Can you share a few details about the founding story behind 7 Minute Security
7 Minute Security actually started as a podcast in 2014. I had been in IT for about 10 years and was just about to take my first job in cybersecurity. A few weeks into that job, I was completely overwhelmed by how much there was to learn! So I started recording short 7-minute episodes about what I was learning every day – such as cool pentest tools I was playing with and social engineering adventures I got to experience. In 2017, I decided to launch 7 Minute Security as a formal security consultancy. We still do the podcast too – over 600 episodes and counting!What types of penetration testing do you offer?
Our main offerings are:- Risk assessments – utilizing NIST CSF and the Critical Security Controls frameworks.
- Penetration testing in pretty much all flavors, including internal network, external network, and Web applications.
- Training (7minsec.com/services/training) – general training awareness sessions for employees with our 7 Ways to NOT Get Hacked! Session, as well as teaching people to hack via our Light Pentest LITE (Live Interactive Training Experience) offering.
What can people expect from your training courses and how are they structured?
Our 7 Ways to NOT Get Hacked session, it’s an hour (either in person or online) discussion of 7 great things people can do to be more secure – both at home and at work. Tips include picking great passwords, using multi-factor authentication, sniffing out phishing links, and more. Our Light Pentest LITE class is a three-day, 100% hands-on hacking adventure where you get your own “playground” of vulnerable machines to attack, and together we run through a full pentest of the environment, with the goal of making you a better offender and/or defender of networks!What topics does the 7 Minute Security podcast cover?
We talk a lot about pentesting, blue-teaming, and building a career in cybersecurity. We also have several episodes that focus on building and running a cybersecurity consultancy.What are some emerging trends in the cybersecurity industry and how do you make sure that you stay ahead of the curve?
The cybersecurity industry is constantly changing. AI is all over the place right now, and on a positive note, I’m using some AI tools to help me automate some of the routine steps involved in beginning a pentest. On the negative side of things, we’re seeing AI used to create some really convincing phishing and social engineering attacks. To keep up with what’s happening in the world of security, I lean on my daily reading list, which is primarily a combination of social media accounts and Substack newsletters. I’m also an avid security podcast listener.To learn more about 7 Minute Security, you can visit 7minsec.com
