Misconfigurations are one of the most overlooked areas in terms of security program quick wins. Everyone freaks out about vulnerabilities, patching, and exploits.

Meanwhile, security tools are misconfigured. Thousands of unused software packages increase remediation effort and attack surface. The most basic misconfigurations lead to breaches. Threatlocker spotted this opportunity and have extended their agent-based product to increase attention on these common issues.

This segment is sponsored by ThreatLocker. Visit https://securityweekly.com/threatlocker to learn more!

AI and the case for toxic anthropomorphism. When Wendy coined this phrase on Mastodon a few weeks ago, I knew that she had hit on something important and that we needed to discuss it on this podcast.

We were lucky to find some time for Wendy to come on the show!

Quick note: while this was not a sponsored segment, 1Password IS currently a sponsor of this podcast. That doesn't really change the conversation any, except that I have to be nice to Wendy. But why would anyone ever be mean to Wendy???

Finally, in the enterprise security news,

1. Dozens of funding rounds over the past two weeks
2. Windows is becoming an Agentic OS? We talk about what that actually means.
3. Some great free tools
4. the latest cyber insurance trends
5. we analyze some recent breaches
6. the stop hacklore campaign
7. some essays worth reading
8. and a how a whole country dropped off the internet, because someone forgot to pay a GoDaddy invoice

All that and more, on this episode of Enterprise Security Weekly.

Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/esw for all the latest episodes!

Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/esw-436

Live from InfoSec World 2025, this episode of Enterprise Security Weekly features six in-depth conversations with leading voices in cybersecurity, exploring the tools, strategies, and leadership approaches driving the future of enterprise defense. From configuration management and AI-generated threats to emerging frameworks and national standards, this special edition captures the most influential conversations from this year's conference.

In this episode:

-You Don't Need a Hacker When You Have Misconfigurations — Rob Allen, Chief Product Officer at ThreatLocker®, discusses how overlooked settings and weak controls continue to be one of the most common causes of breaches. He explains how Defense Against Configurations (DAC) helps organizations identify, map, and remediate configuration risks before attackers can exploit them.

-Security Challenges for Mid-Sized Companies — Perry Schumacher, Chief Strategy Officer & Partner at Ridge IT Cyber, explores the evolving security challenges facing mid-sized organizations. He discusses how AI is becoming a competitive advantage, how mobility and third-party reliance complicate defenses, and what steps these organizations can take to improve resilience and efficiency.

-The Rise of Security Control Management: Secure by Design, Not by Chance — Marene Allison, former CISO of Johnson & Johnson, introduces Security Control Management (SCM), a new software category that unifies control selection, mapping, validation, and enforcement. She explains how SCM transforms fragmented compliance programs into proactive, embedded defense.

-Engineered for Protection: The Rise of Security Control Management — Ryan Heritage, Advisor at Sicura, continues the discussion on SCM, explaining how organizations can operationalize this approach to move from reactive reporting to proactive, data-driven defense. He highlights how automation and integration enable security decisions to be made at "the speed of relevance."

-The AI Threat: Protecting Your Email from AI-Generated Attacks — Patricia Titus, Field CISO at Abnormal Security, explores how cybercriminals are weaponizing generative AI to create sophisticated phishing and social engineering attacks. She shares practical strategies for defending against AI-generated threats and emphasizes why AI-based protections are now essential for modern enterprises.

-Igniting Change: A Conversation with Dr. Ron Ross — Dr. Ron Ross, CEO at RONROSSECURE, LLC, shares insights from decades of pioneering work in cybersecurity, including the Risk Management Framework and Systems Security Engineering Guidelines. He discusses how leaders can apply these principles to strengthen resilience, foster innovation, and drive meaningful change across the cybersecurity landscape.

Segment Resources

• ThreatLocker® Defense Against Configurations (DAC): https://www.threatlocker.com/platform/defense-against-configurations

Book a demo to see DAC in action. Visit https://securityweekly.com/threatlockerisw to learn more!

This segment is sponsored by Ridge IT Cyber. Visit https://securityweekly.com/ridgeisw to learn more about them!

Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/esw for all the latest episodes!

Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/esw-435

Ravid will discuss why security and engineering misalignment is the biggest barrier to fast, effective remediation, using data from Seemplicity's 2025 Remediation Operations Report. This is costing some teams days of unnecessary exposure, which can lead to major security implications for organizations.

Segment Resources:

• https://seemplicity.io/papers/the-2025-remediation-operations-report/

• https://seemplicity.io/news/seemplicity-releases-2025-remediation-operations-report-91-of-organizations-experience-delays-in-vulnerability-remediation/

• https://seemplicity.io/blog/2025-remediation-operations-report-organizations-still-struggle/

Ex-SC Media journalist Derek Johnson did a great job writing this one up over at Cyberscoop: China's 'autonomous' AI-powered hacking campaign still required a ton of human work

There are a number of interesting questions that have been raised here. Some want more technical details and question the report's conclusions. How automated was it, really?

I found it odd that Anthropic's CEO was on 60 minutes the same week, talking about how dangerous AI is (which is his company's primary and only product).

I think one of the more interesting things to discuss is how Anthropic has based its identity and brand on AI safety. While so many other SaaS companies appear to be doing the bare minimum to stop attacks against their customers, Anthropic is putting significant resources into testing for future threats and discovering active attacks.

Finally, in the enterprise security news,

1. vendor layoffs have started again
2. the sins of security vendor research
3. the pillars of the Internet are burning
4. selling out to North Korea isn't worth what they're paying you
5. ransom payments, in 24 easy installments?
6. a breach handled the right way
7. we probably shouldn't be putting LLMs into kids toys
8. ordering coffee from the terminal

All that and more, on this episode of Enterprise Security Weekly.

Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/esw for all the latest episodes!

Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/esw-434

It's the Year of the (Clandestine) Linux Desktop!

As if EDR evasions weren't enough, attackers are now employing yet another method to hide their presence on enterprise systems: deploying tiny Linux VMs. Attackers are using Hyper-V and/or WSL to deploy tiny (120MB disk space and 256MB memory) Linux VMs to host a custom reverse shell and reverse proxy.

In this segment, we'll discuss strategies and mitigations to battle this novel technique with Rob Allen from Threatlocker.

Segment Resources:

• Pro-Russian Hackers Use Linux VMs to Hide in Windows
• Russian Hackers Abuse Hyper-V to Hide Malware in Linux VMs
• Qilin ransomware abuses WSL to run Linux encryptors in Windows

This segment is sponsored by ThreatLocker. Visit https://securityweekly.com/threatlocker to learn more about them!

We're entering the age of human-shaped robots, so it seems like a good time to talk about the fact that they ALREADY HAVE CVEs assigned to them. I guess this isn't a terrible thing - John Connor might have had an easier time if he could simply hack the terminators from a distance...

Resources

• https://www.unitree.com/H2 (watch the video!)
• China's humanoid robots get factory jobs as UBTech's model scores US$112 million in orders
• The big reveal: Xpeng founder unzips humanoid robot to prove it's not human
• Exploit Allows for Takeover of Fleets of Unitree Robots - Security researchers find a wormable vulnerability
• 100-page Paper: The Cybersecurity of a Humanoid Robot
• 5-page Paper: Cybersecurity AI: Humanoid Robots as Attack Vectors
• Amazingly, $300 smart vacuums have some of the same exact vulnerabilities and backdoors built into them as the $16,000 humanoid robots! The Day My Smart Vacuum Turned Against Me

Finally, in the enterprise security news,

1. A $435M venture round
2. A $75M seed round
3. a few acquisitions
4. the producer of the movie Half Baked bought a spyware company
5. AI isn't going well, or is it?
6. maybe we just need to adopt it more slowly and deliberately?
7. ad-blockers are enterprise best practices
8. firewalls and VPNs are security risks, according to insurance claims
9. could you power an entire house with disposable vapes?

All that and more, on this episode of Enterprise Security Weekly.

Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/esw for all the latest episodes!

Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/esw-433

OT/ICS/SCADA systems are often off limits to cybersecurity folks, and exempt from many controls. Attackers don't care how fragile these systems are, however. For attackers aiming to disrupt operations, fragile but critical systems fit criminals' plans nicely.

In this interview, we discuss the challenge of securing OT systems with Todd Peterson and Joshua Hay from Junto Security.

This segment is sponsored by Junto Security. Visit https://securityweekly.com/junto to learn more!

This week's topic segment is all about tuning your 'spidey sense' to spot myths and misconceptions online so we can avoid amplifying AI slop, scams, and other forms of Internet bunk. It was inspired by this LinkedIn post, but we've got a cybersecurity story in the news that we could have easily used for this as well (the report from MIT).

Finally, in the enterprise security news,

1. Some interesting fundings
2. Some more interesting acquisitions
3. a new AI-related term has been coined: cyberslop
4. the latest insights from cyber insurance claims
5. The AI security market isn't nearly as big as it might seem
6. cybercriminals are targeting trucking and logistics to steal goods
7. Sorry dads, science says the smarts come from mom

All that and more, on this episode of Enterprise Security Weekly.

Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/esw for all the latest episodes!

Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/esw-432

Frontline workers can't afford to be slowed down by manual, repetitive logins, especially in mission-critical industries where both security and productivity are crucial. This segment will explore how inefficient login methods erode productivity, while workarounds like shared credentials increase risk, highlighting why passwordless authentication is emerging as a game-changer for frontline access to shared devices. Joel Burleson-Davis, Chief Technology Officer of Imprivata, will share how organizations can adopt frictionless and secure access management to improve both security and frontline efficiency at scale.

Segment Resources:

• Putting Complex Passwords to Work For You

This segment is sponsored by Imprivata. Visit https://securityweekly.com/imprivata to learn more about them!

Vendors are finding, after integrating agents into their processes, that agentic AI can get expensive very quickly. Of course, this isn't surprising when your goal is "review all my third party contracts and fill out questionnaires for me" and the pricing is X DOLLARS for 1M TOKENS blah blah context window, max model thinking model blah blah. No one knows what the conversion is from "review my contracts" to millions of tokens, so everyone is left to just test it out and see what the bill is at the end of the month.

As we saw with Cloud when adoption started increasing in the early 2010s, we are naturally entering the era of AI cost optimization. In this segment, we'll discuss what that means, how it affects the market, and how it affects the use of AI in cybersecurity.

Jackie mentions this story from Wired in the segment: https://www.wired.com/story/ai-bubble-will-burst/

Finally, in the enterprise security news,

1. we've got funding and acquisitions
2. 7 red flags you're doing cloud wrong
3. security standards for open source projects
4. post mortems of attacks on open source supply chain
5. some analysis on current and historic AWS outages
6. a deep dive
7. some dumpster fires
8. and how much would you pay for a robot that puts away the dishes?

All that and more, on this episode of Enterprise Security Weekly.

Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/esw for all the latest episodes!

Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/esw-431

In this week's sponsored interview, we dive into the evolving security landscape around AI agents, where we stand with AI agent adoption. We also touch on topics such as securing credentials in browser workflows and why identity is foundational to AI agent security.

• 1Password Addresses a Critical AI Browser Agent Security Gap
• 1Password Now Available in Comet - the AI Browser by Perplexity

This segment is sponsored by 1Password. Visit https://securityweekly.com/1password to learn more!

In this week's enterprise security news,

1. one big acquisition, two small fundings
2. not all AI is bad
3. deepfakes are getting crazy good
4. make sure you log what your AI agents do
5. Copilot prompt injection
6. NordVPN tries to pull a jedi mind trick on us
7. failure rate in AI adoption is a feature not a bug?
8. using facial recognition to find Tinder profiles
9. a predictable squirrel story

All that and more, on this episode of Enterprise Security Weekly.

Interview with Connor Mulherin of TechSoup

The cybersecurity landscape in the nonprofit sector is evolving quickly, with organizations facing unique challenges due to limited resources, sensitive mission-driven work, and developing policies and training programs. Connor Mulherin, Director and GM of Validation Services at TechSoup, will discuss the industry's need for accessible and collaborative solutions to provide affordable technology leadership and security guidance. It will highlight how nonprofit organizations can build long-term digital resilience and combat these growing challenges.

Segment Resources:

• www.techsoup.org
• Tech Impact Launch CTO Program For Small NPOs
• Virtual Chief Technology Officer Program for the Nonprofit Sector

Interview with Mike Poole, Director of Cyber Security at Werner Enterprises

In today's digital landscape, cybersecurity is not just a technical issue—it's a business imperative. Organizations that prioritize cybersecurity culture see fewer incidents and stronger resilience against evolving threats. But how do you foster a security-first mindset across an organization?

This session will explore the critical components of building and maintaining a robust cybersecurity culture, starting with executive leadership buy-in—a fundamental step in securing resources and driving organizational change. We'll then dive into the power of monthly phishing exercises, which reinforce awareness and preparedness. Attendees will also learn how to develop effective training programs that engage employees at all levels and create lasting behavioral change. Finally, we'll discuss the role of cybersecurity-themed events, particularly during Cybersecurity Awareness Month, as a powerful tool to capture attention and reinforce key security principles.

This segment is sponsored by Oktane by Okta. Visit https://securityweekly.com/oktane to learn more about them!

Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/esw for all the latest episodes!

Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/esw-430