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Today we bring back one of our favorite guests: former US most-wanted cybercriminal Brett Johnson. It’s been seven years since he was last on the show, and much has happened in the world of cyber. Brett shares how his perspective has changed in the past few years, and gives his thoughts on how new technologies impact cyber crime. Steve and Brett discuss compliance and what Brett’s path from prison to helping law enforcement means for other cyber criminals. Brett also answers some rapid-fire questions. Key Takeaways:  Increased ease of access to cybercrime tools and services, along with manpower problems in law enforcement, are key reasons for why cyber crime is one of the world’s largest economies today. Enterprises must shift focus from trying to block every attack to protecting their crown jewels for when an attack inevitably gets through.   Bad things happen because good people remain silent.  Tune in to hear more about: Why cybersecurity awareness training often fail (13:32) If Brett’s path to redemption is still viable for today’s cyber criminals (16:57) Some rapid-fire questions to Brett (21:35) Standout Quotes: “Cybersecurity and security overall is not a romantic thing. It's not an exotic thing. It's simply doing the nuts and bolts of what you need to do. And the problem is that largely that's not happening in the environment. If you've got management that's more interested in butter than they are in guns, you've got those types of issues.” - Brett Johnson “Cybersecurity awareness training or fraud prevention training, scam awareness, anything like that, we tend to educate at a very rational level. For scams and a lot of fraud and stuff like that, it doesn't happen at a rational level. If I'm trying to attack a person and compromise that person, I'm not doing it at a rational level. I'm doing it at an emotional level. I'm trying to get you to set reason and logic aside and to react emotionally. So all that training takes place at that rational level. You can understand it there. That doesn't mean that you understand it at the emotional level whatsoever.” - Brett Johnson “Is it harder? In one respect it is because we now have people that are aware of how money is moved, what criminals seek to do with it. Banks have become more aware of a lot of the new ways to launder and funnel funds. In many ways, it's much harder, but at the same time, criminal networks have adapted to that difficulty.” - Brett Johnson Read the transcript of this episodeSubscribe to the ISF Podcast wherever you listen to podcastsConnect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter From the Information Security Forum, the leading authority on cyber, information security, and risk management.

Today, Steve returns to Business Matters with Juliette Foster. The war continues to rage in Iran, and with it comes an increasing threat of cyber attacks. Steve shares his thoughts on what the conflict means for cyber investment in the private sector, British critical infrastructure, and the British government’s approach to cyber resilience. Steve and Juliette also discuss the UK Financial Minister’s Spring Statement, which didn’t include any references to cybersecurity. What does this omission signal? How will multinational companies react? Is cyber a macro economic issue? This, and more, in Steve’s latest appearance on Business Matters. Key Takeaways:  Cyber is a macroeconomic issue, not just a technical one.  AI has changed the way that the threat landscape is evolving, but it's also brought benefits for cyber defence.  Governments have limited abilities to support the cyber resilience of the private sector; cooperation between large enterprises supports the whole business landscape. Tune in to hear more about: If Steve thinks the UK Finance Minister’s spring statement will impact cyber investments (8:57) The impact on UK businesses of slower economic growth in the UK (14:59) The state of government cyber resilience in the UK (22:39) Standout Quotes: “What you have to do is you have to look at your crown jewels and back to this minimum viable company notion that I mentioned right at the beginning of our chat. You have to understand what the most critical elements of your business are, and then you can track those through these complex supply chains. Those are the pieces you need to be protecting because that's what's gonna bring your business down or ensure that you can continue to operate.”  - Steve Durbin “The business climate in the UK at the moment is exceptionally tough, exceptionally demanding. I think if you look at some of the legislation that's recently come in particularly around hiring, retaining employees, the sheer cost of doing business has risen pretty much exponentially for most organizations, and that means that they have to make cuts somewhere. If they can't do it in terms of some of the core business, they will look to some of the fringe elements. So if you've got an organization that perhaps does not view cyber as being core to what they do, then that may well be somewhere where a cut is made.” - Steve Durbin “I think we'll certainly see a maturing of the industry. It's a very young industry still in terms of the way that it's evolving and changing, and I think that with the benefit of a couple of years under our belt, then most organizations will have moved to a stronger position from a maturity standpoint, and I would hope certainly that we're talking very much more about resilience rather than protection.” Read the transcript of this episodeSubscribe to the ISF Podcast wherever you listen to podcastsConnect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter From the Information Security Forum, the leading authority on cyber, information security, and risk management.

Today’s episode is a special one, recorded to announce an exciting and important new partnership between ISF and the organisation Prostate Cancer Research. Joining the show is PCR CEO Oliver Kemp, who for nearly a decade has worked to ensure fewer men suffer and die from prostate cancer. Steve and Oliver talk about how prostate cancer screening works and the importance of catching it early. The two also talk about the partnership and how it will help PCR’s efforts across the UK.  Key Takeaways: Early detection saves lives. If you find prostate cancer before it has reached stage 3, the survival rate is 100%. A cancer battle will affect people around you, but they will also be the people whom you can draw strength and support from.  Access to cancer screening varies between regions and demographics.  Tune in to hear more about: What PSA is and how testing for prostate cancer is done (5:28) The new partnership between ISF and PCR (18:58) How AI and new technologies can help in cancer detection (22:34) Standout Quotes: “I think us men are not always the best at going and looking after ourselves and we often need to be nagged to go out and do something. But if you've got prostate cancer, it's gonna get you one way or another, and it'll gradually grow inside of you. And it's far better getting it early and having a relatively simple procedure, which you can now be in and out of hospital in a single day rather than late-stage prostate cancer, which will have very different consequences.” - Oliver Kemp  “I think one of the great things about this partnership is first of all, we're aiming at people who often don't get tested. And there are lots of PSA tests happening across this country, but they're often focused on regional areas. So southeast of England, London has lots of testing. It has lots of the best hospitals in the world, whereas other parts of the country don't have access to that.” - Oliver Kemp  “And for people in cybersecurity, it's about being as proactive about your own health as you are about protecting your organization. So it isn't about waiting for symptoms. I didn't have any. Look at PSA tests. We've said on this show it's a very low cost. And the people that I've come across who've certainly taken that step, and sadly there are more of us than people might think, all tell me the same thing. And as for partners, families, friends that are listening, don't underestimate the power of your encouragement just being there. That's really important. You don't have to do anything big. It's just a quiet conversation that could genuinely help.” - Steve Durbin Read the transcript of this episodeSubscribe to the ISF Podcast wherever you listen to podcastsConnect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter From the Information Security Forum, the leading authority on cyber, information security, and risk management.

In today’s episode, Steve speaks with Martina Navratilova. Martina is one of the most accomplished tennis players of all time, holding the record for most open era titles and Wimbledon wins. Since retiring from tennis, Martina has been a vocal advocate for gay rights and cancer awareness. In her conversation with Steve, she talks about the importance of screening and early detection, and why self-awareness and kindness to yourself are essential when you’re going through something difficult. The two also discuss adapting to change, how to read your opponents and why rehearsing matters – both on the tennis court and in the world of cyber. Martina also gives the audience a piece of advice on staying resilient in the face of uncertainty, from the perspective of a champion. Key Takeaways: If something doesn’t feel right in your body, get tested. And even if you’re feeling fine, do that annual physical.  There is no substitute for practice when it comes to crisis preparedness. Breaches will happen, it’s about how you respond – with clarity and honesty – that matters. Tune in to hear more about: Some news from Steve (1:33) Building the right team (10:18) Recovering after a breach (13:24) Standout Quotes: “We tend to overreact and overcorrect. Less is more in just about everything in life. Less is more. You can always add to it. But if you go too far, you've gone too far.” - Martina Navratilova “At the end of the day, if you are the big boss, you are making the decisions, you have to trust your gut. So you take all the information in, but you have to say, ‘Okay, what really feels right with my knowledge, with my intelligence, with my history, what is the best way forward?’” - Martina Navratilova “No system is bulletproof no matter what. You may hit the best serve ever, but that person guessed and they get it back. It's how you bounce back from that. But nothing is bulletproof. You just need to figure out where was the breach, how can we fix it and avoid doing it again?” - Martina Navratilova Read the transcript of this episodeSubscribe to the ISF Podcast wherever you listen to podcastsConnect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter From the Information Security Forum, the leading authority on cyber, information security, and risk management.

In this week’s episode, Steve sits down with conductor, pianist, comedian, and broadcaster Rainer Hersch. Rainer leans on his orchestra experience to explain how leaders outside the concert hall can build deep trust and strike a balance between discipline and adaptability in a rapidly changing world. He also reveals his secret leadership weapon: humor.  Key Takeaways: Conducting an orchestra has many parallels to leading a business. Not every team member must know the entire business, but the leaders do.  Good conducting—and by extension, good leadership—is a back-and-forth effort between leaders and those being led. Tune in to hear more about: How conductors make different parts of the orchestra function in harmony (1:53) Flexibility in an orchestra and in business (6:59) How Hersch uses humor in his work as a conductor (14:54) Standout Quotes: “These analogies are very similar to how any large organization works. The only person actually who's got the kind of blueprint for the product that the orchestra is presenting to its customers, that is the orchestra score, is the conductor. Everybody else has just got their individual parts of the project. So coming together in that way musically, well, requires listening, it requires following in certain occasions, leading in others.” - Rainer Hersch “The conductor is the person who's given that one job of examining this plain piece of writing and going, okay, this is what is intended, this is the emotion that is intended. And in order to bring that emotion out, we need to do this in a certain way, and inspiring and motivating everybody else to participate in that irrespective of how they would personally go about it.” - Rainer Hersch “There are mistakes that happen in a performance, and I'm not going to stop every single mistake and go, ‘Duh-uh, bar 24 flutes.’ No. There are some things that happen, I know they will be fixed by the individual players. In a rehearsal, something happens, they miss the queue. I'll say, that'll be all right in the performance, won't it? Yes, it will. They've seen that I've seen it, and that's enough for them.” - Rainer Hersch Read the transcript of this episodeSubscribe to the ISF Podcast wherever you listen to podcastsConnect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter From the Information Security Forum, the leading authority on cyber, information security, and risk management.

Today, Steve sits down with Dr. Helena Boschi, globally acclaimed psychologist, to talk about the best security system of all: the human brain. The two discuss how stress impacts performance in high stakes environments like cybersecurity, why trust and psychological safety matter more than ever, and what leaders can do to help their team stay calm, focused, and creative even when the pressure is on. Finally, Dr. Boschi also explains what neuroscience reveals about how we can train our brains to become more cyber resilient.  Key Takeaways: Leaders must be aware of the early warning signs of too much stress – memory loss, absentmindedness, sudden outbursts, etc.  Leaders must strike a balance between quick results and allow teams to think about problems in new ways, even if it takes a little longer. The brain is not great at adapting to big changes, so introduce new things in chunks to make the transition easier.  Tune in to hear more about: How the brain can help us become better leaders (11:26) Digital fatigue (19:56) How leaders help teams embrace change (25:50) Standout Quotes: “If you can see that if people start behaving in a much more emotional way than normal or they're struggling to make decisions or they're a bit absent-minded, time for leaders to say, let's just take a pause and let's think about what's going on. By the time these warning signs are spilled over into physical and behavioral ones, it's normally then almost too late.” - Dr. Helena Boschi “In a world with endless distraction, we have got information coming at us from all directions, and we simply don't have the brain power to deal with it all. So the brain selects what it wants to focus on based on what's important to that person. So what's important for me may not be important for you. We have to select, the brain has to actively select – this is called selective attention. Selective attention also makes us blind to the things we are choosing not to focus on. And you might pick up something that I am blind to. So your selective attention might help me see what I can't see. So it's really important to surround yourself with people who disagree with you, who see the world differently, because their blindness will be different to our blindness.” -  Dr. Helena Boschi “Human beings are quite fallible and they're quite flawed because we have a brain that is not optimized for making the best decisions. It's optimized for making the best decisions for me, but often not for the collective. And when it comes to information security, again, it's not really optimized. If the brain is tired or hungry, it won't make great decisions. So I think coming back to basics for the brain is really important. Keeping the brain in its most healthy state is probably the best thing that cybersecurity professionals can do, and that means keeping the body very active.”  - Dr. Helena Boschi Read the transcript of this episodeSubscribe to the ISF Podcast wherever you listen to podcastsConnect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter From the Information Security Forum, the leading authority on cyber, information security, and risk management.

Today, Steve is in conversation with Jaya Baloo, COO at Aisle. One of the world’s leading experts on quantum technology and cybersecurity, Jaya shares what the future of quantum computing looks like and what businesses can do to prepare for a quantum-prevalent world. She also offers her view of how cyber and quantum technology will co-evolve in the next 10 to 20 years.  Key Takeaways: You should have started preparing for quantum yesterday. Cybersecurity stands out among areas of quantum as a space where quantum may first be used by governments to attack adversaries. More diversity is needed in quantum development.  Tune in to hear more about: How to begin your journey to quantum-ready today (8:17) How diversity can shape responsible development of quantum (13:48) Jaya Baloo’s view on quantum in 10-20 years (15:58) Standout Quotes: “ Cybersecurity is something really special here because unfortunately we do not have only from quantum, the same ability to protect as we have to attack. And I worry that the first application of these technologies beyond the sensors, the first real application from governments will be that offensive use to attack our current cryptographic stack.” - Jaya Baloo “I think in general, especially now with the whole onslaught against everything DEI, I actually think it's such a shame to waste time on excluding anyone from anything. We really need the best skillset we can possibly get. And what you see is that, especially in areas like quantum, there's not enough diversity.” - Jaya Baloo “So what I really think that we need to think about is how do we democratize, as much as possible, access to our defense against a potential quantum threat, and how do we democratize the availability of quantum computing in order to benefit all of humanity?” - Jaya Baloo Read the transcript of this episodeSubscribe to the ISF Podcast wherever you listen to podcastsConnect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter From the Information Security Forum, the leading authority on cyber, information security, and risk management.

Today, Steve returns to Business Matters with Juliette Foster. In this conversation, Steve recaps 2025 in cyber and shares what he sees as the biggest risks heading into 2026. The two also discuss resilience and compliance, as well as the growing importance of togetherness among businesses… Key Takeaways: Companies would be wise to conduct frequent cyber audits.  Supply-chain disruptions can have long-lasting, reputational effects.  How we protect the integrity of our data is at the core of cybersecurity.  Tune in to hear more about: The relationship between government business in cyber (12:56) How boards should plan for a cyber attack (15:40) Collaborating within and across industries (22:24) Standout Quotes: “I've said many times that good compliance doesn't equal good security, but good security does equal, nine times out of 10, very good compliance. So where do we go with all of that? I do think that we're probably getting to a point, sadly, where we need to be viewing some of the security processes that we need to undergo in the same way as we consider financial audits.” - Steve Durbin “I think that the day is gone when you can rely on your defenses. So boards have to be planning for the day when the defenses fail. When an attack really starts to make an impact on your business. The starting point is to figure out how long you can be without your systems. It may sound like a strange thing to say, but that's the important starting point for me.” - Steve Durbin “Security is not, in my opinion anyway, a competitive advantage. And because it's not a competitive advantage, there shouldn't be this massive barrier to sharing some of the ideas, some of the attacks that are out there for the good of the industry.” - Steve Durbin  Read the transcript of this episodeSubscribe to the ISF Podcast wherever you listen to podcastsConnect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter From the Information Security Forum, the leading authority on cyber, information security, and risk management.

In today’s episode, Steve sits down with Tom Hardin, aka Tipperx — best known for helping expose a massive Wall Street insider trading ring. Steve and Tom discuss early warning signs that an organization might be crossing ethical or legal lines, how to build an organizational culture that promotes openness and protects from insider threats, and how to get employees to buy into things like good cyber hygiene. Key Takeaways: Governments must work with the private sector to achieve a cyber-secure environment. Boards are increasingly aware of cyber risks, but more work is needed.  Global trust is dissipating. Tune in to hear more about: The changing landscape of critical national infrastructure (5:46) Security vs. privacy in the UK (9:27) An ongoing, structural geopolitical shift (15:18)  Standout Quotes: “We need to make sure that we are thinking right across government when we are thinking about the approach to critical national infrastructure and how we can make it most safe for our users and for our populations.” - Sir Jeremy Fleming “I still encounter plenty who haven't done one for 18 months, who haven't updated to the latest threat environment, who haven't thought about geopolitics coming into play. Haven't checked that they've still contracted with a company who's gonna help them wind back in the event that they are breached. Hasn't thought seriously about whether it's gonna pay a ransom. The implications of paying a ransom.” - Sir Jeremy Fleming “The first thing is that what we're seeing now around changes in geopolitics is definitely a structural change. It's not a cyclical change. So the post 1948 Bretton Woods approach to the global order, with a whole load of United Nations agencies, World Health Organization, World Trade Organization, our approach to international aid, World Bank, these are all institutions that have changed fundamentally and won't change back.” - Sir Jeremy Fleming Read the transcript of this episodeSubscribe to the ISF Podcast wherever you listen to podcastsConnect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter From the Information Security Forum, the leading authority on cyber, information security, and risk management.

In today’s episode, Steve sits down with Tom Hardin, aka Tipperx — best known for helping expose a massive Wall Street insider trading ring. Steve and Tom discuss early warning signs that an organization might be crossing ethical or legal lines, how to build an organizational culture that promotes openness and protects from insider threats, and how to get employees to buy into things like good cyber hygiene. Key Takeaways: The most underappreciated leadership skill is listening. Compliance must never be an afterthought or just a check-box exercise.  Anybody has the potential to become an insider threat. Tune in to hear more about: The fraud triangle (4:10) How cybersecurity leaders can build a culture that discourages insider risk (7:12) Striking a balance between trust and control (15:12) Standout Quotes: “But you don't get people to speak up by telling them to speak up. You actually have to, if you're gonna tell them to do that, you have to listen up. So I always encourage leadership to work on their listening skills.” - Tom Hardin “If you have a rule that a few people break, you have a people problem. If you have a rule that a lot of people are breaking, you have a rule problem.” - Tom Hardin “You could be one decision away. Never feel like it couldn't be you. Just have a healthy paranoia when you're in situations and not to feel like that could never be me crossing a line, because that's when we're most susceptible to that.” - Tom Hardin Read the transcript of this episodeSubscribe to the ISF Podcast wherever you listen to podcastsConnect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter From the Information Security Forum, the leading authority on cyber, information security, and risk management.

Today, we bring you the second half of Emerging Threats 2026, the first episode of which we aired last year. In the previous episode, Steve outlined the threats and challenges that enterprises and business leaders will face in 2026 and beyond. Today, he answers questions from the audience. We’ll get into artificial intelligence, supply chain and geopolitical challenges, corporate governance, risk and resilience, and more. Key Takeaways: Cyber resilience today is about data, data, and data.  Enterprises must help their suppliers to meet adequate security standards.  AI will be a big challenge for the board in 2026. Tune in to hear more about: Managing supply-chain risk (5:07) How leaders can deal with risks outside of their control (12:16) An evolving cyber threat landscape (15:37) Standout Quotes: “Assuming you've got your policies and your processes in place, I would suggest you have an AI committee that actually approves or otherwise the way in which these tools are then implemented across the business. Why have a committee? Because that way you can pull in representatives from different parts. You can have security, you can have IT, you can have legal and people from the mainline businesses. Everybody makes a decision based on very well-defined criteria, no comeback on any individual, and either it's approved or it isn't.” - Steve Durbin “How do you avoid getting caught out? For me that's not what's happening. If you happen to be on a list. If you happen to be an organization that has something that is exceptionally interesting or useful, then somebody will want that information. Somebody will want that data. What you have to do is make yourself look pretty unattractive. So it is about all of the tedious things that we don't like. It's about patching, it's about making sure that you're making it difficult for people to access your systems. It means that your monitoring is top of its game.” - Steve Durbin “What measures can we put in place to ensure our suppliers and third party partners meet our security standards? Good question that I think that requires a lot more communication. It is about being really clear as to what it is you're expecting from a security standard perspective. It's about not just setting the bar, it's about helping people to achieve what it is you're expecting them to do. And the really important piece that I would emphasize there is tell them the why. Why do you have to do it? Why is it important? This isn't about people doing tick boxes. It is about people understanding why it's important and how they can help to maintain integrity and security across the whole supply chain.” - Steve Durbin Read the transcript of this episodeSubscribe to the ISF Podcast wherever you listen to podcastsConnect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter From the Information Security Forum, the leading authority on cyber, information security, and risk management.

The ISF Podcast celebrates 10 years this year. Over the decade that we’ve been in your ears every week, Steve has interviewed a lot of fascinating people: visionary business leaders, neuroscientists and physicists, world leaders, and formerly notorious cyber criminals, just to name a few. We have touched on topics like AI, the human mind, cyber resilience, leadership, and the future of technology and society.  So, to kick off 2026, we wanted to give you a look back, highlighting the very best of this first decade of the ISF Podcast. And don’t worry – we’ll link all the episodes in the show notes. Check out our favorite episodes from the last 10 years: Mo Gawdat - Rethinking the Paradigm of Artificial and Human Intelligence Brian Cox — Intellectual Honesty & Learning to be a Leader Hannah Fry - What Data Can & Can’t Tell Us About Ourselves Peter Hinssen - The Never Normal Inside the Mind of Today's Cybercriminals (Brett Johnson, Part 1) Steve Wozniak In Conversation with Steve Durbin Captain Tammie Jo Shults - Habits, Hope and Heroes in a Time of Crisis Sadie Creese — Minimising Your Attack Surface Sir Bob Geldof — Challenging Orthodox Thinking Bonus Episode: Reggie Butler — Bringing Your Home to Work Read the transcript of this episodeSubscribe to the ISF Podcast wherever you listen to podcastsConnect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter From the Information Security Forum, the leading authority on cyber, information security, and risk management.

Today, Steve looks toward the horizon, at the threats and challenges that enterprises and business leaders will face in 2026 and beyond. He also gives advice on how everyone, from the board to the practitioner, can meet these challenges, and answers some of the questions he’s received this year.  Key Takeaways: Steve’s four key drivers of cyber risk heading into 2026 are AI, supply chain, quantum, and geopolitical instability. Crucial to cyber resilience are strong governance and a security-conscious culture. Adaptive governance and adaptive security are keys to managing the challenges of 2026 and beyond.  Tune in to hear more about: Steve’s four key drivers of cyber risk heading into 2026 (2:23) Questions to ask, whether you’re a board member, an executive, or practitioner (16:14) The changing role of the board (18:54) Standout Quotes: “ Resilience really needs an organizational wide holistic approach that takes technology, it takes governance, it takes operational readiness, and really importantly, it takes people into account.” - Steve Durbin “I think boards need to really take it upon themselves to absolutely recognize that cyber risk is a national risk. It is a business ending risk, and they need to ensure that they don't just have incident response and resilience in place, but that they also have a tried and tested plan, so this is good old fashioned BCP — business continuity planning — with a cyber flavor.” - Steve Durbin “Cyber risk reporting has to be business outcome oriented. Boards, business executives understand revenue, operations, customer impact, legal exposure. That's the way we have to be reporting cyber risk. It's not about how many attacks we repelled, it's not about how good our systems might be. You need to translate it into business language. If you can do that, not only will you get buy-in, but you'll also have a much richer conversation about the role that cyber and therefore cybersecurity and cyber resilience play in the business.” - Steve Durbin Read the transcript of this episode Subscribe to the ISF Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts Connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter From the Information Security Forum, the leading authority on cyber, information security, and risk management.

In the second part of his interview with journalist Nick Witchell, Steve and Nick delve into the world of AI and cyber. Steve shares his thoughts on autonomous cyber defense and argues that major actors like the ISF, large private enterprises, and the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre, must lead the way and support small and medium-sized businesses in keeping pace with technological advancements. The two also discuss the future of AI, cautioning that we aren’t as prepared as we need to be…Key Takeaways: Small and medium-sized businesses must receive support to stay up-to-date with new technologies. As more automation is introduced into business operations, understanding of one’s crown jewels and how to protect them is increasingly important. AI is advancing rapidly with evermore funding, and globally society is not preparing as well as it needs to for what’s to come.  Tune in to hear more about: Steve’s view on autonomous cyber defense (00:55) The National Cyber Security Centre and its role in the cyber resilience of UK businesses (3:36) How AI will impact jobs in cyber (7:55) Standout Quotes: “You'll never get me going into an autonomous car. I just won't do it. And people will say, ‘Yes, they're being looked after by some bloke in a tower somewhere who's watching it.” I'm not buying it. I've been working in technology for far too long to know that it is fallible. And so I think we have to really move toward much more transparency in our understanding of where the AI tool is active, the data that it's using, the decisions it's making.” - Steve Durbin “We are looking for large private enterprise to be working collaboratively with people like the NCSC, with people like the ISF, to really help some of these smaller organizations that don't have the luxury or resources available to them to keep a pace with [technology].” - Steve Durbin “If you go back to the internet, we didn't do a good enough job of trying to forecast the way in which the internet was going to be used. We put it out there and we said, ‘Let everybody use it and let's see where it goes.” We are doing, I fear, a similar kind of thing with AI.” - Steve Durbin Read the transcript of this episodeSubscribe to the ISF Podcast wherever you listen to podcastsConnect with us on LinkedIn and TwitterFrom the Information Security Forum, the leading authority on cyber, information security, and risk management.

In today's episode, Steve sits down with journalist Nick Witchell for a conversation focused on what business leaders can learn from this year's major cyber attacks and the recent AWS outage. The two also discuss cyber regulations and the challenge of operating global enterprise during significant geopolitical turmoil. Key Takeaways: Boards and senior executives understand there is a threat, but many still lack knowledge of how to deal with it.  We are too reliant on technology; for the sake of business continuity, a backup plan must be in place.  High-quality simulation exercises are a crucial step toward more cyber resilience. Tune in to hear more about: The role of policy and regulation (3:17) Why cyber simulation exercises are so important (5:45) Steve’s thoughts on the recent AWS outage (7:54) Standout Quotes: “Now, in the boardroom itself, in companies themselves, we have seen over the past few years an increasing awareness of the threat that these kinds of things can bring to really the future of an organization. But the challenge I think we now face is really helping boards, senior executives to transition from, yes, I get there's a threat, but what should I actually be doing about it?” - Steve Durbin “I think that in the main, cloud service providers are still probably far better equipped to provide the level of service that most companies need than you'd be able to do yourself. However, we do need to take into account that things will go wrong. And we have to plan for that. So if you are an organization that can quite happily exist without access to data in a cloud provider, it doesn't have to be Amazon, it could be anybody else, then fine. I would question why you're using them in that case. If on the other hand, you are dependent on them, you have to have some backup in place.” - Steve Durbin “All too often I'm seeing people particularly in the area of, say, cyber simulation exercises, because they're viewing it as a compliance exercise, going for least cost. That to me is a bit like saying I've just moved into an area where I know the burglary rate is quite high. What's the cheapest lock and door that I can get on my front door? It's madness. Not many of us would do it. We would try to work within our budget. We'd try to really figure out how important things were in our house. That's the mentality we have to adopt. So yes, you can get some of these things done very cheaply and you can tick a box, but it's not going to help you when things go wrong.” - Steve Durbin Read the transcript of this episode Subscribe to the ISF Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts Connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter From the Information Security Forum, the leading authority on cyber, information security, and risk management.