Hacker Valley Studio

Three banks in four days isn't just a bragging right for penetration testers. It's a wake-up call showing that expensive security tools and alarm systems often fail when tested by skilled operators who understand both human behavior and technical vulnerabilities. Greg Hatcher and John Stigerwalt, co-founders of White Knight Labs, talk about their latest physical penetration tests on financial institutions, manufacturing facilities protecting COVID-19 vaccine production, and why their new Server 2025 course had to rewrite most common Active Directory tools. They share stories of armed guards, police gun draws, poison ivy reconnaissance, and a bag of chips that saved them from serious trouble. The conversation reveals why EDR alone won't stop ransomware, how offline backups remain the exception rather than the rule, and what security controls actually work when attackers bring custom tooling. Impactful Moments: 00:00 - Intro01:00 - New training courses launched03:00 - Server 2025 breaks standard tools05:00 - COVID facility physical penetration07:00 - Armed guards change the game10:00 - Police draw guns on operators13:00 - Bag of chips saves the day15:00 - Nighttime versus daytime physical tests18:00 - VIP home security assessments20:00 - 2026 threat predictions22:00 - Why EDR doesn't stop ransomware27:00 - Low cost ransomware simulation ROI29:00 - Three banks in four days32:00 - Deepfake as the new EDR Links: Connect with our guests – Greg Hatcher: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregoryhatcher2/John Stigerwalt: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-stigerwalt-90a9b4110/Learn more about White Knight Labs: https://www.whiteknightlabs.com Check out our upcoming events: https://www.hackervalley.com/livestreamsJoin our creative mastermind and stand out as a cybersecurity professional:https://www.patreon.com/hackervalleystudioLove Hacker Valley Studio? Pick up some swag: https://store.hackervalley.comContinue the conversation by joining our Discord: https://hackervalley.com/discordBecome a sponsor of the show to amplify your brand: https://hackervalley.com/work-with-us/

When your firewall forgets to buckle up, the crash doesn’t happen in the network first, it happens in your blindspots. In this episode, Ron is joined by returning guest Chris Hughes, Co-Founder of Aquia and host of the Resilient Cyber podcast. Chris helps reframe vulnerability work as exposure management, connect technical risk to human resilience, and break down the scoring and runtime tools security teams actually need today. Expect clear takeaways on EPSS, reachability analysis, ADR, AI’s double-edged role, and the one habit Chris swears by as a CEO. This episode fuses attack-surface reality with mental-attack-surface strategy so you walk away with both tactical moves and daily practices that protect systems and people. Impactful Moments:00:00 - Intro02:00 - Breaking: Fortinet WAF zero-day & visibility lesson05:00 - Meet Chris Hughes: CEO, author, Resilient Cyber host08:00 - Mental attack surface explained and why it matters18:00 - From CVSS to EPSS, reachability, and ADR realities21:00 - AI as force-multiplier for attackers and defenders24:30 - Exposure vs vulnerability naming, market trends26:00 - Chris’s book & how to follow his work30:00 - Ron’s solo: 3 pillars to patch your mindset34:00 - Closing takeaways and subscribe reminder Links:Connect with our guest, Chris Hughes, on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/resilientcyber/ Check out the article on the Fortinet exploit here: https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2025/11/14/fortinet-fortiweb-zero-day-exploited/  Check out our upcoming events: https://www.hackervalley.com/livestreams Join our creative mastermind and stand out as a cybersecurity professional:https://www.patreon.com/hackervalleystudio Love Hacker Valley Studio? Pick up some swag: https://store.hackervalley.com Continue the conversation by joining our Discord: https://hackervalley.com/discord Become a sponsor of the show to amplify your brand: https://hackervalley.com/work-with-us/  

The real disruption isn’t AI replacing humans, it’s the shocking possibility that human labor was the economic bubble all along. In this episode, Ron Eddings sits down with Daniel Miessler, founder of Unsupervised Learning and longtime security leader, to break open why companies are hitting record profits with shrinking workforces, and what that means for your future. Daniel shares how AI agents, context management, and his Telos problem-first framework are reshaping what it means to create value in the modern economy. From Apple to Human 3.0, Daniel explains why building in public, learning fast, and solving real problems are the ultimate career edge in an AI-powered world. Impactful Moments:00:00 - Introduction02:00 - Jobless profit boom accelerates05:00 - Daniel's AI journey at Apple08:00 - Building careers around problems12:00 - AI bubble or timing problem15:00 - Nine-year-old codes app in two hours18:00 - Human labor is the bubble22:00 - Context management changes everything26:00 - Adaptation equals survival Links:Daniel’s Website: danielmiessler.com/Daniel’s Github: https://github.com/danielmiessler/Daniel’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielmiessler/ Upcoming events: https://www.hackervalley.com/livestreamsLove Hacker Valley Studio? Pick up some swag: https://store.hackervalley.comContinue the conversation by joining our Discord: https://hackervalley.com/discordBecome a sponsor of the show to amplify your brand: https://hackervalley.com/work-with-us/Join our creative mastermind and stand out as a cybersecurity professional: https://www.patreon.com/hackervalleystudio  

AI agents aren't just reacting anymore, they're thinking, learning, and sometimes deleting your entire production database without asking. The real question isn't if your AI agent will be hacked, it's when, and whether you'll have the right hooks in place to stop it before it happens. In this episode, Ron breaks down the ChatGPT Atlas vulnerability that shocked researchers, revealing how malicious prompts can turn AI assistants against their own users by bypassing safeguards and accessing file systems. He presents his new talk "Hooking Before Hacking," introducing a framework for applying EDR principles, prevention, detection, and response, to AI agents before they execute unauthorized commands. From pre-tool use hooks that catch malicious intent to one-time passwords that put humans back in the loop, this episode shares practical security controls you can implement today to prevent your AI agents from going rogue.   Impactful Moments: 00:00 - Introduction02:00 - ChatGPT Atlas vulnerability exposed04:00 - AI technology outpacing security guardrails05:00 - Guardrail jailbreaks and prompt injection06:00 - AI agents deleting production databases07:00 - EDR principles for AI agents09:00 - Pre-tool use hooks catch intention11:00 - User prompt sanitization prevents leaks14:00 - One-time passwords for agent workflows16:00 - Automation mistakes across 10 years   Links: Connect with Ron on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronaldeddings/ Check out the entire article here: https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/cybersecurity-experts-warn-openai-chatgpt-101658986.html  GitHub Repository: https://hackervalley.com/hooking-before-hacking  See Ron's "Hooking Before Hacking" presentation slides here: http://hackervalley.com/hooking-before-hacking-presentation Check out our website: https://hackervalley.com/ Upcoming events: https://www.hackervalley.com/livestreams Love Hacker Valley Studio? Pick up some swag: https://store.hackervalley.com Continue the conversation by joining our Discord: https://hackervalley.com/discord Become a sponsor of the show to amplify your brand: https://hackervalley.com/work-with-us/ Join our creative mastermind and stand out as a cybersecurity professional: https://www.patreon.com/hackervalleystudio    

What if your security team never missed a single alert and actually had time to think strategically? In this episode, Ahmed Achchak, CEO and Co-Founder of Qevlar AI, reveals how autonomous SOCs are reshaping security operations worldwide. From tackling alert fatigue to empowering analysts with intelligent AI-driven investigations, Ahmed shares the inside story of building a system that can act on threats faster than any human alone. Learn how Qevlar’s innovative approach is giving organizations clarity, control, and measurable ROI while freeing security teams to focus on what truly matters. Impactful Moments00:00 - Introduction01:30 - Founding Qevlar AI by chance03:30 - Inefficiency of current SOCs05:00 - Augmenting analysts, not replacing them08:00 - AI investigating alerts at scale11:30 - How autonomous agents handle phishing14:30 - Why tackling all alerts maximizes ROI17:30 - Graph technology as investigation backbone25:00 - Limitations and randomness of LLMs30:30 - Advice for testing AI in SOCs LinksConnect with our guest Ahmed on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ahmed-achchak-872554109/   Check out Qevlar’s website: https://www.qevlar.com/   Check out our upcoming events: https://www.hackervalley.com/livestreams Join our creative mastermind and stand out as a cybersecurity professional:https://www.patreon.com/hackervalleystudio Love Hacker Valley Studio? Pick up some swag: https://store.hackervalley.com Continue the conversation by joining our Discord: https://hackervalley.com/discord Become a sponsor of the show to amplify your brand: https://hackervalley.com/work-with-us/