Hacker Valley Studio

What's Really Stopping AI From Running Your SOC with Aqsa Taylor

In 2025, out of all 70+ guests we had on our show, not one of them said they’d trust AI to run their SOC. Now in 2026, that mindset is shifting. In this episode, Ron sits down with Aqsa Taylor, Chief Security Evangelist at Exaforce, to find out what changed, and what's still standing in the way of security teams being able to trust AI agents with response. 

The conversation covers what's really behind the agentic SOC hype, why "vibe hunting" might be the most fun phrase in cybersecurity right now, and how teams can build enough confidence to hand over the keys to detection, investigation, and response. 

Aqsa also gets into the one thing she believes has to come before any of it works: the data. Without the right context feeding your AI you’re just getting confident guesses dressed up as answers. Listen to find out if your team is ready to take the leap into an agentic SOC. 

Impactful Moments
00:00 - Introduction 
02:05 - Hack the headlines, June top trends in cybersecurity 
05:30 - Welcoming Aqsa Taylor from Exaforce
06:15 - Inside Exaforce's $125M raise 
08:50 - Redefining what AI SOC should mean 
09:30 - The evolution from manual playbooks to AI-driven autonomy 
13:40 - Where Exaforce fits in an existing stack 
18:10 - What vibe hunting looks like in practice 
19:40 - The challenges of securing sensitive data in a world dominated by SaaS platforms
22:00 - How to build your trust ladder for AI in the SOC 
24:40 - Best use case to get started with AI SOC 
28:50 - Ron's takeaway: the data has to be there first

Links

Connect with Aqsa Taylor on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aqsa-taylor 

Learn more about Exaforce: https://www.exaforce.com

Join Exaforce’s Force Multiplier Substack community: https://theforcemultiplier.substack.com 

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

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Feed Your Brain: What Cybersecurity Veterans Are Getting Wrong with Johnny Xmas

Is AI really coming for your red teaming job? What does it actually take to build a team that thinks like the adversary, and what happens when that team stops caring? And what do you do when you've been in this field long enough that the job that once fired you up has started to feel hollow?

In this episode, Ron catches up with Johnny Xmas, Head of Offensive Security at a Fortune 150 Global Food Manufacturer, and one of the most candid voices in offensive security, for a conversation that covers a lot of ground fast. 

They go deep on where AI actually fits into offensive security workflows, what Johnny really looks for when building elite teams, and why the career advice everyone gives early practitioners might be setting them up for burnout down the road. The conversation takes a turn that doesn't come up enough in this industry, and it's the part you won't want to miss. If you've ever felt your tank running low, this episode was made for you.

Impactful Moments
00:00 - Introduction
02:10 - Busting the myth: AI is not replacing red teamers
04:30 - Guest introduction: Johnny Xmas
06:15 - How the offensive security job has changed with AI 
09:35 - The SEC 8-K IoC parser tool Johnny just published
11:40 - Building elite teams: what skills Johnny actually hires for
12:45 - Soft skills over technical gaps, and why the fire has to come with you
15:40 - Why "where do you see yourself in five years?" is a garbage question
17:30 - Has Johnny ever crossed the line when it comes to hacking? 
20:20 - What to do when you've stopped caring about the job
26:25 - Outro: The AI myth, revisited

Links

Johnny Christmas on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnnyxmas/

Johnny's SEC 8-K IoC parser tool: https://github.com/johnnyxmas/its-over-8k 

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

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

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Fighting Smarter: What Combat Sports Teaches Us About Cyber Defense with Robin Black

What does a calf kick have to do with vulnerability management? What can a fighter's mindset teach a security practitioner about operating against an adversary they've never faced? 

Ron Eddings brings back fan-favorite combat sports analyst and commentator Robin Black for a conversation that was never meant to be about cybersecurity, and ends up being one of the most insightful episodes on the human side of the field. They dig into how underdogs actually win (hint: we're usually wrong about who the underdog is), what it really means to maintain control in a fight, and why the highest level of mastery might actually look like letting go of control entirely. 

The conversation closes with a look at how the cybersecurity landscape is mutating alongside AI, and whether an arms race that trains itself is heading somewhere catastrophic, or whether it's simply the next evolution of the fight. The answer, like most things in this episode, is more nuanced than you'd expect.

 

Impactful Moments
00:00 - Introduction
02:10 - The Rewind: The Calf Kick and the Peroneal Nerve
04:05 - Welcome back, Robin Black
05:30 - Can smaller still beat bigger?
07:00 - Why underdogs don't win (And why we were wrong)
08:25 - Fighting is about exploiting belief systems
09:30 - Maintaining control against an unknown adversary
10:25 - Adapting vs. anticipating: be water
13:00 - Failure is mandatory
17:25 - How Robin’s thoughts have changed about being attacked online
19:00 - AI and the mutating threat landscape
22:15 - Ron's closing thoughts

 

Links
Connect with Robin Black on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robin-black-31b6bb39/  

Check out Robin Black on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/RobinBlack  

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

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

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

Is Vibe Coding Breaking the Internet? with Tanya Janca

What happens when AI writes all the code and nobody reads it? What if the security prompt you trusted still produced software designed to leak your secrets? And who exactly is on the hook when an AI-generated application takes down your company?

In this episode, Ron sits down with returning guest Tanya Janca, Secure Coding Trainer at SheHacksPurple Consulting, to dig into one of the most underestimated risks in software development today: vibe coding. 

Tanya breaks down what vibe coding actually means, why AI trained on the internet's worst repositories is quietly baking the OWASP Top 10 into every app being built, and what her AI-powered secure coding prompt library can do to help. This is a candid, practical, and community-driven episode, the kind that'll make you want to audit your vibe code-a-thon project before it ever touches production.

Impactful Moments
00:00 - Introduction
01:40 - The Rewind: Margaret Hamilton and Apollo 11
05:00 - Knight Capital and the $460M software failure
07:00 - Guest introduction: Tanya Janca 
08:15 - What vibe coding actually means in 2026
10:00 - Real story: Claude leaked secrets in a live training
11:30 - Securemyvibe.ca and Tanya’s secure coding prompt library
15:00 - OWASP Top 10 vs OWASP Top 10 for LLMs 
22:45 - Tanya's petition for the world's first secure coding law
24:55 - Device flow authentication and reducing security friction
28:00 - What the internet would look like in five years without change

 

Links

Connect with our guest, Tanya Janca, on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanya-janca

Get Tanya's free secure coding guideline: https://securecodingguideline.com

Subscribe to Tanya’s AI Secure Coding Prompt Library: https://securemyvibe.ca

Access Tanya's Newsletter & Free Monthly Training: https://newsletter.shehackspurple.ca

Connect with Tanya across all social channels: @shehackspurple

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

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

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

Why Smart People Fall for Deepfakes with Perry Carpenter

What if the most sophisticated attack has nothing to do with your firewall? In a world where AI can clone voices, re-lip-sync politicians, and spread a fake newscast to 200,000 people in days, the real target has always been your brain.

Ron sits down with Perry Carpenter, Chief Deception Strategist at KnowBe4, to unpack why we're still getting fooled in 2026  and what we can actually do about it. Perry gets into the neuroscience behind why our brains are wired the way they are, how attackers exploit that, and what it really takes to build better instincts in a world full of AI-generated content. You'll also want to stick around for the live demos, where Perry breaks down why they worked and how to spot the tells. 

Impactful Moments
00:00 - Introduction
02:15 - The myth: smart people don't get fooled
05:20 - Flashback segment: the Ireland deepfake and why it went viral
06:15 - Guest introduction: Perry Carpenter 
09:50 - Exploiting cultural bias and tribal instincts
13:45 - Live deepfake demo: face and body replacement in real time
15:30 - Synthetic media vs. deepfake: what's the difference?
20:40 - Breaking down a deepfake: what made it convincing
23:00 - Overproof: why bad deepfakes try too hard
27:15 - System 1 vs. System 2 thinking in cybersecurity
29:45 - The FAIK framework: freeze, analyze, investigate, know
32:40 - Ron's closing reflection

Links

Connect with our guest, Perry Carpenter, on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/perrycarpenter

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

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

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