We Talk Cyber

Tired of the same old advice that isn't getting you anywhere in your cybersecurity career?  Everyone says "get more technical skills," but what if that's only part of the story?  If you're aiming for leadership roles like CISO, Security Director, or Head of GRC, or other security leadership roles, this episode is for you. In this episode, we dive into: why technical skills alone won't land you a cybersecurity leadership role, the real skills that executives are desperately seeking (it's not what you think), how to showcase leadership skills even without a leadership title (break the catch-22),  effective communication strategies to influence executives and your team, what it really takes to lead during a cybersecurity crisis (the uncomfortable truth). It's time to stop wasting time on outdated advice and focus on what truly matters. Listen now to unlock the secrets to accelerating your cybersecurity leadership career.Looking to become an influential and effective security leader? Don't know where to start or how to go about it? Follow Monica Verma (LinkedIn) and Monica Talks Cyber (Youtube) for more content on cybersecurity, technology, leadership and innovation, and 10x your career. Subscribe to The Monica Talks Cyber newsletter at https://www.monicatalkscyber.com.

Have you ever felt lost in your career, unsure if you're heading in the right direction, or if you're making the impact you're capable of? You can ask others for guidance, but only you can truly direct yourself. Managing your career is your job and your job only. No one else's. In this episode, we dive into the importance of betting on yourself and taking calculated risks, how to say "no" to distractions and align with your goals, why being easy to work with is your real superpower, why direction trumps speed, and how to stay on course, why focusing on impact will take you farther than focusing on output. It's easy to get caught up by following the crowd, but are you being true to yourself? Watch now to find out how to take control of your path.Looking to become an influential and effective security leader? Don't know where to start or how to go about it? Follow Monica Verma (LinkedIn) and Monica Talks Cyber (Youtube) for more content on cybersecurity, technology, leadership and innovation, and 10x your career. Subscribe to The Monica Talks Cyber newsletter at https://www.monicatalkscyber.com.

Have you ever called customer service, only to realize you're speaking to an AI—one that understands your frustration, adjusts its tone, and even convinces you to buy more? AI is getting scarily good at mimicking human-like conversations, emotions, and even decision-making. But here's the kicker—it doesn't feel anything. So, how do you know if your decisions aren't being influenced by AI? In this episode, we dive into: The rise of AI in everyday conversations, how AI can shape your emotions and decisions and MOST IMPORTANTLY, 5 critical questions you must ask about AI today. AI isn't just changing industries—it's changing you. Are you staying ahead, or are you unknowingly becoming its servant? Listen now to find out.Looking to become an influential and effective security leader? Don't know where to start or how to go about it? Follow Monica Verma (LinkedIn) and Monica Talks Cyber (Youtube) for more content on cybersecurity, technology, leadership and innovation, and 10x your career. Subscribe to The Monica Talks Cyber newsletter at https://www.monicatalkscyber.com.

Feeling underpaid and undervalued? The truth is—YOU are your best salary negotiator. Studies show that professionals who negotiate their salary can increase their pay by an average of $5,000! In this episode, I'll share 9 proven steps to help you negotiate your salary with confidence and secure the pay you truly deserve. You'll Learn: The mindset shift you need to negotiate successfully, how to research salary trends and set your target pay, the secret to communicating your value effectively, the best negotiation strategies used by top professionals and more.Looking to become an influential and effective security leader? Don't know where to start or how to go about it? Follow Monica Verma (LinkedIn) and Monica Talks Cyber (Youtube) for more content on cybersecurity, technology, leadership and innovation, and 10x your career. Subscribe to The Monica Talks Cyber newsletter at https://www.monicatalkscyber.com.

2023 was the year of the Gen AI boom and multimodal AI. 2024 was the year of overinflated valuations but also the start of AI agents. What trends are you going to see in the year 2025 that you need to be ready for?  From hyper-personalization to Explainable AI to AI-driven decision-making, 2025 is set to be a defining year for careers and businesses. In this episode, we break down 7 key AI trends that will shape the way we work, invest, and interact with technology. Listen to find out.Looking to become an influential and effective security leader? Don't know where to start or how to go about it? Follow Monica Verma (LinkedIn) and Monica Talks Cyber (Youtube) for more content on cybersecurity, technology, leadership and innovation, and 10x your career. Subscribe to The Monica Talks Cyber newsletter at https://www.monicatalkscyber.com.

AI is revolutionizing human decision making and cybersecurity, but it's also being used by cybercriminals to launch cyberattacks, frauds and scams. Who's really winning the battle — AI-driven security or AI-powered hackers? In this episode, which is based on my keynote, we'll break down: 1) How AI is being used in cyberattacks; 2) How AI is fighting hackers and changing decision making; and 3) The future of cybersecurity and humanity in an AI-driven world.Looking to become an influential and effective security leader? Don't know where to start or how to go about it? Follow Monica Verma (LinkedIn) and Monica Talks Cyber (Youtube) for more content on cybersecurity, technology, leadership and innovation, and 10x your career. Subscribe to The Monica Talks Cyber newsletter at https://www.monicatalkscyber.com.

9 years ago, this one quote from Daniel Kahneman changed my life: "We are prone to overestimate how much we understand about the world and to underestimate the role of chance in events". I went from hacker to a leader in just 4 years, not just 'cause I worked hard. I took a huge risk by betting on myself even when others wouldn't. Here are 3 things you can do to change your life and unlock your dreams.Looking to become an influential and effective security leader? Don't know where to start or how to go about it? Follow Monica Verma (LinkedIn) and Monica Talks Cyber (Youtube) for more content on cybersecurity, technology, leadership and innovation, and 10x your career. Subscribe to The 10x Circle newsletter at https://www.monicatalkscyber.com.

Approximately 1.3 million people fall victim to online scams every day. I personally know 3 friends who fell victim to online fraud in just last 9 months. The good news is all 3 of them got their money back.How did the later happen? AI/ML in the background. AI in anti-fraud systems. AI in credit decisions. AI under the hood.That's not all. Last year, I traveled 61 hours to the Cayman Islands and back, to explore and answer these questions at the biggest technology conference in the Grand Cayman.I shared my thoughts, experiences and the vision of the future with AI.Looking to become an influential and effective security leader? Don't know where to start or how to go about it? Follow Monica Verma (LinkedIn) and Monica Talks Cyber (Youtube) for more content on cybersecurity, technology, leadership and innovation, and 10x your career. Subscribe to The 10x Circle newsletter at https://www.monicatalkscyber.com.

What's the biggest digital threat to your business? “The Russians can now leverage supply chain attacks against Microsoft's customers.”When Ukraine-Russia geopolitical crisis started many western news sources claimed that Russia apparently didn't use cyber capabilities to the extent the West had expected. Can we say the same knowing that Russia's attack against Microsoft (one of the biggest global service providers) is still not contained? Can we even comprehend the consequences that are underway or might come to light in the (near) future?  Reality:Nation State + Cybercriminal = Worldwide ImpactOver the last decade especially the last years, as the global supply chain have become extremely intertwined, we are seeing more and more collaboration between the cyber criminal groups and the nation state attackers. Your weakest link aren't your users.It's the weakest link in your global supply chain.Listen to the latest episode of https://youtube.com/monicatalkscyber “What's the biggest digital threat to your business?” with Josh Mason.Looking to become an influential and effective security leader? Don't know where to start or how to go about it? Follow Monica Verma (LinkedIn) and Monica Talks Cyber (Youtube) for more content on cybersecurity, technology, leadership and innovation, and 10x your career. Subscribe to The 10x Circle newsletter at https://www.monicatalkscyber.com.

This is The 10x Weekly in Under 60 Seconds presented by The Monica Talks Cyber Show. Ever wondered how AI is changing the world? One of the major fundamental shift that's happening is that AI is creating news. It's creating ideas, it's creating culture, it's creating history. It's creating things that we don't even know if they existed or happened in reality or not. Learn more about the social impact of AI. Looking to become an influential and effective security leader? Don't know where to start or how to go about it? Follow Monica Verma (LinkedIn) and Monica Talks Cyber (Youtube) for more content on cybersecurity, technology, leadership and innovation, and 10x your career. Subscribe to The 10x Circle newsletter at https://www.monicatalkscyber.com.

“You are a good CISO that helps us make a difference” wrote one of my colleague to me. I attribute that feedback to a Japanese concept called Kaizen. My milestones, like most successful people I know, are outcome of a sense of self-belief and a whole lot of bias for action, leading to continuous incremental improvements, referred in the Japanese concept as Kaizen. Here are 12 ways [+BONUS] to 10x your career and life in 2023, today.Looking for your dream job in cybersecurity?Don't know where to start or how to go about it?Follow Monica Verma (LinkedIn) and Monica Talks Cyber (Youtube) for more content on cybersecurity, technology, leadership and innovation, and 10x your career.

For the last 20 years, I've used 8 key elements of powerful storytelling to 10x my career. Here's how you can 10x your career. Reality is: If information is gold, storytelling is mining. Job seekers, interviewers, interviewees, entrepreneurs, security professionals are all storytellers. You are a storyteller. No matter what you do professionally, I can bet you, storytelling is some part of your job. So, how do you go from 0 to great storytelling, I share in today's episode.Looking for your dream job in cybersecurity?Don't know where to start or how to go about it?Follow Monica Verma (LinkedIn) and Monica Talks Cyber (Youtube) for more content on cybersecurity, technology, leadership and innovation, and 10x your career.

According to Forbes, in 2021 alone, ransomware cost the world $20 billion, and that number is expected to skyrocket to $265 billion by 2031. Over the last years, ransomware attacks have managed to cause disruptions to energy, gas pipelines, groceries stores and many more businesses and daily lives.In today's video of The Monica Talks Cyber Podcast Experience, Monica Verma sit down with security researcher and blogger, Graham Cluley, to talk about the ransomware, the business email and the insider threat problems, and what the heck can we do about them?Looking for your dream job in cybersecurity?Don't know where to start or how to go about it?Follow Monica Verma (LinkedIn) and Monica Talks Cyber (Youtube) for more content on cybersecurity, technology, leadership and innovation, and 10x your career.

“Fake it till you make it” is the worst advice I ever received. 70% of people will experience imposter syndrome in their career. I know, I am one of them. ”How do you HANDLE imposter syndrome?” asked one of my mentees. Fake it till you make it is the worst advice you will ever receive. Instead, in the last 3 years, I applied these 7 principles, every day, to “embrace” my imposter syndrome. Not to "deal" with it, but embrace and manage it, that changed my life forever. Here are 7 steps you can take to embrace your imposter syndrome today without faking it till you make it:Looking for your dream job in cybersecurity?Don't know where to start or how to go about it?Follow Monica Verma (LinkedIn) and Monica Talks Cyber (Youtube) for more content on cybersecurity, technology, leadership and innovation, and 10x your career.

How to land your dream job WITHOUT applying? Dream jobs that I landed, I didn't apply to them. Instead, I was approached, I was connected to, I was networked with. In the last 7 years, I CHANGED entirely the way I approached job searching. Surely, I have applied to jobs online, but those have had the least impact. The biggest impact came from an entirely different approach. How can you land your dream job, without hunting for it like a mad person, I'll be sharing with you in today's podcast episode.Looking for your dream job in cybersecurity?Don't know where to start or how to go about it?Follow Monica Verma (LinkedIn) and Monica Talks Cyber (Youtube) for more content on cybersecurity, technology, leadership and innovation, and 10x your career.

In 2009, I took one decision to cold email a hacker, and that changed my life forever. That one decision, that one cold message, changed my life forever. TODAY, for the very first time, I share my entire story on how I took that bold but scary decision, how it changed my life forever, and tips on how it can change your life forever, in my latest episode on Monica Talks Cyber.Looking for your dream job in cybersecurity?Don't know where to start or how to go about it?Follow Monica Verma (LinkedIn) and Monica Talks Cyber (Youtube) for more content on cybersecurity, technology, leadership and innovation, and 10x your career.

No matter what people tell you, every single day we are seeing people break into this field with no experience and succeeding.  They are coming from all kinds of backgrounds such as retail, medical, transportation, and many other industries.Cyber Security is unique because you are able to write your own story on how you want to pursue this field.  If you are willing to have the motivation and put in hard work, Monica Verma and Mike Miller are going to steer you down the right path on gaining entry into this great field.  Even if you have no experience, no degree, and no certs, you need to show up for this event.Stepping foot into the field of cyber security has the potential of bringing out the best in you while also creating a rewarding career that allows you to work from your house in your pajamas.Bring your notebook and pen, because we have packed an entire hour of information that we feel can give you a head start in your career going into 2023.Tip #1 NetworkingTip #2 Communication and BrandingTip #3 StorytellingTip #4 Psychology and People SkillsTip #5 Finding and Adding ValueTip #6 Cross SkillingTip #7 Finding Your NicheLooking for your dream job in cybersecurity?Don't know where to start or how to go about it?Follow Monica Verma (LinkedIn) and Monica Talks Cyber (Youtube) for more content on cybersecurity, technology, leadership and innovation, and 10x your career.

In this episode, Monica Verma, CISO, Hacker, CEO and Founder, talks with Naomi Buckwalter, Directory of Product Security, about the so-called talent gap. Is it the talent gap real? How can we fix it? How do we build diversity and inclusion in cybersecurity industry? Listen to hot takes with Monica and Naomi, on how to break into cybersecurity and leadership, and accelerate your career.Looking for your dream job in cybersecurity?Don't know where to start or how to go about it?Follow Monica Verma (LinkedIn) and Monica Talks Cyber (Youtube) for more content on cybersecurity, technology, leadership and innovation, and accelerate your career.

Liz Truss' mobile was hacked allegedly by Kremlin agents. It was so heavily compromised that it had to be locked away in a safe inside a secure Government location. How do you protect people with high-risk profiles? What is the no. one factor to combat fake news and disinformation? In this episode, Monica Verma, CISO, Hacker, CEO, talk with Runa Sandvik, Security Researcher, about fake news, disinformation, security for high-risk profiles, and journalism.Support the show

As technology, social media and smart devices have seeped into our private and business lives, do we have privacy as a human right any more?In this episode Monica Verma, CEO & CISO, talks with Debbie Reynolds "The Data Diva",  on the myths around privacy as human rights, privacy challenges related to social media, artificial intelligence and emerging technology, as well as how it's disrupting our private and business worlds.Support the show

How has the cyber health of healthcare evolved and what challenges lie ahead of us? In this episode Monica Verma, CEO | CISO, and Joseph Davis, Chief Security Advisor, Microsoft, talk about cyber threats, trends, risks and recommendations connected to healthcare services, medical devices, brownfield environment, and their interconnection and convergence with IoT, cloud and more.Support the show

In today's episode, CISOs and hackers, Chris Roberts and Monica Verma dive deep into the world of ransomware and talk about exploitations through ransomware and it's impact on businesses, the advancement in technology & how it is shaping the ransomware landscape, the ethics landscape aka to pay or not to pay, what does it take to build a better defense against ransomware attacks, and more. Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wetalkcyber)

In today's episode Monica Verma, Keynote Speaker and CISO, talks to Sarah Armstrong-Smith, Chief Security Advisor, Microsoft on how is the threat landscape and the cyber criminals evolving? What are some of the key factors of better defense going forward and key recommendations to combat cybercrime? How do we protect privacy and include ethics, especially with the convergence of the physical, the digital and biological worlds? So if you wish to learn, grow, and be a part of this journey, then hit the subscribe button and let's meet our guess right away. Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wetalkcyber)

In today's episode, CISOs Monica Verma and Gary Hayslip talk about how to communicate and report to the board, real value of cybersecurity and its ROI, managing both current and future risk, how to make security seamless, and tips for communication around breaches. For video check out MonicaTalksCyber.Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wetalkcyber)

In today's episode Monica Verma talks to one of industry leaders within Cyber Insurance, Michael Spreitzenbarth on why you should care about cyber insurance, why you need it, what are the key elements to consider when underwriting a policy and some of the important gotchas, loopholes or myths around insurance policy.Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wetalkcyber)

In today's episode Monica Verma talks to Katie Nickels on importance of cyber threat intelligence, evolution of threat landscape over the last decade, trends today and moving forward, as well as security and privacy challenges with threat intelligence.Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wetalkcyber)

In this episode, Monica Verma talks to Marc Vael, CISO and risk management expert on cyber and systemic risks, cyber risk exposure, how to make your risks more tangible, visible and understandable, and key elements for effective risk management, integration and communication.Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wetalkcyber)

Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wetalkcyber)

Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wetalkcyber)

In today’s episode Monica Verma talks with an industry leader and a technology lawyer. Yup, hard to find those combinations. Monica sits down and talks to Jan Sandtrø, who is a renowned legal expert and has been working with technology, privacy and their intersections for more than two decades. In this episodes engaging conversations, they coveringWhat is Schrems I, Schrems II, and how did they came to be? Why are business within Europe in this whole data transfer limbo with American companies?Is CLOUD act any less invasive?All apps and applications are tracking us. What can you as a user do?We talked to our experts about these and more. Let’s hop into the episode right away. Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wetalkcyber)

Monica Verma talks with Anton Chuvakin, Head of Solutions Strategy at Google and former Research Director at Gartner. It this episode they talk about some of the security issues with cloud, especially with regards to cloud migration.  Can we trust cloud less to trust more? What are some of the key paradoxes when it comes to cloud breaches and how can we increase accountability when it comes to cloud breaches? How do we help organizations and security leaders shift to a cloud security mindset? We talked with Anton about these and more cybersecurity and cloud security issues.Make sure you subscribe to my youtube channel Monica Talks Cyber and We Talk Cyber in your favorite podcast app. Do it right away so you don’t miss any of these amazing conversations and stories with renowned global experts that are making a different and real impact, every single day. If you like to support us, buy us a coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wetalkcyber :-) Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wetalkcyber)

Here we are with the season finale and an absolutely engaging topic for you - Robotics vs. Security.On the season finale, Monica talks with Mark Folmer, VP Security and Industry, Robotic Assistance Devices, on the robotics industry, the state of security within the robotics industry, Industry 4.0, augmentation, challenges, risks and implications, opportunities it brings with itself and more.

The goals of security isn’t confidentiality, integrity and availability but to understand, support and enable organization’s goals and mission. Business acumen, leadership and communication play a vital role in that. Security is not an IT problem but everyone’s responsibility. In this episode, we turn the tables and talk to a business leader on his role and involvement in security as well as expectation of and support for security leaders. Monica Verma talks with Christoffer Hernæs on digitalization, the business perspective of security and the FinTech world.

In this episode of We Talk Cyber with Monica, we talk with Bjorn R. Watne, CISO, Storebrand on - threat landscape over last decade and amidst pandemic- how to build robustness, visibility and detection amidst increasing digitalization - how do you know you are doing enough? Need for security leaders at the executive levels is vital to understand and manage cyber threats and risks in today’s landscape. As Bjorn Watne says it: “With Covid19 pandemic and everyone working from home, we are putting even more eggs in the digitalization basket”.

In one corner we have privacy. On a very fundamental level, privacy is a basic human right recognized in the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights. Even though it's not yet a human right in every constitution globally, we have seen regulations like GDPR and CCPA come into place in the last years. We have also had discussions on this in the US congress, EU parliament and in the world in the wake of Cambridge Analytica scandal.In the other corner lies security. Under the umbrella of security, lies both ensuring services, products and business performs securely as well as also different forms of surveillance, in order to ensure security of people and nation, which could potentially at times invade the privacy aspect.Monica talks with Vandana Verma on where does the balance lie and challenges, risks and recommendations for businesses, vendors and people.

“By far, the greatest danger of Artificial Intelligence is that people conclude too early that they understand it.” Eliezer YudkowskyIn this episode, Monica Verma talks with our guest Eirik Gulbrandsen from the Norwegian Data Protection Authority, about Artificial Intelligence, demystifying its possibilities and perils, use cases and challenges, and what it could mean for cybersecurity, privacy and society.

In this episode, Monica Verma talks with Carsten Maartmann-Moe, CEO, Transcendent Group, about hacking, the big bang of the internet, connected devices, Internet of Things and emerging technologies. They talk about the evolution and the threat landscape, risks and consequences of both legacy and emerging tech, the ethics behind it, use of data and more.

In this episode Chris Kiønig from Watchcom talks with Monica Verma about the EU standard and framework called TIBER - Threat Intelligence Based Ethical Red Teaming. - What's the goal and purpose of the framework?- How to implement and build resilience and ensure financial stability during external events such as cyber attacks?- What's are the challenges, for example with regards to budgets, real attack simulations, GDPR, etc?If you are in financial sector or any other sector that is critical to society and provide critical infrastructure and services, this episode is for you.

This episode of We Talk Cyber is dedicated to HACKER to HACKER conversation.In this episode, Chris Dale from River Security talks with Monica Verma about1. upstream thinking to security2. high-value pen-testing & the psychology behind it3. the threat landscape & its global consequences

Join CISOs and Ethical Hackers, Chris Roberts and Monica Verma, on the latest episode of We Talk Cyber as they talk aboutthe era of cyborg the security risks, ethics and the privacy implicationsdata security and awareness around augmentation, artificial intelligence and more.

We have talked in the previous episodes that 100% security doesn’t exist. But what about traceability? How do you know what digital footprint do you have out there? Can you manage, protect and “truly” delete all or even a part of it? Once you are online, your existence and your data is out there.You are a target, even when you don’t believe so and your data is valuable, even when you don’t care about it. In this episode, Per Thorsheim and I talk about the myths around digital identities and footprint, what challenges we face, and how can we manage, protect and take care of our digital identities better, amidst a chaos and huge web of footprints, that we don’t even know exist.

Monica Verma in conversation with Lance Spitzner, Director at SANS Security Awareness, on top human risks, key questions leadership should be asking, and key behaviors we need in order to secure and manage those human risks. You can only make so many behavioral changes. In this episode, we talk about how to focus and prioritize, what strategies to use and how to understand the psychology behind a successful security awareness program.

In this episode Monica Verma talks with Lars Eirik Berg, CSO and CISO, DNB, about1. a business leader’s perspective on cybersecurity, threats and risks2. is security really just about securing or does it serve a bigger purpose and3. how to approach security, risk and crisis management to help businesses and society They talk about COVID-19, pandemic, deep fakes, phishing, data breaches and more.This episode is for every security leader, business leader, risk management leader and anyone and everyone who wishes to understand the strategy, the psyche and the philosophy of enabling businesses and the society through a holistic approach to security and risk management.

In this episode Monica Verma talks with Deidre Diamond, CEO and Founder, CyberSN, aboutcareer challenges cyber security talent face in our industryimportance of succession planing and retentionand what can we do about it to help both young talent and professionals in our industry, as well as to build a business that’s not only successful but also cost effective.

Here comes the long awaited podcast episode with a highly requested topic on cyber resilience.In this episode of We Talk Cyber, Monica Verma talks to Hanne Tangen Nilsen, Cyber Security Officer and Security Director Business from Telenor Norway, about key elements of cyber resilience, what role do threat intelligence and SOC/CERT play to build a cyber resilient organization and what are the key challenges and learnings over the years. As Hanne describes it “To build a cyber resilient organization you need to understand your security maturity level. You need to start with that.”

In today’s episode, Monica talks with Tanya Janca on challenges businesses face with regards to cybersecurity talent, how algorithms and data can be (unintentionally) biased, and what can we do for better communication and diversity. Tanya and Monica share their stories and passion for podcasts, learning and sharing knowledge.

In today's episode of We Talk Cyber with Monica, Cloud Researcher Mark Nunnikhoven, Trend Micro, talks about complexity, responsibility and visibility in cloud, how that affects cloud security and what you can do about it! Get your coffee/tea and enjoy the scintillating discussions, experiences and philosophies on cloud security.

Security experts, Jeremiah Grossman and Robert Hansen talk with Monica Verma about what is asset discovery, why is it important and why should businesses care. If you are interested in listening to amazing stories about how Jeremiah and Robert came to download the entire Internet, tune in right now!

Roar Thon, Specialist Director Security Culture at the Norwegian National Security Authority (NSM - Nasjonal sikkerhetsmyndighet) joins Monica Verma on the podcast series We Talk Cyber. Roar talks about the human aspect of cybersecurity and the challenges of terminology and communication in the security industry.