In part 2 of our discussion, John Strand tells us how the cybersecurity industry has turned stagnant, with a lack of innovation and an investment model that isn't going to turn that around any time soon. We explore why venture capital funding hasn't led to the breakthrough products the industry needs, and what's holding back real innovation. John also highlights the leaders in the security industry who are actively giving back to the community, and he and Adam try to one-up each other over who's stayed in the most disgusting hotel room.

00:00 Intro

00:12 Security is Ripe for Disruption

06:19 Better Investors = Better Security Products

10:22 Security is Awesome

12:43 Scaling Conference Talks

15:54 John's Advice on Guests

17:30 A Great Set of People

23:18 Bad Hotels, Good People

29:10 Wrapup

29:54 Outro

This is Part 2 of our conversation with John Strand.

Website: https://securitycocktailhour.comNewsletter: https://securitycocktailhour.com/newsletterLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/security-cocktail-hourTwitter/X: @SecCocktailHour

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John Strand isn't interested in fixing the broken security education system—he's tearing it down and rebuilding it. In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, the founder of Black Hills Information Security explains why scholarships don't solve the real problem, how American universities are losing ground to European programs, and the unexpected places where he's finding the next generation of security talent.

What We Cover:

Why scholarships preserve a broken system instead of fixing it

The barriers that actually matters: Not what you expect

American universities vs. European programs: who's winning and why

Career changers bringing new perspectives to the industry.

AI's "fallow period" in hiring and what comes next

The standardization of mediocrity: how AI is making everything "blah"

00:00 Introduction

00:50 Rethinking Cyber Education

07:01 Diversity Brings Amazing People into Security

09:53 Changing Lives

11:42 Giving Back to the Community

14:33 The Strand Family of Companies

17:02 Security's AI Mistake

Part 2 coming soon

Website: https://securitycocktailhour.com

Newsletter: https://securitycocktailhour.com/newsletter

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/security-cocktail-hour

Twitter/X: @SecCocktailHour

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Keeping your Flipper Zero's firmware updated is critical for security and performance—but the update process isn't always smooth. In this episode, we'll walk you through every step of updating your Flipper Zero firmware, including how to work through a snag you might encounter.

Whether you're a security professional, pentester, or hardware enthusiast, regular firmware maintenance is essential for keeping your tools secure and functional. This guide shows you what it takes for the popular Flipper Zero.

00:00 Introduction to Flipper Zero

02:30 Laptop connection and app

06:20 Begin Update

07:23 This doesn't look right

09:40 Definitely not right

10:27 Success

12:57 Next steps

Catch up with the previous episode in this series when we unboxed the Flipper Zero:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1rU2o8B5cd9MYZ4uQSB3VG?si=cce55d68cdc048b6

And our episode on the ethics of 'hacking' devices:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0olsN2LKLn09wOLpnxqeIH?si=adf4b00394714209

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