Blueprint: Build the Best in Cyber Defense

Blueprint: Build the Best in Cyber Defense

Are you a cyber defender looking to keep up on the newest tools, technology, and security concepts? Then BLUEPRINT is the podcast for you! Tune in to hear the latest in cyber defense and security operations from blue team leaders and experts. With a focus on learning, BLUEPRINT includes interviews with today’s top security practitioners defending the world’s most respected brands, and in-depth explanations on the newest technologies, protocols, and defensive tools. BLUEPRINT, is a podcast hosted by John Hubbard and brought to you by the SANS Institute. BLUEPRINT - your one-stop shop for taking your defense skills to the next level!

Episodes

April 9, 2025 48 mins

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In this episode, we sit down with Rich Greene, a former United States Army Special Forces Green Beret and current SANS instructor for SEC275 and SEC301. Rich shares his incredible journey spanning 20 years in the Army, including his transition from military communication roles into the realm of cybersecurity. He talks about the importance of fundamentals in cybersecurity, t...

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In this episode, we sit down with Ryan Thompson, a seasoned expert in building dashboards that actually detect real threats—not just look pretty. With experience at Elastic, Alert Logic, and top EDR vendors, Ryan shares deep insights into the science behind effective dashboards and how security teams can cut through the noise to find the threats on your network.

We cover:

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Surprise!! It's a mini solo episode to kick off the new year and it's on one of the most important topics there is - how to achieve your goals in 2025 and beyond!

In this episode I talk about a topic I've never covered anywhere before - my personal system for productivity and how it helps me, and can likely you help you stay on track for those 2025 g...

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Mark Morowczynski returns for his 4th(!) time with his Microsoft coworker and identity and authentication expert Tarek Dawoud in this incredibly insightful conversation on the what, why, and how of  phishing resistant credentials that YOU can implement right now!
 
This conversation covers:

  • What makes MFA phishable?
  • What phishing resistant credentials are and how ...
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In this episode, we take you behind the scenes of a complex gift card fraud investigation. Join host John Hubbard and guest Mark Jeanmougin as they explore the intricate details of uncovering and combating a clever case of cyber fraud. In this episode Mark discusses how the incident was identified, investigated, contained, and what lessons were learned along the way.

Episode...

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In this mega-discussion with Seth Misenar on GenAI and LLM usage for security operations we cover some very interesting questions such as: 

- The importance of natural language processing in Sec Ops
- How AI is helping us detect phishing email
- Where and how AI is lowering the bar for entry-level security SOC roles
- Should we worry about AI hallucinations or AI...

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Have you ever wondered what it takes to write and publish an information security book? In this special bonus episode following season 4, John discusses with Kathryn, Ingrid, and Carson the challenges and rewards of self-publishing, and the kind of effort that goes into producing a book like "11 Strategies of a World-Class Cybersecurity Operations Center".

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"This final chapter of the book is no simple closer! "Turn Up the Volume by Expanding SOC Functionality" covers testing that your SOC is functioning as intended through activities such as Threat Hunting, Red and Purple Teaming, Adversary Emulation, Breach and Attack Simulation, tabletop exercises and more. There's even a discussion of cyber deception typ...

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"Metrics, is there any more confusing and contentious topic in cybersecurity? In this episode the authors cover their advice and approach to measuring your team so that issues can be quickly identified and performance can continuously improve!

This special season of the Blueprint Podcast is taking a deep dive into MITRE’s 11 Strategies of a World-Class Cyber S...

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"Research has shown that communication is one of the most important factors for success in security incident response teams. In this chapter, the authors discuss the critical types of information that must be shared within the SOC, with the constituency, and with the greater cybersecurity community. 

SANS Cyber Defense Discord Invite - sansurl.com/cyber-defens...

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Tool choice can be a make-or-break decision for security analysts, driving whether getting work done is a struggle, or an efficient, stress-free experience. How can we select the right tools for the job? Which tools are most important? Answers to these questions and more are in this week's episode of Blueprint!

This special season of the Blueprint Podcast is t...

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In this special live recording from the SANS Blue Team Summit 2023, Kathryn Knerler, Ingrid Parker, and Carson Zimmerman joined John Hubbard they share their insights and expertise with attendees by answering their pressing questions. From discussing the most effective strategies for building a successful SOC to sharing tips on how to stay ahead of emerging cyber threats, o...

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There's no denying that the average security team is completely overwhelmed with options for data to collect. With a deluge of endpoint, network, and cloud data sources to collect, how to do we identify and collect the most useful data sources? That's the topic of this episode. Join Kathryn, Ingrid, Carson, and John in this episode for a discussion on tactical dat...

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Every security team has limited budget and time, how do you know where to focus? Cyber Threat Intelligence provides those answers! In this episode, Ingrid, Carson and Kathryn describe how we can use CTI to focus our defensive efforts to understand our most likely attacks and attackers and move towards prioritizing what truly matters.

This special season of the Blue...

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No security team is perfect, so in this episode, authors Carson, Ingrid, and Kathryn discuss what it takes to prepare for fast, effective incident response capability. Covering preparation, planning and execution, Strategy 5 will teach your team how to jump into action at the earliest sign of problems.

This special season of the Blueprint Podcast is taking a deep d...

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In this episode we dive deep on the "People" factor of the SOC. Who should you hire, what skills should you hire for, what backgrounds are most likely to lead to success for your team? We also get into what happens after the hire - training, growth, and supporting your team in their skill and career development. This one is a must-listen for all the managers out t...

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In this episode we discuss how to decide on the right org structure and capabilities of your SOC. This includes questions like tiered vs. tierless models, which capabilities the SOC should focus on, centralized vs. distributed SOCs, outsourcing of duties and staff augmentation considerations, and also where the SOC might sit in the larger chart of your organization. Every S...

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Though a SOC is responsible for protecting your organization's assets, it is not the owner of those systems. If the SOC is not established with a clear charter and authority to act, it may quickly become difficult to be effective. Who should the SOC report to, what should be in a SOC charter, and how can we make these tough decisions? Those are the questions covered in...

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As the saying goes, "If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there!" - an approach that is disastrous to a SOC. In order to succeed, the SOC must have a clear understanding of where they are going, how they're going to get there, and why. In this episode of our "11 Strategies" season we discuss chapter 1 of the book - ...

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Welcome to a brand new season of Blueprint! In this intro episode we discuss "Fundamentals" chapter of the "11 Strategies of a World Class Cybersecurity Operations Center" with the authors. We get into the motivation behind updating the book and why its lessons are more important than ever in 2023. This chapter includes discussion of the functions of a S...

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