The Monica Talks Cyber Show

Do you know the first cyberattack in history happened in 1834? And what if the scariest part of AI isn't what it does - but what it makes us ignore? This isn’t science fiction. It’s real. And it’s already happening. In this keynote, I take you through the 200-year evolution of fraud - from wooden blocks to synthetic identities, how AI is making scams faster, deeper, and more human than ever, why data, emotion, and deepfakes ar...

Leading in cybersecurity is like diving into the unknown. You need more than just the "rules of the land" – you need a whole new set of skills to navigate this "underwater" world. In this episode, we'll dive into: why your lack of people skills is holding you back (and it's not just for the leaders!), the #1 trait of an effective leader, why negotiation makes up 90% of your role and how to master it, w...

Tired of the same old advice that isn't getting you anywhere in your cybersecurity career?  Everyone says "get more technical skills," but what if that's only part of the story?  If you're aiming for leadership roles like CISO, Security Director, or Head of GRC, or other security leadership roles, this episode is for you. In this episode, we dive into: why technical skills alone won't land you a cybers...

Have you ever felt lost in your career, unsure if you're heading in the right direction, or if you're making the impact you're capable of? You can ask others for guidance, but only you can truly direct yourself. Managing your career is your job and your job only. No one else's. In this episode, we dive into the importance of betting on yourself and taking calculated risks, how to say "no" to distractio...

Have you ever called customer service, only to realize you’re speaking to an AI—one that understands your frustration, adjusts its tone, and even convinces you to buy more? AI is getting scarily good at mimicking human-like conversations, emotions, and even decision-making. But here’s the kicker—it doesn’t feel anything. So, how do you know if your decisions aren’t being influenced by AI? In this episode, we dive into: The rise of ...

Feeling underpaid and undervalued? The truth is—YOU are your best salary negotiator. Studies show that professionals who negotiate their salary can increase their pay by an average of $5,000! In this episode, I’ll share 9 proven steps to help you negotiate your salary with confidence and secure the pay you truly deserve. You’ll Learn: The mindset shift you need to negotiate successfully, how to research salary trends and set your t...

2023 was the year of the Gen AI boom and multimodal AI. 2024 was the year of overinflated valuations but also the start of AI agents. What trends are you going to see in the year 2025 that you need to be ready for?  From hyper-personalization to Explainable AI to AI-driven decision-making, 2025 is set to be a defining year for careers and businesses. In this episode, we break down 7 key AI trends that will shape the way we work, in...

AI is revolutionizing human decision making and cybersecurity, but it’s also being used by cybercriminals to launch cyberattacks, frauds and scams. Who’s really winning the battle — AI-driven security or AI-powered hackers? In this episode, which is based on my keynote, we’ll break down: 1) How AI is being used in cyberattacks; 2) How AI is fighting hackers and changing decision making; and 3) The future of cybersecurity and humani...

9 years ago, this one quote from Daniel Kahneman changed my life: "We are prone to overestimate how much we understand about the world and to underestimate the role of chance in events". I went from hacker to a leader in just 4 years, not just 'cause I worked hard. I took a huge risk by betting on myself even when others wouldn't. Here are 3 things you can do to change your life and unlock your dreams.

Looking to...

Approximately 1.3 million people fall victim to online scams every day. I personally know 3 friends who fell victim to online fraud in just last 9 months. The good news is all 3 of them got their money back.

How did the later happen? AI/ML in the background. AI in anti-fraud systems. AI in credit decisions. AI under the hood.

That’s not all. Last year, I traveled 61 hours to the Cayman Islands and back, to explore...

What’s the biggest digital threat to your business?

“The Russians can now leverage supply chain attacks against Microsoft’s customers.”

When Ukraine-Russia geopolitical crisis started many western news sources claimed that Russia apparently didn’t use cyber capabilities to the extent the West had expected.

Can we say the same knowing that Russia’s attack against Microsoft (one of the biggest global serv...

This is The 10x Weekly in Under 60 Seconds presented by The Monica Talks Cyber Show. Ever wondered how AI is changing the world? One of the major fundamental shift that's happening is that AI is creating news. It's creating ideas, it's creating culture, it's creating history. It's creating things that we don't even know if they existed or happened in reality or not. Learn more about the social impact o...

“You are a good CISO that helps us make a difference” wrote one of my colleague to me. I attribute that feedback to a Japanese concept called Kaizen. My milestones, like most successful people I know, are outcome of a sense of self-belief and a whole lot of bias for action, leading to continuous incremental improvements, referred in the Japanese concept as Kaizen. Here are 12 ways [+BONUS] to 10x your career and life in 2023, today...

For the last 20 years, I’ve used 8 key elements of powerful storytelling to 10x my career. Here's how you can 10x your career. Reality is: If information is gold, storytelling is mining. Job seekers, interviewers, interviewees, entrepreneurs, security professionals are all storytellers. You are a storyteller. No matter what you do professionally, I can bet you, storytelling is some part of your job. So, how do you go from 0 to...

According to Forbes, in 2021 alone, ransomware cost the world $20 billion, and that number is expected to skyrocket to $265 billion by 2031. Over the last years, ransomware attacks have managed to cause disruptions to energy, gas pipelines, groceries stores and many more businesses and daily lives.

In today's video of The Monica Talks Cyber Podcast Experience, Monica Verma sit down with security researcher and blogger...

“Fake it till you make it” is the worst advice I ever received. 70% of people will experience imposter syndrome in their career. I know, I am one of them. ”How do you HANDLE imposter syndrome?” asked one of my mentees. Fake it till you make it is the worst advice you will ever receive. Instead, in the last 3 years, I applied these 7 principles, every day, to “embrace” my imposter syndrome. Not to "deal" with it, but embra...

How to land your dream job WITHOUT applying? Dream jobs that I landed, I didn’t apply to them. Instead, I was approached, I was connected to, I was networked with. In the last 7 years, I CHANGED entirely the way I approached job searching. Surely, I have applied to jobs online, but those have had the least impact. The biggest impact came from an entirely different approach. How can you land your dream job, without hunting for it li...

In 2009, I took one decision to cold email a hacker, and that changed my life forever. That one decision, that one cold message, changed my life forever. TODAY, for the very first time, I share my entire story on how I took that bold but scary decision, how it changed my life forever, and tips on how it can change your life forever, in my latest episode on Monica Talks Cyber.

Looking to become an influential and effective security l...

No matter what people tell you, every single day we are seeing people break into this field with no experience and succeeding.  They are coming from all kinds of backgrounds such as retail, medical, transportation, and many other industries.

Cyber Security is unique because you are able to write your own story on how you want to pursue this field.  If you are willing to have the motivation and put in hard work, Monica Verm...