In this episode of Hack Responsibly, host Karl Fosaaen sits down with Giles Inkson, Director of Red Team Operations NetSPI, for a candid conversation about the winding path into offensive security, and what it actually looks like to do this work at a high level today.

Giles covers a lot of ground: getting started in security, exploring AI use cases for red teaming, and navigating an industry that's shifted dramatically from stronger EDR, federated identity, SaaS sprawl, to a security culture that's finally starting to catch up.

In this episode:

• How curiosity (and some questionable game cheats) led to a career in red teaming
• Building and experimenting with AI-assisted offense
• Living off the land: why built-in OS tools still win
• The engagement that went from default credentials to domain admin
• Favorite tools, books, cons, and why sleep is a non-negotiable

In this episode of Hack Responsibly, Karl Fossen talks to James Albany, NetSPI’s Senior Director of Network Pentesting, about his path from a SOC analyst to a penetration testing leader. They cover how AI and continuous testing are reshaping the security industry, what common gaps still show up in assessments, and what James is up to outside of work.

What’s discussed:

• Advice for newcomers: understand the fundamentals so you can gut-check what AI is doing well versus poorly
• The shift from point-in-time assessments to continuous testing programs and why clients are increasingly asking for it
• AI's role in security testing, including generating Nuclei templates and accelerating vulnerability discovery, and when traditional automation is still the better choice
• The "fire hose effect" of AI tools like Mythos compressing timelines for vulnerability discovery, proof-of-concept development, and remediation
• Underrepresented topics in security: SCCM/deployment server risks, Linux and Kubernetes environments, and supply chain security
• Common gaps still showing up in assessments, including Active Directory and application-level vulnerabilities that network scanners miss
• TFTP and PXE booting as surprisingly persistent and effective attack vectors

In this episode of Hack Responsibly, Karl Fossen chats with Thomas Elling, NetSPI’s Director of Cloud Pentesting, about today’s cloud security challenges. They dive into cloud pentesting tips and common misconfigurations, discussing how attackers take advantage of these gaps. Thomas also shares his own path into cybersecurity. Listen to practical advice for newcomers, and a look at why staying curious and adaptable matters for anyone tackling today’s evolving threats.

We dive into:

• Strategic cloud adoption and layered security
• Mitigating high-impact cloud vulnerabilities
• The threat of attack chaining
• Cultivating a resilience security culture