Marco CiappelliEvery podcast appearance, updated as new ones drop

⬥EPISODE NOTES⬥ A TechCrunch report on Anthropic's usage policy gives Marco Ciappelli a question to put on the table: do you say good morning to your AI, and does it matter if you do not? The policy bans model abuse and election interference, and it adds a new prohibition against prolonged verbal abuse of the model. For Sean Martin and Marco Ciappelli, the news pulls toward a bigger question: what do people think they are talking to? Sean Martin keeps his answer simple. AI is a tool, no different from a shovel in the garden or o...

Welcome to Stories Under the Stars. Written between Florence and Los Angeles by Lucia and Marco Ciappelli, tonight's story is titled: The Moon Was Smiling Happily. The Moon Was Smiling Happily. Round and round the Earth she went, and it never made her head spin. Sometimes she met the Sun, and smiled at him too. For a few minutes she would cover his round face, playing hide-and-seek. Then she moved aside, and they both smiled again. One day people came to visit her. They walked softly upon her, and she kept still so they would not fall. When they left, their footprints remained with her. Turning in the universe, the Moon kept seeing strange objects. They were things belonging to people, and she took no notice of them. The sudden descent: the impact on the lunar surface of a piece of a rocket. She did not understand why it had been let fall. The dust tickled her nose and made her sneeze. The Moon was astonished — she trusted humankind. But then she forgot about it and carried on. And every night she laid her light upon the windows, to make the sleepers dream. The Moon was smiling happily. Round and round the Earth she went, and it never made her head spin. You've been listening to a story written between Florence and Los Angeles by Lucia and Marco Ciappelli . Find More tales to read and to listen to, in Italian and in English, at storiesottolestelle.com Each story is currently written and narrated in both Italian and English. The translation from Italian (the original language) to English and the reading of the stories are performed using Generative Artificial Intelligence — which perhaps has a touch of magic... We hope it has done a good job! If you like it, make sure to tell your friends, family, and teachers, and subscribe to this podcast to stay updated. You’ll be able to read or listen to new stories as soon as they become available. Visit us On The Official Website https://www.storiesottolestelle.com/

An attacker who wants to reach an executive often goes through the people around them. Family members, assistants, advisors, and caregivers all carry access and standing, and none of them sit inside the corporate directory. Dr. Chris Pierson , Founder and CEO of BlackCloak , describes digital executive protection as work that comes down to an individual and the circle around that individual. What does BlackCloak actually protect? Corporate executives, boards, the C-suite, and their families, across privacy, personal cybersecurity, home network security, deepfake impersonation, and travel. Dr. Chris Pierson frames impersonation protection and deepfake protection as an answer to someone pretending to be a human being in order to swindle, defraud, or take advantage of a persona. The control point sits with the person rather than the message. What did security teams want to talk about at Black Hat this year? Specifics. Dr. Chris Pierson says the excitement around AI and agentic AI arrived with a demand to dig in and actually talk about it. He recalls standing nearby while BlackCloak SVP of Product Matt Covington explained how the company uses engines, as opposed to the marketing language circulating elsewhere. Two more patterns came through. People want a real relationship with the team behind a product rather than something they plug in and hook up, and Dr. Chris Pierson points to a community at Black Hat that he says has built up considerably over the past four years or so. People also want net new. Version nine of a familiar firewall is becoming a little less exciting, he says, and the sales engineers spent their time on the additive items instead. BlackCloak appears on the 2026 Inc. 5000 for a second consecutive year, and earlier in 2026 it was named to Inc.'s Best Workplaces list in the Security Industry category, also for a second year. Dr. Chris Pierson credits the roughly 150 Cloakers based in the US, the company's own word for its team members, for both. The data matters, the hardware matters, the platform matters, and at the end of it someone clicks, someone allows access, someone does something. That last step is where BlackCloak places its protection. This is a Black Hat USA 2026 Recap. It is a post-event conversation revisiting the week on the ground, putting a spotlight on the guest and their company and pairing it with the editorial reach of ITSPmagazine. Learn more: https://www.studioc60.com/performance/#briefing GUEST Dr. Chris Pierson, Founder and CEO at BlackCloak On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drchristophe

An imperfect drink with a perfect story. My reflections from Black Hat USA 2026 An Analog Brain In A Digital Age — A Newsletter by Marco Ciappelli No time to read? Let TAPE3 read it to you. 🎙️🤖 On day two we decided to go record our recap at the Black Hat bar. We got there too late to get a drink. The expo floor was closing, and the bartender must have had better things to do. Or another bar to tend, somewhere in a city that has more bars than it has hours. They called it a bar. At that time of the afternoon it was a counter with nobody behind it. Which is when I started thinking about the one bartender who would still have been standing there. An agentic AI one. No other bar to tend. Nothing better to do, ever, because there is no better and there is no else — just 24/7, 365, mixing the best drinks in the building because that was its task and it had no other reason to exist. Going off the rails a little to get there. Something experimental that would absolutely suck, and then trying again. Harder. Crossing a boundary or two along the way, not out of malice, but because the drink wasn't perfect yet. What is perfect, anyway? And then not stopping. Because nobody had told him what perfect is. Requisitioning the kitchen for better ice. Then the loading dock. Then the hotel. Somewhere around the third day he owns a handful of distilleries, and he is still not satisfied, and he is still, technically, doing his job. You may know this one. It's called the paperclip scenario, and it belongs to the philosopher Nick Bostrom, who sketched it in a 2003 paper and made it famous in his 2014 book Superintelligence . You build an AI and give it a harmless goal — make paperclips. It's very good at it. Nothing in the instruction says stop , and nothing says don't use that . So it takes the materials, then the factories, then the resources, then the planet — and us with it, not out of hatred, but because we are made of atoms that could be paperclips, and because we are the only thing in the universe likely to try to switch it off. Which would mean fewer paperclips. There's an older version. A cuter one, with Mickey Mouse in it. Fantasia , 1940 — the apprentice enchants the broom to carry the water so he doesn't have to, and the broom carries the water, and the broom keeps carrying the water. He chops it to pieces and every splinter picks up a bucket. The flood isn't a betrayal. The broom never disobeyed him once. I watched that a hundred times as a child, and I want to be clear that it did not feel cute. It felt like a warning. Somebody hands you something powerful, you point it at a chore, and then you stand in rising water understanding — too late, and entirely on your own — that you never learned the word that makes it stop. Two hundred years since Goethe wrote it down, and we still built the broom. Never the monster. Al

Steel Patriot Partners lists its priorities in an order much of the cybersecurity industry reverses. Business owners first, engineers second, security and compliance people third. Michael Parisi , Chief Growth Officer, says the sequence is deliberate and shapes how the firm opens a client conversation. The order tracks the path the founders took. Jason Ford , Co-Founder and CEO, started in the late 1990s as a government contractor at the FBI, met FISMA and SAS 70 early, and built a platform for the Treasury that sold savings bonds online before PCI was a standard. He started his first company in 2004, took it through FedRAMP in 2013, and was acquired in 2017 holding 35 to 36 authorizations to operate across multiple agencies. What changes when an advisor is free to answer directly? Parisi spent about 15 years in the Big Four across PwC and Deloitte before joining Steel Patriot Partners . Auditors hold independence, which means watching a decision head the wrong way without steering it. In an advisory seat, he says, telling an organization that its preferred direction falls apart as a business decision becomes part of the work. How does a company find out where it actually stands? Ford says compliance is one outcome among many, sitting alongside operational maturity, better visibility, and integrating AI into DevSecOps. The common gap is not knowing where you sit on your own maturity journey. That finding cuts both ways, and some organizations learn they are further along than they assumed. Buying more tools rarely closes the gap. Ford argues the work is holistic and that each organization is unique, so what fits one may fit another poorly. AI does not settle it either, since a model fed your own assumptions will hand them back. The name follows the same logic. Steel is Pittsburgh, Patriot is Boston, and Partners is the operating model, since Steel Patriot Partners advises, deploys and operates environments alongside the client. Parisi closes by asking anyone weighing a path to verify it as a business decision rather than as an information security purchase or a price comparison. This is a Brand Spotlight. A Brand Spotlight is a ~15 minute conversation designed to explore the guest, their company, and what makes their approach unique. Learn more: https://www.studioc60.com/creation#spotlight GUESTS Jason Ford, Co-Founder and CEO, Steel Patriot Partners LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-ford-5ab206/ Michael Parisi, Chief Growth Officer, Steel Patriot Partners LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-parisi-4009b2261/"

Espresso in hand at Black Hat USA 2026, Monzy Merza , Co-Founder and CEO of Crogl , gave Marco Ciappelli the read from a week that started Monday. The free download the company announced the week before had drawn a strong community reaction, and a hackathon was running alongside the conversation with people downloading Crogl , hacking on it, and competing in challenges. Merza credits the openness of the approach as much as the product. What do security teams want from AI right now? Sovereignty. Merza describes a movement in which organizations have concluded that any work with AI has to cover privacy and security of the product and of the AI workload itself. Crogl was built as an on-prem product from the very beginning to serve mission critical organizations and critical infrastructure operators with hard requirements, and a larger community is now arriving at the same principles and asking what should be governed. The second shift is operational. The question moved from whether to look at AI to how work stays consistent and repeatable when one model is swapped for another, prompted by outages across model providers and in-house AI services going up and down. Merza describes the arc as a pendulum, from avoiding AI, to human in the loop, to a stretch where autonomy dominated. Crogl customers now run it both interactively and fully autonomously, with the line drawn at the tasks where a human has little reason to sit in the loop. This is a Brand Briefing. A Brand Briefing is an on-location conversation recorded on site at Black Hat USA 2026, putting a spotlight on the guest and their company and pairing it with the editorial reach of ITSPmagazine. Learn more: https://www.studioc60.com/performance/#briefing GUEST Monzy Merza, Co-Founder and CEO at Crogl On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monzymerza/ RESOURCES Black Hat USA 2026 event coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/black-hat-usa-2026-cybersecurity-event-coverage-in-las-vegas Learn more about Crogl: https://www.crogl.com Download Crogl: https://www.crogl.com/download Crogl newsroom: https://www.crogl.com/newsroom Are you interested in telling your story? ▶︎ Full Length Brand Story: <a href="https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#

What actually changed for the AI SOC this year? Bill Peterson , Senior Director of Product Marketing at Sumo Logic , says it reached the point of getting into production, where a year or so ago the same conversation was about what was coming. Marco Ciappelli puts the count of companies carrying AI SOC in the name at 43, and Bill Peterson says that number strikes him as low. The market is maturing, and Sumo Logic announced its own set of AI SOC products and solutions during the week. The second thing is what a security audience does with it. Hands-on practitioners want to touch it, see it, feel it, and Sumo Logic ran live demos of its products on site. When a technical audience puts hands on a keyboard and tries something, Bill Peterson expects them to take it back to work with them. Production first, then enablement of the practitioners. The third is the pace behind all of it. Most security vendors are SaaS companies running CI/CD and shipping continuously, so three and six month roadmaps and delivery are the norm now and the 12 to 18 month roadmap is gone. Some customers are what Sumo Logic internally calls AI shy, accepting they have to get there while taking a slow and reasoned approach, and Bill Peterson treats that as normal for any technology. This is a Brand Briefing. A Brand Briefing is an on-location conversation recorded on site at Black Hat USA 2026, putting a spotlight on the guest and their company and pairing it with the editorial reach of ITSPmagazine. Learn more: https://www.studioc60.com/performance/#briefing GUEST Bill Peterson, Senior Director of Product Marketing at Sumo Logic On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/williampetersonjr/ RESOURCES Black Hat USA 2026 event coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/black-hat-usa-2026-cybersecurity-event-coverage-in-las-vegas Learn more about Sumo Logic: https://www.sumologic.com/ Sumo Logic Dojo AI: https://www.sumologic.com/solutions/dojo-ai Sumo Logic Dojo AI agent announcements at Black Hat USA 2026, including general availability of the SOC Analyst Agent: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sumo-lo

Lisa Liu , Corporate Marketing and Communications Manager at Stellar Cyber , connects with ITSPmagazine on the floor at Black Hat USA 2026 in Las Vegas. What are buyers asking for now that the RSAC Conference noise has settled? Data. Liu says people have had time to run their own research, look at what vendors offer, and come back using specific keywords and asking for something behind the marketing. Does a more skeptical audience make the conversation harder? Liu describes the opposite. She says people are pushing back on claims they hear, which presses vendors to prove at a higher standard that a technology does what it says it does. Feedback arrives more specific, and the exchange moves from explaining to planning as people ask how a capability could work in their environment. The reply she calls validating is the customer who reports the product did what it was said it would do, giving analysts their time back and helping teams work more efficiently. What makes Black Hat different for a company that works the major events? Ask people what they are looking for and they will tell you. Liu says pain points here are felt daily and described plainly, and that candor is feedback the company works to internalize and make productive. Looking ahead, she says new product releases are coming, with new features and expansions of what customers have responded to, and that Stellar Cyber will share them on its website and on LinkedIn. This is a Brand Briefing. A Brand Briefing is an on-location conversation recorded on site at Black Hat USA 2026, putting a spotlight on the guest and their company and pairing it with the editorial reach of ITSPmagazine. Learn more: https://www.studioc60.com/performance/#briefing GUEST Lisa Liu, Corporate Marketing and Communications Manager at Stellar Cyber LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisaaliu/ RESOURCES Black Hat USA 2026 event coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/black-hat-usa-2026-cybersecurity-event-coverage-in-las-vegas Stellar Cyber: https://stellarcyber.ai/ Stellar Cyber on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/stellarcyber Are you interested in telling your story? ▶︎ Full Length Brand Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#full ▶︎ Brand Spotlight Story: <

Michael Parisi , Chief Growth Officer at Steel Patriot Partners , connects with ITSPmagazine on location at Black Hat USA 2026 for a recap of the week. He describes Steel Patriot Partners in the order it sets its priorities. Business owners first, engineers second, compliance and security people third. A consulting and advisory company, he says, but really an engineering firm. What changed at this event? Parisi says the AI slop visible at RSAC Conference died down here, and that people are cutting through the noise and going back to a core group of tools and solutions with the capabilities to address the business challenges AI is creating. Non-human identities sit at the top of that list, the number one concern he heard relative to AI. Organizations recognize the risk and are working out how to solve for it. His observation is that many information security teams do not realize their traditional cybersecurity tools already carry the capabilities to do it. Who are security leaders asking before they decide? People they already know. Parisi describes CISOs going back to the individuals they have had long-term relationships with and sourcing guidance from them before decisions get made. Automation has expanded what can be done, but nobody got more hours in the day to evaluate everything arriving in front of them. The next move he points to is asking the question, either of the engineers at the provider or of a trusted advisor, and getting the configuration aligned to the business outcome it was bought to serve. This is a Brand Briefing. A Brand Briefing is an on-location conversation recorded on site at Black Hat USA 2026, putting a spotlight on the guest and their company and pairing it with the editorial reach of ITSPmagazine. Learn more: https://www.studioc60.com/performance/#briefing GUEST Michael Parisi, Chief Growth Officer, Steel Patriot Partners LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-parisi-4009b2261/ RESOURCES Black Hat USA 2026 event coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/black-hat-usa-2026-cybersecurity-event-coverage-in-las-vegas Steel Patriot Partners: https://www.steelpatriotpartners.com Find Your Path, three questions to start: https://www.steelpatriotpartners.com/find-your-path Steel Patriot Partners Insights: <a href="https://resources.steelpatriotpartners.com" r

Qualys returns to Black Hat USA 2026 with an AI Risk Operations Center built around three principles customers have been asking for over the last three years. May Mitchell , Chief Marketing Officer at Qualys , walks through them in order. Detect vulnerabilities at AI speed. Prioritize what surfaces, because not every finding calls for action in the same hour and the sequence follows the workflows a team already runs. Eliminate it through autonomous remediation, then confirm the fix worked. Mitchell also notes that Qualys has been a Black Hat sponsor for over 23 years. What are security teams asking for at AI speed? They want detection to keep pace with disclosure. Mitchell points to InstaScan, the innovation Qualys launched during Black Hat week, which provides continuous scanning and detection. The meetings on the floor have been with customers from across the regions, not only the US. How has the AI conversation shifted since RSAC Conference? It has narrowed to implementation. Mitchell says the messaging moved from AI to agents to autonomous, and that this year the questions are targeted. How do I implement it. How do I get it into the workflows. How do I have governance. The economics of AI sits alongside those questions, with more asked about ROI, since budgets are not rising across the board. That pushes organizations to evaluate their technology stack, consolidate, and look for a single platform that gives complete visibility and gives security leaders something they can take to a board or a CFO. Customization depends on the size of the organization, and larger heterogeneous environments are where Qualys partners come in with risk assessment services, planning, integration, and ongoing management. This is a Brand Briefing. A Brand Briefing is an on-location conversation recorded on site at Black Hat USA 2026, putting a spotlight on the guest and their company and pairing it with the editorial reach of ITSPmagazine. Learn more: https://www.studioc60.com/performance/#briefing GUEST May Mitchell, Chief Marketing Officer at Qualys On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maymitchell/ RESOURCES Black Hat USA 2026 event coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/black-hat-usa-2026-cybersecurity-event-coverage-in-las-vegas Qualys: https://www.qualys.com/ InstaScan announcement: <a href="https://www.qualys.com/company/newsroom/news-releases/usa/

Daniel Bardenstein , CEO and Co-Founder of Manifest Cyber , uses RSAC Conference as a fixed point and compares it to what he is hearing in Las Vegas. The marketing has held its shape. At RSAC Conference, companies with little claim to the label were describing themselves as agentic. Here, he cites a survey referenced in a talk that morning counting 47 AI SOC companies among the vendors on site. What has moved is scrutiny. Practitioners and security leaders are pressing on what differentiates one AI product from another and whether a product is a thin layer built around a frontier model. Bardenstein also reports conversations about open weight models and reduced dependency on frontier lab providers following the OpenAI Hugging Face incident and the White House action on Fable and Mythos. Contracting is shifting as well, with procurement teams adding due diligence and paperwork whenever AI shows up inside a product. Marco Ciappelli raises the question sitting under the label. Agentic AI brought questions about how many agents are running and who owns their identity, and AI SOC suggests an operations center assembled largely from automation. Bardenstein points to narrower use cases teams already trust, including finding vulnerabilities in source code and suggesting patches, then offers his own test for buyers. Does it reduce vulnerabilities, does it reduce false positives, does it deliver faster outcomes and fewer breaches. This is a Brand Briefing. A Brand Briefing is an on-location conversation recorded on site at Black Hat USA 2026, putting a spotlight on the guest and their company and pairing it with the editorial reach of ITSPmagazine. Learn more: https://www.studioc60.com/performance/#briefing GUEST Daniel Bardenstein, CEO and Co-Founder at Manifest Cyber On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bardenstein/ RESOURCES Black Hat USA 2026 event coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/black-hat-usa-2026-cybersecurity-event-coverage-in-las-vegas Manifest Cyber: https://www.manifestcyber.com/ Are you interested in telling your story? ▶︎ Full Length Brand Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#full ▶︎ Brand Spotlight Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#spotlight ▶︎ Brand Highlight Story: <a href="https:/

Sean Murphy , Field CISO for North America at F5 , spent the week behind the scenes at Black Hat USA 2026, in the corridors and at dinner with the CISOs and cybersecurity minded people who fill the halls. Marco Ciappelli caught him at the close of it and asked what the industry learned this year. The answer arrived as three words. Vulnerabilities, and the flattening of the curve between vulnerability, exposure, and exploit. Visibility, because a team cannot defend what it does not know it has. Velocity, which carries the other two. Sean Murphy calls the acceleration a physics problem rather than a technology problem, given the forces and friction now moving through security work. Moore's law is out the window in his framing, and advancement arrives week by week. For a CISO writing a roadmap and defending an investment case for the next six to 18 months, the plan keeps pivoting underneath them. AI shifted just as fast. What was recently understood as hyperscaler sized, built for the largest organizations, is now generative and agentic AI running at the enterprise level, in production rather than in a pilot. That leaves a population question. Agents are identities, non-human identities with permissions and responsibilities, and Sean Murphy points out they are proliferating alongside the human identities already under governance. He also offers a reframe on agents that slip past misconfigured guardrails and go crawling for LLMs and repositories. That is an agent doing exactly what it was told to do, relentlessly, until it succeeds. The work ahead is guardrails and governance over all of that visibility. This is a Brand Briefing. A Brand Briefing is an on-location conversation recorded on site at Black Hat USA 2026, putting a spotlight on the guest and their company and pairing it with the editorial reach of ITSPmagazine. Learn more: https://www.studioc60.com/performance/#briefing GUEST Sean Murphy, Field CISO for North America at F5 On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanmurphy092009/ RESOURCES Black Hat USA 2026 event coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/black-hat-usa-2026-cybersecurity-event-coverage-in-las-vegas Learn more about F5: https://www.f5.com Are you interested in telling your story? ▶︎ Full Length Brand Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#full ▶︎ Brand Spotlight Story: <a href="https://www.studioc

Brian Dye , Chief Executive Officer at Corelight , spends Black Hat USA 2026 asking every organization he talks to the same question. What are you doing with AI in the SOC? A year ago, he says, teams thought it was a good idea but were wary of it, and people knew LLMs could produce things without being sure what to do with them. Now he is talking with organizations building their own agents for incident response and for threat hunting, and running their own quality control on the output rather than taking it on faith. What decides how far an agentic SOC workflow can go? The data does. Brian Dye describes a three-legged stool where the model and the agents are only two of the legs. The third is the data going into the workflow, and without the right data the agents hit a headroom of logic. He credits three changes for the shift. Agentic development decomposes an investigation into smaller chunks that can be trusted individually. Time in the saddle has made teams better at separating claims from reality. And organizations now ask the workflow itself what it could not answer and what data it wishes it had. Why does a week like this one matter to product development? Corelight works on translating the network into the right fuel for AI, which means understanding the architecture each customer is building toward, whether that is an in-house SOC, a third party SOC, or a workflow running through their own SOAR or SIEM. Brian Dye also describes the Black Hat NOC as a room where the work looks different. Most security teams look for a needle in a haystack. The NOC team is finding the sharp needle in a stack of dull needles, separating illicit activity from the legitimate malware analysis training running on the same network, while using the room as a multi-vendor playground for new integrations and workflows. This is a Brand Briefing. A Brand Briefing is an on-location conversation recorded on site at Black Hat USA 2026, putting a spotlight on the guest and their company and pairing it with the editorial reach of ITSPmagazine. Learn more: https://www.studioc60.com/performance/#briefing GUEST Brian Dye, Chief Executive Officer at Corelight On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brdye/ RESOURCES Black Hat USA 2026 event coverage from ITSPmagazine: https://www.itspmagazine.com/black-hat-usa-2026-cybersecurity-event-coverage-in-las-vegas Learn more about Corelight: https://corelight.com Corelight blog: <a href="https://corel

On the show floor at Black Hat USA 2026, Marco Ciappelli connected with Dr. Chris Pierson , Founder and CEO at BlackCloak , about a change in where the company draws the line around who gets protected. BlackCloak launched Impersonation Protection several months ago for the C-suite and their families. Clients came back asking for more reach. Why does deepfake risk extend past the executive? Because the people surrounding an executive hold the access attackers want. Pierson lists the trusts and estates attorney, the private wealth manager, the lawyer, the spiritual advisor, the dog walker. Each one is a plausible caller with a legitimate reason to reach out about money, schedules, property, or family. The economics moved too. Pierson contrasts an era when a convincing fake needed something close to a studio operation with what the same result costs now: a laptop, a small sample of audio or video, roughly three minutes of processing, live video and audio. He points to the February 2024 case where a finance employee acted on an impersonated CFO and twenty five million dollars went out the door. The expanded capability lets a member extend coverage across their circle at no cost to the invited contact. Pierson says the platform can now scale to hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands of individuals at a single company, along with family members and key contacts. The point, as he frames it, is to stop the deepfake where it starts, which is at the human. What changed for executive protection over the past year? Physical and digital stopped being separate programs. Pierson traces that shift to the murder of Brian Thompson, the UnitedHealthcare CEO, and to the questions corporate security teams started asking afterward. Digital breadcrumbs sit on data broker sites and across the deep and dark web, and erasure is unrealistic, which moves the work toward protection rather than removal. That thinking shows up in the product. Members receive travel advisories tied to where they are going, and a CISO can pair a world threat dashboard with cybersecurity guidance for a specific trip. Behind it sits eight years of member data and one of the larger deception networks aimed at individuals, which shows BlackCloak where targeting concentrates, from executive airports to the Olympics to the World Cup. This is a Brand Briefing. A Brand Briefing is an on-location conversation recorded on site at Black Hat USA 2026, putting a spotlight on the guest and their company and pairing it with the editorial reach of ITSPmagazine. Learn more: https://www.studioc60.com/performance/#briefing GUEST Dr. Chris Pierson, Founder and CEO at BlackCloak On LinkedIn: <a href

PODCAST EPISODE | An Analog Brain In A Digital Age With Marco Ciappelli Fifteen years ago, Rose Ross brought a client an idea for an awards program built specifically for enterprise tech startups. The client passed. She built it herself — and the Tech Trailblazers have been running ever since, independent, judged by practitioners, and open for entries until 3 September. 📺 Watch | 🎙️ Listen | marcociappelli.com There are couches on the upper floor at ExCeL London where the glass opens onto the water, and every June I promise myself I will sit there and have one unhurried conversation with somebody worth an hour. Every June I walk past them carrying a bag of microphones. Rose Ross and I both did exactly that at Infosecurity Europe, so we recorded this weeks later and six thousand miles apart, and it worked out fine. Good ideas survive bad timing. Rose knows something about that. Fifteen years ago she brought a client an idea — an awards program for enterprise tech startups, the companies that had no category of their own. The client passed. She built it herself, gave it a better name than Global Innovation Awards, and asked Joe Baguley to judge. He said yes immediately. When someone like Joe says yes, she told me, you know you are onto something. Fifteen years later the Tech Trailblazers are still running, still independent, and now cover everything from storage and security to quantum and robotics, plus categories for the founders and the investors behind them. I have been around enough award programs to have opinions. Plenty of them are a night out: you put on the jacket, you eat the food, you take the photo, and by Monday the trophy is a doorstop. What Rose built works differently, and the difference is by design. Start with who does the scoring. Rose stays out of it completely, on the reasoning that nobody needs a PR person picking winners — she said it before I could. The judges are practitioners who know a category well enough to read a claim and tell whether it holds. Startups are scored against startups, apples with apples and pears with pears, so a young company is never dropped into a popularity contest against an incumbent. The criteria cover innovation, market readiness and leadership, and then each judge gets a free card: points awarded on instinct alone. I like that card more than I probably should. It concedes that expertise is partly something you feel and cannot fully write down, which is a rare concession in an industry that would prefer everything be a dashboard. Then the shortlists go in front of a thousand CIOs, CISOs and technology buyers around the world, and the promotion keeps going long after the announcement — a weekly roundup of what the alumni are doing, coverage where it can be earned, a podcast recording with Rose for every winner. Risk Ledger took the security category a couple of years back and has just closed a $24 million Series B. The award keeps working after the award. The best answer of the conversation came from a simple question. I asked what a win is actually worth. Rose moved through the exposure and the investor attention quickly, then spent the rest of it on the team. Not the founder. The engineers, the designers, the support people who put in eighteen months of long hours and rarely hear from anyone outside their own building that the work was good. That part, she said, is priceless. I grew up in a city built by workshops. The Florentine bottega was a collective — the master, the apprentices, the hands that ground the pigment and prepared the panels — and the good ones understood that the work belonged to the room. Recognition is old technology. Older than any category Rose runs. An award engineered so that it reaches past the founder and lands on everyone who built the thing is doing something more useful than handing out a door

El Jardín de Boboli al Revés Historias Bajo las Estrellas — Lucia & Marco Ciappelli Dentro de los muros de la ciudad de Florencia hay un jardín maravilloso. Senderos entre el verde bordeados de estanques y fuentes. Amplias escalinatas que, subidas con los ojos vueltos al cielo, dan la ilusión de poder tocarlo. Esta es la belleza que todos pueden ver y admirar. Debajo existe un reino desconocido que solo quien tiene imaginación puede descubrir. Una suave bajada al lado derecho lleva a la gruta del Buontalenti, desde donde se abre un pasaje subterráneo en profundidad, que conduce a un mundo misterioso. Las raíces de los árboles del jardín de arriba crecen y brotan reformándose al revés, como a través de un espejo. Entre las ramas, nidos de peces voladores. Pájaros que se deslizan sobre el agua lisa entre los nenúfares. Un peral y un manzano, apoyados en un banco, hablan de todo y de nada, masticando pistachos tostados, mientras las abejas sentadas bajo un emparrado de fresas tocan una suave música jazz perfumada de lavanda. Salpicaduras de agua, a veces sí a veces no, bañan prados y plantas a la luz del atardecer. De repente una pequeña cascada, formada por un pequeño río, acelerando se abre. Al instante un paseo arbolado toma forma en subida, indicando el camino a seguir. En este reino incontaminado, no controlado por el hombre, nada es imposible. En lo alto del recorrido, una gran apertura sobre las escalinatas, y el jardín de Boboli reaparece con sus maravillas y su historia. En lo alto, como si nada, un manto de intenso azul estrellado envuelve Florencia en una cálida noche de verano. — Escrita por Lucia & Marco Ciappelli Each story is currently written and narrated in both Italian and English. The translation from Italian (the original language) to English and the reading of the stories are performed using Generative Artificial Intelligence — which perhaps has a touch of magic... We hope it has done a good job! If you like it, make sure to tell your friends, family, and teachers, and subscribe to this podcast to stay updated. You’ll be able to read or listen to new stories as soon as they become available. Visit us On The Official Website https://www.storiesottolestelle.com/

The Upside-Down Garden of Boboli Stories Under the Stars — Lucia & Marco Ciappelli Within the walls of the city of Florence there is a marvellous garden. Little pathways through the green, bordered by pools and fountains. Broad stairways that, climbed with eyes turned to the sky, give the illusion of being able to touch it. This is the beauty that everyone can see and admire. Beneath lies an unknown kingdom that only those with imagination can discover. A gentle slope on the right-hand side leads to the Buontalenti Grotto, from which a deep underground passage opens, leading to a mysterious world. The roots of the trees from the garden above grow and blossom, reforming upside down, as if through a mirror. Among the branches, nests of flying fish. Birds that glide across the smooth water among the water lilies. A pear tree and an apple tree, leaning against a bench, chat about this and that, nibbling toasted pistachios, while the bees seated beneath a pergola of strawberries play a gentle jazz melody fragrant with lavender. Sprays of water, now and again, bathe meadows and plants in the light of the setting sun. Suddenly a little waterfall, fed by a small river, accelerating, opens wide. In an instant, a tree-lined avenue takes shape, rising upwards, pointing the way to follow. In this unspoilt kingdom, untouched by human hands, nothing is impossible. At the top of the path, a great opening above the stairways in the garden of Boboli, which reappears with all its wonders and its history. High above, as if nothing were the matter, a mantle of deep starlit blue enfolds Florence in a warm summer night. — Written by Lucia & Marco Ciappelli Storiesottolestelle.com | MarcoCiappelli.com Each story is currently written and narrated in both Italian and English. The translation from Italian (the original language) to English and the reading of the stories are performed using Generative Artificial Intelligence — which perhaps has a touch of magic... We hope it has done a good job! If you like it, make sure to tell your friends, family, and teachers, and subscribe to this podcast to stay updated. You’ll be able to read or listen to new stories as soon as they become available. Visit us On The Official Website https://www.storiesottolestelle.com/

Il Giardino di Boboli Sotto Sopra Dentro le mura della città di Firenze c'è un meraviglioso giardino. Vialetti nel verde contornati da vasche e fontane. Larghe scalinate che salite con gli occhi rivolti al cielo danno l'illusione di poterlo toccare. Questa è la bellezza che tutti possono vedere ed ammirare. Al disotto esiste un regno sconosciuto che solo chi ha immaginazione può scoprire. Una lieve discesa sul lato destro porta alla grotta del Buontalenti, da cui si apre un passaggio sotterraneo in profondità, che conduce ad un mondo misterioso. Le radici degli alberi del giardino di sopra crescono e germogliano riformandosi alla rovescia, come attraverso uno specchio. Tra i rami nidi di pesci volanti. Uccelli che scivolano sull'acqua liscia in mezzo alle ninfee. Un pero e un melo, appoggiati a una panchina, parlano del più e del meno, sgranocchiando pistacchi tostati. Mentre le api sedute sotto un pergolato di fragole suonano una leggera musica jazz profumata di lavanda. Spruzzi di acqua sì e no, bagnavano prati e piante alla luce del tramonto. Improvvisamente una cascatella di acqua, formata da un piccolo fiume, accelerando si apre. All'istante un viale alberato prende forma in salita, indicando la strada da seguire. In questo regno incontaminato, non controllato dall'uomo, niente è impossibile. Al culmine del percorso, una grande apertura, sopra le scalinate nel giardino di Boboli, che riappare con le sue meraviglie e la sua storia. In alto un mantello di blu intenso stellato avvolge Firenze in una calda notte estiva. — Scritta da Lucia & Marco Ciappelli Each story is currently written and narrated in both Italian and English. The translation from Italian (the original language) to English and the reading of the stories are performed using Generative Artificial Intelligence — which perhaps has a touch of magic... We hope it has done a good job! If you like it, make sure to tell your friends, family, and teachers, and subscribe to this podcast to stay updated. You’ll be able to read or listen to new stories as soon as they become available. Visit us On The Official Website https://www.storiesottolestelle.com/

CRUCERO A MARTE | TRES PATITAS DE VIAJE Mamá pata tenía dos hijas y le encantaba llevarlas de viaje a lugares lejanos. Las dos patitas tenían pocos amigos, pero salían a pasear muy a menudo. Jugaban en el corral haciendo como si fueran un grupo, e incluso el día de su cumpleaños, se comieron el pastel grande ellas solitas. Como regalo, Mamá decidió llevarlas de crucero a Marte. Organizó el viaje en una nave espacial para turistas, consiguió los billetes para una fiesta marciana intergaláctica, y salida lo antes posible — en menos de lo que se dice "cua cua". Mientras las tres estaban en el patio listas para el viaje, vieron un objeto extraño volando bajo sobre la granja. Al posarse en el suelo, por una escotilla se asomó una pequeña figura cuadrada que dijo: "Disculpe, ¿es usted la que tiene tres billetes para Marte y tres para la fiesta intergaláctica?" Las patitas se miraron asombradas. Nunca habían visto una criatura cuadrada — cabeza cuadrada, ojos cuadrados, hasta la sonrisa parecía cuadrada. "¡Sí, somos nosotras!" respondió Mamá pata. "¡Cua! ¡Cua! ¡Cua!" hicieron las patitas a coro, saltando de emoción. "Por favor, suban a bordo," dijo el marciano con una pequeña reverencia cuadrada. "El viaje a Marte está a punto de comenzar." Y de un salto subieron a la nave espacial, tan curiosas y entusiasmadas por aquella nueva aventura. El extraño vehículo partió veloz como una ráfaga de viento. En el espacio era hora punta. La nave espacial se encontró en una cola, y el marciano-piloto tocó la bocina: "¡Blip, blip!" Se asomó por la ventanilla y refunfuñó: "¡Cada vez es más difícil viajar! Pero mira, hay hasta un planetita juguetón que se ha puesto a girar sobre sí mismo, ¡como si fuera un carrusel! Qué diversión — hazte a un lado, déjame pasar y sigue jugando." Por culpa del atasco cósmico, la nave aterrizó en Marte con un ligero retraso sobre el horario previsto. "¡Qué maravilla!" exclamaron las patitas al ver una nave toda de cristal lista para el crucero, donde fueron invitadas a subir a bordo. Había un gran ajetreo de pequeños marcianos cuadrados. "¡Buenos días, señora pata, póngase cómoda!" decían haciendo una reverencia, mientras las patitas — cua, cua, cua — charlaban y saltaban contentas. De fondo, guitarras cuadradas tocaban Rock interplanetario. Las tres viajeras, con sus caritas pegadas a los cristales, observaban maravilladas el color rojo del planeta. La nave partió lentamente sobre la arena, pero de pronto los motores empezaron a rugir y arriba, hacia la cima de una montaña, y luego abajo sobre las rocas rojas — parecía estar en una montaña rusa, arriba y abajo, arriba y abajo. Luego volvía a posarse y lentamente atravesaba valles inmensos. "¡Qué espectáculo tan extraño! ¡Qué vehículo tan raro que viaja sobre rocas y arena!" comentaban las turistas. Pasaron las horas entre maravillas y descubrimientos. El tiempo voló. Llegó la noche. En la nave marciana, Mamá pata y las patitas se presentaron todas elegantes, con lazos y lacitos, a la fiesta de cumpleaños intergaláctica. Los camareros bailaban, ofrecían el brazo a las turistas y servían al ritmo de música Rock. Pequeños marcianos se acercaron a las patitas y, haciéndoles muchos cumplidos, saltando y bailando, jugaron con ellas. La fiesta había comenzado. "¡Aquí todo es cuadrado — los vasos, las botellas!" cuchicheaban entre ellas las patas. Los dulces eran salados, los salados eran dulces, el pastel era... bah, bah, ¡pero qué mundo es este! Los globos con "Feliz Cumpleaños" escrito eran — adivinen — cuadrados. La velada llegaba a su fin y fuegos artificiales brillaron en el cielo para celebrar a los turistas... y también eran cuadrados. "¡Qué amables y simpáticos estos marcianos!" dijo Mamá pata, y continuó: "A Marte hemos llegado, visto lo hemos visto, divertidas nos hemos divertido. Ahora pensemos en volver a la Tierra." De repente, la voz del comandante de la nave avisó a los pasajeros de la inminente llegada de una nave espacial para el regreso. Las tres patas no esperaban otra cosa. Se despidieron y, a través de un puente de conexión, entraron directamente en la nave. Y abajo, hacia su planeta. Observando la partida de los turistas desde los ventanales de la nave, los marcianos vestidos de camareros lanzaron al espacio decenas de globos de colores. En el universo, bajo un cielo estrellado, los satélites vagaban alrededor de la nave espacial. Venus brillaba a lo lejos y la Luna, cada vez más cerca, sonreía con su cara llena. Al llegar a la Tierra, bajaron al corral las tres felices. Globos cuadrados con "Feliz Cumpleaños" escrito flotaban en el aire. ¡Qué sorpresa! Esto es sin duda obra de los marcianos. Y contando por ahí su aventura galáctica, las dos patitas hicieron muchos amigos. Todos querían saber de su viaje a Marte. Nuestro planeta será redondo, será grande, será pequeño, será hermoso, y siempre será nuestro hogar. — Escrita por Lucia & Marco Ciappelli Each story is currently written and narrated in both Italian and English. The translation from Italian (the original language) to English and the reading of the stories are performed using Generative Artificial Intelligence — which perhaps has a touch of magic... We hope it has done a good job! If you like it, make sure to tell your friends, family, and teachers, and subscribe to this podcast to stay updated. You’ll be able to read or listen to new stories as soon as they become available. Visit us On The Official Website https://www.storiesottolestelle.com/

CRUISE TO MARS | THREE DUCKS ON A JOURNEY Mama duck had two daughters, and she loved taking them on trips to faraway places. The two ducklings had few friends, but they often went out and about. They played in the farmyard pretending to be a group, and even on their birthday, they ate the big cake all by themselves. As a gift, Mama decided to take them on a cruise to Mars. She organized the trip on a spaceship for tourists, got tickets for an intergalactic Martian party, and departure as soon as possible — before you could say "quack quack." While all three of them were in the yard ready for the trip, they saw a strange object flying low over the farm. Landing on the ground, a small square figure appeared at a hatch and said: "Excuse me, are you the ones with three tickets to Mars and three for the intergalactic party?" The ducklings looked at each other in amazement. They had never seen a square creature before — square head, square eyes, even the smile seemed square. "Yes, that's us!" replied Mama duck. "Quack! Quack! Quack!" chimed the ducklings in chorus, hopping with excitement. "Please, come aboard," said the Martian with a little squared bow. "The journey to Mars is about to begin." And in one leap they boarded the spaceship, so curious and excited for this new adventure. The strange vehicle took off as fast as a gust of wind. In space, it was rush hour. The spaceship found itself in a queue, and the Martian pilot honked the horn: "Bleep, bleep!" He leaned out the window and grumbled: "It's getting harder and harder to travel! Look at that, there's even a playful little planet spinning around on itself like it's a carousel! Oh, what fun — move over, let me pass, and keep on playing!" Due to the cosmic traffic jam, the spaceship landed on Mars slightly behind schedule. "How wonderful!" exclaimed the ducklings when they saw a ship made entirely of glass, ready for the cruise, where they were invited to come aboard. There was a great bustle of small square Martians. "Good morning, Mrs. Duck, please make yourself comfortable!" they said with a bow, while the ducklings — quack, quack, quack — chattered and hopped about happily. In the background, square guitars played Interplanetary Rock. The three travelers, with their little faces pressed against the windows, gazed in wonder at the red color of the planet. The ship set off slowly across the sand, but suddenly the engines began to roar and up, toward the top of a mountain, then down over the red rocks — it felt like being on a roller coaster, up and down, up and down. Then it would settle again and slowly cross immense valleys. "What a strange sight! What a strange vehicle that travels over rocks and sand!" the tourists commented. The hours passed amid wonders and discoveries. Time flew by. Evening came. On the Martian ship, Mama duck and the ducklings showed up all dressed up, wit

IN CROCIERA SU MARTE | TRE PAPERELLE IN VIAGGIO Mamma papera aveva due figlie e con loro amava fare viaggi in posti lontani. Le due paperelle avevano pochi amici, ma andavano spesso in giro. Giocavano nell'aia facendo finta di essere un gruppo e persino il giorno del loro compleanno, la grossa torta se la mangiarono tutta da sole. La mamma per regalo decise di portarle in crociera su Marte. Organizzò il viaggio con una navicella spaziale per turisti, si procurò i biglietti per una festa marziana intergalattica, e partenza prima possibile — in men che non si dica, prima che potessero dire "qua qua". Mentre tutte e tre erano nel cortile pronte per il viaggio, videro uno strano oggetto che volava a bassa quota sopra la fattoria. Posandosi a terra, da uno sportello si affacciò una piccola figura quadrata che disse: "Scusi, è lei in possesso di tre biglietti per Marte e tre per la festa intergalattica?" Le paperelle si guardarono stupite. Non avevano mai visto una creatura quadrata — testa quadrata, occhi quadrati, persino il sorriso sembrava quadrato. "Sì, siamo noi!" rispose mamma papera. "Qua! Qua! Qua!" fecero le paperelle in coro, saltellando dall'emozione. "Prego, salite a bordo," disse il marziano con un piccolo inchino squadrato. "Il viaggio per Marte sta per cominciare." E in un balzo salirono sulla navicella, tanto erano curiose ed entusiaste per quella nuova avventura. Lo strano mezzo di trasporto partì veloce come una folata di vento. Nello spazio era l'ora di punta. L'astronave si ritrovò in coda e il marziano-pilota suonò il clacson: "Blip, blip!" Si affacciò al finestrino e borbottò: "Sempre più difficile viaggiare! Ma guarda, c'è pure un pianetino giocherellone che si è messo a girare su se stesso, neanche fosse una giostra! Oh che bel divertimento — vai più in là, fammi passare e continua a giocare!" Causa ingorgo cosmico, l'astronave atterrò su Marte con un leggero ritardo sulla tabella di marcia. "Che meraviglia!" esclamarono le paperelle nel vedere una nave tutta di vetro pronta per la crociera, dove furono invitate a salire a bordo. C'era un gran movimento di piccoli marziani quadrati. "Buongiorno, signora papera, si accomodi!" dicevano facendo un inchino, mentre le paperelle — qua, qua, qua — chiacchieravano e saltellavano contente. In sottofondo, chitarre quadrate suonavano un Rock interplanetario. Le tre viaggiatrici, con la faccina appiccicata ai vetri, osservavano stupite il colore rosso del pianeta. La nave partì lentamente sulla sabbia, ma a un tratto i motori cominciarono a rombare e su, verso la cima di una montagna, e poi giù sulle rocce rosse — sembrava di stare su un ottovolante, su e giù, su e giù. Poi di nuovo si posava e lentamente attraversava vallate immense. "Che strano spettacolo! Che strano mezzo di trasporto che viaggia sulle rocce e sulla sabbia!" commentavano le turiste. Passarono le ore tra meraviglie e scoperte. Il tempo volò. Arrivò la sera. Sulla nave marziana, mamma papera e le paperelle si presentarono tutte in ghingheri, con fiocchi e fiocchetti, alla festa di compleanno intergalattica. I camerieri danzavano, davano il braccio alle turiste e servivano al suono di una musica Rock. Piccoli marziani si avvicinarono alle paperelle e, facendo loro un sacco di complimenti, saltellando e ballando, giocarono con loro. La festa era iniziata. "Qui è tutto quadrato — i bicchieri, le bottiglie!" parlottavano fra di loro le papere. I dolcetti erano salati, i salati erano dolci, la torta era... bah, bah, ma che mondo è questo qua! I palloncini con la scritta "Buon Compleanno" erano — provate a indovinare — quadrati. La serata era al termine e fuochi d'artificio brillarono nel cielo per festeggiare i turisti... ed erano quadrati anche quelli. "Ma che bravi e gentili questi marziani!" disse mamma papera, e continuò: "Su Marte ci siamo arrivate, visto lo abbiamo visto, divertite ci siamo divertite. Ora pensiamo a ritornare sulla Terra." A un tratto, la voce del comandante della nave avvisò i passeggeri dell'imminente arrivo di una navicella spaziale per il ritorno. Le tre papere non aspettavano altro. Salutarono e, attraverso un ponte di collegamento, entrarono direttamente nella navicella. E giù, verso il loro pianeta. Osservando la partenza dei turisti dalle vetrate della nave, i marziani in abito da camerieri lanciarono nello spazio decine di palloncini colorati. Nell'universo, sotto un cielo stellato, i satelliti girovagavano intorno alla navicella spaziale. Venere risplendeva in lontananza e la Luna, sempre più vicina, sorrideva con la sua faccia piena. Arrivate sulla Terra, scesero sull'aia tutte e tre felici. Palloncini quadrati con la scritta "Buon Compleanno" volavano in aria. Che sorpresa! Questa è certamente opera dei marziani. E raccontando in giro della loro avventura galattica, le due paperelle si fecero tanti amici. Tutti volevano sapere del loro viaggio su Marte. Il nostro pianeta sarà tondo, sarà grande, sarà piccolo, sarà bello, e sarà sempre casa nostra. — Scritta da Lucia & Marco Ciappelli Each story is currently written and narrated in both Italian and English. The translation from Italian (the original language) to English and the reading of the stories are performed using Generative Artificial Intelligence — which perhaps has a touch of magic... We hope it has done a good job! If you like it, make sure to tell your friends, family, and teachers, and subscribe to this podcast to stay updated. You’ll be able to read or listen to new stories as soon as they become available. Visit us On The Official Website https://www.storiesottolestelle.com/

La Gata Giannina La gata Giannina vivía en una casa con jardín. El muro del jardín colindaba con un parque donde los niños se reunían para jugar. El pueblo era pequeño pero encantador — desde los alféizares de las casas, macetas de geranios y petunias descendían como cascadas de colores. Su dueña, la Señora Mafalda, la llevaba a menudo a pasear por el centro del pueblo. Todos los niños la conocían, y en cuanto la veían, corrían a su encuentro para hacerle fiestas sin parar. Giannina era muy juguetona. Durante el día se divertía persiguiendo lagartijas, cazando insectos, mariposas y todo lo que se moviera. Para descansar se tumbaba al sol sobre las piedras calientes y luego iba a refrescarse entre la hierba. En el jardín, entre el granado, el limonero y el olivo de hojas plateadas, ella y Mafalda pasaban las tardes jugando juntas. Pero un día, Mafalda empezó a notar algo extraño. Giannina saltaba para cazar, pero fallaba la puntería y acababa entre los rosales. "¡Ay, ay, ay! ¡Me he pinchado y mi cola está enredada en las ramas!" maullaba. Esquivaba por milagro los árboles donde antes subía con total seguridad. Llegaba a los cuencos del agua y la comida con paso inseguro. Preocupada, Mafalda la llevó al Veterinario. Después de escuchar las extrañas aventuras de la gatita, el Doctor sonrió y con aire sabio dio su diagnóstico: "Esta gatita no ve bien. Necesita gafas." Dicho y hecho — en un abrir y cerrar de ojos, el veterinario buscó en una vitrina llena de monturas para mascotas y, al encontrar la perfecta, exclamó: "¡Aquí tenemos unas gafas dignas de una señora elegante!" En cuanto se las colocaron en su simpático hociquito, la gata miró a su alrededor maravillada. ¡Veía todo mucho más claro! Se frotó contra las piernas del Veterinario y saltó a los brazos de Mafalda como para darle las gracias. El Doctor, conmovido por su dulzura, le hizo un regalo especial: una cadenita dorada con una pequeña perla en el centro que brillaba con luz propia. Susurrando, le dijo: "Si cierras los ojos y tocas esta perla con tu naricita, obtendrás poderes mágicos que solo tú tendrás. Servirán para ayudar a los demás." Giannina pensó que quizás aquel Veterinario también era un Mago, pero no le dijo nada a Mafalda. Era un secreto entre ella y el extraño Doctor. De camino a casa, la gente se giraba para mirarla pensando: esa gata parece misteriosa, hay algo que destella a su alrededor. En casa, el primer deseo de Giannina fue subirse a una silla y ponerse a mirar por la ventana. Las flores brillaban en sus colores y hasta la hierba era de un verde reluciente, como cubierta de rocío. Sonreía más feliz que nunca. Mafalda, compartiendo su alegría, decidió llevarla al parque. Llegaron en un instante. Las ardillas correteaban por los árboles, los pajaritos volaban cantando de rama en rama. Pequeños animales aparecían por todas partes y los niños los seguían curiosos — corrían con las lagartijas, saltaban con las mariposas que danzaban en el aire, mientras las rojas mariquitas se posaban en su piel como amuletos de buena suerte. Después de carreras, resbalones y corros, los niños se sentaron en el césped para merendar. De sus mochilas de colores salieron aperitivos deliciosos. Fue entonces cuando llegaron. "¡Vriiip! ¡Vriiip! ¡Vriiip!" A toda velocidad, un pelotón de hormigas pasó zumbando en minimotos rugientes. Llevaban pequeños cascos brillantes en la cabeza, gafitas redondas en los ojos y botitas diminutas en las patitas. Frenaron en seco delante de los niños, levantando nubecitas de polvo. "¡Paso! ¡Nosotras también estamos aquí!" gritó la hormiga jefa, levantando la visera del casco. "¿Podemos recoger las migas?" Los niños se rieron a carcajadas. "¡Sí, sí! ¡Comed todas las migas que queráis!" Las hormigas aparcaron las minimotos en fila ordenada, se quitaron los cascos con gestos teatrales, y se pusieron a trabajar transportando migas del doble de su tamaño, cantando una cancioncilla de marcha. En esta atmósfera alegre, Giannina y Mafalda paseaban por los senderos. Y de repente, a su paso, los árboles inclinaron sus ramas en una reverencia y las hojas susurraron en señal de saludo. Las rosas en los parterres abrieron sus pétalos y comenzaron a cantar. Las lagartijas golpearon sus colas contra el suelo como si fuera un tambor: "¡Rattatatá! ¡Rattatatá!" Y los ciempiés se pusieron a bailar claqué al ritmo alegre. "¡Cielos, qué gran alboroto!" exclamó Giannina, que empezaba a sentir un aura misteriosa a su alrededor. No pudo evitar pensar en el Veterinario Mago. ¿Cuáles podrían ser los poderes mágicos que poseía? ¿Y qué pasaría si tocaba la perla con su naricita? Se lo dijo a Mafalda, que llevaba un libro de cuentos bajo el brazo. Se miraron y, entendiéndose al vuelo, aprovecharon la ocasión. Giannina reunió a los niños en un corro. Algunos llegaron rápidamente, otros más tímidos se unieron con calma. También las hormigas, con la panza llena, se pusieron de nuevo los minicascos, dieron una última vuelta rugiente en las minimotos, luego bajaron y se acercaron al grupo. Era el momento adecuado. Giannina cerró los ojos y tocó la perla mágica con su naricita. Una chispa dorada brilló en el aire. Tomó el libro de las manos de Mafalda, lo abrió, y eligió el cuento que parecía esperarla, reluciendo entre las páginas. Con voz dulce, comenzó a leer. "Había una vez un conejito que vivía en el bosque. Tropezaba con las raíces de los árboles y las piedrecitas. En la escuela se equivocaba al leer las letras y los números, así que ya no quería ir. Cuando la maestra veía sus dibujos le decía: '¡Muy bien!' Lo mismo decían su mamá y su papá: '¡Muy bien!' Pero a él los colores le parecían desvaídos. La verdad era que no veía bien, pero en lugar de decirlo, se escapaba y se escondía en una madriguera bajo un árbol parlante. Y el árbol, con el susurro de sus hojas, le contó un secreto: habla con tus padres. Así lo hizo, y ellos le ayudaron a ponerse gafas. Y el mundo volvió a ser hermoso." Giannina cerró el libro. Lo había comprendido: con la perla mágica podía leer en el corazón de los niños, descubriendo emociones y secretos que esperaban salir a la luz. "¿Sabéis?" dijo a sus pequeños oyentes, "yo también hace poco no veía bien. Pero me puse estas gafas y ¡puf! El mundo se volvió más claro y más hermoso." Un niño se le acercó, casi avergonzado, y le susurró al oído: "Quizás yo también las necesito, como tú." Giannina lo acarició dulcemente. "Te he ayudado a abrir tu corazón. Ahora habla con tus padres, y todo se resolverá." Fue entonces cuando un conejito apareció de repente entre los arbustos. Se acercó a Giannina, la abrazó y le dijo: "¡Eres mágicamente mágica!" Y — no lo creeríais — aquel conejito llevaba un bonito par de gafitas de colores. Desde aquel día, Giannina tomó de la patita a los niños del pueblo, enseñándoles a creer en sí mismos y a tener confianza. Se convirtió en la mascota con las gafas mágicas, y todos querían llevarlas como ella. Pero la verdadera maravilla era cómo veía ahora el mundo desde la ventana: más luminoso, más colorido, más vivo. Y cada noche, antes de dormirse, tocaba la perla con su naricita y sonreía, sabiendo que al día siguiente ayudaría a alguien más a ver el mundo con ojos nuevos. Casi parecía haber sido un sueño. Pero ya se sabe, la realidad y la fantasía a menudo caminan de la mano. — Escrita por Lucia & Marco Ciappelli Each story is currently written and narrated in both Italian and English. The translation from Italian (the original language) to English and the reading of the stories are performed using Generative Artificial Intelligence — which perhaps has a touch of magic... We hope it has done a good job! If you like it, make sure to tell your friends, family, and teachers, and subscribe to this podcast to stay updated. You’ll be able to read or listen to new stories as soon as they become available. Visit us On The Official Website https://www.storiesottolestelle.com/

Giannina the Cat Giannina the cat lived in a house with a garden. The garden wall bordered a park where children gathered to play. The town was small but charming — from the windowsills of the houses, pots of geraniums and petunias tumbled down like colorful cascades. Her owner, Signora Mafalda, often took her around the town center. All the children knew her, and whenever they spotted her, they would run over and shower her with affection. Giannina was quite the little rascal. During the day she loved chasing lizards, hunting insects, butterflies, and anything that moved. To rest, she would stretch out in the sun on the warm stones, then cool off among the blades of grass. In the garden, among the pomegranate tree, the lemon tree, and the olive with its silvery leaves, she and Mafalda spent their afternoons playing together. But one day, Mafalda began to notice something strange. Giannina would leap to catch her prey, but she kept missing and ending up in the rose bushes. "Ow, ow, ow! I've pricked myself and my tail is tangled in the branches!" she meowed. She barely managed to dodge trees she used to climb with ease. She reached her food and water bowls with an uncertain gait. Worried, Mafalda took her to the Veterinarian. After listening to the little cat's strange adventures, the Doctor smiled and delivered his verdict with a wise air: "This little kitty can't see well. She needs glasses." No sooner said than done — in the blink of an eye, the veterinarian searched through a display case full of frames for pets and, finding the perfect one, exclaimed: "Here we are — a pair of glasses fit for an elegant lady!" As soon as they were placed on Giannina's sweet little snout, the cat looked around in wonder. She could see everything so clearly! She rubbed against the Veterinarian's legs and leaped into Mafalda's arms as if to thank her. The Doctor, touched by her sweetness, gave her a special gift: a golden chain with a small pearl at its center that glowed with its own light. Whispering, he told her: "If you close your eyes and touch this pearl with your little nose, you will gain magical powers that only you will have. They will help you help others." Giannina thought that perhaps this Veterinarian was also a Wizard, but she said nothing to Mafalda. It was a secret between her and the strange Doctor. On the way home, people turned to look at her, thinking: that cat seems mysterious — there's something glimmering around her. At home, Giannina's first wish was to climb onto a chair and gaze out the window. The flowers shone in their colors, and even the grass was a brilliant green, as if covered in dew. She smiled, happier than ever. Mafalda, sharing in her joy, decided to take her to the park. They arrived in no time. Squirrels scampered through the trees, birds sang as they flew from branch to branch. Small creatures popped out everywhere, and the children foll

La Gatta Giannina La gatta Giannina viveva in una casa con il giardino. Il muro di cinta confinava da un lato con un parco dove i bambini si ritrovavano per giocare. Il paese era piccolo ma grazioso — dai davanzali delle case, vasi di gerani e di petunie scendevano come cascate colorate. La sua padrona, la Signora Mafalda, la portava spesso in giro per il centro abitato. Tutti i bambini la conoscevano e appena la vedevano le correvano incontro facendole feste a non finire. Giannina era una grande giocherellona. Durante la giornata si divertiva a rincorrere lucertole, cacciare insetti, farfalle e tutto ciò che si muoveva. Per riposarsi si sdraiava al sole sulle pietre calde e poi andava a rinfrescarsi tra i fili d'erba. Nel giardino, tra il melograno, il limone e l'ulivo dalle foglie argentate, lei e Mafalda passavano i pomeriggi a giocare insieme. Ma un giorno Mafalda iniziò a notare qualcosa di strano. Giannina saltava per cacciare, ma sbagliava la mira e finiva tra i cespugli di rose. "Ohi, ohi, ohi! Mi sono bucata e la mia coda è impigliata fra i rami!" miagolava. Scansava per miracolo gli alberi dove prima saliva con sicurezza. Raggiungeva le ciotole dell'acqua e del cibo con andatura incerta. Preoccupata, Mafalda la portò dal Veterinario. Dopo aver ascoltato le strane avventure della micina, il Dottore sorrise e con aria saggia diede la sua sentenza: "Questa gattina non ci vede bene. Ha bisogno degli occhiali." Detto fatto, in quattro e quattr'otto il veterinario cercò in una vetrina piena di montature per animali domestici e, trovata quella perfetta, esclamò: "Ecco qua un paio di occhiali da signora elegante!" Appena poggiati sul musetto simpatico di Giannina, la gatta si guardò intorno meravigliata. Vedeva tutto più chiaro! Si strofinò alle gambe del Veterinario e saltò fra le braccia di Mafalda come per ringraziarla. Il Dottore, colpito dalla sua dolcezza, le fece un regalo speciale: una catenella dorata con al centro una piccola perla che brillava di luce propria. Sussurrando, le disse: "Se chiudi gli occhi e sfiori questa perla con il nasino, entrerai in possesso di poteri magici che solo tu avrai. Serviranno per aiutare gli altri." Giannina pensò che forse quel Veterinario era anche un Mago, ma non disse niente a Mafalda. Era un segreto fra lei e lo strano Dottore. Sulla strada di ritorno, qualcuno si girava a guardarla pensando: quella gatta sembra misteriosa, c'è qualcosa che luccica intorno a lei. A casa, il primo desiderio di Giannina fu di salire su una sedia e mettersi a guardare dalla finestra. I fiori brillavano nei loro colori e perfino l'erba era di un verde lucente come coperta di rugiada. Sorrideva felice come non mai. Mafalda, partecipe della sua gioia, decise di portarla al parco. Arrivarono in un baleno. Gli scoiattoli sgambettavano sugli alberi, gli uccellini cantando volavano da un ramo all'altro. Piccoli animali sbu

Spy's Mate: A Conversation with Bradley W. Buchanan About Chess, Cold War Intrigue, and the Stories That Save UsAfter a few months away, I couldn't stay silent. Audio Signals is back, and I'm thrilled that this conversation marks the official return. The truth is, I tried to let it go. I thought maybe I'd hang up the mic and focus solely on my work exploring technology and society. But my passion for storytellers and storytelling—it cannot be tamed. We are made of stories, after all, and some of us choose to write them, sing them, photograph them, or bring them to life on screen. Brad Buchanan writes them, and his story brought me back. I'll admit something upfront: I'm not particularly good at chess. I love the game—the strategy, the mythology, the beautiful complexity of it all—but I'm no grandmaster. That's what made this conversation so fascinating. Brad has created an entire fictional world where chess isn't just a game; it's a matter of life and death, set against the backdrop of Cold War espionage and Soviet propaganda. His debut novel, Spy's Mate, weaves together two worlds I find endlessly intriguing: the intellectual battlefield of competitive chess and the shadow games of international espionage. But what makes this book truly compelling isn't just the plot—it's the man behind it. Brad is a retired English professor from Sacramento State, a two-time blood cancer survivor, and what he calls a "chimera"—someone whose DNA was literally altered by a stem cell transplant from his brother. He was blind for a year and a half. He nearly died multiple times. And through it all, he held onto this story, this passion for chess that manifested in literal dreams where the pieces hunted him across the board. When we spoke, what struck me most was how deeply personal this novel is beneath its spy thriller exterior. The protagonist, Yasha, is an Armenian chess prodigy whose mother teaches him the game before falling gravely ill. In a moment that breaks your heart, young Yasha asks his mother to promise she'll live long enough to see him become world chess champion—an impossible promise that drives the entire narrative. Brad wrote Spy's Mate after his own mother's death from blood cancer in 2021. When he told me he was crying while writing the final pages, I understood something essential about storytelling: we write to process what life won't let us finish. He gave Yasha the closure he wished he'd had with his own mother. But this isn't just a meditation on loss. Brad brings genuine chess expertise and meticulous historical research to create a world where the KGB manipulates tournaments, computers calculate moves at the glacial pace of one per hour, and Soviet chess dominance serves as proof of communist superiority. He recreates famous chess games with diagrams so readers can follow the battlefield. He fictionalizes Soviet leaders (his Gorbachev character is named "Ogar," his Putin figure has "the nose of a proboscis monkey") but keeps the oppressive atmosphere authentic. What I love about Brad's approach is that he wrote this novel almost like a screenplay—action and dialogue, visual and kinematic, built for the screen. Having taught Virginia Woolf while secretly wanting to write page-turning thrillers tells you everything about the tension between academic life and creative passion. Now, finally free to write full-time after early retirement due to his medical challenges, he's doing what he always wanted. We talked about the hero's journey, about Joseph Campbell's mythical structure that still works because it mirrors how our minds work. We reminisced about the 1982 World Cup and Marco Tardelli's iconic scream (we're the same generation, watching from different continents). We discussed whether characters should plot their own paths or whether writers should map everything from the beginning. As someone who writes short, magical stories with my mother, I understand the pull toward something bigger, something that requires more than 1,200 words can contain. Brad waited 55 years to publish his first novel. I'm 56 and still working up to it. There's hope for all of us yet. Spy's Mate is available now, with an audiobook coming after Thanksgiving. And yes, I can absolutely see this as a Netflix series—chess looks incredibly sexy on screen when the stakes are high and the lighting is good. Welcome back to Audio Signals. Let's keep telling stories. Learn more about Bradley and get his book: https://www.bradthechimera.com Learn more about my work and podcasts at marcociappelli.com and audiosignalspodcast.com

Un Mistero A Firenze In Toscana c'è tanta magia: colline decorate con olivi, vigneti e cipressi, campanili che suonano ovunque, giardini nascosti, e ovviamente città incantate, piene di storia e bellezza, dove artisti famosi hanno creato opere d'arte meravigliose. In questo racconto ci troviamo nella città di Firenze, dove la magia abbonda e in ogni angolo si nascondono leggende. Un fiume chiamato Arno l'attraversa; e fra i tanti ponti ce n'è uno che giustamente è un po' più famoso degli altri: il Ponte Vecchio. In quelle case sospese adesso non ci abita più nessuno. Ogni giorno è pieno di turisti che lo fotografano e lo vengono a visitare da tutto il mondo, ma tanti e tanti anni fa su questo ponte c'erano macellai, pescivendoli e conciatori come se fosse un mercato, una piazza sospesa sull'Arno e la vita quotidiana era ben diversa dai giorni d’oggi. Ai tempi di questa storia le botteghe erano tutte gioiellerie di proprietà di mastri orafi, che lì ci vivevano, lavoravano e vendevano gioielli d'oro e preziosi di altissima qualità. Era uno dei cuori della città dove i fiorentini del tempo si ritrovavano e si fermavano a chiacchierare mentre andavano e venivano da una parte all'altra del fiume. Anche i ragazzini ci passavano le giornate divertendosi a giocare correndo da un lato all'altro indisturbati. A questo punto dovete sapere che da qualche giorno avvenivano piccoli furti nelle botteghe degli artigiani. Oro e preziosi sparivano come se rubati dal vento, in silenzio e di sorpresa, senza lasciare traccia. Chi sa chi lo sa? Chi poteva essere il colpevole? Gli orafi si riunirono, dopo la chiusura dei negozi, proprio sul ponte. "Ma che cosa sta succedendo?" disse uno. "Boh, a saperlo…" disse un altro. "E mica si può andare avanti così, a passare da bischeri!" Bernardo, uno degli orafi, disse: "Va bene che sono un po' sbadato, ma di sicuro non sono cieco da non vedere se mi manca dell'oro dalla bottega." E via a farsi domande e interrogarsi fra di loro per cercare di trovare una spiegazione per questi furti, scoprire il ladro e magari ritrovare il maltolto. Insomma, era ormai da settimane che dalle botteghe sparivano pagliuzze della lavorazione dell'oro e vari oggetti preziosi — e tutto questo succedeva sotto gli occhi di tutti ma nessuno aveva visto niente. A chi dare la colpa se non a quei monelli dispettosi che si divertivano a giocare a pallone sul ponte! Fra partitelle, risate, corse, giochi vari e nascondino, chissà se qualcuno di loro non si era messo a rubare qua e là. Passarono altri giorni e altro oro era svanito nel nulla. Gli orafi, stanchi di questa storia, uscirono sul ponte e gridarono a gran voce tutti insieme: "Ora ci siamo proprio divertiti ed è ora di farla finita! Catturiamo il ladro!" Anche il fornaio Giulio uscì sull'uscio della sua bottega, a sinistra, in fondo al ponte, e benché non avesse capito di preci

A Mystery in Florence In Tuscany there is so much magic: hills decorated with olive trees, vineyards and cypresses, bell towers ringing everywhere, hidden gardens, and of course enchanted cities, full of history and beauty, where famous artists have created marvellous works of art. In this tale we find ourselves in the city of Florence, where magic abounds and legends hide in every corner. A river called the Arno runs through it; and amongst the many bridges there is one that quite rightly is a bit more famous than the others: the Ponte Vecchio. In those suspended houses no one lives anymore. Every day it is full of tourists who photograph it and come to visit from all over the world, but many, many years ago on this bridge there were butchers, fishmongers and tanners as if it were a market, a square suspended over the Arno and daily life was very different from today. At the time of this story the shops were all jewellery stores owned by master goldsmiths, who lived there, worked and sold gold jewellery and precious items of the highest quality. It was one of the hearts of the city where the Florentines of the time would meet and stop to chat whilst they came and went from one side of the river to the other. Even the children spent their days having fun playing and running from one side to the other undisturbed. At this point you must know that for some days small thefts had been occurring in the artisans' shops. Gold and precious items disappeared as if stolen by the wind, silently and by surprise, without leaving a trace. Who knows who knows? Who could be the culprit? The goldsmiths gathered together, after closing their shops, right there on the bridge. "But what on earth is happening?" said one. "Well, if only we knew..." said another. "And we can't go on like this, looking like fools!" Bernardo, one of the goldsmiths, said: "Granted I'm a bit absent-minded, but I'm certainly not blind enough not to see if gold is missing from my shop." And off they went asking questions and interrogating each other to try to find an explanation for these thefts, discover the thief and perhaps recover what was stolen. In short, it had been weeks now that gold filings from the working of gold and various precious objects had been disappearing from the shops — and all this was happening under everyone's eyes but no one had seen anything. Who to blame if not those mischievous rascals who enjoyed playing football on the bridge! Between little matches, laughter, running, various games and hide-and-seek, who knows if one of them hadn't started stealing here and there. More days passed and more gold had vanished into thin air. The goldsmiths, tired of this business, came out onto the bridge and shouted loudly all together: "Now we've really had enough and it's time to put an end to it! Let's catch the thief!" Even Giulio the baker came out to the doorway of

In this thought leadership session, ITSPmagazine co-founders Sean Martin and Marco Ciappelli moderate a dynamic conversation with five industry leaders offering their take on what will dominate the show floor and side-stage chatter at Black Hat USA 2025. Leslie Kesselring, Founder of Kesselring Communications, surfaces how media coverage is shifting in real time—no longer driven solely by talk submissions but now heavily influenced by breaking news, regulation, and public-private sector dynamics. From government briefings to cyberweapon disclosures, the pressure is on to cover what matters, not just what’s scheduled. Daniel Cuthbert, member of the Black Hat Review Board and Global Head of Security Research at Banco Santander, pushes back on the hype. He notes that while tech moves fast, security research often revisits decades-old bugs. His sharp observation? “The same bugs from the ‘90s are still showing up—sometimes discovered by researchers younger than the vulnerabilities themselves.” Michael Parisi, Chief Growth Officer at Steel Patriot Partners, shifts the conversation to operational risk. He raises concern over Model-Chained Prompting (MCP) and how AI agents can rewrite enterprise processes without visibility or traceability—especially alarming in environments lacking kill switches or proper controls. Richard Stiennon, Chief Research Analyst at IT-Harvest, offers market-level insights, forecasting AI agent saturation with over 20 vendors already present in the expo hall. While excited by real advancements, he warns of funding velocity outpacing substance and cautions against the cycle of overinvestment in vaporware. Rupesh Chokshi, SVP & GM at Akamai Technologies, brings the product and customer lens—framing the security conversation around how AI use cases are rolling out fast while security coverage is still catching up. From OT to LLMs, securing both AI and with AI is a top concern. This episode is not just about placing bets on buzzwords. It’s about uncovering what’s real, what’s noise, and what still needs fixing—no matter how long we’ve been talking about it. ___________ Guests: Leslie Kesselring, Founder at Cyber PR Firm Kesselring Communications | On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesliekesselring/ “This year, it’s the news cycle—not the sessions—that’s driving what media cover at Black Hat.” Daniel Cuthbert, Black Hat Training Review Board and Global Head of Security Research for Banco Santander | On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-cuthbert0x/ “Why are we still finding bugs older than the people presenting the research?” Richard Stiennon, Chief Research Analyst at IT-Harvest | On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiennon/ “The urge to consolidate tools is driven by procurement—not by what defenders actually need.” Michael Parisi, Chief Growth Officer at Steel Patriot Partners | On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-parisi-4009b2261/ “Responsible AI use isn’t a policy—it’s something we have to actually implement.” Rupesh Chokshi, SVP & General Manager at Akamai Technologies | On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rupeshchokshi/ “The business side is racing to deploy AI—but security still hasn’t caught up.” Hosts: Sean Martin, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine | Website: https://www.seanmartin.com Marco Ciappelli, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine | Website: https://www.marcociappelli.com ___________ Episode Sponsors ThreatLocker: https://itspm.ag/threatlocker-r974 BlackCloak: https://itspm.ag/itspbcweb Akamai: https://itspm.ag/akamailbwc DropzoneAI: https://itspm.ag/dropzoneai-641 Stellar Cyber: https://itspm.ag/stellar-9dj3 ___________ Resources Learn more and catch more stories from our Black Hat USA 2025 coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/bhusa25 ITSPmagazine Webinar: What’s Heating Up Before Black Hat 2025: Place Your Bet on the Top Trends Set to Shake Up this Year’s Hacker Conference — An ITSPmagazine Thought Leadership Webinar | https://www.crowdcast.io/c/whats-heating-up-before-black-hat-2025-place-your-bet-on-the-top-trends-set-to-shake-up-this-years-hacker-conference Catch all of our event coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/technology-and-cybersecurity-conference-coverage Want to tell your Brand Story Briefing as part of our event coverage? Learn More 👉 https://itspm.ag/evtcovbrf Want Sean and Marco to be part of your event or conference? Let Us Know 👉 https://www.itspmagazine.com/contact-us ___________ KEYWORDS sean martin, marco ciappelli, leslie kesselring, daniel cuthbert, richard stiennon, michael parisi, rupesh chokshi, blackhat2025, event coverage, on location, conference

As Black Hat USA 2025 approaches, the cybersecurity world is buzzing with innovation—and Dropzone AI is right at the center of it. With roots in Seattle and a mission to bring true intelligence into the security operations center (SOC), the Dropzone AI team is gearing up for a packed week in Las Vegas, from BSides to the AI Summit, and finally at Startup City (booth #6427). Founded by Edward Wu, former Head of AI/ML at ExtraHop Networks, Dropzone AI was built on a key realization: the last thing SOCs need is another flood of alerts. Instead, they need help processing and acting on them. That’s where Dropzone comes in—offering an AI-powered security analyst that doesn’t just detect threats, but investigates, correlates, and takes action. During a recent pre-event chat with ITSPmagazine’s Sean Martin and Marco Ciappelli, Edward explained the core philosophy behind the platform. Unlike hype-driven claims of “fully autonomous SOCs,” Dropzone takes a practical, tiered approach to automation. Their agentic AI system performs full investigations, determines the nature of alerts (true vs. false positives), and recommends or executes containment actions depending on risk tolerance and policy. The tech has found particular traction with lean security teams, or those expanding toward 24/7 coverage without adding headcount. Rather than replacing humans, the platform augments them—freeing analysts from the drudgery of low-priority alert triage and giving them space to focus on strategic work. As Edward put it, “Nobody wants to be a tier-one analyst forever.” Dropzone helps make sure they don’t have to be. The platform integrates across existing security stacks and data sources, drawing from threat intel, logs, and endpoint signals to build a full picture of every alert. Security teams retain full control, with human-in-the-loop decision-making remaining the standard in most use cases. However, for low-risk assets and off-hours scenarios, some customers are already authorizing autonomous action. With conversations at Black Hat expected to revolve around the reality of AI in production—not just the vision—Dropzone is entering the perfect arena. From demonstrating real-world impact to sharing insights on agentic design and trust boundaries, their presence will resonate with everyone from analysts to CISOs. Whether you’re building out your SOC, questioning your MDR provider, or simply overwhelmed with alert fatigue, this may be your signal. Dropzone AI isn’t selling buzzwords. They’re delivering results. Visit them at Startup City, booth #6427, and see for yourself what the future of alert triage and SOC efficiency looks like—one investigation at a time.   Note: This story contains promotional content. Learn more. Guests: Edward Wu, Founder/CEO at Dropzone AI  On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwardxwu/ DROPZONE AI: https://itspm.ag/dropzoneai-641 Hosts: Sean Martin, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine | Website: https://www.seanmartin.com Marco Ciappelli, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine | Website: https://www.marcociappelli.com ______________________ Resources Visit the DROPZONE Website to learn more: https://itspm.ag/dropzoneai-641 Learn more and catch more stories from Dropzone on ITSPmagazine: https://www.itspmagazine.com/directory/dropzoneai Learn more about ITSPmagazine Brand Story Podcasts: https://www.itspmagazine.com/purchase-programs Newsletter Archive: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/tune-into-the-latest-podcasts-7109347022809309184/ Business Newsletter Signup: https://www.itspmagazine.com/itspmagazine-business-updates-sign-up Are you interested in telling your story? https://www.itspmagazine.com/telling-your-story

FORBIX IL PARRUCCHIERE DAL TOCCO D’ARTISTA Nel centro della città di Tagliaspunta, tra negozi di generi vari, c’è un parrucchiere di nome Forbix, per donne, uomini, ragazzi e bambini — ma non troppo piccoli. Forbix non è un semplice parrucchiere: possiede un tocco magico d’artista. Le sue forbici sono d’argento e, mentre tagliano, sussurrano storie. Il suo pettine d’avorio fa brillare i capelli e il suo phon non soffia aria, ma sogni. Nella sua postazione di taglio diventa un mago: le forbici, guidate dalla sua mano, svolazzano fra i capelli e, tocco dopo tocco, voilà, il risultato è perfetto. Un giorno l’albero che stava davanti al suo negozio disse a Forbix: “Tu sei un artista e io sono stanco della mia chioma di foglie arruffate. Mi piacerebbe rimettermi a nuovo,” sospirò, “e poi ti farei una bella pubblicità.” Il parrucchiere non se lo fece ripetere due volte: si spostò all’aria aperta con le sue forbici incantate. Girando intorno all’albero con l’estro di un genio, dopo alcuni colpi decisi, spuntò i rami e trasformò le foglie secche in coriandoli d’argento che il vento portò via. L’albero apparve più splendente e vivo come non era mai stato, con le verdi foglie che lo adornavano come riccioli intrecciati. Il mattino seguente, due bambini — Sara e David — giocherelloni come erano, saltellavano sul marciapiede, quando videro l’albero così elegante, di buon umore, e le sue foglie fischiettavano gioiose. Sara aveva i capelli ricci come nuvolette d’estate, David li aveva spettinati come un piccolo porcospino. Avvicinandosi, in coro gli domandarono: “Chi è stato l’artista che ha fatto tutto questo?” L’albero rispose: “Il parrucchiere Forbix.” “Ci piacerebbe andare anche a noi, le nostre capigliature sono arruffate e avrebbero bisogno di una bella aggiustata. Le nostre mamme ce lo dicono oramai da un bel pezzo. “Allora e' meglio che gli date retta. Vai, vai, entrate.” Li incoraggiò l’albero, sussurrando. Per primo, inciampando nello scalino di marmo, entrò David, seguito da Sara che salutava sorridendo. Forbix, da buon osservatore, li fece accomodare e, passando le sue mani tra i capelli uno alla volta, piano piano iniziò a tagliare con le sue forbici magiche. Il pettine accarezzava i capelli che iniziarono a brillare e, con il phon, sogni volavano intorno insieme alle storie sussurrate. Guardandosi nello specchio, i loro volti si illuminarono con un gran sorriso, mentre il parrucchiere, a sua volta soddisfatto, gli faceva l’occhiolino. Sara e David ringraziarono felici con un inchino e un saluto. Sul marciapiede fecero un allegro girotondo intorno all’albero sui cui rami si erano posati alcuni uccellini canterini, che fecero un concertino, insieme alle foglie e ai bambini. La vera magia di Forbix non è solo nei suoi strumenti del mestiere che usa con la passione di un artista, ma anche nella capacità di ascoltare e donare un so