The riskiest move in cybersecurity? Playing it too safe. In this solo episode, Ron Eddings redefines the way we think about technical debt, risk, and missed opportunities, in security and in life. Ron reframes the debt vs. risk paradigm through the lens of the SharePoint breach, personal milestones, and co-founding Hacker Valley. With sharp insights, personal stories, and a call to action for every listener, he shows how curiosity and calculated risk are the true drivers of innovation.

Impactful Moments 00:00 - Introduction 01:10 - Why debt vs. risk matters now 02:20 - What the SharePoint breach taught us 04:15 - Risk avoidance creates deeper debt 05:10 - Clear definitions: risk vs. debt 06:30 - Hidden costs of deferring decisions 08:15 - Leaving $200k salary to build Hacker Valley 10:00 - Long-term founder debt explained 11:08 - When comfort becomes dangerous 12:00 - Curiosity as a leadership skill 13:10 - What you’re not seeing yet 14:30 - Final thought: reflect and reassess

Links: Connect with our Ron on LinkedIn: ​​https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronaldeddings/

Check out our upcoming events: https://www.hackervalley.com/livestreams Join our creative mastermind and stand out as a cybersecurity professional: https://www.patreon.com/hackervalleystudio Love Hacker Valley Studio? Pick up some swag: https://store.hackervalley.com Continue the conversation by joining our Discord: https://hackervalley.com/discord Become a sponsor of the show to amplify your brand: https://hackervalley.com/work-with-us/

The world’s youngest continent is also its most untapped resource. Confidence Staveley, Founder of CyberSafe, makes a powerful case for why Africa’s youth are the answer to global cybersecurity and AI innovation… if we’re bold enough to invest.

In this episode, Ron welcomes back cybersecurity leader and advocate Confidence Staveley for a discussion on purpose-driven innovation, talent development, and AI-powered awareness tools. Confidence shares updates on her nonprofit work, her bold new ventures including AI Cyber Magazine, and how she's helping shape Africa into a tech talent hub. With global budget cuts hitting nonprofits and marginalized communities, Confidence shares how Africa’s innovators, who are often excluded from the table, are building their own tables, making their impact impossible to ignore, and shaping cybersecurity’s future on their terms.

00:00 - Introduction 02:00 - Her Difference Makers Award speech 04:00 - Partnering with SANS for bigger impact 06:01 - Global DEI backlash and ripple effects 10:00 - Why Africa is the future of tech 13:01 - Innovation with limited resources 17:10 - AI Cyber Magazine and its mission 19:00 - Building AI-powered awareness tools 21:00 - The African adage on self-renewal 22:10 - How sharing knowledge builds trust

Connect with our guest, Confidence Staveley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/confidencestaveley/

Check out our upcoming events: https://www.hackervalley.com/livestreams

Join our creative mastermind and stand out as a cybersecurity professional:

https://www.patreon.com/hackervalleystudio

Love Hacker Valley Studio? Pick up some swag: https://store.hackervalley.com

Continue the conversation by joining our Discord: https://hackervalley.com/discord

Become a sponsor of the show to amplify your brand: https://hackervalley.com/work-with-us/

Is compliance just a checkbox, or the backbone of real security?

Returning to the show with decades of hard-earned insight, Jeff Man makes the case that compliance, especially PCI-DSS, isn't just a formality; it's foundational to modern security. As one of the original architects of the NSA Red Team and a 20-year PCI veteran, Jeff explains how this often-misunderstood framework has shaped everything from pen testing to vendor accountability.

Ron and Jeff unpack the six core goals of PCI, how red teams and SaaS builders are directly affected, and why many security teams resist compliance efforts, despite relying on them to get essential buy-in and funding.

Impactful Moments:

00:00 – Introduction 01:00 – Does compliance equal security? 02:09 – Jeff returns with PCI firepower 03:15 – Defining security vs. compliance 05:33 – “Show me what you’re doing” 06:45 – Six goals at PCI’s core 10:45 – Security is watching, not reacting 13:30 – Companies secure because they have to 15:00 – PCI gave red teams their jobs 16:30 – Stripe and Square absorb PCI burden 19:30 – PCI 4.0 causes confusion 21:00 – Vendors aren’t your trusted advisors 22:30 – “Hate me, but I’ll help”

Links:

Connect with our guest, Jeff Man: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreyeman/

Check out our upcoming events: https://www.hackervalley.com/livestreams

Join our creative mastermind and stand out as a cybersecurity professional:

https://www.patreon.com/hackervalleystudio

Love Hacker Valley Studio? Pick up some swag: https://store.hackervalley.com

Continue the conversation by joining our Discord: https://hackervalley.com/discord

Become a sponsor of the show to amplify your brand: https://hackervalley.com/work-with-us/