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- The PWN: Issue 006
Welcome to another edition of The PWN! Thanks for subscribing.
🎙️ Damien Burks: From Aspiring Game Dev to Cloud Security Leader
In this episode of The Phillip Wylie Show, I had the pleasure of speaking with Damien Burks, a cybersecurity pro and founder of DevSec Blueprint. Damien shares how he went from wanting to be a video game developer to building a successful career in cloud security and DevSecOps.
We talk about:
🔹 His hacker origin story and entry into cybersecurity
🔹 The importance of cloud platforms like AWS, GCP, and Azure
🔹 Why scripting—especially Python—is critical for cloud engineers
🔹 Practical advice for anyone looking to break into the field
🔹 How community and content creation shaped his career
If you're interested in cloud security or want to get started in DevSecOps, this episode is full of insights you won’t want to miss.
Upcoming Events
I always love connecting with people in my network and my podcast listeners. Next week I will be at Black Hat, SquadCon, and DEFCON.
Black Hat PlexTrac Pentest Reporting Bootcamp - Aug. 5 @ 2:00 PM Phosphorus Booth 2267 - Aug. 6 - 7
SquadCon Aug. 5 @ 10:15 AM
DEFCON
Noob Village - Aug. 8 @ 12:30 PM
Adversary Village - Aug. 8 @ 5:00 PM
OWASP Community Room Meet & Greet - Aug. 9 @ 12:00 PM
🎧 New Episode of Simply Offensive – Featuring Rob Allen of ThreatLocker
In this week’s episode of Simply Offensive, I had the pleasure of speaking with Rob Allen, Chief Product Officer at ThreatLocker. We had a great conversation about the importance of proactive security, especially when it comes to ransomware prevention.
Rob shared his journey into cybersecurity and what led him to ThreatLocker, where they’ve embraced a powerful “deny by default” approach to endpoint protection. We explored why traditional allowlists often fall short and how ThreatLocker’s strategy helps organizations stay ahead of threats.
We also covered:
The importance of controls validation
The risks of lolbins and how they can be exploited
Real-world use cases that highlight the need for tighter controls
Why continuous learning is critical in our field
Cybersecurity Tools
My security tool pick for the week is ThreatLocker. Thank you to ThreatLocker for sponsoring Simply Offensive!
🔐 Introducing ThreatLocker’s Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform
ThreatLocker’s new Endpoint Protection Platform takes a proactive, zero trust approach to stopping ransomware before it starts. By unifying protection across users, devices, and networks, it helps prevent the exploitation of zero-day vulnerabilities — keeping your environment secure from modern threats.
30-day ThreatLocker Trial: https://www.threatlocker.com/simplyoffensive
Phillip Wylie Show Episode Spotlight
With DEFCON coming up next week, I am featuring Mike Lisi, President of the Red Team Village. Mike shares his hacker origin story and career advice. During our discussion, we discussed the importance of community and CTFs.
I hope you enjoyed this edition of The PWN, and I hope to see you in Vegas!
Cheers!
Phillip Wylie