Voices of the Vigilant
Voices of the Vigilant
Podcast Description
"Humanizing cybersecurity with candid tales from cyberspace and beyond!"Voices of the Vigilant builds and shares knowledge by engaging with diverse voices and perspectives within the cybersecurity industry.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast focuses on key issues such as gender representation in cybersecurity, leadership transformation, and collaboration within the tech industry, with episodes covering topics like the challenges women face in tech as showcased in Hacking the Glass Ceiling, and innovations in application security shared by industry leaders like Clea Ostendorf.
Voices of the Vigilant is where bold conversations meet unflinching purpose. Hosted by Jess Vachon, cybersecurity leader, Buddhist minister, and founder of Vigilant Violet LLC, this podcast explores the front lines of digital resilience, ethical leadership, and equitable transformation in tech.
Through authentic dialogue with boundary-pushers, disruptors, and unsung heroes, each episode dives deep into the human side of cybersecurity—where strategy meets values, and innovation is grounded in integrity. From career pivots and cultural shifts to systemic inequities and visionary leadership, nothing is off the table.
This isn’t another tech podcast filled with jargon. Voices of the Vigilant is for those who lead with intention, speak truth to power, and are ready to reimagine what’s possible in an industry that’s overdue for change.
🔔 Subscribe, share, and step into a community where vigilance is both a practice and a path forward.
“Humanizing cybersecurity with candid tales from cyberspace and beyond!”
When data “walks out the door,” the hardest part isn’t always the malware, it’s the human story behind the keyboard. We sit down with Ankara Managing Director Alyssa Lisiewski, a cyber forensics and intelligence practitioner who has worked across the intelligence community, the Department of Defense, and enterprise security, and who has testified as an expert witness in federal and military courts. Together, we unpack what it really takes to follow a digital trail when the threat actor is unknown, evidence is messy, and the stakes are high.
Alyssa shares how early curiosity with computers, a criminology foundation, and years of hands-on digital forensics shaped her investigative approach. We talk about the pivot from classic crime scene fascination into computer forensics, the value of mentors who take a chance on you, and the grind of working full time while earning a graduate degree. From there we get into “preventive forensics” and thinking like an adversary, how threat intelligence connects to forensic analysis, and why insider threat and insider risk are rarely just technical problems.
We also go where security conversations often avoid: the psychological weight of major crimes work, what it means to see people at their worst, and why boundaries matter when compartmentalization starts to fail, especially after becoming a parent or working from home. Alyssa explains how she now blends threat actor attribution, deep forensic investigations, and post-breach litigation support, and why building flexible, sustainable roles is the future of cyber investigations.
Subscribe for more practical security conversations, share this with someone building a career in digital forensics or insider threat, and leave a review so more listeners can find Voices of the Vigilant.
This episode is brought to you by Onyxia Cyber — the Operational Cyber Resilience Platform that turns security data and asset intelligence into action. Onyxia helps security teams spot risk early, sharpen their strategy, and tie day-to-day operations to measurable business outcomes. Trusted by Fortune 500 leaders. Book a demo and mention Voices of the Vigilant to get your first month free → https://www.onyxia.io/?utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=vigilant_violet
https://www.vigilantviolet.com/
www.linkedin.com/in/jessvachon1
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