025 Coverage provided by ITSPmagazineGUEST:Jon France, Chief Information Security Officer at ISC2 | On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonfrance/HOST:Sean Martin, Co-Founder, ITSPmagazine and Studio C60 | Website: https://www.seanmartin.comFollow our ISC2 Security Congress coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/cybersecurity-technology-society-events/isc2-security-congress-2025Catch all of our event coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/technology-and-cybersecurity-conference-coverageISC2 Security Congress: https://www.isc2.orgNIST Post-Quantum Cryptography Standards: https://csrc.nist.gov/projects/post-quantum-cryptographyISC2 Chapters: https://www.isc2.org/chaptersWant to share an Event Briefing as part of our event coverage? Learn More 👉 https://itspm.ag/evtcovbrfWant Sean and Marco to be part of your event or conference? Let Us Know 👉 https://www.studioc60.com/performance#ideasKEYWORDS: cybersecurity, ai security, isc2 congress, quantum computing, identity attacks, zero trust, soc automation, cyber jobs, cyber careers, cyber leadership, security operations, threat intelligence, machine speed, authentication, authorization, sean martin, jon france, identity, soc, certification, leadership, event coverage, on location, conference Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

____________Podcast Redefining Society and Technology Podcast With Marco Ciappellihttps://redefiningsocietyandtechnologypodcast.com  ____________Host Marco CiappelliCo-Founder & CMO @ITSPmagazine | Master Degree in Political Science - Sociology of Communication l Branding & Marketing Advisor | Journalist | Writer | Podcast Host | #Technology #Cybersecurity #Society 🌎 LAX 🛸 FLR 🌍WebSite: https://marcociappelli.comOn LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marco-ciappelli/____________This Episode’s SponsorsBlackCloak provides concierge cybersecurity protection to corporate executives and high-net-worth individuals to protect against hacking, reputational loss, financial loss, and the impacts of a corporate data breach.BlackCloak:  https://itspm.ag/itspbcweb____________TitleNew Event | Global Space Awards 2025 Honors Captain James Lovell Legacy at Natural History Museum London | A conversation with Sanjeev Gordhan | Redefining Society And Technology Podcast With Marco Ciappelli____________Guests:Sanjeev GordhanGeneral Partner @ Type One Ventures | Space, Deep-Tech, StrategyOn LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sanjeev-gordhan-3714b327/____________Short Introduction The inaugural Global Space Awards celebrates the Golden Era of Space on December 5, 2025, at London's Natural History Museum. Hosted by physicist Brian Greene, the event honors Captain James Lovell's legacy and recognizes innovators transforming space from government domain to commercial frontier in our Hybrid Analog Digital Society.____________Article "There are people who make things happen, there are people who watch things happen, and there are people who wonder what happened. To be successful, you need to be a person who makes things happen."Those words from Captain James Lovell defined his life—from commanding Apollo 13's near-disastrous mission to inspiring generations of space explorers. This December, London's Natural History Museum will host the inaugural Global Space Awards, an event dedicating its first evening to Lovell's extraordinary legacy while celebrating those making things happen in space today.Sanjeev Gordhan, General Partner at Type One Ventures and part of the Global Space Awards organizing team, joined me to discuss why this moment matters. Not just for space enthusiasts, but for everyone whose lives are being transformed by technologies developed beyond Earth's atmosphere."Space is not a sector," Sanj explained. "It's a domain that overrides many sectors—agriculture, pharmaceuticals, defense, telecommunications, connectivity. Things we engage with daily."The timing couldn't be more significant. We're witnessing what Sanj calls a fundamental shift in space economics. In the 1970s and 80s, launching a kilogram into space cost $70,000-$80,000. Today? Around $3,000. That 20x reduction has transformed space from an exclusive government playground into a commercially viable domain where startups can reach orbit on seed funding.This democratization of space access is precisely why the Global Space Awards emerged. The industry needed something beyond its echo chambers—a red-carpet moment celebrating excellence across the entire spectrum, from research laboratories to scaling businesses, from breakthrough science to sustainable investments.The response exceeded all expectations. The first-year event received 516 nominations from 38 countries. Sanj and his team were "gobsmacked"—they'd hoped for maybe 150-200. The overwhelming engagement proved what they suspected: the space community was hungry for recognition that spans the complete journey from laboratory to commercial impact.What makes this particularly fascinating is how space technology circles back to solve Earth's problems. Consider pharmaceuticals: crystallization processes in microgravity create flawless crystal structures impossible to achieve on Earth. The impact? Chemotherapy treatments that currently require hours-long hospital visits could become subcutaneous injections patients self-administer at home. That's not science fiction—that's research happening now on the International Space Station, waiting for commercial space infrastructure to scale production.Or agriculture: Earth observation satellites help farmers optimize crop yields, manage water resources, and predict harvests with unprecedented accuracy. Space technology feeding humanity—literally.The investment mathematics are compelling. For every dollar invested in space innovation, the return to humanity measures around 20x. Not in stock market terms, but in solving problems like food security, medical treatments, climate monitoring, and global connectivity. These aren't abstract future benefits—they're happening now, accelerating as launch costs plummet and commercial operations expand.The Global Space Awards recognizes this multifaceted reality through eight distinct categories: Playmaker of the Year, Super Scaler, Space Investor, Partnership of the Year, Innovation Breakthrough, Science Breakthrough, Sustainability for Earth, and Sustainability for Space. Each award acknowledges that space progress requires diverse contributions—from the scientists doing foundational research to the investors providing capital, from the engineers building systems to the partnerships bridging sectors.And then there's the James Lovell Legacy Award, presented to his family at this inaugural event. The choice is deliberate and symbolic. Lovell commanded Apollo 8, the first crewed mission to orbit the Moon, then led Apollo 13's dramatic survival when an oxygen tank exploded en route to the lunar surface. His calm under pressure, innovative problem-solving with limited resources, and unwavering commitment to bringing his crew home safely epitomize what space exploration demands: courage combined with pragmatism, vision tempered by reality.The Lovell family's response to the tribute captures this spirit perfectly: "His words continue to guide not only our family, but all those who dare to dream beyond the horizon."That phrase—"dream beyond the horizon"—resonates deeply in our current moment. We're transitioning from the heroic Apollo era to something more complex and perhaps more consequential. Space is becoming infrastructure, not just exploration. The question isn't whether humans will have a permanent presence beyond Earth, but how quickly and sustainably we'll build it.The Natural History Museum setting adds another layer of meaning. Here's a building celebrating Earth's evolutionary history hosting an event about humanity's next evolutionary step—becoming a spacefaring species. The juxtaposition of dinosaur fossils and rocket technology, of ancient geology and future lunar economies, captures where we stand: creatures evolved on one small planet now reaching beyond it.Physicist Brian Greene hosting the event is equally symbolic. Not an astronaut or rocket scientist, but someone who makes complex physics comprehensible to non-specialists. Space's future depends on broad understanding, not just specialized expertise. When space technology becomes as mundane as aviation—when we stop thinking about the satellites enabling our GPS or the space-tested materials in our smartphones—that's when the real transformation completes.Sanj mentioned something that stuck with me: people ask why we spend billions on space when Earth has so many problems. The answer is that space spending helps solve Earth's problems. Better farming through satellite data. Life-saving pharmaceuticals manufactured in microgravity. Climate monitoring. Disaster response. Global internet access for remote regions. The false choice between Earth and space collapses when you understand space as a domain enabling solutions, not a destination draining resources.Looking forward, the opportunities expand exponentially. We haven't even begun exploiting lunar resources or manufacturing in zero gravity at scale. The next 5-15 years will bring benefits we can barely imagine today—but we must start now. Space infrastructure takes time. The ISS took over a decade to build. Commercial space stations, lunar bases, and orbital manufacturing facilities will require similar long-term commitments.That's why events like the Global Space Awards matter. They connect the dots between research and commerce, between investment and impact, between legacy and future. They remind us that space isn't just about rockets and astronauts—it's about chemists and farmers, investors and engineers, visionaries and pragmatists all working toward the same horizon.The finalists will be announced from the stratosphere—literally, on a screen carried by balloon—because why not? If you're celebrating space, do it with flair.As our conversation ended, I found myself hoping to attend. Not because I'm a space professional (I'm not), but because I'm fascinated by how technology reshapes society. And space technology is reshaping everything, whether we notice it or not. In our Hybrid Analog Digital Society, space represents the ultimate extension of human capability—using technology not to replace our humanity but to expand what humanity can accomplish.Captain Lovell's quote rings true: some make things happen, some watch, some wonder. The Global Space Awards celebrates those making things happen. The rest of us should at least watch—because what happens in space increasingly happens to all of us.Subscribe to continue these conversations about technology, society, and humanity's next chapter. Because the future is being built right now, and it's more exciting than most people realize.____________About the eventGLOBAL SPACE AWARDS DEDICATES EVENING TO HONOR THE LEGACY AND EXTRAORDINARY CONTRIBUTIONS OF CAPTAIN JAMES LOVELLInaugural James Lovell Legacy Award Introduced and Presented to the Lovell Family Red-Carpet Awards Event Taking Place on December 5 at The Natural History Museum, LondonLondon, U.K. – October 29, 2025 – The Global Space Awards (GSA), the first international event dedicated to celebrating the achie

How to Market to Cybersecurity's Most Elusive Buyers: AI, Emotion, and the Human Touch - Interview with Gianna Whitver and Maria Velasquez | Cyber Marketing Con 2025 Coverage | On Location with Sean Martin and Marco CiappelliCyberMarketingCon 2025 In Person & Virtual https://www.cybermarketingconference.comDec 7-10, 2025 in Austin, Texas Why Cybersecurity Marketing Demands a Different PlaybookThe cybersecurity industry presents a paradox for marketers. While practitioners work with cutting-edge technology, traditional marketing approaches consistently fall flat. Gianna Whitver and Maria Velasquez, co-founders of the Cybersecurity Marketing Society, have spent six years understanding why—and they're sharing those insights at CyberMarketingCon 2025 this December in Austin.The challenge begins with the audience itself. Security professionals operate under constant pressure, actively preventing threats while juggling competing priorities. This stress creates an environment where patience for marketing noise evaporates instantly. Unlike other industries where buyers might browse vendor websites or respond to cold outreach, cybersecurity practitioners have both the technical sophistication to evade tracking and the motivation to control their own buying journey."Our buyer is highly elusive," Whitver explains. "They're saving the world and their companies from threats. When vendors reach out, it's an interruption to critical work." This dynamic forces marketers to rethink fundamental assumptions about how business gets done.The numbers tell part of the story. With over 5,000 cybersecurity vendors flooding the market, standing out based solely on technical specifications has become nearly impossible. Many solutions address similar problems with comparable features. The differentiator, Velasquez argues, isn't in the technology itself but in how that technology transforms the buyer's daily experience."We have to shed that technical layer and go for the emotion," Velasquez says. "If they buy our product, how is it gonna make them feel? Are they gonna get their weekends back with family? Are they actually gonna go to sleep without stress?" This human-centered approach represents a fundamental shift from the feeds-and-speeds messaging that dominated cybersecurity marketing for years.The industry is witnessing what Velasquez calls an "evolution slash revolution" in marketing tactics. Humor, entertainment, and authentic storytelling are replacing dense whitepapers as the first touch point. The goal isn't to dumb down complex technology but to create space for meaningful engagement by first addressing the emotional reality of a stressful profession.Trust remains the currency that matters most. Peer recommendations carry exponentially more weight than any advertising campaign. Security professionals rely on trusted networks to validate purchasing decisions, making community building and genuine thought leadership more valuable than aggressive outreach. Word-of-mouth referrals from colleagues who have seen real results trump even the most sophisticated demand generation campaigns.The emergence of AI as a marketing buzzword presents both opportunity and risk. Whitver notes that countless vendors now position themselves as "AI-native" or "agentic AI" solutions without articulating meaningful differentiation. "If that's what you remember about their product, what do you actually do?" she asks. The challenge for marketers is communicating AI's business value without contributing to the noise.CyberMarketingCon 2025 addresses these challenges head-on. Running December 7-10 in Austin, the conference brings together more than 550 marketing professionals for hands-on workshops, peer learning, and practical strategy sessions. Dedicated tracks cover brand, demand generation, operations, communications, and product marketing, with special summits for CEOs and sales leaders.Hands-on AI workshops represent a conference highlight. Attendees can build marketing agents using n8n, explore Clay for go-to-market planning, or participate in a marketer-focused capture-the-flag hacking exercise. The "Marketing Time Machine" theme balances timeless fundamentals with forward-looking innovation, acknowledging that effective marketing requires both solid foundations and experimental thinking.What sets CyberMarketingCon apart is its community-first philosophy. Despite 40-50% year-over-year growth, organizers prioritize maintaining an intimate, reunion-style atmosphere. Many CMOs bring entire teams for what becomes a working offsite, with different members attending specialized sessions then synthesizing insights into unified strategies.The conference's success metric reflects this philosophy. "Our KPI is: is it worth your time?" Whitver says. In an industry where time represents the scarcest resource, that might be the most important question of all.For cybersecurity marketers navigating an increasingly complex landscape, CyberMarketingCon offers something rare—a chance to learn from peers facing identical challenges, build practical skills, and remember that even in a technical industry, it's humans talking to humans. CyberMarketingCon 2025 In Person & Virtual https://www.cybermarketingconference.comDec 7-10, 2025 in Austin, Texas GUEST:Gianna WhitverCo-Founder & CEO, Cybersecurity Marketing Society | Cybersecurity GTM Industry Resource | Cybersecurity Marketing | Bees & Cybersecurity | Podcast Host | Community | (I like to build things & laugh a lot & tell jokes)Maria Velasquez 🇲🇦Cybersecurity Marketer by Trade, Beverage Disruptor by PassionHOSTS:Sean Martin, Co-Founder, ITSPmagazine and Studio C60 | Website: https://www.seanmartin.comMarco Ciappelli, Co-Founder, ITSPmagazine and Studio C60 | Website: https://www.marcociappelli.comCatch all of our event coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/technology-and-cybersecurity-conference-coverageWant to share an Event Briefing as part of our event coverage? Learn More 👉 https://itspm.ag/evtcovbrfWant Sean and Marco to be part of your event or conference? Let Us Know 👉 https://www.itspmagazine.com/contact-us Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

First CISO Charged by SEC: Tim Brown on Trust, Context, and Leading Through Crisis - Interview with Tim Brown | AISA CyberCon Melbourne 2025 Coverage | On Location with Sean Martin and Marco CiappelliAISA CyberCon Melbourne | October 15-17, 2025Tim Brown's job changed overnight. December 11th, he was the CISO at SolarWinds managing security operations. December 12th, he was leading the response to one of the most scrutinized cybersecurity incidents in history.Connecting from New York and Florence to Melbourne, Sean Martin and Marco Ciappelli caught up with their longtime friend ahead of his keynote at AISA CyberCon. The conversation reveals what actually happens when a CISO faces the unthinkable—and why the relationships you build before crisis hits determine whether you survive it.Tim became the first CISO ever charged by the SEC, a distinction nobody wants but one that shaped his mission: if sharing his experience helps even one security leader prepare better, then the entire saga becomes worthwhile. He's candid about the settlement process still underway, the emotional weight of having strangers ask for selfies, and the mental toll that landed him in a Zurich hospital with a heart attack the week his SEC charges were announced."For them to hear something and hear the context—to hear us taking six months off development, 400 engineers focused completely on security for six months in pure focus—when you say it with emotion, it conveys the real cost," Tim explained. Written communication failed during the incident. People needed to talk, to hear, to feel the weight of decisions being made in real time.What saved SolarWinds wasn't just technical capability. It was implicit trust. The war room team operated without second-guessing each other. The CIO handled deployment and investigation. Engineering figured out how the build system was compromised. Marketing and legal managed their domains. Tim didn't waste cycles checking their work because trust was already built."If we didn't have that, we would've been second-guessing what other people did," he said. That trust came from relationships established long before December 2020, from a culture where people knew their roles and respected each other's expertise.Now Tim's focused on mentoring the next generation through the RSA Conference CSO Bootcamp, helping aspiring CISOs and security leaders at smaller companies build the knowledge, community, and relationships they'll need when—not if—their own December 12th arrives. He tailors every talk to his audience, never delivering the same speech twice. Context matters in crisis, but it matters in communication too.Australia played a significant role during SolarWinds' incident response, with the Australian government partnering closely in January 2021. Tim hadn't been back in a decade, making his return to Melbourne for CyberCon particularly meaningful. He's there to share lessons earned the hardest way possible, and to remind security leaders that stress management, safe spaces, and knowing when to compartmentalize aren't luxuries—they're survival skills.His keynote covers the different stages of incident response, how culture drives crisis outcomes, and why the teams that step up matter more than the ones that run away. For anyone leading security teams, Tim's message is clear: build trust now, before you need it.AISA CyberCon Melbourne runs October 15-17, 2025 Coverage provided by ITSPmagazineGUEST:Tim Brown, CISO at SolarWinds | On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-brown-ciso/HOSTS:Sean Martin, Co-Founder, ITSPmagazine and Studio C60 | Website: https://www.seanmartin.comMarco Ciappelli, Co-Founder, ITSPmagazine and Studio C60 | Website: https://www.marcociappelli.comCatch all of our event coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/technology-and-cybersecurity-conference-coverageWant to share an Event Briefing as part of our event coverage? Learn More 👉 https://itspm.ag/evtcovbrfWant Sean and Marco to be part of your event or conference? Let Us Know 👉 https://www.itspmagazine.com/contact-us Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Everyone Is Protecting My Password, But Who Is Protecting My Toilet Paper? - Interview with Amberley Brady | AISA CyberCon Melbourne 2025 Coverage | On Location with Sean Martin and Marco CiappelliAISA CyberCon Melbourne | October 15-17, 2025Empty shelves trigger something primal in us now. We've lived through the panic, the uncertainty, the realization that our food supply isn't as secure as we thought. Amberley Brady hasn't forgotten that feeling, and she's turned it into action.Speaking with her from Florence to Sydney ahead of AISA CyberCon in Melbourne, I discovered someone who came to cybersecurity through an unexpected path—studying law, working in policy, but driven by a singular passion for food security. When COVID-19 hit Australia in 2019 and grocery store shelves emptied, Amberley couldn't shake the question: what happens if this keeps happening?Her answer was to build realfoodprice.com.au, a platform tracking food pricing transparency across Australia's supply chain. It's based on the Hungarian model, which within three months saved consumers 50 million euros simply by making prices visible from farmer to wholesaler to consumer. The markup disappeared almost overnight when transparency arrived."Once you demonstrate transparency along the supply chain, you see where the markup is," Amberley explained. She gave me an example that hit home: watermelon farmers were getting paid 40 cents per kilo while their production costs ran between $1.00 to $1.50. Meanwhile, consumers paid $2.50 to $2.99 year-round. Someone in the middle was profiting while farmers lost money on every harvest.But this isn't just about fair pricing—it's about critical infrastructure that nobody's protecting. Australia produces food for 70 million people, far more than its own population needs. That food moves through systems, across borders, through supply chains that depend entirely on technology most farmers never think about in cybersecurity terms.The new autonomous tractors collecting soil data? That information goes somewhere. The sensors monitoring crop conditions? Those connect to systems someone else controls. China recognized this vulnerability years ago—with 20% of the world's population but only 7% of arable land, they understood that food security is national security.At CyberCon, Amberley is presenting two sessions that challenge the cybersecurity community to expand their thinking. "Don't Outsource Your Thinking" tackles what she calls "complacency creep"—our growing trust in AI that makes us stop questioning, stop analyzing with our gut instinct. She argues for an Essential Nine in Australia's cybersecurity framework, adding the human firewall to the technical Essential Eight.Her second talk, cheekily titled "Everyone is Protecting My Password, But No One's Protecting My Toilet Paper," addresses food security directly. It's provocative, but that's the point. We saw what happened in Japan recently with the rice crisis—the same panic buying, the same distrust, the same empty shelves that COVID taught us to fear."We will run to the store," Amberley said. "That's going to be human behavior because we've lived through that time." And here's the cybersecurity angle: those panics can be manufactured. A fake image of empty shelves, an AI-generated video, strategic disinformation—all it takes is triggering that collective memory.Amberley describes herself as an early disruptor in the agritech cybersecurity space, and she's right. Most cybersecurity professionals think about hospitals, utilities, financial systems. They don't think about the autonomous vehicles in fields, the sensor networks in soil, the supply chain software moving food across continents.But she's starting the conversation, and CyberCon's audience—increasingly diverse, including people from HR, risk management, and policy—is ready for it. Because at the end of the day, everyone has to eat. And if we don't start thinking about the cyber vulnerabilities in how we grow, move, and price food, we're leaving our most basic need unprotected.AISA CyberCon Melbourne runs October 15-17, 2025 Virtual coverage provided by ITSPmagazineGUEST:Amberley Brady, Food Security & Cybersecurity Advocate, Founder of realfoodprice.com.au | On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amberley-b-a62022353/HOSTS:Sean Martin, Co-Founder, ITSPmagazine and Studio C60 | Website: https://www.seanmartin.comMarco Ciappelli, Co-Founder, ITSPmagazine and Studio C60 | Website: https://www.marcociappelli.comCatch all of our event coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/technology-and-cybersecurity-conference-coverageWant to share an Event Briefing as part of our event coverage? Learn More 👉 https://itspm.ag/evtcovbrfWant Sean and Marco to be part of your event or conference? Let Us Know 👉 https://www.itspmagazine.com/contact-us Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Beyond Blame: Navigating the Digital World with Our KidsAISA CyberCon Melbourne | October 15-17, 2025There's something fundamentally broken in how we approach online safety for young people. We're quick to point fingers—at tech companies, at schools, at kids themselves—but Jacqueline Jayne (JJ) wants to change that conversation entirely.Speaking with her from Florence while she prepared for her session at AISA CyberCon Melbourne this week, it became clear that JJ understands what many in the cybersecurity world miss: this isn't a technical problem that needs a technical solution. It's a human problem that requires us to look in the mirror."The online world reflects what we've built for them," JJ told me, referring to our generation. "Now we need to step up and help fix it."Her session, "Beyond Blame: Keeping Our Kids Safe Online," tackles something most cybersecurity professionals avoid—the uncomfortable truth that being an IT expert doesn't automatically make you equipped to protect the young people in your life. Last year's presentation at Cyber Con drew a full house, with nearly every hand raised when she asked who came because of a kid in their world.That's the fascinating contradiction JJ exposes: rooms full of cybersecurity professionals who secure networks and defend against sophisticated attacks, yet find themselves lost when their own children navigate TikTok, Roblox, or encrypted messaging apps.The timing couldn't be more relevant. With Australia implementing a social media ban for anyone under 16 starting December 10, 2025, and similar restrictions appearing globally, parents and carers face unprecedented challenges. But as JJ points out, banning isn't understanding, and restriction isn't education.One revelation from our conversation particularly struck me—the hidden language of emojis. What seems innocent to adults carries entirely different meanings across demographics, from teenage subcultures to, disturbingly, predatory networks online. An explosion emoji doesn't just mean "boom" anymore. Context matters, and most adults are speaking a different digital dialect than their kids.JJ, who successfully guided her now 19-year-old son through the gaming and social media years, isn't offering simple solutions because there aren't any. What she provides instead are conversation starters, resources tailored to different age groups, and even AI prompts that parents can customize for their specific situations.The session reflects a broader shift happening at events like Cyber Con. It's no longer just IT professionals in the room. HR representatives, risk managers, educators, and parents are showing up because they've realized that digital safety doesn't respect departmental boundaries or professional expertise."We were analog brains in a digital world," JJ said, capturing our generational position perfectly. But today's kids? They're born into this interconnectedness, and COVID accelerated everything to a point where taking it away isn't an option.The real question isn't who to blame. It's what role each of us plays in creating a safer digital environment. And that's a conversation worth having—whether you're at the Convention and Exhibition Center in Melbourne this week or joining virtually from anywhere else.AISA CyberCon Melbourne runs October 15-17, 2025 Virtual coverage provided by ITSPmagazine___________GUEST:Jacqueline (JJ) Jayne, Reducing human error in cyber and teaching 1 million people online safety. On Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacquelinejayne/HOSTS:Sean Martin, Co-Founder, ITSPmagazine and Studio C60 | Website: https://www.seanmartin.comMarco Ciappelli, Co-Founder, ITSPmagazine and Studio C60 | Website: https://www.marcociappelli.comCatch all of our event coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/technology-and-cybersecurity-conference-coverageWant to share an Event Briefing as part of our event coverage? Learn More 👉 https://itspm.ag/evtcovbrfWant Sean and Marco to be part of your event or conference? Let Us Know 👉 https://www.itspmagazine.com/contact-us Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

During his keynote at SecTor 2025, HD Moore, founder and CEO of runZero and widely recognized for creating Metasploit, invites the cybersecurity community to rethink the foundational “rules” we continue to follow—often without question. In conversation with Sean Martin and Marco Ciappelli for ITSPmagazine’s on-location event coverage, Moore breaks down where our security doctrines came from, why some became obsolete, and which ones still hold water.One standout example? The rule to “change your passwords every 30 days.” Moore explains how this outdated guidance—rooted in assumptions from the early 2000s when password sharing was rampant—led to predictable patterns and frustrated users. Today, the advice has flipped: focus on strong, unique passwords per service, stored securely via password managers.But this keynote isn’t just about passwords. Moore uses this lens to explore how many security “truths” were formed in response to technical limitations or outdated behaviors—things like shared network trust, brittle segmentation, and fragile authentication models. As technology matures, so too should the rules. Enter passkeys, hardware tokens, and enclave-based authentication. These aren’t just new tools—they’re a fundamental shift in where and how we anchor trust.Moore also calls out an uncomfortable truth: the very products we rely on to protect our systems—firewalls, endpoint managers, and security appliances—are now among the top vectors for breach, per Mandiant’s latest report. That revelation struck a chord with conference attendees, who appreciated Moore’s willingness to speak plainly about systemic security debt.He also discusses the inescapable vulnerabilities in AI agent flows, likening prompt injection attacks to the early days of cross-site scripting. The tech itself invites risk, he warns, and we’ll need new frameworks—not just tweaks to old ones—to manage what comes next.This conversation is a must-listen for anyone questioning whether our security playbooks are still fit for purpose—or simply carried forward by habit.___________GUEST:HD Moore, Founder and CEO of RunZero | On Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hdmoore/HOSTS:Sean Martin, Co-Founder, ITSPmagazine and Studio C60 | Website: https://www.seanmartin.comMarco Ciappelli, Co-Founder, ITSPmagazine and Studio C60 | Website: https://www.marcociappelli.comRESOURCES:Keynote: The Once and Future Rules of Cybersecurity: https://www.blackhat.com/sector/2025/briefings/schedule/#keynote-the-once-and-future-rules-of-cybersecurity-49596Learn more and catch more stories from our SecTor 2025 coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/cybersecurity-technology-society-events/sector-cybersecurity-conference-toronto-2025Mandiant M-Trends Breach Report: https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/threat-intelligence/m-trends-2025/OPM Data Breach Summary: https://oversight.house.gov/report/opm-data-breach-government-jeopardized-national-security-generation/Catch all of our event coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/technology-and-cybersecurity-conference-coverageWant to share an Event Briefing as part of our event coverage? Learn More 👉 https://itspm.ag/evtcovbrfWant Sean and Marco to be part of your event or conference? Let Us Know 👉 https://www.itspmagazine.com/contact-us___________KEYWORDS:hd moore, sean martin, marco ciappelli, metasploit, runzero, sector, password, breach, ai, passkeys, event coverage, on location, conference Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

When we talk about AI at cybersecurity conferences these days, one term is impossible to ignore: agentic AI. But behind the excitement around AI-driven productivity and autonomous workflows lies an unresolved—and increasingly urgent—security issue: identity.In this episode, Sean Martin and Marco Ciappelli speak with Cristin Flynn Goodwin, keynote speaker at SecTor 2025, about the intersection of AI agents, identity management, and legal risk. Drawing from decades at the center of major security incidents—most recently as the head cybersecurity lawyer at Microsoft—Cristin frames today’s AI hype within a longstanding identity crisis that organizations still haven’t solved.Why It Matters NowAgentic AI changes the game. AI agents can act independently, replicate themselves, and disappear in seconds. That’s great for automation—but terrifying for risk teams. Cristin flags the pressing need to identify and authenticate these ephemeral agents. Should they be digitally signed? Should there be a new standard body managing agent identities? Right now, we don’t know.Meanwhile, attackers are already adapting. AI tools are being used to create flawless phishing emails, spoofed banking agents, and convincing digital personas. Add that to the fact that many consumers and companies still haven’t implemented strong MFA, and the risk multiplier becomes clear.The Legal ViewFrom a legal standpoint, Cristin emphasizes how regulations like New York’s DFS Cybersecurity Regulation are putting pressure on CISOs to tighten IAM controls. But what about individuals? “It’s an unfair fight,” she says—no consumer can outpace a nation-state attacker armed with AI tooling.This keynote preview also calls attention to shadow AI agents: tools employees may create outside the control of IT or security. As Cristin warns, they could become “offensive digital insiders”—another dimension of the insider threat amplified by AI.Looking AheadThis is a must-listen episode for CISOs, security architects, policymakers, and anyone thinking about AI safety and digital trust. From the potential need for real-time, verifiable agent credentials to the looming collision of agentic AI with quantum computing, this conversation kicks off SecTor 2025 with urgency and clarity.Catch the full episode now, and don’t miss Cristin’s keynote on October 1.___________Guest:Cristin Flynn Goodwin, Senior Consultant, Good Harbor Security Risk Management | On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cristin-flynn-goodwin-24359b4/Hosts:Sean Martin, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine | Website: https://www.seanmartin.comMarco Ciappelli, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine | Website: https://www.marcociappelli.com___________Episode SponsorsThreatLocker: https://itspm.ag/threatlocker-r974BlackCloak: https://itspm.ag/itspbcweb___________ResourcesKeynote: Agentic AI and Identity: The Biggest Problem We're Not Solving: https://www.blackhat.com/sector/2025/briefings/schedule/#keynote-agentic-ai-and-identity-the-biggest-problem-were-not-solving-49591Learn more and catch more stories from our SecTor 2025 coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/cybersecurity-technology-society-events/sector-cybersecurity-conference-toronto-2025New York Department of Financial Services Cybersecurity Regulation: https://www.dfs.ny.gov/industry_guidance/cybersecurityGood Harbor Security Risk Management (Richard Clarke’s firm): https://www.goodharbor.net/Catch all of our event coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/technology-and-cybersecurity-conference-coverageWant to share an Event Briefing as part of our event coverage? Learn More 👉 https://itspm.ag/evtcovbrfWant Sean and Marco to be part of your event or conference? Let Us Know 👉 https://www.itspmagazine.com/contact-us___________KEYWORDScristin flynn goodwin, sean martin, marco ciappelli, sector, microsoft, ai, identity, agents, ciso, quantum, event coverage, on location, conference Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I had one of those conversations that reminded me why I'm so passionate about exploring the intersection of technology and society. Speaking with Mark Smith, a board member at IBC and co-lead of their accelerator program, I found myself transported back to my roots in communication and media studies, but with eyes wide open to what's coming next.Mark has spent over 30 years in media technology, including 23 years building Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. When someone with that depth of experience gets excited about what's happening now, you pay attention. And what's happening at IBC 2025 in Amsterdam this September is nothing short of a redefinition of how we create, distribute, and authenticate content.The numbers alone are staggering: 1,350 exhibitors across 14 halls, nearly 300 speakers, 45,000 visitors. But what struck me wasn't the scale—it's the philosophical shift happening in how we think about media production. We're witnessing television's centennial year, with the first demonstrations happening in 1925, and yet we're simultaneously seeing the birth of entirely new forms of creative expression.What fascinated me most was Mark's description of their Accelerator Media Innovation Program. Since 2019, they've run over 50 projects involving 350 organizations, creating what he calls "a safe environment" for collaboration. This isn't just about showcasing new gadgets—it's about solving real challenges that keep media professionals awake at night. In our Hybrid Analog Digital Society, the traditional boundaries between broadcaster and audience, between creator and consumer, are dissolving faster than ever.The AI revolution in media production particularly caught my attention. Mark spoke about "AI assistant agents" and "agentic AI" with the enthusiasm of someone who sees liberation rather than replacement. As he put it, "It's an opportunity to take out a lot of laborious processes." But more importantly, he emphasized that it's creating new jobs—who would have thought "AI prompter" would become a legitimate profession?This perspective challenges the dystopian narrative often surrounding AI adoption. Instead of fearing the technology, the media industry seems to be embracing it as a tool for enhanced creativity. Mark's excitement was infectious when describing how AI can remove the "boring" aspects of production, allowing creative minds to focus on what they do best—tell stories that matter.But here's where it gets really interesting from a sociological perspective: the other side of the screen. We talked about how streaming revolutionized content consumption, giving viewers unprecedented control over their experience. Yet Mark observed something I've noticed too—while the technology exists for viewers to be their own directors (choosing camera angles in sports, for instance), many prefer to trust the professional's vision. We're not necessarily seeking more control; we're seeking more relevance and authenticity.This brings us to one of the most critical challenges of our time: content provenance. In a world where anyone can create content that looks professional, how do we distinguish between authentic journalism and manufactured narratives? Mark highlighted their work on C2PA (content provenance initiative), developing tools that can sign and verify media sources, tracking where content has been manipulated.This isn't just a technical challenge—it's a societal imperative. As Mark noted, YouTube is now the second most viewed platform in the UK. When user-generated content competes directly with traditional media, we need new frameworks for understanding truth and authenticity. The old editorial gatekeepers are gone; we need technological solutions that preserve trust while enabling creativity.What gives me hope is the approach I heard from Mark and his colleagues. They're not trying to control technology's impact on society—they're trying to shape it consciously. The IBC Accelerator Program represents something profound: an industry taking responsibility for its own transformation, creating spaces for collaboration rather than competition, focusing on solving real problems rather than just building cool technology.The Google Hackfest they're launching this year perfectly embodies this philosophy. Young broadcast engineers and software developers working together on real challenges, supported by established companies like Formula E. It's not about replacing human creativity with artificial intelligence—it's about augmenting human potential with technological tools.As I wrapped up our conversation, I found myself thinking about my own journey from studying sociology of communication in a pre-internet world to hosting podcasts about our digital transformation. Technology doesn't just change how we communicate—it changes who we are as communicators, as creators, as human beings sharing stories.IBC 2025 isn't just a trade show; it's a glimpse into how we're choosing to redefine our relationship with media technology. And that choice—that conscious decision to shape rather than simply react—gives me genuine optimism about our Hybrid Analog Digital Society. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This year at Black Hat USA 2025, the conversation is impossible to escape: artificial intelligence. But while every vendor claims an AI-powered edge, the real question is how organizations can separate meaningful innovation from noise.In our discussion with Evgeniy Kharam, Vice President of Cybersecurity Architecture at Herjavec Group (formerly), Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) at Discern Security, and long-time security leader and author, the theme of AI confusion takes center stage. Evgeniy notes that CISOs and security architects don’t have the time or resources to analyze what “AI” means in every product pitch. With over 4,000 vendors in the ecosystem, each layering its own flavor of AI, the burden falls on security leaders to distinguish hype from usable automation.From Gondola Pitches to AI OverloadEvgeniy shares how his creative networking events—skiing, biking, and beyond—mirror the industry’s need for genuine connection and trust. Just as his “gondola pitch” builds authentic engagement, buyers want clarity and honesty from technology providers. The proliferation of AI labels, however, makes that trust harder to establish.Where AI Can HelpEvgeniy highlights areas where AI can reduce friction, from vulnerability management and detection to policy writing and compliance. Yet, even here, issues such as hallucinations, privacy tradeoffs, and ethics cannot be ignored. When AI begins influencing employee monitoring or analyzing sensitive data, organizations face difficult questions about fairness, transparency, and control.The Unspoken Challenge: Surveillance and TrustAs we discuss the balance between employee privacy and corporate protection, it becomes clear that AI introduces new layers of surveillance. In Europe, cultural and legal boundaries create clear separation between personal and professional lives. In North America, the lines blur, raising ethical debates that may ultimately be tested in courts.The takeaway? AI has the potential to unlock workflows that were previously too costly or complex. But without transparency, governance, and a commitment to responsible use, the “AI in everything” trend risks overwhelming the very leaders it is meant to help.___________Guest:Evgeniy Kharam, Chief Strategy Officer (CSO), Discern Security | On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ekharam/Hosts:Sean Martin, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine | Website: https://www.seanmartin.comMarco Ciappelli, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine | Website: https://www.marcociappelli.com___________Episode SponsorsThreatLocker: https://itspm.ag/threatlocker-r974BlackCloak: https://itspm.ag/itspbcwebAkamai: https://itspm.ag/akamailbwcDropzoneAI: https://itspm.ag/dropzoneai-641Stellar Cyber: https://itspm.ag/stellar-9dj3___________ResourcesLearn more and catch more stories from our Black Hat USA 2025 coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/bhusa25ITSPmagazine Webinar: What’s Heating Up Before Black Hat 2025: Place Your Bet on the Top Trends Set to Shake Up this Year’s Hacker Conference — An ITSPmagazine Thought Leadership Webinar | https://www.crowdcast.io/c/whats-heating-up-before-black-hat-2025-place-your-bet-on-the-top-trends-set-to-shake-up-this-years-hacker-conferenceCatch all of our event coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/technology-and-cybersecurity-conference-coverageWant to tell your Brand Story Briefing as part of our event coverage? Learn More 👉 https://itspm.ag/evtcovbrfWant Sean and Marco to be part of your event or conference? Let Us Know 👉 https://www.itspmagazine.com/contact-us___________KEYWORDSsean martin, marco ciappelli, evgeniy kharam, black hat usa 2025, ai, privacy, surveillance, cybersecurity, automation, governance, event coverage, on location, conference Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We're Becoming Dumb and Numb": Why Black Hat 2025's AI Hype Is Killing Cybersecurity -- And Our Ability to Think Random and Unscripted Weekly Update Podcast with Sean Martin and Marco Ciappelli__________________SummarySean and Marco dissect Black Hat USA 2025, where every vendor claimed to have "agentic AI" solutions. They expose how marketing buzzwords create noise that frustrates CISOs seeking real value. Marco references the Greek myth of Talos - an ancient AI robot that seemed invincible until one fatal flaw destroyed it - as a metaphor for today's overinflated AI promises. The discussion spirals into deeper concerns: are we becoming too dependent on AI decision-making? They warn about echo chambers, lowest common denominators, and losing our ability to think critically. The solution? Stop selling perfection, embrace product limitations, and keep humans in control. __________________10 Notable QuotesSean:"It's hard for them to siphon the noise. Sift through the noise, I should say, and figure out what the heck is really going on.""If we completely just use it for the easy button, we'll stop thinking and we won't use it as a tool to make things better.""We'll stop thinking and we won't use it as a tool to make our minds better, to make our decisions better.""We are told then that this is the reality. This is what good looks like.""Maybe there's a different way to even look at things. So it's kind of become uniform... a very low common denominator that is just good enough for everybody."Marco:"Do you really wanna trust the weapon to just go and shoot everybody? At least you can tell it's a human factor and that's the people that ultimately decide.""If we don't make decision anymore, we're gonna turn out in a lot of those sci-fi stories, like the time machine where we become dumb.""We all perceive reality to be different from what it is, and then it creates a circular knowledge learning where we use AI to create the knowledge, then to ask the question, then to give the answers.""We're just becoming dumb and numb. More than dumb, but we become numb to everything else because we're just not thinking with our own head.""You're selling the illusion of security and that could be something that then you replicate in other industries." Picture this: You walk into the world's largest cybersecurity conference, and every single vendor booth is screaming the same thing – "agentic AI." Different companies, different products, but somehow they all taste like the same marketing milkshake.That's exactly what Sean Martin and Marco Ciappelli witnessed at Black Hat USA 2025, and their latest Random and Unscripted with Sean and Marco episode pulls no punches in exposing what's really happening behind the buzzwords."Marketing just took all the cool technology that each vendor had, put it in a blender and made a shake that just tastes the same," Marco reveals on Random and Unscripted with Sean and Marco, describing how the conference floor felt like one giant echo chamber where innovation got lost in translation.But this isn't just another rant about marketing speak. The Random and Unscripted with Sean and Marco conversation takes a darker turn when Marco introduces the ancient Greek myth of Talos – a bronze giant powered by divine ichor who was tasked with autonomously defending Crete. Powerful, seemingly invincible, until one small vulnerability brought the entire system crashing down.Sound familiar?"Do you really wanna trust the weapon to just go and shoot everybody?" Marco asks, drawing parallels between ancient mythology and today's rush to hand over decision-making to AI systems we don't fully understand.Sean, meanwhile, talked to frustrated CISOs throughout the event who shared a common complaint: "It's hard for them to sift through the noise and figure out what the heck is really going on." When every vendor claims their AI is autonomous and perfect, how do you choose? How do you even know what you're buying?The real danger, they argue on Random and Unscripted with Sean and Marco, isn't just bad purchasing decisions. It's what happens when we stop thinking altogether."If we completely just use it for the easy button, we'll stop thinking and we won't use it as a tool to make our minds better," Sean warns. We risk settling for what he calls the "lowest common denominator" – a world where AI tells us what success looks like, and we never question whether we could do better.Marco goes even further, describing a "circular knowledge learning" trap where "we use AI to create the knowledge, then to ask the question, then to give the answers." The result? "We're just becoming dumb and numb. More than dumb, but we become numb to everything else because we're just not thinking with our own head."Their solution isn't to abandon AI – it's to get honest about what it can and can't do. "Stop looking for the easy button and stop selling the easy button," Marco urges vendors on Random and Unscripted with Sean and Marco. "Your product is probably as good as it is."Sean adds: "Don't be afraid to share your blemishes, share your weaknesses. Share your gaps."Because here's the thing CISOs know that vendors often forget: "CISOs are not stupid. They talk to each other. The truth will come out."In an industry built on protecting against deception, maybe it's time to stop deceiving ourselves about what AI can actually deliver. ________________ Keywordscybersecurity, artificialintelligence, blackhat2025, agentic, ai, marketing, ciso, cybersec, infosec, technology, leadership, vendor, innovation, automation, security, tech, AI, machinelearning, enterprise, business________________Hosts links:📌 Marco Ciappelli: https://www.marcociappelli.com📌 Sean Martin: https://www.seanmartin.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

⸻ Podcast: Redefining Society and Technologyhttps://redefiningsocietyandtechnologypodcast.com _____________________________This Episode’s SponsorsBlackCloak provides concierge cybersecurity protection to corporate executives and high-net-worth individuals to protect against hacking, reputational loss, financial loss, and the impacts of a corporate data breach.BlackCloak:  https://itspm.ag/itspbcweb_____________________________A Musing On Society & Technology Newsletter Written By Marco Ciappelli | Read by TAPE3August 18, 2025The Narrative Attack Paradox: When Cybersecurity Lost the Ability to Detect Its Own Deception and the Humanity We Risk When Truth Becomes OptionalReflections from Black Hat USA 2025 on Deception, Disinformation, and the Marketing That Chose Fiction Over FactsBy Marco CiappelliSean Martin, CISSP just published his analysis of Black Hat USA 2025, documenting what he calls the cybersecurity vendor "echo chamber." Reviewing over 60 vendor announcements, Sean found identical phrases echoing repeatedly: "AI-powered," "integrated," "reduce analyst burden." The sameness forces buyers to sift through near-identical claims to find genuine differentiation.This reveals more than a marketing problem—it suggests that different technologies are being fed into the same promotional blender, possibly a generative AI one, producing standardized output regardless of what went in. When an entire industry converges on identical language to describe supposedly different technologies, meaningful technical discourse breaks down.But Sean's most troubling observation wasn't about marketing copy—it was about competence. When CISOs probe vendor claims about AI capabilities, they encounter vendors who cannot adequately explain their own technologies. When conversations moved beyond marketing promises to technical specifics, answers became vague, filled with buzzwords about proprietary algorithms.Reading Sean's analysis while reflecting on my own Black Hat experience, I realized we had witnessed something unprecedented: an entire industry losing the ability to distinguish between authentic capability and generated narrative—precisely as that same industry was studying external "narrative attacks" as an emerging threat vector.The irony was impossible to ignore. Black Hat 2025 sessions warned about AI-generated deepfakes targeting executives, social engineering attacks using scraped LinkedIn profiles, and synthetic audio calls designed to trick financial institutions. Security researchers documented how adversaries craft sophisticated deceptions using publicly available content. Meanwhile, our own exhibition halls featured countless unverifiable claims about AI capabilities that even the vendors themselves couldn't adequately explain.But to understand what we witnessed, we need to examine the very concept that cybersecurity professionals were discussing as an external threat: narrative attacks. These represent a fundamental shift in how adversaries target human decision-making. Unlike traditional cyberattacks that exploit technical vulnerabilities, narrative attacks exploit psychological vulnerabilities in human cognition. Think of them as social engineering and propaganda supercharged by AI—personalized deception at scale that adapts faster than human defenders can respond. They flood information environments with false content designed to manipulate perception and erode trust, rendering rational decision-making impossible.What makes these attacks particularly dangerous in the AI era is scale and personalization. AI enables automated generation of targeted content tailored to individual psychological profiles. A single adversary can launch thousands of simultaneous campaigns, each crafted to exploit specific cognitive biases of particular groups or individuals.But here's what we may have missed during Black Hat 2025: the same technological forces enabling external narrative attacks have already compromised our internal capacity for truth evaluation. When vendors use AI-optimized language to describe AI capabilities, when marketing departments deploy algorithmic content generation to sell algorithmic solutions, when companies building detection systems can't detect the artificial nature of their own communications, we've entered a recursive information crisis.From a sociological perspective, we're witnessing the breakdown of social infrastructure required for collective knowledge production. Industries like cybersecurity have historically served as early warning systems for technological threats—canaries in the coal mine with enough technical sophistication to spot emerging dangers before they affect broader society.But when the canary becomes unable to distinguish between fresh air and poison gas, the entire mine is at risk.This brings us to something the literary world understood long before we built our first algorithm. Jorge Luis Borges, the Argentine writer, anticipated this crisis in his 1940s stories like "On Exactitude in Science" and "The Library of Babel"—tales about maps that become more real than the territories they represent and libraries containing infinite books, including false ones. In his fiction, simulations and descriptions eventually replace the reality they were meant to describe.We're living in a Borgesian nightmare where marketing descriptions of AI capabilities have become more influential than actual AI capabilities. When a vendor's promotional language about their AI becomes more convincing than a technical demonstration, when buyers make decisions based on algorithmic marketing copy rather than empirical evidence, we've entered that literary territory where the map has consumed the landscape. And we've lost the ability to distinguish between them.The historical precedent is the 1938 War of the Worlds broadcast, which created mass hysteria from fiction. But here's the crucial difference: Welles was human, the script was human-written, the performance required conscious participation, and the deception was traceable to human intent. Listeners had to actively choose to believe what they heard.Today's AI-generated narratives operate below the threshold of conscious recognition. They require no active participation—they work by seamlessly integrating into information environments in ways that make detection impossible even for experts. When algorithms generate technical claims that sound authentic to human evaluators, when the same systems create both legitimate documentation and marketing fiction, we face deception at a level Welles never imagined: the algorithmic manipulation of truth itself.The recursive nature of this problem reveals itself when you try to solve it. This creates a nearly impossible situation. How do you fact-check AI-generated claims about AI using AI-powered tools? How do you verify technical documentation when the same systems create both authentic docs and marketing copy? When the tools generating problems and solving problems converge into identical technological artifacts, conventional verification approaches break down completely.My first Black Hat article explored how we risk losing human agency by delegating decision-making to artificial agents. But this goes deeper: we risk losing human agency in the construction of reality itself. When machines generate narratives about what machines can do, truth becomes algorithmically determined rather than empirically discovered.Marshall McLuhan famously said "We shape our tools, and thereafter they shape us." But he couldn't have imagined tools that reshape our perception of reality itself. We haven't just built machines that give us answers—we've built machines that decide what questions we should ask and how we should evaluate the answers.But the implications extend far beyond cybersecurity itself. This matters far beyond. If the sector responsible for detecting digital deception becomes the first victim of algorithmic narrative pollution, what hope do other industries have? Healthcare systems relying on AI diagnostics they can't explain. Financial institutions using algorithmic trading based on analyses they can't verify. Educational systems teaching AI-generated content whose origins remain opaque.When the industry that guards against deception loses the ability to distinguish authentic capability from algorithmic fiction, society loses its early warning system for the moment when machines take over truth construction itself.So where does this leave us? That moment may have already arrived. We just don't know it yet—and increasingly, we lack the cognitive infrastructure to find out.But here's what we can still do: We can start by acknowledging we've reached this threshold. We can demand transparency not just in AI algorithms, but in the human processes that evaluate and implement them. We can rebuild evaluation criteria that distinguish between technical capability and marketing narrative.And here's a direct challenge to the marketing and branding professionals reading this: it's time to stop relying on AI algorithms and data optimization to craft your messages. The cybersecurity industry's crisis should serve as a warning—when marketing becomes indistinguishable from algorithmic fiction, everyone loses. Social media has taught us that the most respected brands are those that choose honesty over hype, transparency over clever messaging. Brands that walk the walk and talk the talk, not those that let machines do the talking.The companies that will survive this epistemological crisis are those whose marketing teams become champions of truth rather than architects of confusion. When your audience can no longer distinguish between human insight and machine-generated claims, authentic communication becomes your competitive advantage.Most importantly, we can remember that the goal was never to build machines that think for us, but machines that help us think better.The canary may be struggling to breathe, but it's still singing. T

At Black Hat USA 2025, artificial intelligence wasn’t the shiny new thing — it was the baseline. Nearly every product launch, feature update, and hallway conversation had an “AI-powered” stamp on it. But when AI becomes the lowest common denominator for security, the questions shift.In this episode, I read my latest opinion piece exploring what happens when the tools we build to protect us are the same ones that can obscure reality — or rewrite it entirely. Drawing from the Lock Note discussion, Jennifer Granick’s keynote on threat modeling and constitutional law, my own CISO hallway conversations, and a deep review of 60+ vendor announcements, I examine the operational, legal, and governance risks that emerge when speed and scale take priority over transparency and accountability.We talk about model poisoning — not just in the technical sense, but in how our industry narrative can get corrupted by hype and shallow problem-solving. We look at the dangers of replacing entry-level security roles with black-box automation, where a single model misstep can cascade into thousands of bad calls at machine speed. And yes, we address the potential liability for CISOs and executives who let it happen without oversight.Using Mikko Hyppönen’s “Game of Tetris” metaphor, I explore how successes vanish quietly while failures pile up for all to see — and why in the AI era, that stack can build faster than ever.If AI is everywhere, what defines the premium layer above the baseline? How do we ensure we can still define success, measure it accurately, and prove it when challenged?Listen in, and then join the conversation: Can you trust the “reality” your systems present — and can you prove it?________This story represents the results of an interactive collaboration between Human Cognition and Artificial Intelligence.Enjoy, think, share with others, and subscribe to "The Future of Cybersecurity" newsletter on LinkedIn.Sincerely, Sean Martin and TAPE3________✦ ResourcesArticle: When Artificial Intelligence Becomes the Baseline: Will We Even Know What Reality Is AInymore?https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/when-artificial-intelligence-becomes-baseline-we-even-martin-cissp-4idqe/The Future of Cybersecurity Article: How Novel Is Novelty? Security Leaders Try To Cut Through the Cybersecurity Vendor Echo Chamber at Black Hat 2025: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-novel-novelty-security-leaders-try-cut-through-sean-martin-cissp-xtune/Black Hat 2025 On Location Closing Recap Video with Sean Martin, CISSP and Marco Ciappelli: https://youtu.be/13xP-LEwtEALearn more and catch more stories from our Black Hat USA 2025 coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/bhusa25Article: When Virtual Reality Is A Commodity, Will True Reality Come At A Premium? https://sean-martin.medium.com/when-virtual-reality-is-a-commodity-will-true-reality-come-at-a-premium-4a97bccb4d72Catch all of our event coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/technology-and-cybersecurity-conference-coverageITSPmagazine Studio — A Brand & Marketing Advisory for Cybersecurity and Tech Companies: https://www.itspmagazine.studio/ITSPmagazine Webinar: What’s Heating Up Before Black Hat 2025: Place Your Bet on the Top Trends Set to Shake Up this Year’s Hacker Conference — An ITSPmagazine Thought Leadership Webinar | https://www.crowdcast.io/c/whats-heating-up-before-black-hat-2025-place-your-bet-on-the-top-trends-set-to-shake-up-this-years-hacker-conference________Sean Martin is a life-long musician and the host of the Music Evolves Podcast; a career technologist, cybersecurity professional, and host of the Redefining CyberSecurity Podcast; and is also the co-host of both the Random and Unscripted Podcast and On Location Event Coverage Podcast. These shows are all part of ITSPmagazine—which he co-founded with his good friend Marco Ciappelli, to explore and discuss topics at The Intersection of Technology, Cybersecurity, and Society.™️Want to connect with Sean and Marco On Location at an event or conference near you? See where they will be next: https://www.itspmagazine.com/on-locationTo learn more about Sean, visit his personal website. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

When security becomes more than a checkbox, the conversation shifts from “how much” to “how well.” At Black Hat USA 2025, Sean Martin, CISSP, Co-Founder of ITSPmagazine, and Viktor Petersson, Founder of an SBOM artifact platform, unpack how regulatory forces, cultural change, and AI innovation are reshaping how organizations think about security.Viktor points to the growing role of Software Bill of Materials (SBOMs) as not just a best practice, but a likely requirement in future compliance frameworks. The shift, he notes, is driven largely by regulation—especially in Europe—where security is no longer a “nice to have” but a mandated operational function. Sean connects this to a market reality: companies increasingly see transparent security practices as a competitive differentiator, though the industry still struggles with the hollow claim of simply being “secure.”AI naturally dominates discussions, but the focus is nuanced. Rather than chasing hype, both stress the need for strong guardrails before scaling AI-driven development. Viktor envisions engineers supervising fleets of specialized AI agents—handling tasks from UX to code auditing—while Sean sees AI as a way to rethink entire operational models. Yet both caution that without foundational security practices, AI only amplifies existing risks.The conversation extends to IoT and supply chain security, where market failures allow insecure, end-of-life devices to persist in critical environments. The infamous “smart fish tank” hack in a Las Vegas casino serves as a reminder: the weakest link often isn’t the target itself, but the entry point it provides.DEFCON, Viktor notes, offers a playground for challenging assumptions—whether it’s lock-picking to illustrate perceived versus actual security, or examining the human factor in breaches. For both hosts, events like Black Hat and DEFCON aren’t just about the latest vulnerabilities or flashy demos—they’re about the human exchange of ideas, the reframing of problems, and the collaboration that fuels more resilient security strategies.___________Guest:Viktor Petersson, Founder, sbomify | On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vpetersson/Hosts:Sean Martin, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine | Website: https://www.seanmartin.comMarco Ciappelli, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine | Website: https://www.marcociappelli.com___________Episode SponsorsThreatLocker: https://itspm.ag/threatlocker-r974BlackCloak: https://itspm.ag/itspbcwebAkamai: https://itspm.ag/akamailbwcDropzoneAI: https://itspm.ag/dropzoneai-641Stellar Cyber: https://itspm.ag/stellar-9dj3___________ResourcesLearn more and catch more stories from our Black Hat USA 2025 coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/bhusa25ITSPmagazine Webinar: What’s Heating Up Before Black Hat 2025: Place Your Bet on the Top Trends Set to Shake Up this Year’s Hacker Conference — An ITSPmagazine Thought Leadership Webinar | https://www.crowdcast.io/c/whats-heating-up-before-black-hat-2025-place-your-bet-on-the-top-trends-set-to-shake-up-this-years-hacker-conferenceCatch all of our event coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/technology-and-cybersecurity-conference-coverageWant to tell your Brand Story Briefing as part of our event coverage? Learn More 👉 https://itspm.ag/evtcovbrfWant Sean and Marco to be part of your event or conference? Let Us Know 👉 https://www.itspmagazine.com/contact-us___________KEYWORDSblack hat usa 2025, sean martin, viktor petersson, sbom, compliance, ai, guardrails, iot, defcon, regulation, event coverage, on location, conference Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

⸻ Podcast: Redefining Society and Technologyhttps://redefiningsocietyandtechnologypodcast.com _____________________________This Episode’s SponsorsBlackCloak provides concierge cybersecurity protection to corporate executives and high-net-worth individuals to protect against hacking, reputational loss, financial loss, and the impacts of a corporate data breach.BlackCloak:  https://itspm.ag/itspbcweb_____________________________A Musing On Society & Technology Newsletter Written By Marco Ciappelli | Read by TAPE3August 9, 2025The Agentic AI Myth in Cybersecurity and the Humanity We Risk When We Stop Deciding for OurselvesReflections from Black Hat USA 2025 on the Latest Tech Salvation NarrativeWalking the floors of Black Hat USA 2025 for what must be the 10th or 11th time as accredited media—honestly, I've stopped counting—I found myself witnessing a familiar theater. The same performance we've seen play out repeatedly in cybersecurity: the emergence of a new technological messiah promising to solve all our problems. This year's savior? Agentic AI.The buzzword echoes through every booth, every presentation, every vendor pitch. Promises of automating 90% of security operations, platforms for autonomous threat detection, agents that can investigate novel alerts without human intervention. The marketing materials speak of artificial intelligence that will finally free us from the burden of thinking, deciding, and taking responsibility.It's Talos all over again.In Greek mythology, Hephaestus forged Talos, a bronze giant tasked with patrolling Crete's shores, hurling boulders at invaders without human intervention. Like contemporary AI, Talos was built to serve specific human ends—security, order, and control—and his value was determined by his ability to execute these ends flawlessly. The parallels to today's agentic AI promises are striking: autonomous patrol, threat detection, automated response. Same story, different millennium.But here's what the ancient Greeks understood that we seem to have forgotten: every artificial creation, no matter how sophisticated, carries within it the seeds of its own limitations and potential dangers.Industry observers noted over a hundred announcements promoting new agentic AI applications, platforms or services at the conference. That's more than one AI agent announcement per hour. The marketing departments have clearly been busy.But here's what baffles me: why do we need to lie to sell cybersecurity? You can give away t-shirts, dress up as comic book superheroes with your logo slapped on their chests, distribute branded board games, and pretend to be a sports team all day long—that's just trade show theater, and everyone knows it. But when marketing pushes past the limits of what's even believable, when they make claims so grandiose that their own engineers can't explain them, something deeper is broken.If marketing departments think CISOs are buying these lies, they have another thing coming. These are people who live with the consequences of failed security implementations, who get fired when breaches happen, who understand the difference between marketing magic and operational reality. They've seen enough "revolutionary" solutions fail to know that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.Yet the charade continues, year after year, vendor after vendor. The real question isn't whether the technology works—it's why an industry built on managing risk has become so comfortable with the risk of overselling its own capabilities. Something troubling emerges when you move beyond the glossy booth presentations and actually talk to the people implementing these systems. Engineers struggle to explain exactly how their AI makes decisions. Security leaders warn that artificial intelligence might become the next insider threat, as organizations grow comfortable trusting systems they don't fully understand, checking their output less and less over time.When the people building these systems warn us about trusting them too much, shouldn't we listen?This isn't the first time humanity has grappled with the allure and danger of artificial beings making decisions for us. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, published in 1818, explored the hubris of creating life—and intelligence—without fully understanding the consequences. The novel raises the same question we face today: what are humans allowed to do with this forbidden power of creation? The question becomes more pressing when we consider what we're actually delegating to these artificial agents. It's no longer just pattern recognition or data processing—we're talking about autonomous decision-making in critical security scenarios. Conference presentations showcased significant improvements in proactive defense measures, but at what cost to human agency and understanding?Here's where the conversation jumps from cybersecurity to something far more fundamental: what are we here for if not to think, evaluate, and make decisions? From a sociological perspective, we're witnessing the construction of a new social reality where human agency is being systematically redefined. Survey data shared at the conference revealed that most security leaders feel the biggest internal threat is employees unknowingly giving AI agents access to sensitive data. But the real threat might be more subtle: the gradual erosion of human decision-making capacity as a social practice.When we delegate not just routine tasks but judgment itself to artificial agents, we're not just changing workflows—we're reshaping the fundamental social structures that define human competence and authority. We risk creating a generation of humans who have forgotten how to think critically about complex problems, not because they lack the capacity, but because the social systems around them no longer require or reward such thinking.E.M. Forster saw this coming in 1909. In "The Machine Stops," he imagined a world where humanity becomes completely dependent on an automated system that manages all aspects of life—communication, food, shelter, entertainment, even ideas. People live in isolation, served by the Machine, never needing to make decisions or solve problems themselves. When someone suggests that humans should occasionally venture outside or think independently, they're dismissed as primitive. The Machine has made human agency unnecessary, and humans have forgotten they ever possessed it. When the Machine finally breaks down, civilization collapses because no one remembers how to function without it.Don't misunderstand me—I'm not a Luddite. AI can and should help us manage the overwhelming complexity of modern cybersecurity threats. The technology demonstrations I witnessed showed genuine promise: reasoning engines that understand context, action frameworks that enable response within defined boundaries, learning systems that improve based on outcomes. The problem isn't the technology itself but the social construction of meaning around it. What we're witnessing is the creation of a new techno-social myth—a collective narrative that positions agentic AI as the solution to human fallibility. This narrative serves specific social functions: it absolves organizations of the responsibility to invest in human expertise, justifies cost-cutting through automation, and provides a technological fix for what are fundamentally organizational and social problems.The mythology we're building around agentic AI reflects deeper anxieties about human competence in an increasingly complex world. Rather than addressing the root causes—inadequate training, overwhelming workloads, systemic underinvestment in human capital—we're constructing a technological salvation narrative that promises to make these problems disappear.Vendors spoke of human-machine collaboration, AI serving as a force multiplier for analysts, handling routine tasks while escalating complex decisions to humans. This is a more honest framing: AI as augmentation, not replacement. But the marketing materials tell a different story, one of autonomous agents operating independently of human oversight.I've read a few posts on LinkedIn and spoke with a few people myself who know this topic way better than me, but I get that feeling too. There's a troubling pattern emerging: many vendor representatives can't adequately explain their own AI systems' decision-making processes. When pressed on specifics—how exactly does your agent determine threat severity? What happens when it encounters an edge case it wasn't trained for?—answers become vague, filled with marketing speak about proprietary algorithms and advanced machine learning.This opacity is dangerous. If we're going to trust artificial agents with critical security decisions, we need to understand how they think—or more accurately, how they simulate thinking. Every machine learning system requires human data scientists to frame problems, prepare data, determine appropriate datasets, remove bias, and continuously update the software. The finished product may give the impression of independent learning, but human intelligence guides every step.The future of cybersecurity will undoubtedly involve more automation, more AI assistance, more artificial agents handling routine tasks. But it should not involve the abdication of human judgment and responsibility. We need agentic AI that operates with transparency, that can explain its reasoning, that acknowledges its limitations. We need systems designed to augment human intelligence, not replace it. Most importantly, we need to resist the seductive narrative that technology alone can solve problems that are fundamentally human in nature. The prevailing logic that tech fixes tech, and that AI will fix AI, is deeply unsettling. It's a recursive delusion that takes us further away from human wisdom and closer to a world where we've forgotten that the most important problems have always required human judgment, not algorithmic solutions.Ancient myt