The Defender’s Log Podcast
The Defender’s Log Podcast offers a front-row seat to real-world cybersecurity battles. Hosted by seasoned professionals, each episode features interviews with MSP/MSSP founders, CISOs, threat researchers, and architects. Topics include zero-trust frameworks, ransomware takedowns, DNS hardening, and incident response in regulated industries. The podcast aims to provide actionable insights and strategies for security leaders and IT strategists.
Episodes
The Future of Cybersecurity Is Changing Fast
Cybersecurity isn't just a technology problem. Craig Taylor explains why psychology, human behavior, and the way we approach security can make all the difference.
Craig shares lessons from decades in cybersecurity, including why punishing employees for clicking phishing emails often fails, how his leadership approach evolved from saying "no" to finding safer ways to say "yes," and how AI is cha
DNS Isn’t Infrastructure — It's Security
DNS is often treated as infrastructure. But as Yaëlle Harel explains, it can also be an important security control and a valuable source of visibility for defenders.
Yaëlle shares lessons from more than 15 years in cybersecurity, including how DNS can provide visibility that other security layers miss, the challenges of DNS encryption, and why cybersecurity teams need to keep adapting as techn
Inside the Fight to Disrupt Cybercrime at Scale
Cybercriminals operate at the speed of the internet. Can defenders keep up?
David Redekop sits down with Michael Roberts, veteran private cybercrime investigator, victims' advocate, and founder of Rexxfield, to discuss organized cybercrime, threat intelligence, fraud investigations, and the need for “justice at scale.”
Michael shares firsthand investigative experiences and explains how better
Decoupling Digital Identity: Beyond Carrier-Level Defense
David Redekop sits down with Mark Kreitzman, a cybersecurity entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience building and leading security companies.
Mark shares his personal experience that changed the direction of his career: becoming the victim of a sophisticated SIM swap despite having an extremely strong security posture. That experience led him to focus on mobile security and ultimate
When Privacy Creates Blind Spots: Security, Standards & the Defender’s Role
Privacy and security don’t always have to be opposing forces.
Andrew Campling, Director of 419 Consulting, brings more than three decades of experience across telecom, technology, public policy, and internet standards to a conversation about what happens when technical decisions have real-world consequences.
David and Andrew explore fragmented online safety controls, encrypted metadata, the
Why Your Logs Should Get Quieter With Every Layer
Most organizations spend millions protecting what comes in—but what about what goes out?
Cloud environments have transformed the way applications are built, yet outbound security is still one of the most overlooked areas of cybersecurity. In this conversation, David Redekop sits down with Dhruv Ahuja, Founder and Chief Engineer at Chaser Systems, to explore why traditional approaches are falli
The First Line of Defense Is Being Informed
How do you use AI to uncover facts instead of amplifying opinions?
David Redekop sits down with Matthew Dufresne to discuss the evolution of the internet, the growing challenge of misinformation, and why trustworthy AI must be grounded in verifiable data. They also explore CanadaGPT, an AI platform designed to help Canadians access public information with transparency and source-backed answers.
Attackers Move at AI Speed. Can Policy Keep Up?
Cybersecurity is no longer just a technology challenge. It's a policy challenge.
In this episode of The Defender's Log, David Redekop sits down with Dr. Amit Elazari, Co-Founder and CEO of OpenPolicy, former Head of Global Cybersecurity Policy at Intel, and Co-Founder of Disclose.io.
They explore why policy is becoming one of the most important signals for cybersecurity leaders, how AI is changing
From Crisis to Prevention: Rethinking Cybersecurity Leadership
Cybersecurity leaders have spent years building stronger detection and response capabilities. But is that enough?
In this episode of The Defender's Log, David Redekop sits down with former CIO, CTO, and cybersecurity executive Phil Johnston to discuss what changes when you've personally led an organization through a major cyber incident.
Drawing on decades of experience spanning military com
Deep in the Dark Matter: What Security Chiefs See That Others Don’t
What if the biggest threats on the internet are the ones nobody can fully measure?
In this special episode of The Defender’s Log, host David Redekop sits down with John Todd, Andreas Taudte, and Andrew Campling for a deep conversation about the hidden realities shaping cybersecurity today.
From Zero Trust DNS and encrypted traffic to malicious domain “dark matter” and the growing complexity
Defending the Kids: DNS, Filters, and the Fight for Safer Schools
What happens when a childhood curiosity for computers turns into a mission to protect the next generation online?
Tom Newton shares the path from experimenting with modems and BBS systems in the early days of computing to defending schools and students against modern cyber threats. The discussion goes deep into digital safety, BYOD risks, VPN abuse, AI-generated evasion techniques, and why pro
Protective DNS and the Future of Cyber Defense Architecture
What started as the “phonebook of the internet” is now one of the most critical layers in cybersecurity.
In this episode of The Defender’s Log, David Redekop sits down with Cricket Liu—often called the godfather of DNS—to unpack how DNS evolved from a trusted utility into a frontline security control. From the early days of DNS and BIND to the rise of protective DNS, threat intelligence, and z
Why DNS Is Your First Line of Cyber Defense
Most security conversations focus on firewalls, endpoints, and threat detection.
Very few start where many attacks begin.
That’s why this conversation with Chris Buijs stood out.
We unpack why DNS remains one of the most underinvested—and misunderstood—layers in cybersecurity, how automation can strengthen defense (or quietly introduce risk), and why resilient architecture starts with treatin
The Psychology Behind a Cyber Breach and the Leaders Who Survive It
Cybersecurity is technical. But the humans behind it? That's where it gets complicated.
Nim Nadarajah—CISO and managing partner from Critical Matrix, and one of the sharpest minds in the industry—sits down with host David Redekop for a conversation that goes far beyond firewalls and frameworks.
From the psychology of a breach victim who no longer knows who to trust, to cutting a client's SIEM cost
How to Think, Not What to Think: Raising Resilient Minds in a Tech-Driven World
The future of cybersecurity isn’t just about tools—it’s about how we think.
In this conversation, David Redekop sits down with Mitch Prior to unpack what really matters in modern security: from default-deny strategies and local data control to the growing role of AI in filtering signal from noise. What emerges isn’t just a technical discussion—it’s a philosophy.
They explore why certificatio
Defense Before Offense: Leadership, Risk, and the Cost of Bad Decisions
Cybersecurity and military defense share the same fundamental principle: you can’t go on offense if you don’t have a secure perimeter.
Steven Elliott’s journey—from a farming community in Kansas to the U.S. Army’s 75th Ranger Regiment, and later into finance and cybersecurity leadership—reveals how disciplined thinking, clear communication, and preparation for uncertainty shape strong decision-mak
Speed, Risk, and Responsibility in the Age of AI
Cybersecurity used to be about perimeter defenses and patch cycles.
Now it’s about decision speed, trust, and restraint—especially when AI is involved.
This conversation with Rafael Ramírez moves through decades of engineering experience, real-world incident response, and the uncomfortable reality that AI is scaling faster than governance, policy, and human intuition.
What stands out isn’t
Inside the DNS Battlefield: Malware, Tunnels & the Future of Network Defense
Attackers are getting smarter—and the protocol they rely on most isn’t what you think.
In this powerful conversation, David Redekop and Johannes Weber break down how modern malware abuses DNS, why attackers prefer DNS tunneling and exfiltration, and the defensive strategies every organization needs in 2026.
Johannes brings decades of hands‑on experience as a network security specialist, consu
The Defender’s Mindset: Why Proactive Security Beats Detection
The odds remain badly stacked against the defender. As we hurtle toward a digital ecosystem populated by a trillion AI agents, the Universal Threat Ecosystem (UTE) is expanding at an asymmetric rate. The traditional security stack—obsessed with detection and response—is fundamentally broken because it requires a "Patient Zero." It waits for the compromise to occur before it rings the alarm.
In t
27 Years of Defending the Web: Inside Peter Lowe’s Blocklist
Defending the Internet, One Domain at a Time
In this episode of The Defender’s Log, host David Redekop sits down with Peter Lowe, the creator and maintainer of one of the internet’s most widely used blocklists, a resource quietly protecting users for over 27 years.
What started as a personal effort to block intrusive ads has evolved into a critical layer of modern cybersecurity infrastructure.
The Architect of the Internet on the Future of Trust | Dr. Paul Mockapetris | Inventor, DNS
The internet is a collision of legacy protocols and modern asymmetric threats. In this episode of The Defenders Log, I sit down with the man who built the foundation: Dr. Paul Mockapetris, the inventor of the Domain Name System (DNS).
We don't just reminisce about the 1980s; we dissect how the Universal Threat Ecosystem (UTE) has weaponized the very decentralization that made the internet possib
The Hidden Layer of Cybersecurity: Andreas Taudte on DNS & DDI Defense
In this episode of The Defender’s Log, host David Redekop sits down with DNS and DDI expert Andreas Taudte, who brings more than 16 years of experience in network security, DNS architecture, and threat mitigation.
Together, they unpack the real challenges organizations face with DNS, from evasion techniques and tunneling threats to the growing complexity of legacy systems and hybrid networks. An
The Dark Truth About Modern Cyber Threats | Joshua Domagalski, CISO, Astronomer
In this powerful episode, host David Redekop sits down with Joshua Domagalski, Chief Information Security Officer and former offensive operator, to explore the real complexities of modern cyber defense.
Joshua opens up about his journey from the military to cybersecurity leadership, the shift from attacking systems to protecting them, and why defending is far more challenging than breaking in.
Inside DNS Threat Intelligence: Tim Adams on Privacy, Security & Innovation
In this episode of The Defender’s Log, host David Redekop sits down with Tim Adams, DNS threat intelligence expert and founder of ScoutDNS, to uncover the evolving world of DNS security.
From his early days running a wireless network integrator to building a resilient DNS resolver service, Tim shares lessons in innovation, resilience, and the art of staying ahead of cyber threats.
They discu
Defending the Digital Frontline: Ransomware, AI, and Real-World Lessons | Alexander Rau
In this gripping episode of The Defender’s Log, host David Redekop sits down with Alexander Rau, Partner in Cybersecurity at KPMG, to explore the intense world of cyber incident response.
From ransomware attacks and business email compromises to AI-driven ransom negotiations, Alexander shares firsthand experiences from the cyber frontlines, revealing what really happens when organizations are un
Cyber Warriors & Digital Shadows: Insights from Canada’s Cybersecurity Leader | Sami Khoury
In this episode of The Defender’s Log, host David Redekop sits down with Sami Khoury, the Head of the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, for an inside look at the battle to protect national infrastructure from unseen digital threats.
From his beginnings as a research engineer in 1992 to leading one of Canada’s most critical cybersecurity agencies, Sami shares lessons from three decades of defen
An Educator’s Guide to DNS Threats with Josh Kuo
Is your company's most critical blind spot hiding in plain sight? While most security teams focus on firewalls and web traffic, attackers are increasingly using the internet's phonebook—the Domain Name System (DNS)—as a secret backdoor for malware delivery, data theft, and command and control.
In this episode of The Defenders Log, host David Redekop sits down with cybersecurity educator Josh Kuo
A Developer’s Guide to Life: Passion, Legacy & The ”Foggy Staircase” of a Tech Career | Will Earp
"Am I going to spend my life trying to get the thing that I need, or am I going to spend my life
doing the thing that I want?"
In this deeply insightful episode of The Defender's Log, host David Redekop sits down with Will
Earp, a veteran developer whose career journey began with an Amiga 600 in 1998. They
explore the profound philosophy that has guided Will's path from a freelance web developer
Understanding Microsoft Zero Trust DNS with Aditi Patange
In this episode of the Defenders Log, we have Aditi Patange from Microsoft alongside our hosts, David Redekop and Francois from Adam Networks, for an in-depth discussion on Zero Trust DNS, a new enterprise security feature within Windows 11. Aditi shares her background in computer engineering and product management and how his work contributes to cybersecurity. The conversation delves into the ori
Breaking Barriers: IPv6 Adoption and DNS Transformation with Tommy Jensen
In today's episode of the Defender's Log, we welcome special guest Tommy Jensen, an internet technologist with expertise in IPv6, Zero Trust, and standards. The episode covers Jensen's career journey from an AppleCare contractor to a pivotal role in advancing internet technologies. The discussion delves into the importance and challenges of migrating to IPv6, and the need to overcome legacy system
Defending the DNS: How Quad9 Protects the Internet | John Todd, CTO - Quad9
In this episode of 'The Defender's Log,' host David engages in a comprehensive discussion with John Todd, an influential figure in the defense technology space and a key player at Quad9. The conversation covers John's career journey, starting from the early days of commercial internet services to his current role at Quad9.
They delve into the importance of DNS in cybersecurity, Quad9's unique a
Cybersecurity Explained: Privacy, Threats, and the Future | Chester Wisniewski
In the inaugural episode of 'The Defender’s Log,' host David Redekop converses with cybersecurity veteran Chester Wisniewski to explore the dynamic field of cybersecurity. They discuss the differentiation between privacy and security, the evolution of hacking from the 1980s to the present, and pivotal moments that reshaped information security.
Chet shares anecdotes from his extensive career, off
