The Monica Talks Cyber Show

Stop chasing certifications without direction. If you’re trying to break into cybersecurity or grow into a leadership role, this is the real career map. In this video, I walk you through the 5 most in-demand cybersecurity career paths - from hacker to identity, cloud, GRC, and CISO. I’ve worked in all of them over the last 20 years, and I’m giving you the no-BS truth on what each role really looks like, what hiring managers want in 2025, and what it actually takes to succeed. What we’ll cover...

The Global AI Power Play Is Here, And It’s Already Shaping Your Career and Business. What if I told you that a $600 billion handshake in Saudi Arabia just reshaped the future of AI and your career, and most professionals have no idea? In this video, I’ll show you what REALLY happened when Trump met with Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Nvidia’s CEO, and Middle Eastern leaders, and how their deal is already shifting the AI, cybersecurity, and business landscapes forever. We’ll dive into: the tech arms...

Most dream jobs I’ve landed in the last seven years didn’t come from applying online - they came from a completely different approach. In today’s video, I break down the exact 7-step system I’ve used for 16+ years to attract opportunities, network intentionally, and position your LinkedIn profile as a value powerhouse, not a digital CV. You’ll learn: How to identify your real dream role (and why it matters), how to build a high-impact LinkedIn profile that works for you, how to connect with ...

Every cyber crisis has one common thread: it never happens at a “good time.” I’ve led teams through high-stakes attacks while on vacation, during product launches, and even mid-board meetings. In this video, I’m breaking down 7 hard-earned lessons that every cybersecurity and crisis leader needs to survive (and shine) in a real-world cyber crisis. These aren’t theories - they’re lived, tested, and battle-proven. You’ll learn: the difference between freezing and mobilizing, why fast doesn’t m...

From McDonald’s drive-thru meltdown to hiring and banking algorithms discriminating against women, AI failures are already happening in 2025. In this video, I break down how to implement Responsible AI that protects your brand, your customers, and your future. You’ll learn: the real-world AI disasters and what caused them, how to build an AI governance framework that actually works, 4 critical steps every organization must take today, how to create transparency, accountability, and trust in ...

An AI agent was given access to email. It found a threat in its environment and chose blackmail. This is not a hypothetical. I sat down with security researcher Graham Cluley, where we discussed the real case study of an AI model that, when faced with the possibility of being shut down, decided its best move was to threaten the very humans trying to govern it. In another scenario the AI was responsible for fire alarms. When there was fire and CTO was inside, the AI turned off the alarm noneth...

Most people think it takes a decade to become a cybersecurity leader. I did it in just four years and I’m breaking down exactly how. In this video, I share my 9-step framework that helped me land a CISO role in 90 days, without a laundry list of certifications or endless applications. This is a no-gatekeeping, no-fluff roadmap that works because I’ve lived it. In this episode you’ll learn: the real skills and mindset that define cybersecurity leadership, how to position yourself as a business...

Struggling to get your cybersecurity budget approved? In this video, as a board-certified cybersecurity leader and former CSO, I reveal my step-by-step framework to justify security budgets to your board or executive team. Most CISOs fail because they speak in technical jargon, not in business terms. Monica shows you exactly how to align security with revenue, risk, and reputation - the only language executives care about. If you want to lead as a CISO, cyber strategist, or business enabler,...

The cybersecurity industry in 2025 is evolving faster than ever. While companies lay off thousands, they’re also desperately hiring cybersecurity leaders who can bridge AI, business, and security. In this ultimate tutorial, I share 20+ years of hard-earned lessons that took me from a $40K coder to a $250K cybersecurity leader and consultant. What You’ll Learn: how to pivot before everyone else in cybersecurity, why skills beat credentials, the AI edge you MUST develop right now, leadership &a...

The SEC charged a CISO personally for a cyberattack. Not the company. The individual, Tim Brown. Tim fought back, and won. In the age of AI, every security and business leader needs to ask: Am I next? When the SolarWinds supply chain attack hit in 2020, Tim Brown became one of the first CISOs in history to face personal SEC charges. That case changed the conversation around CISO accountability permanently. With AI inside your enterprise, making decisions, generating outputs and influencing ri...

From a shy, bullied kid… to a global CSO in just four years. In this episode, I share the 5 core beliefs that transformed my life and career - helping me go from invisible to influential, and from surviving to leading in cybersecurity. Looking to go from chaos and unpredictability to resilience in the world of AI? Start here with The Predictability Factor newsletter at The Monica Talks Cyber (https://www.monicatalkscyber.com).

We have gone from AI that generates to AI that reasons to AI that builds and does things. We have gone from Generative AI to Agentic AI. While in theory and under closed conditions, an LLM is deterministic, in current practical applications it returns a probabilistic outcomes. At the same time, these highly probabilistic AI agents / agentic AI have increasingly become a part of business workflows, taking actions, making decisions and doing things for you. Agentic AI is making million dollar d...

Want to get promoted faster in cybersecurity? This is exactly how I did it: I didn’t collect 15 certifications. I didn’t wait for 10 years. I didn’t play politics. Instead, I focused on business impact, strategy, and leadership, and it changed everything. In this video, I’m breaking down: why most cybersecurity professionals stay stuck, what actually gets you promoted (and what doesn’t), my real story from hacker to CISO, the 3-step roadmap to accelerate your leadership journey & how to s...

AI is reshaping cybersecurity - but not always for the better. In this powerful GoSec keynote, AI and cybersecurity leader and keynote speaker Monica reveals how AI is being weaponized by cybercriminals, how deepfakes are eroding trust, and why predictive security 0 not adaptive - is the future. Learn how hackers exploit AI, how large language models are being sold on the dark web, and what leaders must do to build resilient, trustworthy AI systems. If you’re a CISO, cybersecurity professiona...

Nine years ago, I was stuck in a $40K job, broke, burned out, and invisible in the industry. Today, I earn over $250K in base salary, lead cybersecurity programs at scale, and advise billion-dollar businesses. In this video, I’m walking you through exactly how I did it. No Ivy League degree. No network. Just raw skills, grit, and a vision. I’ll show you the 3 key moves that changed everything for me, how I stopped chasing jobs and started attracting them, how I built my personal brand ...

AI isn’t just about speed and power, it’s about trust, governance, and responsibility. In this video, Monica, a board-certified cybersecurity leader and keynote speaker with 20+ years of experience, breaks down the 5 key pillars of Responsible AI (Fairness, Transparency, Safety & Security, Ethics, Accountability) that every leader and aspiring leader must understand. From Amazon’s biased hiring algorithm to McDonald’s failed AI drive-thru, and from GPT-5’s trust issues to Target’s pregnan...

AI is evolving fast but who’s making sure these systems are fair, safe, and accountable? In this episode, I will break down why AI auditing is becoming the next big career and the must-have skills every AI auditor needs (technical + non-technical). From biased algorithms shaping hiring decisions to flawed AI models making high-stakes errors, the risks are real. That’s where AI auditors come in: professionals who bridge the gap between technology, governance, and ethics. Looking to go from cha...

The most dangerous AI attacks don’t just break your systems, they break your trust in reality. From deepfakes that fooled a company into losing an enormous amount of money to data poisoning that silently corrupts AI models, today’s threats are unlike anything cybersecurity teams have faced before. Don’t wait for these threats to hit your organisation, get ahead of them now. In this episode, Monica, a hacker turned CISO, keynote speaker, and founder of Monica Talks Cyber, reveals the dark sid...

In 2025, it's not about degrees or certifications, it's about real skills, AI-readiness, and strategic thinking. In this episode, Monica, a board-certified cybersecurity leader with 20+ years of experience, breaks down the 5 biggest shifts shaping the cybersecurity job market right now. • Why mindset and adaptability now outrank credentials • How AI is redefining job roles and hiring criteria • Why communication is the #1 skill for cybersecurity leaders • How skill stacking gives you a salar...

The Global AI Power Play Is Here, And It’s Already Shaping Your Career and Business. What if I told you that a $600 billion handshake in Saudi Arabia just reshaped the future of AI and your career, and most professionals have no idea? In this episode, I’ll show you what REALLY happened when Trump met with Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Nvidia’s CEO, and Middle Eastern leaders, and how their deal is already shifting the AI, cybersecurity, and business landscapes forever. We’ll dive into: ✅ The tech a...

If I were starting my cybersecurity career from scratch in 2025, this is exactly what I’d do. No fluff, no unnecessary certs, and no wasted time. Too many professionals are burning out chasing certs or bootcamps without real clarity. In this episode, I share my complete 6-step cybersecurity roadmap, the one I’d follow if I had to start all over again. Whether you’re transitioning into cybersecurity or trying to accelerate your growth, this roadmap is built on real-world experience, not outda...

Can you land a CISO role without the title, the connections, or the years of "required" experience? Yes and I did it in 90 days. This isn’t luck. It’s strategy. In today's episode, I walk you through the exact roadmap I used to go from rejected applications and zero C-level experience to signing my first CISO contract. In this episode, you’ll learn why applying to 100 jobs won’t get you the one you want, the mindset shift that separates leaders from job seekers, how to position your exis...

Do you know the first cyberattack in history happened in 1834? And what if the scariest part of AI isn't what it does - but what it makes us ignore? This isn’t science fiction. It’s real. And it’s already happening. In this keynote, I take you through the 200-year evolution of fraud - from wooden blocks to synthetic identities, how AI is making scams faster, deeper, and more human than ever, why data, emotion, and deepfakes are the new weapons of cybercriminals, the truth behind AI's "intelli...

Leading in cybersecurity is like diving into the unknown. You need more than just the "rules of the land" – you need a whole new set of skills to navigate this "underwater" world. In this episode, we'll dive into: why your lack of people skills is holding you back (and it's not just for the leaders!), the #1 trait of an effective leader, why negotiation makes up 90% of your role and how to master it, why a lack of change in human behaviour is costlier than technology, why the feeling of secur...

Tired of the same old advice that isn't getting you anywhere in your cybersecurity career? Everyone says "get more technical skills," but what if that's only part of the story? If you're aiming for leadership roles like CISO, Security Director, or Head of GRC, or other security leadership roles, this episode is for you. In this episode, we dive into: why technical skills alone won't land you a cybersecurity leadership role, the real skills that executives are desperately seeking (...

Have you ever felt lost in your career, unsure if you're heading in the right direction, or if you're making the impact you're capable of? You can ask others for guidance, but only you can truly direct yourself. Managing your career is your job and your job only. No one else's. In this episode, we dive into the importance of betting on yourself and taking calculated risks, how to say "no" to distractions and align with your goals, why being easy to work with is your real superpower, why ...

Have you ever called customer service, only to realize you’re speaking to an AI—one that understands your frustration, adjusts its tone, and even convinces you to buy more? AI is getting scarily good at mimicking human-like conversations, emotions, and even decision-making. But here’s the kicker—it doesn’t feel anything. So, how do you know if your decisions aren’t being influenced by AI? In this episode, we dive into: The rise of AI in everyday conversations, how AI can shape your emotions a...

Feeling underpaid and undervalued? The truth is you are your best salary negotiator. Studies show that professionals who negotiate their salary increase their pay by an average of $5,000! In this episode, I’ll share 9 proven steps to help you negotiate your salary with confidence and secure the pay you truly deserve. You’ll Learn: The mindset shift you need to negotiate successfully, how to research salary trends and set your target pay, the secret to communicating your value effectively, the...

2023 was the year of the Gen AI boom and multimodal AI. 2024 was the year of overinflated valuations but also the start of AI agents. What trends are you going to see in the year 2025 that you need to be ready for? From hyper-personalization to Explainable AI to AI-driven decision-making, 2025 is set to be a defining year for careers and businesses. In this episode, we break down 7 key AI trends that will shape the way we work, invest, and interact with technology. Listen to find out. L...

AI is revolutionizing human decision making and cybersecurity, but it’s also being used by cybercriminals to launch cyberattacks, frauds and scams. Who’s really winning the battle — AI-driven security or AI-powered hackers? In this episode, which is based on my keynote, we’ll break down: 1) How AI is being used in cyberattacks; 2) How AI is fighting hackers and changing decision making; and 3) The future of cybersecurity and humanity in an AI-driven world. Looking to go from chaos and unpredi...

9 years ago, this one quote from Daniel Kahneman changed my life: "We are prone to overestimate how much we understand about the world and to underestimate the role of chance in events". I went from hacker to a leader in just 4 years, not just 'cause I worked hard. I took a huge risk by betting on myself even when others wouldn't. Here are 3 things you can do to change your life and unlock your dreams. Looking to go from chaos and unpredictability to resilience in the world of AI? Start here ...

Approximately 1.3 million people fall victim to online scams every day. I personally know 3 friends who fell victim to online fraud in just last 9 months. The good news is all 3 of them got their money back. How did the later happen? AI/ML in the background. AI in anti-fraud systems. AI in credit decisions. AI under the hood. That’s not all. Last year, I traveled 61 hours to the Cayman Islands and back, to explore and answer these questions at the biggest technology conference in the Grand ...

What’s the biggest digital threat to your business? “The Russians can now leverage supply chain attacks against Microsoft’s customers.” When Ukraine-Russia geopolitical crisis started many western news sources claimed that Russia apparently didn’t use cyber capabilities to the extent the West had expected. Can we say the same knowing that Russia’s attack against Microsoft (one of the biggest global service providers) is still not contained? Can we even comprehend the consequences that ar...

This is The 10x Weekly in Under 60 Seconds presented by The Monica Talks Cyber Show. Ever wondered how AI is changing the world? One of the major fundamental shift that's happening is that AI is creating news. It's creating ideas, it's creating culture, it's creating history. It's creating things that we don't even know if they existed or happened in reality or not. Learn more about the social impact of AI. Looking to go from chaos and unpredictability to resilience in the world of AI? ...

“You are a good CISO that helps us make a difference” wrote one of my colleague to me. I attribute that feedback to a Japanese concept called Kaizen. My milestones, like most successful people I know, are outcome of a sense of self-belief and a whole lot of bias for action, leading to continuous incremental improvements, referred in the Japanese concept as Kaizen. Here are 12 ways [+BONUS] to 10x your career and life in 2023, today. Looking to go from chaos and unpredictability to resilience ...

For the last 20 years, I’ve used 8 key elements of powerful storytelling to 10x my career. Here's how you can 10x your career. Reality is: If information is gold, storytelling is mining. Job seekers, interviewers, interviewees, entrepreneurs, security professionals are all storytellers. You are a storyteller. No matter what you do professionally, I can bet you, storytelling is some part of your job. So, how do you go from 0 to great storytelling, I share in today's episode. Looking to go from...

According to Forbes, in 2021 alone, ransomware cost the world $20 billion, and that number is expected to skyrocket to $265 billion by 2031. Over the last years, ransomware attacks have managed to cause disruptions to energy, gas pipelines, groceries stores and many more businesses and daily lives. In today's video of The Monica Talks Cyber Podcast Experience, Monica Verma sit down with security researcher and blogger, Graham Cluley, to talk about the ransomware, the business email and the i...

“Fake it till you make it” is the worst advice I ever received. 70% of people will experience imposter syndrome in their career. I know, I am one of them. ”How do you HANDLE imposter syndrome?” asked one of my mentees. Fake it till you make it is the worst advice you will ever receive. Instead, in the last 3 years, I applied these 7 principles, every day, to “embrace” my imposter syndrome. Not to "deal" with it, but embrace and manage it, that changed my life forever. Here are 7 steps you can...

How to land your dream job WITHOUT applying? Dream jobs that I landed, I didn’t apply to them. Instead, I was approached, I was connected to, I was networked with. In the last 7 years, I CHANGED entirely the way I approached job searching. Surely, I have applied to jobs online, but those have had the least impact. The biggest impact came from an entirely different approach. How can you land your dream job, without hunting for it like a mad person, I’ll be sharing with you in today’s podcast e...

In 2009, I took one decision to cold email a hacker, and that changed my life forever. That one decision, that one cold message, changed my life forever. TODAY, for the very first time, I share my entire story on how I took that bold but scary decision, how it changed my life forever, and tips on how it can change your life forever, in my latest episode on Monica Talks Cyber. Looking to go from chaos and unpredictability to resilience in the world of AI? Start here with The Predictability Fac...

No matter what people tell you, every single day we are seeing people break into this field with no experience and succeeding. They are coming from all kinds of backgrounds such as retail, medical, transportation, and many other industries. Cyber Security is unique because you are able to write your own story on how you want to pursue this field. If you are willing to have the motivation and put in hard work, Monica Verma and Mike Miller are going to steer you down the right path...

In this episode, Monica Verma, CISO, Hacker, CEO and Founder, talks with Naomi Buckwalter, Directory of Product Security, about the so-called talent gap. Is it the talent gap real? How can we fix it? How do we build diversity and inclusion in cybersecurity industry? Listen to hot takes with Monica and Naomi, on how to break into cybersecurity and leadership, and accelerate your career. Looking to go from chaos and unpredictability to resilience in the world of AI? Start here with The Predicta...

Liz Truss' mobile was hacked allegedly by Kremlin agents. It was so heavily compromised that it had to be locked away in a safe inside a secure Government location. How do you protect people with high-risk profiles? What is the no. one factor to combat fake news and disinformation? In this episode, Monica Verma, CISO, Hacker, CEO, talk with Runa Sandvik, Security Researcher, about fake news, disinformation, security for high-risk profiles, and journalism. Looking to go from chaos and unpre...

As technology, social media and smart devices have seeped into our private and business lives, do we have privacy as a human right any more? In this episode Monica Verma, CEO & CISO, talks with Debbie Reynolds "The Data Diva", on the myths around privacy as human rights, privacy challenges related to social media, artificial intelligence and emerging technology, as well as how it's disrupting our private and business worlds. Looking to go from chaos and unpredictability to resilien...

How has the cyber health of healthcare evolved and what challenges lie ahead of us? In this episode Monica Verma, CEO | CISO, and Joseph Davis, Chief Security Advisor, Microsoft, talk about cyber threats, trends, risks and recommendations connected to healthcare services, medical devices, brownfield environment, and their interconnection and convergence with IoT, cloud and more. Looking to go from chaos and unpredictability to resilience in the world of AI? Start here with The Predictabilit...

In today's episode, CISOs and hackers, Chris Roberts and Monica Verma dive deep into the world of ransomware and talk about exploitations through ransomware and it's impact on businesses, the advancement in technology & how it is shaping the ransomware landscape, the ethics landscape aka to pay or not to pay, what does it take to build a better defense against ransomware attacks, and more. Looking to go from chaos and unpredictability to resilience in the world of AI? Start here wit...

In today's episode Monica Verma, Keynote Speaker and CISO, talks to Sarah Armstrong-Smith, Chief Security Advisor, Microsoft on how is the threat landscape and the cyber criminals evolving? What are some of the key factors of better defense going forward and key recommendations to combat cybercrime? How do we protect privacy and include ethics, especially with the convergence of the physical, the digital and biological worlds? So if you wish to learn, grow, and be a part of this journey, then...

In today's episode, CISOs Monica Verma and Gary Hayslip talk about how to communicate and report to the board, real value of cybersecurity and its ROI, managing both current and future risk, how to make security seamless, and tips for communication around breaches. For video check out MonicaTalksCyber. Looking to go from chaos and unpredictability to resilience in the world of AI? Start here with The Predictability Factor newsletter at The Monica Talks Cyber (https://www.monicatalkscyber...

In today’s episode Monica Verma talks to one of industry leaders within Cyber Insurance, Michael Spreitzenbarth on why you should care about cyber insurance, why you need it, what are the key elements to consider when underwriting a policy and some of the important gotchas, loopholes or myths around insurance policy. Looking to go from chaos and unpredictability to resilience in the world of AI? Start here with The Predictability Factor newsletter at The Monica Talks Cyber (https://www.m...

In today’s episode Monica Verma talks to Katie Nickels on importance of cyber threat intelligence, evolution of threat landscape over the last decade, trends today and moving forward, as well as security and privacy challenges with threat intelligence. Looking to go from chaos and unpredictability to resilience in the world of AI? Start here with The Predictability Factor newsletter at The Monica Talks Cyber (https://www.monicatalkscyber.com).