What happens when your security perimeter extends to Mars—and MFA isn't an option?

In this episode of the Security Cocktail Hour, we sit down with Renee Wynn, former CIO of NASA, to explore what cybersecurity looks like when traditional frameworks simply don't apply.

Renee Wynn managed IT for some of humanity's most critical infrastructure: Mars rovers, the James Webb Space Telescope, the International Space Station. We cover the unique challenges of cybersecurity in the aerospace, defense and space fields—and what those constraints teach us about security thinking more broadly.

Early in the discussion, Renee emphasizes: "We always have to make sure we don't have a failure of imagination when we're looking at these risk-based decisions." This is the kind of mindset shift that shapes great security leaders. We also explore how she navigated government oversight, built trust with federal auditors, and led through constraints that forced her to rethink everything.

Whether you work in government, private sector, or dream of expanding your security career into new industries—this conversation will broaden how you think about what's possible.

00:00 Introduction & The Coolest Resume in Cybersecurity

00:51 No Multi-Factor Authentication on Mars: Securing Assets Beyond Earth

02:54 Navigating Oversight: How to Build Trust With Government Auditors

15:00 Failure of Imagination: Rethinking Risk Assessment in Extreme Environments

35:00 Leadership Lessons: Thinking Bigger in Security

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In part 2 of our discussion, John Strand tells us how the cybersecurity industry has turned stagnant, with a lack of innovation and an investment model that isn't going to turn that around any time soon. We explore why venture capital funding hasn't led to the breakthrough products the industry needs, and what's holding back real innovation. John also highlights the leaders in the security industry who are actively giving back to the community, and he and Adam try to one-up each other over who's stayed in the most disgusting hotel room.

00:00 Intro

00:12 Security is Ripe for Disruption

06:19 Better Investors = Better Security Products

10:22 Security is Awesome

12:43 Scaling Conference Talks

15:54 John's Advice on Guests

17:30 A Great Set of People

23:18 Bad Hotels, Good People

29:10 Wrapup

29:54 Outro

This is Part 2 of our conversation with John Strand.

Website: https://securitycocktailhour.comNewsletter: https://securitycocktailhour.com/newsletterLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/security-cocktail-hourTwitter/X: @SecCocktailHour

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John Strand isn't interested in fixing the broken security education system—he's tearing it down and rebuilding it. In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, the founder of Black Hills Information Security explains why scholarships don't solve the real problem, how American universities are losing ground to European programs, and the unexpected places where he's finding the next generation of security talent.

What We Cover:

Why scholarships preserve a broken system instead of fixing it

The barriers that actually matters: Not what you expect

American universities vs. European programs: who's winning and why

Career changers bringing new perspectives to the industry.

AI's "fallow period" in hiring and what comes next

The standardization of mediocrity: how AI is making everything "blah"

00:00 Introduction

00:50 Rethinking Cyber Education

07:01 Diversity Brings Amazing People into Security

09:53 Changing Lives

11:42 Giving Back to the Community

14:33 The Strand Family of Companies

17:02 Security's AI Mistake

Part 2 coming soon

Website: https://securitycocktailhour.com

Newsletter: https://securitycocktailhour.com/newsletter

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/security-cocktail-hour

Twitter/X: @SecCocktailHour

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