How BT Tackled 180 Years of Legacy to Build a Passwordless Future
How do you modernize security in a 180-year-old company that operates critical national infrastructure? What does it look like when you discover tens or even hundreds of thousands of credentials hidden across your estate?In this episode, we sit down with Christian Schwarz, Security Director for Network Services at BT Group , recorded at HashiDays London. Christian shares the immense challenge and strategic approach to standardizing secret management across one of the world's oldest telecommunication companies.He details BT's journey away from the "moat and a castle" security model towards a future with no passwords for developers , reducing friction and enhancing security by design.Guest Socials - Christian's LinkedinPodcast Twitter - @CloudSecPod If you want to watch videos of this LIVE STREAMED episode and past episodes - Check out our other Cloud Security Social Channels:-Cloud Security Podcast- Youtube- Cloud Security Newsletter - Cloud Security BootCampIf you are interested in AI Cybersecurity, you can check out our sister podcast - AI Cybersecurity PodcastQuestions asked:(00:00) - Why Standardizing Secrets is a Challenge(02:24) - Introducing Christian Schwarz & His Role at BT(05:50) - Beyond the "Castle & Moat": A New Approach to Security(07:59) - The Challenge of Securing a 180-Year-Old Company(10:04) - The Power of Storytelling and Discovering Hidden Credentials(11:59) - The Starting Point: Threat Modeling Your Critical Infrastructure(13:48) - The Upside of Standardization: Reducing Cognitive Load for Teams(16:08) - Fun Questions: Cycling, Innovation, and Favorite CuisinesThank you to our episode sponsor HashiCorp
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Why Security Can Be Stricter: A Zero Trust Approach to AppSec with AI
Is AI making application security easier or harder? We spoke to Amit Chita, Field CTO at Mend.io, the rise of AI agents in the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) presents a unique opportunity for security teams to be stricter than ever before. As developers increasingly use AI agents and integrate LLMs into applications, the attack surface is evolving in ways traditional security can't handle. The only way forward is a Zero Trust approach to your own AI modelsJoin Ashish Rajan and Amit Chita as they discuss the new threats introduced by AI and how to build a resilient security program for this new era.Guest Socials - Amit's Linkedin Podcast Twitter - @CloudSecPod If you want to watch videos of this LIVE STREAMED episode and past episodes - Check out our other Cloud Security Social Channels:-Cloud Security Podcast- Youtube- Cloud Security Newsletter - Cloud Security BootCampIf you are interested in AI Cybersecurity, you can check out our sister podcast - AI Cybersecurity PodcastQuestions asked:(00:00) Intro: The New Era of AI-Powered AppSec(03:10) Meet Amit Chita: From Founder to Field CTO at Mend.io(03:47) Defining AI-Powered Applications in 2025(05:02) AI-Native vs. AI-Powered: What's the Real Difference?(06:05) How AI is Radically Changing the SDLC: Speed, Scale, and Stricter Security(16:30) The Hidden Risk: Navigating AI Model & Data Licensing Chaos(20:50) SMB vs. Enterprise: Why Their AI Security Problems Are Different(23:00) Why Traditional Security Testing Fails Against AI Threats(26:03) Do You Need to Update Your Entire Security Program for AI?(29:14) The New DevSecOps: Keeping Developers Happy in the Age of AI(31:26) Real AI Threats: Malicious Packages & Indirect Prompt Injection(35:16) Is Regulation Coming for AI? A Look at the Current Landscape(38:00) The AI Security Toolbox: To Build or To Buy?(41:41) Fun Questions: Amit’s Proudest Moment & Favorite RestaurantThank you to our episode sponsor Mend.io
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Guide to Hybrid Cloud & Bare Metal Secret Management
Is your organization struggling with secret management across bare metal, hybrid, and multi-cloud environments? Standard cloud-native tools often fall short when you need a single, standardized solution that bridges all your infrastructure.Dan Popescu, Senior Site Reliability Engineer at Booking.com joins us to share how they built a cloud-agnostic secret management strategy using HashiCorp Vault. We dive deep into the technical challenges of providing identity to bare metal machines, rotating dynamic secrets in legacy and modern applications, and why a central "broker" for authentication is critical for security at scale.Guest Socials - Dan 's Linkedin Podcast Twitter - @CloudSecPod If you want to watch videos of this LIVE STREAMED episode and past episodes - Check out our other Cloud Security Social Channels:-Cloud Security Podcast- Youtube- Cloud Security Newsletter - Cloud Security BootCampIf you are interested in AI Cybersecurity, you can check out our sister podcast - AI Cybersecurity PodcastQuestions asked:(00:00) Introduction(02:13) Dan's Background: From Cloud (AWS, GCP) to Bare Metal(03:06) The Core Challenges: Secret Exposure, Rotation & Access Control(04:45) Why Cloud-Native Fails at Scale: The Cost of 500k Requests/Min(07:32) What is a "Secret"? (It's More Than Just Passwords)(09:12) The Secret Lifecycle: Rotation, Revocation & Caching Issues(10:33) Securing Bare Metal: The Unique Challenge of On-Prem Secrets(15:44) Kubernetes & Container Secrets: Sidecars vs. Operators(18:36) The Pain of Moving from Static to Dynamic Secrets(20:40) How Do Machines Get an Identity? (Cloud IAM vs. Bare Metal)(24:28) A Practical Roadmap: Where to Start Standardizing Secrets(26:53) Key Learnings & Technical Pitfalls to Avoid(28:59) The Fun Section
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32:23
"Escape-Proof" Cloud: How Block built an Automated Approach to Egress Control
Many organizations focus on keeping attackers out, but what happens when one gets in? We spoke to Ramesh Ramani, Staff Security Engineer at Block about the real challenge, which is preventing them from leaving with your data. In this episode, Ramesh details the innovative system his team built to automate egress access control at scale, moving beyond traditional, inefficient methods.Ramesh explains how by establishing "sources of truth" for both internal applications and external partners, they created a centralized governance model. This system uses SPIFFE IDs to understand application identity, validates data-sharing requests against partner approvals, and provides a seamless, self-service experience for developers. Discover how this approach not only enhances security by preventing unauthorized data exfiltration but also improves incident response, allowing them to instantly revoke access to compromised third-party domains.Guest Socials - Ramesh's Linkedin Podcast Twitter - @CloudSecPod If you want to watch videos of this LIVE STREAMED episode and past episodes - Check out our other Cloud Security Social Channels:-Cloud Security Podcast- Youtube- Cloud Security Newsletter - Cloud Security BootCampIf you are interested in AI Cybersecurity, you can check out our sister podcast - AI Cybersecurity PodcastQuestions asked:(00:00) - Introduction(00:55) - Ramesh Ramani's Journey: From Network Engineer to Cloud Security at Block(02:03) - The "Trapped Thief" Analogy: Why Egress Is a Critical, Overlooked Problem(04:07) - The Trigger for Automation: Why Traditional Egress Security Doesn't Scale(07:36) - The Secret Sauce: Using SPIFFE IDs for Application Identity Across Any Cloud(14:42) - How It Works: Requesting Access & Denying Leaks to Partners like ChatGPT(30:39) - The Foundation: Why You Must Start with a "Source of Truth" for Apps & Partners(31:23) - Incident Response: Instantly Cutting Off Access When a Partner is Compromised(33:58) - Rollout Strategy: How to Implement Egress Controls Without Burdening Other Teams(37:35) - The Fun Section: Tech, Family, RPGs, and the Best Vegetarian RamenResources discussed during the episode:BSidesSF 2025 - Centralizing Egress Access Controls Across a Hybrid Environment.
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Prioritizing Cloud Security: How to Decide What to Protect First
When you can't protect everything at once, how do you decide what matters most? This episode tackles the core challenge of security prioritization. Geet Pradhan, Senior Security Engineer at Lime joins the podcast to share his framework for building a SecOps plan when you're a small team. Learn why his team made AWS logs their number one priority , how to leverage compliance requirements to guide your strategy , and why he advises starting with a small list of 1-5 critical applications instead of 35. Tune in for a conversation about strategic security for the modern cloud environment.Guest Socials - Geet's Linkedin Podcast Twitter - @CloudSecPod If you want to watch videos of this LIVE STREAMED episode and past episodes - Check out our other Cloud Security Social Channels:-Cloud Security Podcast- Youtube- Cloud Security Newsletter - Cloud Security BootCampIf you are interested in AI Cybersecurity, you can check out our sister podcast - AI Cybersecurity PodcastQuestions asked:(00:00) Introduction(00:32) Meet Geet Pradhan: Senior Security Engineer at Lime(01:17) What is Detection & Response in 2025?(04:35) Defining the Cloud Detection & Response Pipeline(09:42) Why SIEM-Only Alerts Don't Work for Remote Teams(12:02) How to Choose Your First Log Sources(17:00) Building Security Culture: How to Not Be "The Police"(22:45) Where to Find Pre-Built Detection Rules & Alerts(28:38) On-Prem vs. Cloud: Why The Threat Model Is Different(36:53) Fun QuestionsResources spoken about during the interview:Geet's BSides SF TalkNate Lee - Power of Persuasion
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