MSP 1337 | Cybersecurity Education and Security Guidance

Why Threat Actors might love your security stack... Surprisingly, the most dangerous thing in your organization might be the security tools you're paying for but never configured. Chris Johnson and Zach Kromkowski revealed at CornCon26 that one organization purchased a tool and left it completely unimplemented for two years, creating a false sense of security while attackers exploited the gaps.

The core insight here is uncomfortable...

AI adoption is moving fast, but governance is struggling to keep up. In this episode, Chris sits down with Ignacio Lopez, founder of Work-Smart.AI and Fractional Head of AI, to discuss how MSPs can help clients move from AI experimentation to secure, scalable adoption.

Drawing on his experience in auditing, risk management, and enterprise technology, Ignacio explains why governance must come before tools. They explore AI policies, c...

Special Host: Adam Anderson from Threat Captain.

What does success look like in an industry where technology changes faster than anyone can predict? In this episode of MSP1337, Chris Johnson (GTIA) and Charles Love (Showtech Solutions) join Adam Anderson from Threat Captain for a wide-ranging conversation on cybersecurity maturity, business growth, client communication, and preparing for an AI-driven future.

The discussion challenge...

In this episode of MSP 1337, Chris sits down with Dr. Stephen Wright of Macadamia Solutions, a rare expert whose career spans technology, law, and business. Together they explore why governance has become the defining challenge of the AI era and why many organizations remain dangerously unprepared.

The conversation examines how regulatory requirements, cybersecurity obligations, and emerging AI risks are reshaping boardroom accounta...

Every vendor has an AI roadmap. Every client has employees experimenting with AI. And increasingly, MSPs are building their own AI solutions. The challenge is that few organizations fully understand the risks that accompany this rapid adoption.

In this episode of MSP 1337, Chris Johnson and Jim Harryman discuss what responsible AI deployment actually looks like. They explore AI governance, vendor accountability, security testing, cl...

Many MSPs and businesses believe they're prepared for an outage because they have backups, redundant internet connections, or cloud-based applications. In reality, most recovery strategies fall apart when tested in real-world scenarios. In this episode of MSP 1337, Chris Johnson sits down with Charles Love of Showtech Solutions to explore the dangerous gap between perceived resilience and actual preparedness. They discuss why incid...

Most MSPs don't have a compliance problem. They have a starting problem.

Michael Zbarsky of Blacksmith InfoSec joins MSP1337 to challenge some of the biggest misconceptions surrounding compliance, security frameworks, and cybersecurity maturity. From the GTIA Cybersecurity Trustmark and CMMC to evidence automation and third-party assessments, the discussion focuses on what actually moves organizations forward and what keeps them stu...

The MSP market is changing fast. Clients can buy technology anywhere, automate routine tasks, and access powerful AI tools with just a few clicks. The real question is no longer what technology you sell. It's whether you can help clients manage the business risks that technology creates.

This week, Chris Johnson welcomes back Auggie Staab from TD SYNNEX to discuss the next evolution of managed services. Together they explore how AI ...

In this episode, Chris sits down with MJ Patent to explore the foundational principles that help Managed Service Providers grow, mature, and thrive in today's increasingly complex IT and cybersecurity landscape. Drawing from her extensive experience working with service providers of all sizes, MJ explains why many MSPs struggle to scale evenly across their business and why success starts with understanding exactly who you serve, th...

Human risk has become one of the most challenging and misunderstood aspects of cybersecurity. In this episode of MSP 1337, Chris Johnson sits down with Nihil Morjaria from usecure to explore why traditional security awareness training is no longer enough and what it takes to build a truly proactive human risk management strategy.

The conversation examines how MSPs and ITSPs are evolving beyond technology management into governance, ...

In this episode of MSP 1337, episode 300, Chris Johnson sits down with Matt Lee for a candid fireside chat on one of the most misunderstood topics in business and cybersecurity: governance. Using relatable examples, from concrete truck deliveries to vacuuming a floor, Matt breaks down why governance isn't about policies, paperwork, or compliance checklists. It's about setting clear goals, assigning accountability, managing risk, an...

Most organizations don't have a security tool problem, they have a signal-to-noise problem. Chris and Tatum Treadwell dive into the realities of securing decades-old technologies against modern attackers, the rise of AI-enhanced social engineering, and the growing challenge of alert fatigue. The conversation explores why education, human judgment, and meaningful action matter more than flashy marketing claims, offering MSPs a pract...

Everyone talks about email phishing, ransomware, and endpoint security, but one of the most dangerous attack vectors is sitting in your pocket. In this episode of MSP1337, Chris Johnson sits down with Mark Kreitzman of Efani to expose the growing threat of SIM swapping, mobile account takeovers, and the hidden security gaps traditional carriers have failed to solve. They explore why mobile numbers remain a critical trust anchor for...

The cybersecurity industry loves to sell tools. What it rarely talks about is the hard work required to make those tools effective. In this episode, Jim Harryman joins Chris to challenge the idea that technology alone creates security. They discuss why mature organizations focus on governance, accountability, documentation, policies, review cycles, and operational discipline long before they look for the next shiny solution. If you...

Planes, hotels, and conference stages aren’t what put you at risk, it’s what you bring with you. In this episode, Dawn Sizer of 3rd Element dives into the real reasons traveling professionals become easy targets: weak policies, poor communication, unsecured devices, and total blind spots around personal data exposure. From conditional access headaches to rideshare risks and AI policy chaos, this is a practical, no-excus...

This episode explores how cybersecurity is evolving from point-in-time assessments to continuous, intelligence-driven operations. Galina Kho of Cyberbay shares how predictive analytics, crowdsourced ethical hackers, and AI are reshaping how organizations understand and manage risk. We discuss how to scale security without adding headcount, why human expertise remains essential, and how governance and trust underpin effective securi...

In this special episode of MSP 1337, CJ is joined by Brooke Lee (Rev.io) and Stacey Whitley (GTIA) to unpack how ITSPs can translate industry engagement into measurable outcomes. Attending events is easy, but most organizations struggle to turn what they learn into real operational outcomes.

Brooke and Stacey share how their collaborative event recap initiative is helping bridge that gap by distilling key takeaways from major chann...

In this episode, Josh Hohbein of CentrexIT breaks down a practical, MSP-centric approach to risk assessments that moves beyond complex, consultant-driven reports and toward clear, actionable business outcomes. He shares how combining vulnerability scans, client interviews, and system configuration reviews, anchored in a cyber maturity model, helps MSPs translate technical findings into meaningful risk conversations, especially duri...

In this MSP1337 fireside chat, you and Matt Lee unpack the idea of a “vulnpocalypse”, a rapidly emerging reality in which AI-driven tools are accelerating vulnerability discovery at a pace organizations can't keep up with. While much of the industry is focused on the fear and hype, the conversation shifts to what actually matters: operational response. You highlight that the shrinking gap between proof of concept and ac...