Watters Edge Transistor (https://transistor.fm) https://feeds.transistor.fm/watters-edge-1e65430c-e5c4-4c35-a520-bf0d90571f3b This is Watters Edge. Join John Watters as he leads real conversations with the defenders and innovators shifting the balance of power in cybersecurity. Watters Edge is sponsored by iCOUNTER, leading the third wave of cybersecurity with the industry's first COUNTER THREAT OPERATING SYSTEM. © 2026 iCOUNTER df540686-3761-5fb2-8c2a-93acce190dc9 yes Watters Edge Podcast Trailer! en Mon, 24 Aug 2026 14:59:35 -0700 Mon, 24 Aug 2026 15:00:09 -0700 https://wattersedgepodcast.com/ https://img.transistorcdn.com/o-pWMIFAmvzp4RPKDPU4Q9VqchPNRVMOdAZkDo3QZts/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:1400/h:1400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS8xNjZj/YTM0ZGYwZjc0Nzhi/NWMyYjBiZDUxMzU3/YWI2Ny5wbmc.jpg Watters Edge https://wattersedgepodcast.com/ episodic iCOUNTER This is Watters Edge. Join John Watters as he leads real conversations with the defenders and innovators shifting the balance of power in cybersecurity. Watters Edge is sponsored by iCOUNTER, leading the third wave of cybersecurity with the industry's first COUNTER THREAT OPERATING SYSTEM. This is Watters Edge. iCOUNTER wattersedge@ringmaster.com No No From Rock to Rockets - Skunk Baxter - Watters Edge - Episode #3 3 3 From Rock to Rockets - Skunk Baxter - Watters Edge - Episode #3 full f80acebe-9572-45b4-b9d1-b190605d86d2 https://share.transistor.fm/s/86458a98 Host John Watters welcomes longtime friend Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, the former Doobie Brothers and Steely Dan guitarist turned civilian missile defense advisor, recorded live from Black Hat in Las Vegas. The conversation runs from Skunk's musical roots and the neuroscience of sound to his push for legal frameworks that let companies fight back against cyberattacks, closing on where AI-speed threats and offensive testing are taking network defense next.

 

Takeaways:

  • Curiosity travels across disciplines. Write down good ideas and get them to the right person. Skunk's paper on missile defense, handed to a congressman, opened a seat on the Armed Services Committee.
  • Music can be engineered for emotional effect. Specific chord intervals and harmonics trigger measurable neurochemical reactions, a principle platforms like TikTok have since applied at scale.
  • Cyberattacks created a new, unregulated domain of conflict, letting small actors strike far larger ones without a standing army, and attribution remains the hardest part of any response.
  • Old legal tools can solve new problems. Letters of Marque and Reprisal, a centuries-old framework for authorizing private actors, could offer a legal basis for companies to respond to cyberattacks.
  • AI is compressing response time to nearly nothing. Femtosecond-speed attacks mean defenders need pre-built, automated responses rather than real-time strategy sessions.
  • Every employee and every supplier is a potential entry point. Third-party breaches have jumped from 9% to 48% in three years as attackers shift toward the weakest link in the ecosystem.


Quote of the Show:

  • “Now the game is different, and now everybody is a player” - Skunk Baxter


Links:


Ways to Tune In:


]]> Host John Watters welcomes longtime friend Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, the former Doobie Brothers and Steely Dan guitarist turned civilian missile defense advisor, recorded live from Black Hat in Las Vegas. The conversation runs from Skunk's musical roots and the neuroscience of sound to his push for legal frameworks that let companies fight back against cyberattacks, closing on where AI-speed threats and offensive testing are taking network defense next.

 

Takeaways:

  • Curiosity travels across disciplines. Write down good ideas and get them to the right person. Skunk's paper on missile defense, handed to a congressman, opened a seat on the Armed Services Committee.
  • Music can be engineered for emotional effect. Specific chord intervals and harmonics trigger measurable neurochemical reactions, a principle platforms like TikTok have since applied at scale.
  • Cyberattacks created a new, unregulated domain of conflict, letting small actors strike far larger ones without a standing army, and attribution remains the hardest part of any response.
  • Old legal tools can solve new problems. Letters of Marque and Reprisal, a centuries-old framework for authorizing private actors, could offer a legal basis for companies to respond to cyberattacks.
  • AI is compressing response time to nearly nothing. Femtosecond-speed attacks mean defenders need pre-built, automated responses rather than real-time strategy sessions.
  • Every employee and every supplier is a potential entry point. Third-party breaches have jumped from 9% to 48% in three years as attackers shift toward the weakest link in the ecosystem.


Quote of the Show:

  • “Now the game is different, and now everybody is a player” - Skunk Baxter


Links:


Ways to Tune In:


]]> Tue, 18 Aug 2026 05:00:00 -0700 iCOUNTER iCOUNTER 2831 Host John Watters welcomes longtime friend Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, the former Doobie Brothers and Steely Dan guitarist turned civilian missile defense advisor, recorded live from Black Hat in Las Vegas. The conversation runs from Skunk's musical roots and the neuroscience of sound to his push for legal frameworks that let companies fight back against cyberattacks, closing on where AI-speed threats and offensive testing are taking network defense next.

 

Takeaways:

  • Curiosity travels across disciplines. Write down good ideas and get them to the right person. Skunk's paper on missile defense, handed to a congressman, opened a seat on the Armed Services Committee.
  • Music can be engineered for emotional effect. Specific chord intervals and harmonics trigger measurable neurochemical reactions, a principle platforms like TikTok have since applied at scale.
  • Cyberattacks created a new, unregulated domain of conflict, letting small actors strike far larger ones without a standing army, and attribution remains the hardest part of any response.
  • Old legal tools can solve new problems. Letters of Marque and Reprisal, a centuries-old framework for authorizing private actors, could offer a legal basis for companies to respond to cyberattacks.
  • AI is compressing response time to nearly nothing. Femtosecond-speed attacks mean defenders need pre-built, automated responses rather than real-time strategy sessions.
  • Every employee and every supplier is a potential entry point. Third-party breaches have jumped from 9% to 48% in three years as attackers shift toward the weakest link in the ecosystem.


Quote of the Show:

  • “Now the game is different, and now everybody is a player” - Skunk Baxter


Links:


Ways to Tune In:


]]> No The 4 T’s of Investing - Jay Leek - Watters Edge - Episode #2 2 2 The 4 T’s of Investing - Jay Leek - Watters Edge - Episode #2 full e412b191-8bb7-4f40-848f-0b36d8638840 https://share.transistor.fm/s/098716a4 Host John Watters sits down with longtime friend Jay Leek, Managing Partner of SYN Ventures, to trace his path from building computers in his family's business in West Texas to operating roles at Nokia, Equifax, and Blackstone, where he became the first CISO in private equity. Jay explains how those experiences shaped his move into full time investing, and shares how he evaluates founding teams, why timing now carries as much weight as team and technology, and how AI is reshaping the attack surface and the role of the engineer.

 

Takeaways:

  • Evaluate teams first. Jay's four Ts framework, team, total addressable market, technology, and timing, puts team ahead of everything else, since a strong team will find a way around obstacles instead of giving up.
  • Expect a stumble. Every company Jay has invested in has faced a setback at some point, and how a team recovers matters far more than avoiding the setback altogether.
  • Separate testing from production. Jay's longstanding rule for portfolio companies is to never confuse a production environment with a glorified QA environment, a lesson that applies well beyond startups.
  • Watch how teams adapt to AI first development. The role of the engineer is shifting from writing code to managing outcomes, and founders who can embrace that shift are better positioned for what comes next.
  • Treat timing as its own discipline. Markets and technology are moving fast enough that timing now deserves the same weight as team, market, and technology when assessing an opportunity.
  • Build from operating experience. SYN Ventures was built around partners with decades of firsthand experience as CISOs, CEOs, and founders, which shapes how they support the companies they back.
  • Take calculated risks early. Jay reflects that developing comfort with risk earlier in a career, and recovering quickly from missteps, can meaningfully accelerate long term growth.

Quote of the Show:

  • “A smart team will jump over it, break it down, crawl around it, run around it, do whatever they need to do.” - Jay Leek

Links:

Ways to Tune In:

]]> Host John Watters sits down with longtime friend Jay Leek, Managing Partner of SYN Ventures, to trace his path from building computers in his family's business in West Texas to operating roles at Nokia, Equifax, and Blackstone, where he became the first CISO in private equity. Jay explains how those experiences shaped his move into full time investing, and shares how he evaluates founding teams, why timing now carries as much weight as team and technology, and how AI is reshaping the attack surface and the role of the engineer.

 

Takeaways:

  • Evaluate teams first. Jay's four Ts framework, team, total addressable market, technology, and timing, puts team ahead of everything else, since a strong team will find a way around obstacles instead of giving up.
  • Expect a stumble. Every company Jay has invested in has faced a setback at some point, and how a team recovers matters far more than avoiding the setback altogether.
  • Separate testing from production. Jay's longstanding rule for portfolio companies is to never confuse a production environment with a glorified QA environment, a lesson that applies well beyond startups.
  • Watch how teams adapt to AI first development. The role of the engineer is shifting from writing code to managing outcomes, and founders who can embrace that shift are better positioned for what comes next.
  • Treat timing as its own discipline. Markets and technology are moving fast enough that timing now deserves the same weight as team, market, and technology when assessing an opportunity.
  • Build from operating experience. SYN Ventures was built around partners with decades of firsthand experience as CISOs, CEOs, and founders, which shapes how they support the companies they back.
  • Take calculated risks early. Jay reflects that developing comfort with risk earlier in a career, and recovering quickly from missteps, can meaningfully accelerate long term growth.

Quote of the Show:

  • “A smart team will jump over it, break it down, crawl around it, run around it, do whatever they need to do.” - Jay Leek

Links:

Ways to Tune In:

]]> Tue, 11 Aug 2026 05:00:00 -0700 iCOUNTER iCOUNTER 2999 Host John Watters sits down with longtime friend Jay Leek, Managing Partner of SYN Ventures, to trace his path from building computers in his family's business in West Texas to operating roles at Nokia, Equifax, and Blackstone, where he became the first CISO in private equity. Jay explains how those experiences shaped his move into full time investing, and shares how he evaluates founding teams, why timing now carries as much weight as team and technology, and how AI is reshaping the attack surface and the role of the engineer.

 

Takeaways:

  • Evaluate teams first. Jay's four Ts framework, team, total addressable market, technology, and timing, puts team ahead of everything else, since a strong team will find a way around obstacles instead of giving up.
  • Expect a stumble. Every company Jay has invested in has faced a setback at some point, and how a team recovers matters far more than avoiding the setback altogether.
  • Separate testing from production. Jay's longstanding rule for portfolio companies is to never confuse a production environment with a glorified QA environment, a lesson that applies well beyond startups.
  • Watch how teams adapt to AI first development. The role of the engineer is shifting from writing code to managing outcomes, and founders who can embrace that shift are better positioned for what comes next.
  • Treat timing as its own discipline. Markets and technology are moving fast enough that timing now deserves the same weight as team, market, and technology when assessing an opportunity.
  • Build from operating experience. SYN Ventures was built around partners with decades of firsthand experience as CISOs, CEOs, and founders, which shapes how they support the companies they back.
  • Take calculated risks early. Jay reflects that developing comfort with risk earlier in a career, and recovering quickly from missteps, can meaningfully accelerate long term growth.

Quote of the Show:

  • “A smart team will jump over it, break it down, crawl around it, run around it, do whatever they need to do.” - Jay Leek

Links:

Ways to Tune In:

]]> No Rise of the Third Wave - Kevin Mandia - Watters Edge - Episode #1 1 1 Rise of the Third Wave - Kevin Mandia - Watters Edge - Episode #1 full 37def21f-04e7-4afa-a3e1-7f43d05d23b3 https://share.transistor.fm/s/f0524250 Host John Watters sits down with longtime friend Kevin Mandia, CEO of Armadin, to dig into founding Mandiant, surviving the 2008 recession, and the APT1 report that put Chinese nation state hacking on the front page and reshaped the threat intelligence industry. The conversation moves through the FireEye acquisition, the hard years of stepping into the CEO role, and the eventual sale to Google, before landing on why Kevin came out of retirement to build Armadin and bet everything on autonomous, AI led security.

 

Takeaways:

  • Treat breaches as inevitable rather than preventable, and build your reputation on being the trusted first call when something goes wrong.
  • Word of mouth can outperform an entire sales team. Kevin grew Mandiant profitably for a decade largely through referrals and inbound calls.
  • Codify what you learn from every incident. Mandiant's early internal indicator schema turned scattered forensic work into a repeatable intelligence advantage.
  • Expect friction during a turnaround. Cost cuts and restructuring will test trust with your team, and leaders need to communicate directly through it.
  • Move away from human in the loop detection models. AI led attacks are moving at a speed and scale that requires autonomous response.
  • Use offensive AI capability to train and validate your defenses before adversaries ever get the chance to attack.
  • Commit to continuous learning as a baseline habit. Every CISO and CEO Kevin talks to agrees that staying current with new tools and data sources is now nonnegotiable.


Quote of the Show:

  • “You've gotta look at your entire stack, all your tech, all your people, and get ready for the AI world.” - Kevin Mandia

Links:


Ways to Tune In:

]]> Host John Watters sits down with longtime friend Kevin Mandia, CEO of Armadin, to dig into founding Mandiant, surviving the 2008 recession, and the APT1 report that put Chinese nation state hacking on the front page and reshaped the threat intelligence industry. The conversation moves through the FireEye acquisition, the hard years of stepping into the CEO role, and the eventual sale to Google, before landing on why Kevin came out of retirement to build Armadin and bet everything on autonomous, AI led security.

 

Takeaways:

  • Treat breaches as inevitable rather than preventable, and build your reputation on being the trusted first call when something goes wrong.
  • Word of mouth can outperform an entire sales team. Kevin grew Mandiant profitably for a decade largely through referrals and inbound calls.
  • Codify what you learn from every incident. Mandiant's early internal indicator schema turned scattered forensic work into a repeatable intelligence advantage.
  • Expect friction during a turnaround. Cost cuts and restructuring will test trust with your team, and leaders need to communicate directly through it.
  • Move away from human in the loop detection models. AI led attacks are moving at a speed and scale that requires autonomous response.
  • Use offensive AI capability to train and validate your defenses before adversaries ever get the chance to attack.
  • Commit to continuous learning as a baseline habit. Every CISO and CEO Kevin talks to agrees that staying current with new tools and data sources is now nonnegotiable.


Quote of the Show:

  • “You've gotta look at your entire stack, all your tech, all your people, and get ready for the AI world.” - Kevin Mandia

Links:


Ways to Tune In:

]]> Tue, 04 Aug 2026 05:00:00 -0700 iCOUNTER iCOUNTER 2612 Host John Watters sits down with longtime friend Kevin Mandia, CEO of Armadin, to dig into founding Mandiant, surviving the 2008 recession, and the APT1 report that put Chinese nation state hacking on the front page and reshaped the threat intelligence industry. The conversation moves through the FireEye acquisition, the hard years of stepping into the CEO role, and the eventual sale to Google, before landing on why Kevin came out of retirement to build Armadin and bet everything on autonomous, AI led security.

 

Takeaways:

  • Treat breaches as inevitable rather than preventable, and build your reputation on being the trusted first call when something goes wrong.
  • Word of mouth can outperform an entire sales team. Kevin grew Mandiant profitably for a decade largely through referrals and inbound calls.
  • Codify what you learn from every incident. Mandiant's early internal indicator schema turned scattered forensic work into a repeatable intelligence advantage.
  • Expect friction during a turnaround. Cost cuts and restructuring will test trust with your team, and leaders need to communicate directly through it.
  • Move away from human in the loop detection models. AI led attacks are moving at a speed and scale that requires autonomous response.
  • Use offensive AI capability to train and validate your defenses before adversaries ever get the chance to attack.
  • Commit to continuous learning as a baseline habit. Every CISO and CEO Kevin talks to agrees that staying current with new tools and data sources is now nonnegotiable.


Quote of the Show:

  • “You've gotta look at your entire stack, all your tech, all your people, and get ready for the AI world.” - Kevin Mandia

Links:


Ways to Tune In:

]]> No Watters Edge Podcast Trailer! 1 1 Watters Edge Podcast Trailer! trailer 09ee58b0-e9d5-46f6-ae80-5a1099177bba https://share.transistor.fm/s/e0c323e9 This is Watters Edge. Join John Watters as he leads real conversations with the defenders and innovators shifting the balance of power in cybersecurity. Watters Edge is sponsored by iCOUNTER, leading the third wave of cybersecurity with the industry's first COUNTER THREAT OPERATING SYSTEM.

For full episodes, visit wattersedgepodcast.com.

]]> This is Watters Edge. Join John Watters as he leads real conversations with the defenders and innovators shifting the balance of power in cybersecurity. Watters Edge is sponsored by iCOUNTER, leading the third wave of cybersecurity with the industry's first COUNTER THREAT OPERATING SYSTEM.

For full episodes, visit wattersedgepodcast.com.

]]> Fri, 31 Jul 2026 14:08:35 -0700 iCOUNTER iCOUNTER 23 This is Watters Edge. Join John Watters as he leads real conversations with the defenders and innovators shifting the balance of power in cybersecurity. Watters Edge is sponsored by iCOUNTER, leading the third wave of cybersecurity with the industry's first COUNTER THREAT OPERATING SYSTEM.

For full episodes, visit wattersedgepodcast.com.

]]> No