In this week’s episode of Ventures, my guests Malcolm Harkins (https://www.linkedin.com/in/malcolmharkins/), Sol Cates (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sol-cates-649736/), and I discuss all-things cybersecurity. After hearing about Malcolm’s background and career path, we examine the history and principles of cybersecurity for startup founders, individuals, and anyone helping to usher in the Web 3.0 era.

You can watch this episode below or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts (search for “Ventures”).

In this episode we cover the following:

1:58 - Sol tee-up, background, and welcome of Malcolm

4:06 - Malcolm introduction / background / career journey.

5:30 - Stumbling into the security industry.

6:11 - Cybersecurity pros make their wages by fixing symptoms, are they not actually working to make their jobs go away? Conflict of interest? (Threat, Vulnerability, Impact)

9:00 - What happened that made the cybersecurity industry so messed up? (History lesson)

15:16 - There is a reinforcement mechanism into the system that keeps cybersecurity pros in their jobs. Some organizations are underfunded, but that’s not the primary problem. We don’t need a bigger factory. We need to prove we are getting value out of our investments.

16:48 - Three things to talk about the rest of this episode: (1) What are cybersecurity best practices for a new growing startup? (2) How should the general public be thinking about cybersecurity? (3) How does/should cybersecurity play a role in the utopian Web 3 vision?

(Starting here with question #1)

21:43 - Sol’s thoughts on question #1 / cybersecurity best practices for startups

24:13 - One other thing to realize, you can’t eliminate risk, but if you are focused right you can reduce it substantially.

24:47 - Example of a few founders spinning up a database, SaaS platforms, etc… What are the principles of cybersecurity for them?

28:17 - Risk to myself. Risk to my customer. Risk to society. Need to get blog/article up.

29:16 - The need for a new way to collaborate across industries and community stakeholders

29:58 - Thoughts on Question #2 - how should the general public be thinking about cybersecurity?

38:29 - What are the principles of cybersecurity for individuals? (Discussion on password managers, for example…..and not answering your security questions honestly...and spoofing tactics)

44:50 - Final thoughts on the principles for startups and individuals regarding hacking strategies the bad guys use.

46:40 - Malcolm’s thoughts on the system and things inherent into the system, the macro/micro and systems engineering.

47:55 - Final question (#3) on Web 3, what can go wrong re: cybersecurity as we attempt to build the utopian vision?  

51:02 - Wrapping all three questions into one narrative. Looking at data like it’s a toxic element. Combinations of data creating the equivalent of dirty bomb or enriched

52:50 - Where can people find Sol and Malcolm online? https://www.linkedin.com/in/sol-cates-649736/ // https://www.linkedin.com/in/malcolmharkins/