How ready is your corporate security team to handle AI and ML threats? Many simply don’t have the bandwidth or don’t see it as a priority. That’s where security engineers like Microsoft’s Andrew Marshall step in. In this episode, hosts Nic Fillingham and Natalia Godyla speak with Andrew about just what his team is doing to teach security professionals and policy makers about the dangers of AI and ML attacks, and walks through some of the documentation, available for free online, that can help guide the response. Plus, why he really, really doesn’t want to talk about Windows Vista.
Nic and Natalia then explore what it’s like to hunt down threats with Sam Schwartz, a program manager with Microsoft Threat Experts. She came to Microsoft right out of college and didn’t even know what malware was. Now, she’s helping coordinate a team of threat hunters on the cutting edge of attack prevention.
In This Episode, You Will Learn:
Why data science and security engineering skills don’t necessarily overlap
How attackers are using ML to change decision making
What security teams are doing to protect AI and ML systems
How threat hunters are tracking down the newest security risks
Why Microsoft Threat Experts are focused on human adversaries, not malware
Some Questions We Ask:
What does the ML landscape look like at Microsoft?
How are ML attacks evolving?
What is ‘data poisoning’?
Why do threat hunters need to limit the scope of their work?
What skills do you need to be a security program manager?
Noah Labhart is the CTO & Co-Founder of Veryable, and the Founder & CEO of Touchtap, a digital solutions studio. A tech veteran himself, Labhart is intimately familiar with the challenges, risks and rewards of introducing new tech into the world. Tune in to hear about how Noah became a two time tech startup founder.
A note from Grant
Noah Labhart, on paper at least, in the early part of his career, has all the hallmarks of a classic math and computer science graduate’s path through tech. He interned at places like Hewlett Packard and worked as a developer in the first few years post college before moving into management.
However, for Noah Labhart, there is more to the story than punching the clock working for someone else. After 8 years working in IT management for Alcon Laboratories, Noah made the leap on his own and hasn’t looked back since.
In 2015, he started his own development studio, called Touchtap, which specializes in native mobile application development. And, as if starting and running one company isn’t enough, in 2016, he co-founded Veryable, an on-demand marketplace for labor in the warehousing space. Never one to sit still, Noah also runs the popular Code Story podcast. It features tech leaders reflecting on their human story in creating world changing, disruptive digital products.
-Grant Ingersoll
Quotes
“I got into math and started pursuing it but I really started to enjoy my computer science classes. In coding, I loved the creativity and I started building some websites for myself, throwing pictures up of my family and little bios. I learned html, css, javascript, and really liked it.”
“At the time there was an opportunity to work for Alcon Laboratories. I had a lot of friends that worked there. Great company. Takes really good care of their employees. Pretty good flexibility. So I was like ‘I can do my band during the weekends and have a really great job during the week’. And I worked for Alcon for 8 years.”
“As problems needed to be fixed, we brought on more help. We didn’t try to bite off more than we can chew. That’s how Touchtap grew and we’ve done a similar thing with Veryable. We’ve started with uncsontrained models. We’ve built things as we’ve needed them. And instead of building these intricate systems, we’ve built something, responded to market feedback, and then build it in a new way to meet the needs of the market.”
—Noah Labhart
Key Milestones
What inspired Noah Labhart to get into tech and to pursuing a comp sci and math degree at Texas A&M?
Why did Noah transition into IT management after starting his career in development?
Noah was at Alcon Labs when he decided to found his tech startup, TouchTap. How did this happen?
How does Noah think about building teams and businesses these days?
What is Veryable why did Noah decide to build another tech startup company?
Noah also has a successful podcast called Code Story. What is it about? who is it for?
From a career perspective, why start and run a podcast?
Schmidt also helped create Monument, which he describes as "an affordable live/work art event space in downtown San Francisco. The upstairs is 24 private bedrooms and studio spaces and the downstairs is a 200+ capacity person event venue and makerspace. Our goal is to connect creative people across different fields, and in particular build bridges between art and technology."
OUTLINE:
Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
(00:00) – Introduction
(08:25) – The great American road trip
(25:54) – Martial arts and philosophy
(28:55) – Real vs fake success on Instagram
(39:40) – The brutal honesty of Mike Tyson
(44:26) – Breaking your opponent in wrestling
(52:32) – Genghis Khan
(1:03:38) – It’s okay to change your mind
(1:08:15) – Why do politicians become inauthentic
(1:14:52) – Greatness requires sacrifice
(1:17:36) – Whiplash
(1:25:44) – Relationships
(1:31:21) – Greatest fighters of all time
(1:39:02) – Greatest fight of all time
(1:53:25) – Khabib Nurmagomedov
(1:55:13) – Can Conor McGregor beat Khabib Nurmagomedov?
(2:09:29) – Conor vs Khabib 2
(2:16:05) – Will there always be war?
(2:17:41) – Future of civilization
(2:19:52) – Kids
(2:26:37) – The meaning of a “like” on social media
(2:35:34) – Starting a podcast
(2:54:16) – Book recommendations
(2:57:46) – Keeping the independence of solitude
PHPUgly streams the recording of this podcast live. Typically every Thursday night around 9 PM PT. Come and join us, and subscribe to our Youtube Channel, Twitch, or Periscope. Also, be sure to check out our Patreon Page. AZPHP Meetup
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