In this powerful and wide-ranging episode of Legitimate Cybersecurity, Frank and Dustin are joined by Micah Heaton, Executive Director of Product & Innovation Strategy at BlueVoyant and 2025 Microsoft Security Changemaker.

🎧 We talk:

Why Micah champions the quiet defenders in cybersecurity

The hidden art of communicating technical truth

AI vs hype: what’s real, what’s marketing

How tribalism creeps into tech debates—and how to resist it

Data ethics, hallucinations, and the environmental cost of LLMs

Graham Hancock, Atlantis, and parenting in the AI age (yes, really)

Whether you're in the trenches of a SOC or guiding AI strategy at the board level, this is a conversation that will both ground you and challenge you.

📌 Follow Micah on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/micahheaton/

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What happens when the man who brought down Silk Road and Silk Road 2.0 joins us to talk about the largest credential breach in history?

In this episode, Austin Berglas — former Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Cyber Branch in New York — shares behind-the-scenes stories from taking down some of the most infamous dark web marketplaces, tracking cybercriminals through the rise of Tor and Bitcoin, and launching the FBI’s first data wiretap. Today, he serves as Global Head of Professional Services at BlueVoyant, advising Fortune 500 companies on how to stay ahead of evolving threats.

We cover:

Undercover ops inside early internet predator forums

The true story behind the takedown of Ross Ulbricht (Dread Pirate Roberts)

How law enforcement flipped LulzSec leader Sabu

Why infostealers are the most dangerous cyber tools today

What 16 billion leaked credentials really mean for national security

The growing gap between technical attackers and reactive defenders

What CISOs still don’t understand about modern adversaries

How breach fatigue and regulatory fear are undermining incident response

Watch to the end for his advice to boardrooms and cybersecurity leaders on how to regain control.

👉 Subscribe for more stories from the front lines of cybersecurity.

🎧 Also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major platforms.

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🎙️ Welcome back to another episode of Legitimate Cybersecurity, where Frank and Dustin dive deep into the misunderstood world of cyber maturity.

From donut shop risk models to executives clicking phishing emails (yes, really), this episode brings laughs, lessons, and legal implications. Learn:

What cyber maturity really means

Why frameworks like NIST CSF and ISO 27001 matter

How corporate culture can make or break your cybersecurity

And… how Frank may have cursed a table (seriously).

💥 Plus, find out why lying about NIST 800-171 might now get you sued by the DOJ.

🧠 Insightful. 🎯 Practical. 😂 Occasionally ridiculous.

👇 Watch, like, and subscribe — before someone clicks the wrong link.

📺 Subscribe for weekly cybersecurity content that doesn’t put you to sleep.

In this conversation, Frank and Dustin explore the critical themes surrounding cybersecurity, including its impact on businesses, the vulnerabilities organizations face, the role of leadership in fostering a secure environment, the importance of frameworks and standards, and the necessity of building a culture of cybersecurity. They discuss real-world examples of companies affected by cyber incidents and emphasize the need for proactive measures and continuous education in the field of cybersecurity.

Takeaways

Cybersecurity is a continuous concern that businesses must address.

Recent ransomware attacks have led to significant business failures.

Organizations must adopt a proactive approach to cybersecurity.

Leadership plays a crucial role in establishing cybersecurity policies.

Frameworks like NIST CSF provide essential guidance for cybersecurity practices.

Building a culture of cybersecurity is vital for organizational resilience.

Employees are often the weakest link in cybersecurity defenses.

Training and awareness are key to improving cybersecurity practices.

Cybersecurity must be integrated into the overall business strategy.

The landscape of cybersecurity is constantly evolving, requiring ongoing adaptation.

After a three-year hiatus, Frank Downs and Dustin Brewer are back—older, wiser, and still talking into microphones they probably shouldn’t be trusted with. In this launch of their new podcast: Legitimate Cybersecurity, the two 20-year cyber veterans tackle one of the industry’s most persistent problems: why patching is still broken in 2025.

They explore:

The cultural and business reasons patching never gets prioritized

How vulnerability management became the garbage collection of cyber

Why budget, not breaches, still drives security decision-making

The role of AI as both insider and outsider threat

And yes—why your dishwasher needs Wi-Fi now

Part technical, part philosophical, and all-too-real, this episode lays the groundwork for future conversations on what actually works in cybersecurity—and why so much of it still doesn’t.

🎧 Whether you’re a veteran CISO, a SOC analyst, or just wondering what CVSS stands for (don’t worry, we forgot too), this one’s for you.