ShowMeCon: Couch to Compromise with Johnny Xmas

Summary:

Veteran conference speaker Johnny Xmas joins me to discuss ShowMeCon and his talk Couch to Compromise the 2024 edition. His talk is an update from previous years which goes over the latest attacks impacting organizations.

Episode Highlights:

Johnny Xmas with a not a flamethrower

Guest Information:

Johnny Xmas: The Most Interesting Man in Information Security

Contact Information:

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What's happening at Converge and Detroit BSides?

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In this pile of an episode for the Exploring Information Security podcast, Johnny Xmas (@J0hnnyXm4s), Kate Vajda (@vajkat), Rachel Andrus, Kyle Andrus (@chaoticflaws), Daniel (not going to try spelling last name), Amanda Ebbutt, Daniel Ebbutt (@notdanielebbutt), Chris Maddalena (@cmaddalena), and myself get together to record a podcast during Converge and BSides Detroit.

It's another podcast special! This one was at Converge and BSides Detroit. This one took a little bit to get going. When we did we got into a little bit of everything. Topics both in infosec and topics outside of infosec.

In this episode we discuss:

  • Everyone tries Malort

  • The "breach" at Twitter

  • One size doesn't fit all for the populace

  • Real world issues (net neutrality, income, and public service)

What does Jayson E. Street, Dave Chronister, Johnny Xmas, April Wright, and Ben Brown think about security?

In this epic episode of the Exploring Information Security podcast Jayson E. Street (@jaysonstreet), Dave Chronister (@bagomojo), Johnny Xmas (@J0hnnyXm4s), April Wright (@aprilwright), Ben Brown (@ajnachakra), and surprise guests Adrian Crenshaw (@irongeek_adc) and Kevin Johnson (@secureideas)all join me to discuss various security related topics.

ShowMeCon is one of my favorite security conferences. The organizers are awesome and take care of their speakers like no other conference. The venue is fantastic. The content is mind blowing. I can't say enough good things about the even that Dave and Renee Chronister put on every year in St. Louis, Missouri. They know how to put on a conference.

Regular listeners of the podcast will note that I recorded an episode with Dave on ShowMeCon several weeks ago. After that recording he asked if I was interested in doing a recording at the conference. I said yes and thus the birth of this epic episode. This format is experimental. First, it is marked as explicit, because there is swearing. Second, It's over 90 minutes long. I didn't think breaking it up into four or five pieces would serve the recording well. Send me your feedback good or bad on this episode, because I'd like to do more of these. I would really like to hear it for this episode.

In this episode we discuss:

  • Certificates
  • Hiring
  • Interviewing
  • Where to get started
  • Soft skills
  • ShowMeCon and other conferences
  • Community and giving back
  • Imposter syndrome
  • Irongeeks impact on those in attendance

Why social skills are important - part 3

In this final part of a three-part series of the Exploring Information Security podcast, Johnny Xmas joins me to discuss why social skills are important.

Johnny (@J0hnnyXm4s) has presented talks and performed training on the topic of social skills at various conferences. He told me it's the topic he gets the most feedback on from people in attendance. I was first introduced to one of Johnny's talks at BSides Nashville 2015. He was presenting on networking with people at conferences. Which I immediately identified with. I was there shooting pictures, because it was an easy way to meet people at conferences.

Social skills are important in organizations, because it allows us to build better relationships with people to improve security. It's a topic that Johnny can talk about for hours (as evident by this three-part series).

In this episode we discuss:

  • Why it's important to never eat alone
  • How to improve your social skills
  • How to start a conversation
  • Why it's important to practice

More resources:

Why social skills are important - part 2

In this second part to a three-part series of the Exploring Information Security podcast, Johnny Xmas joins me to discuss why social skills are important.

Johnny (@J0hnnyXm4s) has presented talks and performed training on the topic of social skills at various conferences. He told me it's the topic he gets the most feedback on from people in attendance. I was first introduced to one of Johnny's talks at BSides Nashville 2015. He was presenting on networking with people at conferences. Which I immediately identified with. I was there shooting pictures, because it was an easy way to meet people at conferences.

Social skills are important in organizations, because it allows us to build better relationships with people to improve security. It's a topic that Johnny can talk about for hours (as evident by this three-part series).

In this episode we discuss:

  • Why it's important to never eat alone
  • How to improve your social skills
  • How to start a conversation
  • Why it's important to practice

More resources:

Why social skills are important - part 1

In this start to a three-part series of the Exploring Information Security podcast, Johnny Xmas joins me to discuss why social skills are important.

Johnny (@J0hnnyXm4s) has presented talks and performed training on the topic of social skills at various conferences. He told me it's the topic he gets the most feedback on from people in attendance. I was first introduced to one of Johnny's talks at BSides Nashville 2015. He was presenting on networking with people at conferences. Which I immediately identified with. I was there shooting pictures, because it was an easy way to meet people at conferences.

Social skills are important in organizations, because it allows us to build better relationships with people to improve security. It's a topic that Johnny can talk about for hours (as evident by this three-part series).

In this episode we discuss:

  • What are social skills
  • Why they're important
  • How it relates to social engineering
  • How to interact with someone in a conversation

More resources: