The Future of Security Operations

• Ofgem’s Mollie Chard on driving resilience through diverse hiring practices

  In this week’s episode of The Future of Security Operations podcast, Thomas is joined by Mollie Chard. Mollie’s career spans 10+ years in technical SOC and leadership roles at organizations like the UK’s Met Office, Capgemini, and OVO. She’s recently accepted a new role as Head of Cyber Guidance & Monitoring at Ofgem, the UK’s Office of Gas and Electricity Markets. A passionate advocate for diversity, she’s also the Chief Advisor for Women in Cybersecurity UK and Ireland. In this episode: [02:00] Mollie’s journey from arts graduate to security leader [04:00] Her previous role developing emerging security talent for CIS UK [05:00] Tips and techniques for hiring diverse talent [11:20] The problem with management being the default career path [15:25] The biggest tech mistake that budget-strapped companies make [19:23] Solving unique systems and operational technology challenges in the energy sector [21:30] The ethical considerations and impact of AI for security and other industries [27:30] Making space in boardroom discussions for diversity and how it can enhance resilience [32:00] How to stay aligned when working with remote or dispersed team [35:00] What Mollie thinks cybersecurity will look like in five years [37:00] AI as a threat to human cognitive abilities within and beyond security [42:40] Connect with Mollie The Future of Security Operations is brought to you by Tines, the orchestration, automation, and AI platform that powers some of the world’s most important workflows.  Where to find Mollie: LinkedIn Medium Substack Where to find Thomas Kinsella: LinkedIn Tines Resources mentioned: Capslock Bootcamp UK Department for Work and Pensions's Disability Confident employer scheme More career growth tips from Mollie on the Trident Talks podcast

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• The Trade Desk's Joe McCallister on salary negotiation and leading without micromanaging

  In this week’s episode of The Future of Security Operations podcast, Thomas is joined by Joe McCallister. Joe’s journey in security is truly unique - in less than a decade, he pivoted from selling BMWs to his current role as Senior Manager of Cybersecurity Operations at The Trade Desk. He’s also led impactful initiatives in risk management, threat hunting, and incident response at Synoptek. In this episode: [02:18] Transitioning from selling BMWs to leading a security team [06:14] Moving from practitioner to manager and leaning into the role of the "communications guy" [09:52] Balancing security team priorities with company goals [11:40] The threats that keep Joe up at night [14:06] How The Trade Desk's rapid growth has affected day-to-day operations [16:10] Ensuring security stays top of mind for other business units [19:32] Practical tips for strengthening collaboration with IT and other teams [22:13] Joe’s approach to hiring and building a resilient team [26:30] Enabling his incident response team to thrive, even when he's not there [30:58] Joe’s top three leadership principles [33:22] Tips for salary negotiation, both as a practitioner and a manager [39:58] Navigating imposter syndrome and anxiety [42:37] How AI is fueling Joe’s optimism for the future of SecOps [44:29] Connect with Joe The Future of Security Operations is brought to you by Tines, the orchestration, automation, and AI platform that powers some of the world’s most important workflows.  Where to find Joe: LinkedIn Rocky Mountain Information Security Conference (May 28 - 30, 2025) Where to find Thomas Kinsella: LinkedIn Tines Resources mentioned: Colorado=Security Annual Salary Surveys & Resources

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• LastPass's Christofer Hoff on navigating incidents while rebuilding the security org from scratch

  The Future of Security Operations podcast is back for a sixth season, and, to kick it off, Thomas is joined by Christofer Hoff. Christofer has over 30 years of experience in network and information security architecture, development, engineering, operations, and management, including security leadership roles at Bank of America, Citadel, and Juniper Networks. He’s currently Chief Secure Technology Officer at LastPass, a unique role that combines the duties of CSO and CTO, while also serving on the board at FIDO Alliance. In this episode: [02:00] How blogging landed Christofer his first couple of jobs in security [06:50] Taking a more holistic approach to security through collaboration [09:40] Rebuilding LastPass's security org from scratch [12:03] Reflecting on incidents - what LastPass did right [16:12] Communicating with customers and the broader community during incidents [20:15] Navigating tech debt as a security leader [23:55] The biggest challenges AI has produced for his team [25:16] How LastPass uses an AI working group for decision-making [29:00] The evolving challenges of browser security [35:05] Passkeys, passwords and the future of secure authentication [41:40] Tips on hiring and structuring effective security teams [46:47] How LastPass creates efficiency through automation [50:38] The biggest changes he'd like to see in security [54:44] Connect with Chris The Future of Security Operations is brought to you by Tines, the orchestration, automation, and AI platform that powers some of the world’s most important workflows. Where to find Christofer Hoff: LinkedIn Chris's Rational Survivability blog Where to find Thomas Kinsella: LinkedIn Tines Resources mentioned: Chris on Google’s Cloud Security Podcast LastPass Security Incident Summary

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• Afni's Brent Deterding on deploying MFA for 10,000 employees and becoming "the Happy CISO"

  In this week’s episode of The Future of Security Operations podcast, Thomas is joined by Brent Deterding. Brent has over 25 years of experience in security, both on the vendor side and now as a security leader. He spent a big part of his career with cloud-native security analytics platform SecureWorks, and he’s currently the CISO of Afni, a global provider of contact center solutions in the U.S., Philippines, and Mexico. Brent and Thomas discuss: - His unconventional path to becoming a CISO - Building a security team with zero attrition - Removing the burden of stress in incident response - Strategies for risk prioritization - Facing off against cybercriminal group Scattered Spider - Why prioritization and leadership are among security's biggest challenges - Being dubbed "the happy CISO" after reporting high levels of job satisfaction - Brent's four security non-negotiables - The right way to approach CISOs as a security vendor - Measuring success when you're metrics-averse - What the SOC will - and should - look like in five years The Future of Security Operations is brought to you by Tines, the smart, secure workflow builder that powers some of the world’s most important workflows. https://www.tines.com/solutions/security Where to find Brent Deterding: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brent-deterding/ Afni: https://www.afni.com/ Where to find Thomas Kinsella:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-kinsella/ Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/thomasksec Tines: https://www.tines.com/ Resources mentioned: How to connect with me as a vendor by Brent Deterding on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7146566282128076800/ In this episode: [01:56] Brent's unconventional path to becoming a CISO [04:10] Finding the right fit at Afni [06:09] Separating his identity from his job and removing the burden of stress [10:22] Why Brent sees risk prioritization and leadership as security's biggest challenges [13:02] Brent's first steps as CISO at Afni including deploying MFA across 10,000 employees [16:29] Going up against threat group Scattered Spider [17:43] Brent's custom risk frameworks [23:03] Measuring success as someone who's metrics-averse [26:19] How Brent developed his unique leadership style [29:13] Supporting his team to do their best work [31:55] Brent's tips for security vendors [36:07] Using AI for resilience and protection [39:20] What security could and should look like in five years [42:53] Connect with Brent

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• Ask Sage's Nicolas Chaillan on moving the DOD to zero trust and deploying Kubernetes in space

  In this week’s episode of The Future of Security Operations podcast, Thomas is joined by Nicolas Chaillan. Nicolas is a security leader who has held several high-profile roles in US federal agencies including Chief Software Officer for the US Air Force and Space Force, Special Advisor for Cloud Security and DevSecOps at the Department of Defense (DOD), and Special Advisor for Cybersecurity and Chief Architect for Cyber.gov at the Department of Homeland Security. He is also the founder of no less than 13 companies, including Ask Sage, a GPT-powered platform that brings Generative AI capabilities to government teams. Nicolas and Thomas discuss: - Building the US government's first zero trust implementation - Putting Kubernetes on jets and space systems - The challenges of bringing new technologies to the federal government - How the threat landscape will continue to evolve for US federal agencies - The biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make - How cross-team collaboration helped him create meaningful change at the DOD - The future of AI in security - The inspiration behind his AI-powered platform, Ask Sage The Future of Security Operations is brought to you by Tines, the smart, secure workflow builder that powers some of the world’s most important workflows. https://www.tines.com/solutions/security Where to find Nicolas Chaillan: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolaschaillan/ Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/NicolasChaillan Nic's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt7jKHaxWS8W_4rcKGg7X9w Ask Sage: https://www.asksage.ai/ Where to find Thomas Kinsella:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-kinsella/ Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/thomasksec Tines: https://www.tines.com/ Resources mentioned: Making An Impact: Nicolas Chaillan, CEO Magazine: https://www.theceomagazine.com/executive-interviews/government-defence/nicolas-chaillan/ In this episode: [02:20] Becoming a self-taught coder at 7 and founding his first company at 15 [05:02] Shipping 187+ technology products as a founder, in verticals as varied as healthcare, retail and banking [07:08] The biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make [08:40] His latest product, generative AI platform Ask Sage [11:30] The challenges of bringing a new product to the US government [13:45] Building the first zero trust implementation in the government as Special Advisor for Cybersecurity at the Department of Homeland Security [15:20] Advocating for new technologies at federal agencies [19:40] Deploying Kubernetes on 50-year-old hardware on the F16 jet at the Department of Defense [22:02] Dealing with pushback and internal resistance to change [24:50] Recruiting internal help to establish force-wide DevSecOps at the DOD [29:00] Becoming Federal Chief Technology Officer at Qualys [30:30] Reflecting on the changes he implemented while working for the US government [33:12] Deciding which companies to work with as an advisory board member [36:40] How the threat landscape will continue to evolve for US federal agencies [40:50] TikTok as a channel for misinformation and national security weapon [44:18] Nicolas' predictions for the future of security [47: 10] Connect with Nicolas

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