The Boring AppSec Podcast Ep. 21 - Casey Ellis

The Boring AppSec Podcast is back!

This time, we are not doing seasons anymore. Sandesh and I realized that we like talking to like minded people exploring, building and breaking things in the AI space. We also didn't want to restrict ourselves to just talking to founders. But, one thing that really didn't make much sense to do seasons is because we were previously recording a bunch of episodes, and we weren't releasing them until much later due to editing and other ops related work. In the AI space, the pace at which things are rapidly evolving, the conversations we had 2 weeks ago discussing topics and technologies are probably already obsolete by now. So, we just wanted to record and release the episodes as and when we are able to, depending upon schedules and availability of our guests. We are also likely not going to stick to a particular cadence but we will try our best to do so!

Getting back to the latest episode, I had a chance to pick the brains of none other than Casey Ellis - Founder and Advisor of Bugcrowd. We've known each other since a long time so it was also great to catch up with him generally to learn what he has been upto lately.

In this episode, Casey shares his personal journey through health challenges and his insights into the cybersecurity landscape. He discusses the evolution of the bug bounty industry, the importance of secure design, and the role of AI in both enhancing and complicating security measures. Casey emphasizes the need for accountability and the potential of crowdsourcing in security, while also addressing the challenges of implementing effective standards. The conversation concludes with reflections on the future of AI in security and the necessity for focused problem-solving in the industry.

Below are some of the key takeaways from the episode.

Key Takeaways

• The bug bounty industry has transformed lives and created new opportunities.
• Founding a company involves learning from both successes and failures.
• The cybersecurity industry often focuses on quick wins rather than fundamental problems.
• Secure by design is essential for addressing root causes of vulnerabilities.
• Crowdsourcing can enhance accountability in security practices.
• Standards like ASVS are important but can be complex to implement.
• AI is both a tool and a threat in the cybersecurity landscape.
• Focusing on specific problems is key to leveraging AI effectively.

We hope you tune in and, if you like the episode, please do subscribe!