On our special annual RSA episode of Inside the Media Minds, Christine Blake and I sat down with Matt Kapko, Reporter at CyberScoop, to chat about his plans for the upcoming RSA Conference from March 23-26, 2026.
Inspired initially by the book “The Rum Diary” by Hunter Thompson, Matt found an interest in writing at an early age and has now been in tech journalism for about 20 years. What started as covering the wireless industry in Hollywood, eventually led to his current role covering the ever-evolving cybersecurity landscape from all angles of cybercrime, ransomware, software defects and vulnerability management.
When it comes to journalism, “it’s a volatile industry,” Matt said. “I think with the thrill that I get just from chasing the type of stories that humanize how technology impacts all of us, I’m determined not to get complacent and keep challenging myself.”
The Day-to-Day at RSA
Matt summarized that his plans for RSA Conference this year will consist of keynotes, some panels, off-site events, threat intelligence briefings, along with one-on-one meetings with executives, analysts and cyber crime experts. He has a handful of themes he’ll want to talk about with these experts that will build the foundation for features in the coming weeks or months, including the latest cyber crime trends, activities from threat groups sponsored by China and North Korea, in particular, how defenders and government agencies are responding.
“It’s difficult to plan exactly what the coverage will be, but I have a hunch the war in Iran will dominate conversations during RSA,” he said. “I’m specifically interested in the cyber components of the conflict, and what the United States and Israel have done in the cyber realm to limit Iran’s capabilities or damage infrastructure.”
According to Matt, there is no replacement for meeting the people who are confronting and fighting these battles every day. Out of the hundreds of conferences he has attended throughout his career, his best coverage results come from what he hears off stage, in the halls, in meetings or after hours. Sometimes, it may be the shortest comment that inspires an entire series of stories.
Standing Out from Conference Noise
Matt does not plan to spend much time on the Moscone show floor except for meeting at his sources’ booths or snapping a few photos for his stories. For companies to truly stand out from the noise, he shared a few tips on pitching and the timing of research or company news.
Insight on what occurs behind the scenes or in live responses to attacks or emerging vulnerabilities is most important to Matt, as well as access to the sources who are willing to share direct knowledge of attacks that are timely or still having a serious impact. “So much of what happens in this industry is hidden or kept under wraps,” he said. “So, revealing those details, even if it’s on background or off the record, that’s always my goal.”
In terms of when to release company research or announcements, Matt warns against trying too hard to fit everything in during or right before the conference. “I just think too many companies make the mistake of trying to announce news or research during RSA, at least from a media perspective,” he explained. “I think that’s a mistake if you’re not a top player or announcing something that’s truly groundbreaking, that you can demonstrate and prove out at the show. It just gets lost or just ignored.”
As an alternative, one recommendation was to take advantage of the quiet period following RSA when most of the industry takes a breather. Matt even added that he is open to these kinds of post-conference conversations.
To hear more from Matt about the most memorable story from last year’s RSA, the topics he anticipates will loom over the conference this year and his “wish list” for keynote lineups in the future, listen to the full episode of Inside the Media Minds or read the complete transcript.
Timestamps:
0:22 – Christine and Madison’s Podcast Preview
2:16 – Matt’s Background and Role at CyberScoop
8:339- Prior RSA Experience
10:02 – Schedule Planning & Topics of Interest
16:56 – Tips for Pitching Prior to RSA
19:57 – Matt’s Opinion of the Show Floor
21:20 – Timing News Around the Conference: What Works?
24:24 – Qualities of a Valuable Briefing
27:32 – Predictions for Top RSA Themes
28:48 – Most Memorable Story
30:28 – What’s Ahead for RSA
Transcript:
Christine Blake (CB): Welcome to Inside the Media Minds. We are your co-hosts, Christine Blake
Madison Farabaugh (MF): and Madison Farabaugh.
CB: This show features in depth interviews with tech reporters who share everything from their biggest pet peeves to their favorite stories.
MF: From our studio here at W2 Communications. Let’s go inside the media minds.
CB: On today’s episode, we are talking to Matt Kapko, a reporter at CyberScoop. Matt covers cyber crime, ransomware, software defects and vulnerability management. We talked to him a lot about his role at CyberScoop, but then we really dig into his perspectives on the RSA conference coming up in a couple of weeks. A couple of things I found really interesting, Madison, during this conversation was his perspective on timing for news around the show. He kind of reiterated what we already know, that news during the show can get really lost in the noise, and he recommends putting news out before, but mainly after the show, in that little quiet period that follows RSA. What were some of your favorite takeaways, Madison?
MF: Yeah, related to RSA. I loved hearing his perspective on how the conference might evolve in the future, and kind of his wish list for how it might evolve, whether that’s bringing in new faces, new speakers, and kind of diversifying who is promoted at the conference, and then I think readers will also benefit from hearing some of his interests outside of the conference, when it comes to scheduling meetings with experts. So, there doesn’t always need to be a, you know, time bound research report. Matt is very interested in getting to know new sources and really understanding their background, their expertise. So if that’s something an organization can offer, they should certainly reach out to Matt and definitely make that clear. And yeah, he’s definitely interested in that outside of the conference.
CB: Yeah, definitely. It was a great conversation with Matt Kapko, so we hope you all enjoy it. Thanks for listening.
CB: Hey Matt. Welcome to Inside the Media Minds. We’re happy to have you on today’s podcast.
Matt Kapko (MK): Thank you so much for having me on. I appreciate it.
CB: Yeah, we’re excited to hear more about you and your background and your journey to CyberScoop. So let’s start there. Can you give us a quick overview of your background and your role at CyberScoop right now?
MK: Yes, I’ll try to be quick. So I’ve been doing this a long time. I mean, I always enjoyed writing, starting at a young age, but never really considered it a career until I read The Rum Diary by Hunter Thompson. This was just as I was getting ready to move to Humboldt State University, now called Cal Poly Humboldt. It was his first book from his time as a young reporter, mostly in Puerto Rico. He just made it sound so fun and meaningful to me. Journalism combines so many of my passions, my love for writing and learning, a curious mindset. I really enjoy just digging in deep into topics or themes, searching for unique stories, and just that ultimate goal of speaking truth with conviction as a bonus. It just feeds my punk rock spirit, enabling me to question authority, hold the powerful accountable, and I think it’s important too, just to demonstrate how so many systems are in place that keep people down. It’s their, it’s their purpose.
I’ve been doing this a long time. As I said, 25 years, starting at local newspapers, a news wire in the Bay Area, I got into tech journalism about 20 years ago. I was covering the intersection of the wireless industry in Hollywood. This was right when the first iPhone was announced, which is, it was a watershed, once in a generation moment I still believe that. Went on to cover wireless network infrastructure and the proliferation of software in these networks. Still a total geek for all things mobile, I find it fascinating. I’ve covered technology from many different angles now, including stints where I covered social media, enterprise, technology, networking, media, advertising and marketing. So, yeah, I’ve changed jobs, often, sometimes by choice, not always. But that’s, that’s something I’ve grown comfortable with. It’s, it’s a volatile industry. It’s, it’s brutal out there for most reporters because of that. And I think the thrill that I get just from chasing the type of stories that humanize how technology impacts all of us, I’m determined not to get complacent and keep challenging myself.
CB: Yeah, I love that. And now at CyberScoop, right? You’re covering cyber crime, ransomware, vulnerabilities, cyber security, in and out. What do you find is, you know, the most interesting part of that, that part of industry?
MK: Yeah, I’m I’m never bored. There is so much going on. I started covering cybersecurity about four years ago, almost by accident, and with a lot of luck. I was ready for a change at that point, a fresh start, just new challenges again in what is proven to be a hugely consequential industry. After almost three years at Cybersecurity Dive, I pursued a job here at CyberScoop. I’ve been here for a little over a year now.
My favorite part of the job is that I spend all of my time reporting and writing. It’s a privilege I don’t take for granted. More broadly, I think the best part of being a journalist, for me personally, is that I never stopped learning. Every day is different, and I’m often drawn to new opportunities. There’s so much to cover on my beat. Cyber crime is an epidemic, the motivations of technology are pretty out of whack, I think, and the foundations of technology that we all rely on are weak and proven to be pretty unstable. I think we all suffer some, in pretty shockingly heinous ways because of that.
MF: Now that makes perfect sense. This industry is just, it’s changing day by day. So I’m sure that is also something, when you were talking about, you know, your passion for the industry and speaking conviction and truth to your audiences. I guess that that’s probably something else that keeps you coming back to it. Can you dive a bit more into what your day to day looks like at CyberScoop, just with all of the different, you know, lenses of cybersecurity that you might be reporting on? Can you give us kind of a deep dive into how you split up your day, maybe how you, how you go through all of the pitches that you receive, and how you plan out what you’re going to cover throughout a week?
MK: Yeah, I think this is one of those cases. What’s the saying? Life happens while you’re making plans? It’s, I’m surprised often. So I’m in California, but generally work on a East Coast schedule, so I’m up early, catching up on whatever I missed overnight, checking my traps for new research, new attacks or new software defects that pose massive problems or appear to be. There isn’t a typical work day for me, and I enjoy that. Sometimes I don’t know what I’ll be working on until news breaks or I’ve got a tip to follow up on. But generally, my days are filled. You know, I’m talking and messaging with my sources constantly on signal, interviewing threat researchers and executives, and publish around four to five stories a week.
CB: Yeah, that’s amazing. And how do you, you know, go about finding some of your sources? I know you probably get a ton of pitches, right? You probably have people that you go back to time and time again, is there any kind of method to that madness?
MK: I’m not sure if there is a good method for it. I mean, I’ll talk to anybody, but I have to be selective, like you said. I get a lot of, a lot of incoming, so I think it’s just finding people that are that have something unique to share, or really specific to the beats I cover. So I, I’m grateful for the tremendous sources that I’ve developed over my career, and I’m always looking to expand on that. I’m not sure if there’s, yeah, a method to that madness, so to speak, it comes from surprisingly, surprising places pretty often.
CB: Yeah, I’m sure. I know, so when this episode comes out, we’ll be just, just about two weeks out from the RSA Conference, which huge cybersecurity conference. I know it’s top of mind for a lot of people right now, so we’d love to talk to you a little bit about that and your focus there. Yeah, how many years have you been attending?
MK: Yeah. It’s top of mind right now. So I first attended RSA in 2020, this was just weeks, maybe a week, before the world shut down due to the COVID 19 pandemic. It was just a weird experience. There was a bad feeling everywhere. Things were just off. Information was unreliable, let’s say. We had no idea what was coming. It was clear that things were going downhill pretty fast. I still remember the awkwardness of meeting people for interviews and having this like awkward pause. Should we shake hands then lather up with hand sanitizer? It was surreal. Anyway, that was, that was my first RSA. I’ve attended and covered the event every year since 2023.
MF: Wow, that’s amazing. Yeah, I can only imagine what that must have been like, definitely in navigating all of the different, I guess, social circumstances.
CB: I was at that one actually, I remember seeing the first person with a mask on, like the first time, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, what’s happening?’ And then, of course, a month later, everyone’s wearing masks, and that was the norm. Crazy.
MK: So fast.
MF: Kind of looking ahead to this year’s conference. What are your plans for RSA? And are there any specific topics you’re looking to cover, or maybe types of experts that you’re looking to meet with in person?
MK: Yeah, there’s a lot there. I think, first and foremost: stay hydrated, have regular meals, pace myself. It can be pretty grueling. My plans for the week include keynotes, some panels, off site events, threat intel briefings, and then one-on-one meetings with executives, analysts and cyber crime experts. I go into the event usually with like, a handful of themes and trends that I want to dig into when I’m talking with sources. I won’t give those away now. I’d rather save that for my reporting, but those typically build a foundation for features that I’ll write in the weeks or sometime months after the event, but more immediately at the event, I’m looking to cover the latest cyber crime trends, activities from threat groups sponsored by China and North Korea, in particular, how defenders and government agencies are responding to all that and much more.
Things happen, and we’re often surprised. It’s difficult to plan exactly what the coverage will be, but I have a hunch the war in Iran will dominate conversations during RSA. I don’t think it will be over by then, and a lot of awful things are going to occur before the show. So I’m specifically interested in the cyber components of the conflict, what the United States and Israel have done in the cyber realm to limit Iran’s capabilities or damage infrastructure. I also expect and hope to learn more about how Iran’s response to the bombing has materialized in cyberspace.
So my coverage is it’s it’s always a mixture of event coverage, insights from interviews on the ground. We go to these events, I think, to see the people who will be there, and there’s, there’s really no replacement for meeting the people who are confronting and fighting these battles every day. I’ve attended hundreds of conferences throughout my career. I think the best coverage and the real action happens off stage, in the halls, meetings, after hours, gatherings, and I try my best to capture all of that.
MF: Yeah, that makes perfect sense. It’ll definitely, I’m sure, ahead of the conference, in terms of reporter planning for meetings and on site briefings, how the war might impact a lot of, a lot of, I guess, planning and different topics for sure, and just kind of thinking about how you do go about planning your schedule. Is there anything that you’ve, I guess, learned from previous conferences, or maybe experiences that you’ve had where, you know, looking ahead to this conference, that it’s one of your favorite parts about showing up at RSA, versus, are there any parts where, ‘man, I hope I can avoid that type of experience again’, or maybe avoid that type of you know, event, or, you know, what are some of the lessons learned for you there?
MK: I think mostly just to stay flexible and willing to shift or pivot based on things that are happening or conversations that I have at the show. I try to be pretty open minded and not rigid about what I, you know, planned on going into the day that may change soon after the morning gets going. So yeah, with RSA in particular. I mean, I love San Francisco. It’s one of my favorite cities. I visit often. I have good friends and family there. So that’s a bonus to me. I know that town I used to live and work there, I just, I get a rush of energy and joy just, just being there. So that’s, that’s fun for me personally, but there’s, there’s a lot that I look forward to, meeting friends and colleagues in the industry, connecting with sources on a more personal level, perhaps for the first time, and then just, you know, getting that opportunity to further develop those relationships.
And then, of course, I think it’s just about taking it all in, right? Like learning as much as I can. The shortest comment I hear in an interview or on stage could be that little nugget for an entire story or series of stories. So, yeah, I try to stay limber, allow myself to be surprised, and cover those things quickly if I can, or at least make note of those ideas as they come up for follow up coverage. I often feel that the things that I learn at RSA will guide or reinforce the topics that I want to focus on for the next six months, if not longer. What I look forward to least is just lack of sleep. I think, you know, adrenaline kicks in, but recovery after can take a while. It’s a lot of work packed into three to four days.
MF: Yeah, you had mentioned before about making sure to stay hydrated. I remember at my first RSA Conference. I think the shoe choices that you make as well, at least, least for us ladies, the the first pair I guess, that I wore in the first day of RSA, when I went they, I thought these were broken in shoes. I thought they were comfortable. And then I was wearing them all day long, and I was like, Oh no, this is going to be, this is going to be a blister in the making, for sure. So, yeah, definitely.
CB: Yeah. I like your approach of staying flexible, open-minded and interesting to hear that that kind of informs the next six months of coverage or so. I think that’s an interesting takeaway.
MK: Yeah, I appreciate it.
CB: Yeah, when preparing for RSA, I’m curious how far in advance do you prepare your schedule and again, and we talked about you getting a lot of email pitches and stuff like that. How far in advance do you book these meetings?
MK: Yeah, so I have a like never-ending list of potential sources, people that I want to meet or speak with, and I’m always curating that, so I reached out to some of those a couple months before the show, especially high level people I know they’re very busy and tough to land an interview with, so I try to see if I can schedule time with them. I would say I began planning in earnest about six weeks out. I’m not sure if it’s the best strategy, because plans always change, the event organizers add major keynotes or reschedule things that I plan to cover, which makes me, you know, have to move around other meetings that I had already scheduled. So, there’s a lot of moving parts, and I know everyone is doing their best, so I think, I think most people are pretty receptive to those changes as they happen.
CB: Yeah, I feel like six weeks is a good healthy amount of time. A little bit of flexibility built in there, but being prepared in advance.
MK: Yeah, I try.
CB: I’m curious too, yeah, what do you think vendors, PR teams get wrong when pitching you for RSA, even outside of RSA, any kind of tips or things that people get wrong when pitching you?
MK: Yeah, I’m not, I think at the top PR professionals have to do their homework. This isn’t news to you, but just making sure that the pitches are relevant to some of my areas of interest. I don’t expect everyone to read or browse through my back catalog of work, but my beat is spelled out right there on the site. If it doesn’t have anything to do with cyber crime, nation state threats, software defects or vulnerability mismanagement, I’m going to ignore it in either archive or send that email to the trash.
So this goes beyond RSA, but I also don’t cover products, feature announcements or surveys. I just I want the real scoop, details about what’s actually going on in the wild. I respect the hustle that you all muster for this event. It’s tough. The best pitches are those that offer to connect me with top executives in the industry, threat researchers or analysts that have direct knowledge of attacks that are timely or still having a serious impact. I think that direct knowledge is key. If your client isn’t directly involved or doesn’t have firsthand knowledge of what went down, it’s, it’s not as valuable to me. In my reporting, there are a lot of experts in this industry, and I I’m confident everyone has their specialty, but some just try to cover too many lanes for that media coverage. If that makes sense.
MF: Yes, that definitely makes sense. And when reviewing pitches ahead of RSA, do you have a preference on, I guess, format for how to receive those? We’ve heard from some reporters before where they would prefer, you know, if it’s a PR person from a certain agency, maybe that person handles sending all of the researchers or executives who they represent, and kind of putting them in a menu type of pitch. We’ve also heard sometimes from other reporters, where they know that that PR person handles a specific client, so they prefer to handle kind of like a case by case basis. Do you have any thoughts there?
MK: Yeah. I mean, I think this is one of those cases where relationships matter. If I receive a pitch from either of you or somebody I’ve worked with in the past, I’m going to open it no matter what. So I think that’s just first and foremost, building that relationship. Just you know that history, it’s hard to put a price on that. I don’t have a strong preference, either way, on like individual outreach or a list of clients, but I think just one tip or piece of advice is on the pitches that include the list of vendors attending. It’s super helpful to me to know which specific people from that company are available for an interview.
CB: Yeah, that makes sense too, definitely. Do you spend much time on the show floor when you go to RSA?
MK: I. I don’t. Sometimes I’ll walk around the show floor, but it’s usually it’s, it’s for a meeting at one of my source’s booths. But what happens there, it’s, it’s not of interest to me for my coverage. I might take a walk around and take some photos of major vendors booths, just to have those on file for my stories down the line. But that’s about it. I think most companies, this is separate from the show floor, but I just think too many companies make the mistake of trying to announce news or research during RSA, at least from a media perspective. I think that’s a mistake if you’re not a top player or announcing something that’s, you know, truly groundbreaking, that you can demonstrate and prove out at the show, it just gets lost or just ignored. And I think that’s part of the challenge on the show floor too. It’s just too much, too much.
CB: We definitely agree with that. I know when there was, like goats, I was like I need to go look at the goats. But outside of that.
MK: Right.
CB: If there’s farm animals were there.
MF: Goats and puppies. Goats and puppies.
CB: That’s a really great point, Matt about not like, unless you’re a huge player, not announcing news at the show. Do you recommend before? How much? How far before? Or do you recommend after? What is your take on that?
MK: I guess either or just like, unless it’s, you know, right in the middle of the show, that’s just, that’s where it gets lost and unless it’s from a really big player. But I feel like we’re like, in research report season right now. There is so many reports coming out right now, and there may be that may be bunched too together as well. It’s, it’s really just tough sometimes to pick which to focus on, but, yeah, finding a way to spread it out so that reporters have time to absorb it, and of course, getting any of that information ahead of time or exclusives that, that makes it much more likely to lead to coverage.
MF: Yeah, and have you, have you found that typically, in terms of all of the reports that you’re receiving, do you are they usually front loaded ahead of RSA, or is there ever kind of a time period of, I guess, not that it’s ever quiet, but less pitching or less reports that you get post RSA. Like if a company was looking to stand out for, you know, as we were talking about, whether it’s announcements or reports and things like that during the conference, is definitely tricky. So getting that ahead of time. Is there any advantage to post-RSA catch ups, post-RSA research previews or announcement previews and things like that, or is it typically, you know, pre and post-RSA, is it an equal amount of noise?
MK: No, totally. I think there’s an opportunity after the event. I think most research firms are putting out research now leading up to the event, trying to get as close to RSA as they can to get that research out. But it gets pretty quiet immediately after the show. I think it’s just because most of the industry was there and they’re pretty beat and their plans have been executed, and it’s like, alright, let’s, let’s, let’s take a pause before we kind of gear up again. But yeah, that’s a great point. I do think that there’s an open opportunity there for really interesting research or pitches to come out after RSA.
MF: Wonderful. Yeah, that’s a super helpful tip for our listeners. And that’s definitely the kind of insight that they’re that they’re looking for, especially us as PR professionals, but also our clients. We always want to be working with the reporters who we pitch as efficiently as possible, and kind of what works best for them too. We always want to keep that in mind so that’s super helpful.
MK: Nice, very kind.
MF: And then kind of lastly, on just RSA planning front, I guess, in the briefings that you might schedule on site, or any quick coffee meetups and things like that. Outside of you know, the good scoop that you might get, the behind the scenes information, is there anything else that might come up during a meeting that for you, you go away from it and you’re like, okay, great, that was not a waste of time. And that could be something like you had mentioned before. Oh, you might get a sound bite that might inform your reporting for the next six months. So that’s definitely, definitely a point to this question too. So is there anything, I guess, outside of the immediate topic that they’re discussing on the interview that is really beneficial for you?
MK: Yeah, I think more broadly, just anything that helps me understand what occurs behind the scenes or in live responses to attacks or emerging vulnerabilities. It’s, it’s useful. So much of what happens in this industry is hidden or kept under wraps. So revealing those details, even if it’s on background or off the record, that that’s always my goal.
I appreciate people that can be candid in interviews. It’s on me, I think, to encourage or convince people to open up. But ultimately, it, it takes both of us to get there, right? So I usually get the sense early on in a briefing if it will be valuable, but still leaving open that possibility, like I was saying before, just like some little nugget, could lead to something much bigger. But, sometimes I meet new people and can tell right away that they’re just dying to share something interesting with me. So I love that, of course, and I understand this is a business, and I appreciate everyone has their opportunities, but I’m just less interested in learning about products or seeing demos unless it’s something truly special.
MF: Of course. Yep, yeah, that makes sense. And one quick follow up to that outside of, I guess, RSA, and outside of when, you know, companies will be pitching you research reports, do you have an interest in kind of those, you know, quick catch up coffee chats, outside of, outside of when something is, you know going to be published in two weeks, but just kind of hearing somebody’s background, or hearing what they’re looking into currently? Are you interested in those kind of meetups, you know, outside of events and outside of, you know, time bound projects that someone might be working on?
MK: Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, there are so many fascinating people that I have yet to meet, and I want to stay open to all of that. It makes no sense to try to cram this all into a, you know, three to four day event at RSA. So, yeah, always open to chatting with anybody, anytime, if it’s not at RSA, that could be a benefit. Gives us a little space and, you know, we can think about some, some broader issues and not be, perhaps so tired. But, yeah, totally, totally open to that.
I think it’s a, there’s a big opportunity to, when these pitches come to me, I really try to, you know, at a certain point I just know that I’m maxed out and can’t do any more bookings. But I try to schedule a lot of calls after the event. If someone’s reached out to me, and I really do want to chat with them, it’s, I think just it may not be this month, but let’s try next month that sort of thing.
CB: Yeah, you get more quality time that way too. It can be more beneficial than the craziness.
MK: Totally.
CB: Jumping into a couple listener questions before we wrap up. I know you’re not going to dive into any of the trends that your themes that you’re covering. We’re saving that for your reporting, but would love to hear of what some of the big themes that you think are going to be talked about at RSA. Obviously we have AI, probably a big one, agentic, AI, all of that, any other key themes that we should be tuned into?
MK: Yeah, I think one trend in particular is just that there’s a lot that we don’t know about malicious activity originating from China’s sponsored threat groups. I think I and others have sensed a hesitancy from US officials in some incident response firms to attribute attacks or widespread campaigns to China recently.
It’s important to call that out, especially in the case of some of these campaigns involved zero days that were exploited for over a year before they were even discovered. So, I think that might be glossed over a bit. I hope that I’m pleasantly surprised, and that’s not the case, but I do think it deserves more attention. I recognize there’s a lot of factors and considerations at play there. I’m being a bit selfish as a reporter, but I think we all lose sight of the bigger picture when we can’t authoritatively place blame where it belongs.
CB: Yeah, that’d be interesting to see. Another question you know, outside of RSA too, in your years of reporting, what has been one of the most memorable or interesting stories that you’ve covered could be a topic or an interview or a story.
MK: Yeah, one thing that just really stands out to me from the last RSA in particular was just learning more about the North Korean government’s expansive scheme to get operatives hired as remote tech workers. This is happening in the US.
CB: Thats wild.
MK: Its crazy. Its fascinating, its alarming, precisely because of how successful it’s been. I mean, jobs aren’t easy to come by. I’ve been there. I think most people have yet these operators, they’ve they’ve been hired en masse, on mass. One detail that still sticks with me from the last RSA, it came from researchers at Google Threat Intelligence Group and Mandiant. They’d said that North Korean IT workers had been hired, or almost hired, by the majority of Fortune 500 companies. I think that just puts the scale of the threat into clear view, right? They’re everywhere, including companies that you would think are best equipped to keep it from happening.
CB: Yeah. That was pretty shocking. I remember that too. Crazy.
MK: Yeah, it’s wild.
MF: And then I think our last listener question was, where do you see the RSA conference going in the future? So we’ve had conversations with reporters before, where they might be, talking about, you know, how the show floor might evolve, knowing that there is so much noise there, how they anticipate some vendors, you know, might move their events off site, or they might, you know, take a different approach to their booths. So do you have any kind of predictions on how the conference might evolve in the coming years?
MK: Yeah, I think part of this is my wish too, but I’m hopeful that RSA will undergo a shake up with Jen Easterly in charge now. I’d like to see more fresh faces on stage. There’s a lot of people that seem to get keynotes or major sessions year after year. I just, I want to see and hear new ideas from people that haven’t received the same recognition as others. And I think it’s time for RSA just to reflect the diverse community that it represents. So I’m hopeful on that.
CB: I like that. I like the idea of a nice refresh, some new perspective shared.
MK: Yeah, things get stale, right?
CB: Yeah, definitely. Well, Matt, this has been a great conversation. We appreciate all of your insights about your role at CyberScoop and your perspective on RSA. So thank you so much for coming on Inside the Media Minds. We really appreciate it.
MK: Thank you so much for having me on. I had a good time. Appreciate it.
CB: And we’ll see we’ll see you there in San Francisco. Madison and I will be there.
MK: Yeah, definitely.
CB: Thank you for listening to today’s episode of Inside the Media Minds. To learn more about our podcast and to hear from some of our past guests, please visit us at W2comm.com.
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