In today’s digital battlefield, prevention is no longer enough. Firewalls and endpoint protection might keep the doors locked, but attackers are slipping in through the windows. In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I sit down with Brian Dye, CEO of Corelight, to explore how the cybersecurity game has changed and why network detection and response (NDR) has become the new frontline of digital defense.

Brian brings an extraordinary track record from senior roles at Symantec, McAfee, and Citrix, giving him a rare perspective on how cyber strategy has evolved from antivirus software to AI-driven network intelligence. As he explains, “The days of when things were nice and loud and easy to find have come and gone.” Attackers now live off the land, using legitimate IT tools like PowerShell to hide in plain sight, while generative AI accelerates the weaponization of new exploits in hours instead of weeks.

We discuss why Corelight’s open-source heritage gives it a unique edge in the GenAI era, how automation is reshaping response workflows, and what it really takes to achieve sub-15-second threat response. Brian also opens up about leadership lessons learned from his years in the industry, Corelight’s growth from startup to global scale, and the cultural principles that keep innovation alive through rapid expansion.

This conversation goes far beyond cybersecurity buzzwords. It is a candid look at the reality facing modern defenders, where data is readiness, visibility is power, and resilience is built one decision at a time. Whether you are a CISO, developer, or business leader, this episode offers a grounded, human perspective on the future of cyber defense and what it means to truly understand what went “bump in the night.”

Experian’s Chief Product Officer for Identity and Fraud in the UK and Ireland, Paul Weathersby, joins me to unpack how criminals are using generative tools to fabricate documents, clone voices, perfect phishing at scale, and stitch together synthetic identities. We dig into the sharp rise in SIM swap attacks, why eSIM provisioning can accelerate takeovers, and how coordinated crews now treat fraud like a business with playbooks and orchestration.

Paul explains what works on the defensive side right now. Think adaptive, multilayered authentication that reacts to real risk signals, mobile network checks to identify recent SIM changes, behavioral biometrics, enhanced document and liveness detection, and AI that accelerates investigations while reducing false positives and compliance costs. We also look at more innovative data use, graph analytics to expose fraud rings, cross-industry intelligence sharing, and the FCA’s supersized sandbox that helps teams test models at high volume.

If you care about stopping account takeovers without breaking customer experience, this conversation is a practical blueprint for 2026 and beyond.

SIM swapping increased by over 1,000%

How to protect yourself from SIM swapping

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Qualys CEO Sumedh Thakar joins me to unpack what cyber risk management really looks like when budgets are tight, signals are noisy, and AI is changing the game. Sumedh’s journey started in Pune with parents who prized education above everything. He arrived in the US with one hundred dollars, joined Qualys as one of its first software engineers, and two decades later is leading a global platform that helps banks, governments, and enterprises protect their digital infrastructure.

We dig into why compliance keeps tripping companies up, why the impact of digital crime now dwarfs many physical crimes, and how leaders can talk about cyber in a language boards actually understand. Sumedh explains the shift from counting exposures to quantifying business risk, and why the Security Operations Center is giving way to a Risk Operations Center that prioritizes what truly matters, accepts what must be accepted, and transfers the rest through insurance.

We also explore the cloud security market’s next phase as AI workloads pour into public and private clouds, why “attack surface” is not the same as “risk surface,” and how to weigh AI opportunity against model and data uncertainty. Sumedh closes with hard-won leadership lessons on time, teams, and defining success, and recommends Marshall Rosenberg’s Nonviolent Communication for anyone who wants to communicate beyond the words and lead with clarity.

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