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Threat Vector by Palo Alto Networks

Threat Vector by Palo Alto Networks

Written by: Palo Alto Networks and N2K Networks
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 Threat Vector is the hit podcast from Palo Alto Networks, with over 1 million downloads and growing. Get inside the minds of top cybersecurity leaders as they break down real threats, smart defenses, and what's coming next. Each episode features insights from industry experts, customers, and Palo Alto Networks teams. It is built for security pros who want to stay ahead.Palo Alto Networks and N2K Networks 706761
Episodes
  • Inside 750 Breaches with Unit 42

    Inside 750 Breaches with Unit 42
    Feb 19 2026
    Your security budget is funding the wrong defenses. Steve Elovitz leads Unit 42's North America consulting and incident response practice, where his team helps prevent, and ultimately answers the call when organizations face their worst day. After analyzing 750+ major breaches in a single year, he's seen exactly which security investments save companies and which ones fail when attackers strike. The data is uncomfortable: 90% of breaches succeed not because attackers are sophisticated, but because of misconfigurations or gaps in security coverage. You'll discover: - Why your detection window just shrunk to 1.2 hours (and what autonomous containment actually means when every minute counts) - The single identity control that separated organizations recovering in days from those shut down for weeks—with the same attacker, same techniques, different outcome - How to stop wasting money on tools that can't see the SaaS integrations and OAuth tokens attackers are already exploiting in your environment - Which gaps in your security posture are preventable right now, before they become next quarter's incident response bill - The defensive investment that delivers ROI in real breach scenarios, not just compliance checkboxes With 15+ years leading incident response teams at Mandiant, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, and Booz Allen Hamilton, Steve has helped security teams make critical decisions under pressure when ransomware is encrypting, data is walking out the door, and the board is demanding answers. He knows which controls actually stop sophisticated threat actors and which ones just look good in budget presentations. This episode is essential listening if you: - Need to defend your security roadmap with evidence from actual breach investigations, not vendor promises - Want to understand why identity keeps appearing in every postmortem and what to do about it before you're the case study - Are tired of "best practices" that don't map to how attackers actually succeed against real organizations Related Episodes: - Muddled Libra: From Spraying to Preying in 2025 - Learn which conditional access policies actually stopped the threat actor Unit 42 calls their toughest fight - Transform Your SOC and Get Ahead of the Threats - Discover how organizations build SOCs that partner effectively with IR teams instead of slowing down containment - Inside Jingle Thief: Cloud Fraud Unwrapped - Understand why your MFA deployment isn't protecting you from identity compromise the way you think it is #IncidentResponse If you think you may have been compromised or have an urgent matter, please contact Unit 42 Incident Response team or call North America Toll-Free: 866.486.4842 (866.4.UNIT42), EMEA: +31.20.299.3130, UK: +44.20.3743.3660, APAC: +65.6983.8730, or Japan: +81.50.1790.0200. About Threat Vector Threat Vector by Palo Alto Networks is your premier podcast for security thought leadership. Join us as we explore pressing cybersecurity threats, robust protection strategies, and the latest industry trends. The podcast features in-depth discussions with industry leaders, Palo Alto Networks experts, and customers, providing crucial insights for security decision-makers. Whether you're looking to stay ahead of the curve with innovative solutions or understand the evolving cybersecurity landscape, Threat Vector equips you with the knowledge needed to safeguard your organization. Palo Alto Networks Palo Alto Networks enables your team to prevent successful cyberattacks with an automated approach that delivers consistent security across the cloud, network, and mobile.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠http://paloaltonetworks.com.
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    42 mins
  • When Security Friction Becomes the Backdoor

    When Security Friction Becomes the Backdoor
    Feb 12 2026
    Security that slows people down is security that gets bypassed. Birat Niraula leads security for Google Enterprise Network, where he oversees protection across on-premise, network infrastructure, enterprise, and cloud environments. In this episode of Threat Vector, host David Moulton explores a critical truth that most security leaders miss: the difference between friction that protects and friction that creates risk. You'll learn: - Why bad security UX isn't just annoying—it's a vulnerability that creates backdoors - How to identify friction that protects (like MFA and jump hosts) versus friction that makes teams bypass controls - Why DevOps teams inject backdoors into production when security slows them down too much - How AI is becoming the new cloud rush—teams deploying models without understanding security risks - The Chrome browser principle: best security is seamless security that users don't have to think about - Why embedding security teams in design processes beats the "sledgehammer approach" of blanket policies - How to use AI agents as security sidekicks to scale beyond what your team can manually review Birat shares hard-won lessons from securing enterprises at massive scale—from building 24/7 SOCs to leading multi-cloud architecture at Goldman Sachs to now protecting Google's infrastructure. But this conversation isn't about his resume. It's about the fundamental tradeoffs security leaders face: velocity versus protection, automation versus human judgment, and when to embrace friction versus when friction becomes the enemy. This episode is essential listening if you're: leading enterprise security programs, struggling with teams that route around your controls, managing DevOps or cloud security, implementing security that doesn't block business velocity, or trying to understand where AI security is heading. Related Episodes: - Securing the Modern Workforce - Why Security Platformization Is the Future of Cyber Resilience - Shifting Security Left #Cloud #SecurityUX #DevSecOps
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    34 mins
  • Security Success Stories You Haven't Heard

    Security Success Stories You Haven't Heard
    Feb 5 2026
    What separates organizations that truly excel at cybersecurity from those that just spend money on it? In this episode of Threat Vector, host David Moulton sits down with Isaias Telhado, Senior Cybersecurity Customer Success Engineer at Palo Alto Networks, to explore what cybersecurity success actually looks like. With over 25 years in IT and security leadership across Nestlé, Zscaler, and now Palo Alto Networks, Isaiah has seen firsthand what transforms organizations from vulnerable and reactive to confident and resilient. You'll learn: - Why the "castle and moat" security model creates massive blind spots that leave you vulnerable from the inside - The museum analogy that finally makes Zero Trust architecture click - How AI is shifting security teams from reactive firefighting to strategic threat forecasting - What "crypto agility" means and why quantum readiness matters today, not tomorrow - The cultural shifts that separate mature security programs from expensive tool collections Isaias shares a powerful case study of a major financial institution that transformed from a devastating data breach caused by misconfiguration to a proactive, cloud-native security posture. The outcome? Incidents dropped dramatically, and the security team's confidence soared—proving security can be a business driver, not a blocker. Beyond technology, Isaiah reveals why collaboration across IT, legal, operations, and business leadership is essential—and why the best security awareness programs are bidirectional, not just pushing policies onto users. With insights on breaking down silos, measuring what matters, and avoiding common pitfalls that slow security maturity even in well-funded organizations, this conversation delivers practical wisdom for security leaders at any stage of their journey. This episode is essential listening if you're: implementing Zero Trust architecture, managing cloud migration while maintaining security, breaking down organizational silos between security and business units, struggling to prove ROI on security investments, or preparing your organization for AI-powered threats and quantum computing risks. Related Episodes: - Why Security Platformization Is the Future of Cyber Resilience - Securing the Modern Workforce - Unlocking Cybersecurity ROI with Platformization #ZeroTrust #CloudSecurity About Threat Vector Threat Vector by Palo Alto Networks is your premier podcast for security thought leadership. Join us as we explore pressing cybersecurity threats, robust protection strategies, and the latest industry trends. The podcast features in-depth discussions with industry leaders, Palo Alto Networks experts, and customers, providing crucial insights for security decision-makers. Whether you're looking to stay ahead of the curve with innovative solutions or understand the evolving cybersecurity landscape, Threat Vector equips you with the knowledge needed to safeguard your organization. Palo Alto Networks Palo Alto Networks enables your team to prevent successful cyberattacks with an automated approach that delivers consistent security across the cloud, network, and mobile.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠http://paloaltonetworks.com.
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    32 mins
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