# Getting Into Infosec

> Getting Into Infosec is a podcast of interviews with people who switched careers into cybersecurity: teachers, paralegals, librarians, veterans, developers and help desk techs. Full transcripts, summaries and chapters for every episode.

Hosted by Ayman Elsawah. 43 full episodes (2018–2022), 42 guests, 1709 minutes of audio. Every episode page includes a summary, chapters, key takeaways and a full speaker-labelled transcript. Episodes contain short "spoof ads" (parody commercials about the security industry); transcripts mark them and they are not real endorsements.

- Full text of every summary and transcript: https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/llms-full.txt
- Plain-text transcript per episode: https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/%3Cslug%3E/transcript.txt

## Episodes

- [Ep 43: Rana Khalil — From Cryptography to Pentester!](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/rana/): March 11, 2022, 40 min. Rana is a senior cybersecurity assessment analyst and has a really diverse professional background. She has spoken at many different conferences,…
- [Ep 42: Norman Weekes — From Contractor To Security Ops Analyst](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/norman/): February 25, 2022, 34 min. Norman Weekes is on the Security Operations Team at Salesforce. He is in charge of scanning their infrastructure and ensuring that everything is set up…
- [Ep 41: Niru Ragupathy — From Almost Biotech to QA to Google Security Lead](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/niru/): August 5, 2021, 45 min. Niru Ragupathy is a Security Engineer at Google and works as the Offensive Security Lead and manages part of the Offensive Security Team. She is currently…
- [Ep 40: John Gates — From Car Mechanic to Lead IT Security Analyst](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/john/): June 16, 2021, 37 min. John Gates is a Lead IT Security Operations Analyst for a global food brand. John has always liked to know how do things work - and that has proven to be…
- [Ep 39: Samantha Cowan — From National Parks Service To Head Of Compliance](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/samantha/): June 1, 2021, 40 min. Samantha Cowan is the Head of Compliance at HackerOne. She's the former Director of Compliance at OneLogin and former Security Engineer at CoverHound,…
- [Ep 38: Betsy Bevilacqua — From Almost Lawyer to CISO and Security Leader](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/betsy/): March 1, 2021, 41 min. Betsy Bevilacqua is the current VP of Information Security at Chainalysis. Initially, she had her mind set on law school until she did a self-audit and…
- [Ep 37: Dr. Eric Cole — Accidental CIA Hacker To Fortune 500 Security Advisory To Entrepreneur](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/ericcole/): January 11, 2021, 48 min. Dr. Eric Cole's career has been a mixed of sixth-sense chance encounters and wisdom / foresight of the future. His uncanny ability while younger to see…
- [Ep 36: Lisa Jiggetts — From Navy Cook To Pentester To Non-Profit Founder!](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/lisa/): November 24, 2020, 41 min. Lisa Jiggetts knew from an early age that she was going to be in tech an cyber. A navy veteren who started off as a cook, she always found herself…
- [Ep 35: Eric Strom — From Lawyer to FBI Cyber Division Unit Chief](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/ericstrom/): October 24, 2020, 42 min. Eric Strom is the Unit Chief of the Mission Critical Engagement Unit, Cyber Division. In this role, Mr. Strom oversees the FBI Cyber Division’s private…
- [Ep 34: ICS Gabe — Electrical Engineer to Accidental Cybersecurity ICS Expert](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/icsgabe/): October 11, 2020, 59 min. Gabriel Agboruche (@ICS_Gabe) is a senior ICS and OT cybersecurity consultant, helping organizations solve their most challenging industrial control…
- [Ep 33: Anonymous guest — Switching Into Infosec Success Story And Lessons Learned](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/anonymous/): July 16, 2020, 10 min. Today's episode features a story that was sent to me by a listener. He reached out to me on LinkedIn telling me of his success story posted on reddit.…
- [Ep 32: Kavya Pearlman — From Hairstylist to CISO to XR Superhero](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/kavya/): April 18, 2020, 39 min. Kavya Pearlman is an Award-winning cybersecurity professional with a deep interest in immersive and emerging technologies. Kavya is the founder of…
- [Ep 31: Syntax — Arrested Teenager to Motorcycle Racer To Pentester](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/syntax/): March 10, 2020, 47 min. Syntax had an interesting ride into infosec filled with pitstops, detours, and countersteering along the way. He got started at an early age influenced by…
- [Ep 30: Tanya Janca — From Insecure Developer to Appsec, Diversity/Inclusion Advocate, and Mentor](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/tanya/): February 23, 2020, 39 min. Tanya is an awesome giving person. She's a huge proponent of mentoring, diversity and inclusion, and application security. She's quite involved in the…
- [Ep 29: Nick Vissari — Engineering Dropout to Math Tutor to Security Architect/Engineer](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/nickvissari/): February 4, 2020, 36 min. Nick Vissari went from being an engineering dropout (he didn't like creative writing) to tech consultant to math tutor. His penchant for fixing things…
- [Ep 28: Page Glave — Professor of Kinesiology to Cybersecurity Analyst!](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/page/): November 16, 2019, 31 min. Page Glave was a tenured Associate Professor of Kinesiology with a focus in exercise science and was successful in her field, on her way to full…
- [Ep 27: Nick Jeswald — Confessions of a Cybersecurity Recruiter (Part 2)](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/nickjeswald-2/): November 2, 2019, 48 min. Part 2 of 2 - Nick Jeswald has been an external and internal recruiter in security. He shares with us what he looks for in a candidate, common mistakes…
- [Ep 26: Nick Jeswald — Confessions of a Cybersecurity Recruiter (Part 1)](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/nickjeswald-1/): October 25, 2019, 37 min. Part 1 of 2 - Nick Jeswald has been an external and internal recruiter in security. He shares with us what he looks for in a candidate, common mistakes…
- [Ep 25: Fareedah Shaheed — From Tech Curious to Information Security](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/fareedah/): July 31, 2019, 33 min. Fareedah, a lifelong learner, was always interested in technology and grew up reading her father's Cisco books. His influence led her to the field of…
- [Ep 24: Keya Horiuchi — From Teacher, Filmmaker, and Website Design to Security Engineer!](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/keya/): June 15, 2019, 30 min. Keya was a public school teacher who stood out of crowd. She loves problem solving and challenging environments. Keya was also a filmmaker and web…
- [Ep 23: Hossam Mohamed — Young Hacker to "Not A Security Researcher"](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/hossam/): May 26, 2019, 29 min. A 19 year old "not a security researcher". Facing limitations because of his age and not having the right "prerequisites" Hossam has had to make his own…
- [Ep 22: Izzy — Random and Unplanned: From Annuities to ISO!](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/izzy/): May 13, 2019, 37 min. Ismaelle Vixsama (aka Izzy) has a knack for finding strategic flaws and speaking up about them. Doing so helped her get her first full-time job as well as…
- [Ep 21: David Scrobonia — Lifelong builder, Appsec Engineer, Creator of ZAP Heads Up Display](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/david/): May 4, 2019, 35 min. From Zero to One, David is a lifelong builder. Wherever he goes he just builds things. From an electric car to adhoc android apps to ZAP HUD, an awesome…
- [Ep 20: Leron Gray — From Navy E6 to Pentester, SANS Mentor and Nerdcore Rapper!](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/leron/): April 13, 2019, 38 min. Leron Gray is a man of many talents. Not getting really into computers until much later in life, but always having a creative side, he now finds himself…
- [Ep 19: Jared Folkins — 18 YRO Manager To Education Security To Human Hero](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/jared/): April 3, 2019, 55 min. Jared Folkins understands people, technology, and the world around him. He can smell a toxic environment from a mile away and has used that EIQ spider…
- [Ep 18: Masha Sedova — From Generations of CS to Behavioral Science and Entrepreneurship](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/masha/): March 22, 2019, 46 min. Masha Sedova comes from a history of computer scientists! She loves challenges and is currently tackling the human side of security through data,…
- [Ep 17: InfosecJon — From Rudderless Youth to Navy Engineer to Security Professional](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/infosecjon/): March 16, 2019, 46 min. InfosecJon runs a website cataloging his learning and dedicated to helping others get in the field. He shares his personal story from a directionless…
- [Ep 16: InfosecSherpa — From Travel Agent to Law Librarian to Security Analyst!](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/infosecsherpa/): March 1, 2019, 45 min. Little does the Information Security community know, but among us are experts at OSINT. They lurk behind friendly faces, waiting to be asked questions.…
- [Ep 15: Adrian Kaylor — From Network Admin to Trainer to Sales Engineer for Life](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/adrian/): February 22, 2019, 35 min. Adrian is the nerd brought in to talk to other nerds. He did not have a direct path to Security, but every role he had in his career helped him in his…
- [Ep 14: Nipun Gupta — From Security Consultant to Security Innovator](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/nipun/): February 10, 2019, 24 min. Nipun graduated during the recession, but found a job as a consultant which helped him gain experience quickly. He was in fact discouraged to pursue a…
- [Ep 13: Marcus Carey — Childhood Builder/Breaker to Navy Cryptologist to Founder and Mentor](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/marcus/): January 11, 2019, 44 min. Marcus Carey has been hacking since we was five. A true MacGuyver he had to make due with little resources available to him. He later enrolled for the…
- [Ep 12: Jack Rhysider — From Odd-jobs to Network Analyst to SOC Architect to... Darknet Diaries!](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/jack/): January 2, 2019, 48 min. Jack Rhysider's origin story. With an engineering background Jack found himself doing odd jobs at first. Looking to get back into tech he "certed" up and…
- [Ep 11: Yaron Levi — Entrepreneur to Security Architect to CISO and Security Champion](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/yaron/): December 25, 2018, 35 min. Yaron Levi is the CISO for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City. We talk about what he looks for in people when hiring in Infosec and a time when he…
- [Ep 10: InfoSteph — From Journalism to IT Support to Security Analyst](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/infosteph/): December 18, 2018, 54 min. Steph is brand new to the infosec field! We go over her interesting and eventful path into Information Security, reflections on her role today, and some…
- [Ep 9: Kyle Kennedy — Stories, not resumes: Breaking educational and other barriers in cybersecurity](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/kyle/): December 11, 2018, 9 min. Today's episode is a reading of an amazing written by Kyle Kennedy, president of brainbabe.org. The reading is performed by Allison, an IBM Watson…
- [Ep 8: Elvis Chan — From Making Computer Chips to FBI Supervisory Special Agent!](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/elvis/): December 5, 2018, 36 min. Elvis Chan is a Supervisory Special Agent Elvis Chan, who works cyber security matters for the FBI San Francisco Division. We discuss how we got into the…
- [Ep 7: Clay Wells — From SysAdmin to Security Architect to Con Organizer!](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/clay/): November 27, 2018, 35 min. Clay Wells ... Security Architect, Musician, Defcon Blue Team Village Co-Organizer, and organizer of the first annual WOPR Summit. Clay shares some really…
- [Ep 6: Robin Stuart — From Paralegal to Malware Researcher (and Cyber Crime Author!)](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/robin/): November 14, 2018, 42 min. Robin Stuart started off as a paralegal until she was challenged one day to get her boss's password. (Hint: Do not challenge Robin). Fast forward she…
- [Ep 5: Rob Carson — From USMC Infantry Officer to Information Security Officer](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/rob/): November 6, 2018, 33 min. Rob is a former Marine Corps Infantry Officer who transitioned himself to an outstanding Information Security Officer in the private sector. He talks…
- [Ep 4: Matt Toth — From Slinky Network Support Engineer to Security Sales Engineer](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/matt/): October 30, 2018, 63 min. Matt Toth is a Senior Security Engineer with over 20 years of experience in the Information Technology industry, with a focus on Cyber Security. Working…
- [Ep 3: Christina Hanson — From HOA Manager to Headfirst Into InfoSec!](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/christina/): October 22, 2018, 43 min. Christina Hanson is a security analyst working for Truvantis Cyber Security Consulting and one of my former boot camp students! She has extensive…
- [Ep 2: 0day — From "Geek Squad" tech to DevSecOps](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/0day/): October 15, 2018, 42 min. 0day (“Zero Day”) is a security researcher who specializes in distributed systems security. In his career journey through Circuit City's Firedog service,…
- [Ep 1: Dan Borges — From Infosec ITAdmin to Red Teamer to CTF Organizer](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/episodes/dan/): October 8, 2018, 59 min. In this first episode, I chat with Dan Borges, a professional red teamer, blogger, and security tool developer. Dan discusses his early experiences using…

## Collections

- [Women in Cybersecurity](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/women-in-cybersecurity/): Interviews with women who switched into cybersecurity from teaching, law, journalism, the arts and more.
- [Black Professionals in Cybersecurity](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/black-in-cybersecurity/): Interviews with Black security professionals about how they got into infosec and what they learned along the way.
- [Pentesting & Red Team](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/category/pentesting/): Penetration testers, red teamers and ethical hackers.
- [SOC & Blue Team](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/category/soc/): Security analysts, incident responders and defenders.
- [AppSec & DevSecOps](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/category/appsec/): Application security, secure development and DevSecOps.
- [GRC & Compliance](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/category/grc/): Governance, risk, compliance and audit.
- [Leadership & CISO](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/category/leadership/): CISOs, security managers and leaders.
- [Sales & Sales Engineering](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/category/sales/): Security sales and sales engineering careers.
- [IT, SysAdmin & Networking](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/category/it/): People who moved from IT support, sysadmin and networking into security.
- [Government & Law Enforcement](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/category/government/): FBI, intelligence and public-sector security careers.
- [Military & Veterans](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/category/military/): Veterans who transitioned into cybersecurity.
- [Recruiting & Hiring](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/category/recruiting/): How security hiring works, from the recruiter side.
- [Research & Malware](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/category/research/): Security researchers, malware analysts and threat intel.
- [ICS & OT](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/category/ics/): Industrial control systems and operational technology security.
- [Entrepreneurship](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/category/entrepreneurship/): Founders and consultants who built their own security businesses.
- [Education & Mentoring](https://www.gettingintoinfosec.com/category/education/): Teachers, trainers, mentors and community builders.

## Optional

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