S3E8: Maril Vernon

In this episode of Resilient Cyber, Chris Hughes and Dr. Nikki Robinson chat with Maril Vernon, an InfoSec professional, about the power of purple teaming and building a personal brand in cybersecurity. Maril shares her journey from starting in InfoSec to becoming a purple team program manager and offers valuable insights on breaking silos and personal growth. 🛡️

🔑 Key Highlights:

• Maril’s unique path into InfoSec, earning SecPlus in two weeks and transitioning into red teaming and purple teaming

• Defining purple teaming: real-time collaboration between offensive (red) and defensive (blue) teams to measurably improve security

• The growing trend of dedicated purple teams and their value to small to medium-sized businesses

• Breaking down the confusion between pen testing, red teaming, and purple teaming

• The importance of personal branding in cybersecurity and how Maril used LinkedIn to build hers

• How interpersonal skills and relationship-building are essential for cybersecurity success

• Tips for developing and scaling purple teams, and resources to get started

Maril also discusses how purple teams bridge the gap between technical and business roles by translating technical findings into risk, helping businesses make smarter security decisions.