Once claiming to the US Senate that he could ‘take down the internet in 30 minutes’, this week’s guest gives us insight into the underbelly of the cyberworld. Chris Wysopal, founder and CTO of Veracode, tells us all about his experience as an ethical hacker and how he and his team at L0pht pioneered the way for cybersecurity. 

From taking an interest in the potential of cyber hacking at the start of the online era, to being a trailblazer in the discovery of IT vulnerability as a whole; Chris and his team were at the forefront of raising cyber risk awareness. Determined to battle the ‘bad guy image’ in cybersecurity, the L0pht team were on a mission to showcase the fallibility of big vendors, such as Microsoft, and evidence they need for effective security measures. 

Now, Chris’ colourful past shapes the security-led solutions of Veracode, a platform that detects flaws and vulnerabilities at every stage of the modern software development lifecycle. This interview is a deep dive into the depths of cyber security and is not to be missed! 

 

Timestamps 

• What does Good Leadership means to Chris? (02:20) 
• Pioneering the start of cybersecurity (04:20) 
• Starting a hacker collective (07:18) 
• L0pht’s biggest cybersecurity breakthroughs (12:47) 
• Challenging the US Senate with cyber risks  (18:00) 
• Are governments doing enough to prevent cyber-attacks? (22:12) 
• GenAI’s role in cybersecurity (32:00) 
• An introduction to Veracode (34:24) 
• Chris’ advice to his 21-year-old self (43:24)