What does it take to go from staring at forensic images to sitting across from a CEO whose company is on fire? Steve Elovitz has spent his entire career in the room when things go wrong. He started in forensics and eDiscovery at PwC, moved to Booz Allen doing government work, then spent a decade at Mandiant before joining Unit 42 to lead North America consulting and incident response. The throughline across all of it: empathy. In this conversation, Steve reflects on what two decades of incident response actually teaches you about the people on the other side of a breach. The executives fighting for their jobs. The CISOs trying to communicate while everything's on fire. The analysts who need someone to have their backs. You'll hear how Steve's understanding of the job evolved as he moved from technical analyst to executive advisor, what the shift from forensic imaging to real-time response felt like from inside it, why identity keeps showing up in nearly every postmortem, and what briefing a board looks like when you get 15 minutes instead of the hour you planned for. Steve has advised Fortune 500 boards and C-suites through some of the most damaging breaches of the past two decades. His biggest lesson turned out to be the one no certification teaches. This episode is essential listening if you're a security professional trying to grow from analyst to advisor, or a leader building a team that can sustain this kind of work over a career. Related Episodes: Speaking Security in Board Language Cybersecurity Metrics and Reporting to the Board Transform Your SOC and Get Ahead of the Threats #IncidentResponse #Cybersecurity About Threat Vector Threat Vector by Palo Alto Networks is your premier podcast for security thought leadership. Join us as we explore pressing cybersecurity threats, robust protection strategies, and the latest industry trends. The podcast features in-depth discussions with industry leaders, Palo Alto Networks experts, and customers, providing crucial insights for security decision-makers. Whether you're looking to stay ahead of the curve with innovative solutions or understand the evolving cybersecurity landscape, Threat Vector equips you with the knowledge needed to safeguard your organization. Palo Alto Networks Palo Alto Networks enables your team to prevent successful cyberattacks with an automated approach that delivers consistent security across the cloud, network, and mobile.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠http://paloaltonetworks.com.⁠⁠

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.