What happens when you record a security conversation in a venue built inside an Austrian mountain? You get something that feels sharper, more grounded, and far more human than a typical industry chat. I sat down with Adam Khan, VP of Global Security Operations at Barracuda XDR, and Eric Russo, Director of SOC Defensive Security, during Barracuda TechSummit25 in Alpbach, where the peaks rise on every side and the air seems to clear the noise around modern cybersecurity.

Adam and Eric lead the teams that track, interpret, and act on attacks moving across email, identity, networks, cloud, and endpoints. This is the engine room behind Barracuda XDR, and our conversation dug into what those operations actually look like when threats move fast and visibility is everything. What struck me most was the mix of optimism and realism. Adam speaks with three decades of hard-earned experience, yet carries a sense of purpose that feels rare in a field defined by bad headlines. Eric brings a forensic lens shaped by years inside the SOC, where decisions must be made in seconds rather than hours. Together they paint a picture of how attacks unfold today and why integrated defense has become the only viable way to keep pace.

We talked about the way attackers now operate as coordinated units with their own playbooks, and how the best cyber defenders are beginning to mirror that discipline. Adam shared a football formation metaphor that landed with everyone in the room, showing how the principles of pressure, spacing, and anticipation mirror what security teams deal with every day. That analogy extended into real stories of ransomware groups such as Akira, and how the Barracuda SOC has been intercepting attacks that begin with zero day VPN exploits and then cascade into email and endpoint compromise. Hearing both of them describe how XDR stitches those layers together into a single view made the stakes feel clearer. Without that shift, the noise, the tool sprawl, and the speed of attacks would bury even the most experienced teams.

There was also a moment where cybersecurity met Home Alone, and it worked in a way I never expected. Adam explained XDR through Kevin McCallister’s improvised defence of the family home, and it became the simplest way I have ever heard the concept explained. It reminded everyone listening why clarity matters, especially when the language in this industry can easily shut people out. Eric followed with a view on automation, AI, and the shift from reactive investigation to proactive threat hunting. The two perspectives created a fuller picture of where the field is heading and why integrated platforms are quickly replacing the old model of isolated point tools.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrAsYyGo6Yk

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