In this episode of the Hacker Valley Studio podcast, hosts Ron and Chris introduce the podcast’s new series: Hacker Valley Red.  After the previous season highlighted the defensive side of cyber security, this season will focus on the other side of the coin - the offensive side.  Ron and Chris spend this initial episode talking about their experience with the offensive side of cyber security, what listeners can look forward to hearing in the episodes ahead, and what sorts of questions experts will field throughout the season.

As the conversation gets underway, Ron and Chris introduce the season, which will cover such topics as the background and personas of red teamers, information about red teaming technology, misconceptions from the blue side, and what red teaming really looks like.  The hosts then share their own backgrounds in red teaming.  While they both had some prior experience with red teaming, they learned a lot through hosting the episodes in the season.  As they introduce the series ahead, Ron and Chris touch on the social side of red teaming, analogies by which red teaming can be explained, Ron’s exploitation video, the value and use of red teaming within organizations, the shared community of red and blue teaming, purple team engagement, the concept of unhackability, and more. 

In the episodes ahead, Ron and Chris will ask guests what other aspects of life and technology help them with red teaming, and there are particular topics from the episodes that they are most excited to consider with listeners.  These topics include the issue between blue and red teams, the concept of a hacker, the idea of unhackability, and different perspectives of paths into the field of red teaming and to mastery within it.  Ron and Chris conclude their introductory conversation with two lessons they hope listeners will take from the season: the lesson that creation is a process and that the best red teamers learn to love the process, and the lesson that both red and blue team members are on the same team.

0:48 - The podcast is now moving to the other side of the coin: the offensive side of cyber security.

2:48 - Ron and Chris share their respective backgrounds in red teaming.

7:25 - What other aspects of life and technology help guests with red teaming?

10:50 - Chris asks about Ron’s exploitation video.

12:52 - The hosts address the iterative improvement of an organization’s security posture.

18:14 - Ron and Chris talk about purple team engagement.

21:12 - Is unhackability real or possible?

24:53 - Hacking can have to deal with a human, rather than a device or application.

26:34 - What key takeaways do the hosts want listeners to take from the season?

28:10 - What do Ron and Chris want listeners to learn?

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Learn more about the season sponsor, RiskIQ