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Secure Talk Podcast

Secure Talk Podcast

Justin Beals 259 Episodes Aug 11, 2026

Secure Talk Podcast covers the latest threats, tips, and trends in security, innovation, and compliance. Host Justin Beals interviews privacy, security, and technology executives about best practices for IT security, data protection, and compliance. Based in Seattle, the show features insights from industry leaders on protecting data and meeting regulatory requirements. Justin brings his background as a former CTO of NextStep and Koru to the discussions, adding a practical, entrepreneurial perspective.

Episodes

AI Is Eating Our Young: Data Center Revolts, Vanishing Junior Jobs & the EU AI Act
AI Is Eating Our Young: Data Center Revolts, Vanishing Junior Jobs & the EU AI Act Aug 11, 2026 2917 Communities are blocking $130 billion in AI data centers while the entry-level jobs that used to train the next generation of engineers quietly disappear.Chapters: 00:00:  The Backlash: 800 Groups, 49 States, $130B BlockedGallup: 71% of Americans don't want a data center built near them (Gallup)Data center opposition tracker, Q1 2026 filings (referenced industry opposition data)CMMC as pr
Okta's Identity Chief: Most CISOs Can't Answer This AI Question
Okta's Identity Chief: Most CISOs Can't Answer This AI Question Jul 28, 2026 2561 Which AI agents can access what? Are those permissions even right? And can you stop a compromised agent mid-action? Okta's Dan Cinnamon says most enterprises can't answer any of the three.Dan Cinnamon has built software, run SAP GRC without an implementation partner, and now architects identity for one of the industry's biggest players. In this conversation with Justin Beals, he lays out
Special Episode: CMMC Phase 2 SUSPENDED: What DOD Just Did, What It Really Means, and Why Little Changed
Special Episode: CMMC Phase 2 SUSPENDED: What DOD Just Did, What It Really Means, and Why Little Changed Jul 17, 2026 2798 The Pentagon paused CMMC Phase 2 with zero warning — and half the defense industrial base is celebrating for the wrong reason.When the Department of War suspended CMMC Phase 2 rollout with no notice, panic spread fast across the defense contractor community — but the requirement to secure CUI never went away. In this special roundtable, host Justin Beals brings together three CMMC insider
An AI Security Maturity Model for CISOs, with Chris Cochran (SANS)
An AI Security Maturity Model for CISOs, with Chris Cochran (SANS) Jul 14, 2026 2514 Half the room at Chris Cochran's leadership dinners still calls themselves AI skeptics. He argues they can't afford to be — because the adversary already isn't.Chapters: 00:00 — Intro02:49 — NSA/threat intel → AI security, storytelling09:55 — Why leaders feel stuck / no roadmap14:41 — Three pillars (Protect/Utilize/Govern)17:00 — Governance as the real foundation / shadow AI21:37 — Eviden
Considering Security, Compliance and Revenue with David Grazer
Considering Security, Compliance and Revenue with David Grazer Jun 16, 2026 2511 Most companies chase certifications to win deals — but what actually keeps customers is something no audit can measure.In this episode, vCISO David Grazer makes the case that trust is a measurable economic asset hiding in plain sight: your customer retention rate. Drawing on 15+ years inside high-growth tech companies, David explains why compliance frameworks are customer acquisition tool
Why you could fail your CMMC Level 2 C3PAO audit | Secure Talk with Logan Therrien
Why you could fail your CMMC Level 2 C3PAO audit | Secure Talk with Logan Therrien Jun 2, 2026 3219 You did your self assessment and received a perfect 110 score, congratulations! You met with your C3PAO and scored less than 0. What happened!How can two CMMC assessors examine the same defense contractor and arrive at completely different scores? A lack of rigor in assessment methodology could mean the entire certification system is measuring the assessor — not your security. Logan Therr
Mark Zuckerberg has an AI twin. Who Is Mark Zuckerberg?
Mark Zuckerberg has an AI twin. Who Is Mark Zuckerberg? May 19, 2026 2857 Mark Zuckerberg built an AI version of himself that attends meetings and approves budgets while he's elsewhere. That's not science fiction — it's happening now. But when an AI replica makes a consequential decision, who's legally responsible? Who owns it when you die?Dr. Candi Cann, Thanatologist and professor at Baylor University, joins SecureTalk host Justin Beals to explore the uncomfo
CMMC Is an HR Problem, Not an Enclave Problem — Here's the Proof
CMMC Is an HR Problem, Not an Enclave Problem — Here's the Proof May 5, 2026 3113 The biggest cybersecurity failures in recent memory — Raytheon, Penn State, Georgia Tech — weren't caused by missing software. They were caused by the wrong people being assigned the wrong tasks, with no shared language to connect the rules to the work.This SecureTalk episode with Dorian Cougias (MoxyWolf, former Unified Compliance Framework CEO) is one of the most systems-level conversat
The ROI of Security Tested: What a new paper reveals about security value | Secure Talk with Minh Nguyen and Thi Tran
The ROI of Security Tested: What a new paper reveals about security value | Secure Talk with Minh Nguyen and Thi Tran Apr 21, 2026 2877 Why do most cybersecurity investments feel impossible to justify? Because the measurement tools are broken — built on gut instinct, not research.Researchers Minh Nguyen (Florida Atlantic University) and Thi Tran (Binghamton University) set out to fix that. In this episode, they break down their landmark paper "Effects of Cybersecurity Readiness on Firm Performance: Evidence from Conferenc
They Sold AI to Play God. China Never Got That Memo.
They Sold AI to Play God. China Never Got That Memo. Apr 7, 2026 3193 The West has been building AI like it's the apocalypse. China has been building it like it's a tool.That one difference — rooted in centuries of philosophy, theology, and cultural storytelling — may be the most important thing nobody is talking about in the AI debate right now.SecureTalk host Justin Beals sits down with scholars Bogna Konior (NYU Shanghai), Mi You (University of Kassel),
The DOGE data breach at the Social Security Administration with Whistleblower Chuck Borges
The DOGE data breach at the Social Security Administration with Whistleblower Chuck Borges Mar 24, 2026 2935 Every American has a Social Security number. Most assume it's protected. Chuck Borges was the person responsible for that protection at the SSA — and what he discovered from the inside is something every American deserves to know.Chuck is a combat veteran, MIT graduate, and the Social Security Administration's first dedicated Chief Data Officer. He arrived two weeks before the 2025 admini
From 9/11 to Salt Typhoon: Why Backdoors Always Betray Us | Secure Talk with John Ackerly
From 9/11 to Salt Typhoon: Why Backdoors Always Betray Us | Secure Talk with John Ackerly Mar 10, 2026 2437 On the morning of September 11th, 2001, John Ackerly was briefing White House officials on federal privacy legislation. Hours later, everything changed — and those two realities, data that wasn't shared when it should have been, and data that was exposed when it shouldn't have been, became the founding idea behind Virtru.In this episode of SecureTalk, host Justin Beals sits down with John

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