This week on the Practical 365 Podcast, Rich Dean and I record his final episode as he moves on to new adventures. It’s a special episode where we not only look back at some incredible guests and discussions but also welcome our new co-host, Bastiaan Verdonk, who brings nearly three decades of cybersecurity expertise to the show.
Getting to Know Bastiaan
Bastiaan joins us from Quest Software, where he’s spent nearly 2 decades helping organizations tackle their toughest Active Directory and security challenges. His journey through the tech industry reads like a history of enterprise IT – from early days at Ashton Tate working on dBASE, to other roles at Borland and Novell. You’ll hear his enthusiasm for technology shine through as he shares stories from his extensive career helping organizations worldwide implement security solutions.
A Trip Down Memory Lane
Rich and I couldn’t let his final episode pass without revisiting some of our favorite moments. We dive into our conversation with Yonatan Zunger, which was particularly memorable. Listen to that fascinating discussion about AI security and safety in Episode 12, where Yonatan’s journey from the Manhattan Project’s theoretical physics to leading Microsoft’s AI security efforts gave us unique insights into where AI is heading.
We also reminisce about our deep dive with Merill Fernando, who shared some incredible insights about identity management. Catch that discussion about Maester.dev and modern identity management approaches in Episode 31 – it’s still incredibly relevant today, especially with the increasing complexity of managing conditional access policies at scale.
AI and Security: A Look Forward
After discussing Rich’s best bits, we move on to topics close to Bastiaan’s heart – AI and cybersecurity. We deep dive into the rapid advancement of large language models, the lower-end devices, and reduced requirements of very capable models like Phi-4, and how they can be (and most likely are) abused by bad actors. I’m sure in future episodes this will no doubt be a recurring topic.
Bastiaan brings a refreshingly practical perspective to these discussions, drawing from his years of helping organizations navigate security challenges. We explore how AI is changing the threat landscape and what organizations need to consider as these tools become more accessible.
Rich’s Sign-Off & Next Time on the Practical 365 podcast
Before wrapping up, Rich shares some heartfelt thanks, particularly to everyone who listens to the show. It’s been an incredible journey, and while we’re sad to see Rich go, we’re excited about what’s next.
In two weeks’ time, I’ll be back with Paul Robichaux for our regular news discussion focusing on Exchange updates and AI safety. Bastiaan and I will also welcome our first guest together – you won’t want to miss it. The conversation about AI safety and security is just getting started, and with Bastiaan’s expertise, we’ll be diving even deeper into these topics in future episodes.
Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite platform to stay updated with our latest episodes, and we’ll see you next time.
