Watch Now

Show Notes

In this episode, we brought back our good friend Lenny Zeltser.  Lenny is Chief Information Security Officer at Axonius.  He's developed a mindset of looking at security components as building blocks to create a holistic security environment. To this day, even while operating as an executive, he has wisdom that anyone can learn from.

Quite often, the less sexy aspects of information security are ignored, when in reality, you need to understand what resources you're supposed to protect, which assets are compromised, and the infrastructure for your organization.  People jump right into fighting the big fires, and as you know, there is a reason why there are so many day-to-day urgent activities. 

To start moving in a positive direction, Lenny shares this advice, “Understand what the major data sources you can tap into rather than thinking ‘let me create this one new way of serving everything I have are.’”  The information is there. Think about three sources of information that might get you the biggest bang for the buck!

 

Key Takeaways:

 

0:00 Previously on the show

1:40 Lenny introduction

2:05 Episode begins

3:10 What Lenny is doing today

5:35 The evolution of Lenny’s career

8:30 Parallels between beginning and now

10:38 Journey and growth of REMnux

13:00 Challenges Lenny has faced

15:21 Collaboration surprises

17:18 Horror stories

20:18 Enforcing policies

23:34 Asset management

26:08 New tech and trends

28:45 Biggest discovery about self

32:38 Advice for others

34:24 Keeping up with Lenny

 

 

Links:

 

What Lenny Does

 

Lenny on the Web

 

Follow Lenny on Twitter

 

Lenny on LinkedIn

 

Learn more about Hacker Valley Studio

 

Support Hacker Valley Studio on Patreon

 

Follow Hacker Valley Studio on Twitter

 

Follow Ron Eddings on Twitter

 

Follow Chris Cochran on Twitter

 

Sponsored by Axonius

Recent Episodes

Aug 21, 2025

Mentorship to Mastery: AI and Community Lessons with Ron Eddings

AI might analyze your logs in seconds, but only the community can put you in the room that changes your career. In this solo episode, Ron Eddings discusses the powerful balance between human ...

Aug 14, 2025

From MCP Risks to AI Jailbreaks with Marco Figueroa

When AI agents move faster than security teams, the game changes, and the risks multiply. Ron welcomes back Marco “Mystic Marc” Figueroa, Program Manager at Mozilla’s 0DIN Program, to continue ...

Aug 7, 2025

Debt vs. Risk: What the SharePoint Breach Taught Us with Ron ...

The riskiest move in cybersecurity? Playing it too safe. In this solo episode, Ron Eddings redefines the way we think about technical debt, risk, and missed opportunities, in security and in ...

Jul 31, 2025

The Future of Cyber Talent Is African with Confidence Staveley

The world’s youngest continent is also its most untapped resource. Confidence Staveley, Founder of CyberSafe, makes a powerful case for why Africa’s youth are the answer to global cybersecurity ...

Jul 24, 2025

Compliance Isn’t the Enemy with Jeff Man

Is compliance just a checkbox, or the backbone of real security? Returning to the show with decades of hard-earned insight, Jeff Man makes the case that compliance, especially PCI-DSS, isn't ...

Jul 17, 2025

What Makes a Great CISO? A Playbook from Gary Hayslip

What separates a great CISO from a great one? In this powerhouse conversation, Ron invites friend and cybersecurity leader Gary Hayslip, CISO at SoftBank Investment Advisers, back on the mic to ...

Jul 10, 2025

Confidence, Coaching, and the S-Word with Mel Reyes

Want to stand out as a leader? According to our guest Mel Reyes, you need to dress like you mean it and speak like you’ve got nothing to prove. In this episode, Mel shares how he built ...

Jun 26, 2025

Purple Teaming Is the New Job Security with Maril Vernon

Cybersecurity isn’t just red or blue anymore... it’s purple, white, and deeply human. Maril Vernon, award-winning ethical hacker and Senior Solutions Architect at NetSPI, returns to the Hacker ...

Jun 19, 2025

The AI Gold Rush in Cybersecurity with Chris Cochran

The new cybersecurity pioneers aren’t chasing alerts, they’re building with AI. But what happens when tools meant to assist begin making decisions for us? And what skills do we lose when ...

Jun 12, 2025

The AI That Tried to Escape with Ron Eddings

What happens when AI refuses to be replaced? This episode kicks off with a chilling real-world example of an AI threatening blackmail—and only gets more intense from there. Host Ron Eddings ...

WORK WITH US

PODCASTS + SPEAKING + EVENTS

Are you the best kept secret in cybersecurity? Let's change that by partnering together for podcast ads, social campaigns, and your next event or keynote. Send us your details to get started.