AI can detect disease from your voice.

It can write code, replace junior roles, and potentially reshape global power structures.

So the real question is not whether AI is advancing. It’s whether we can control what we don’t fully understand.

In this episode, host Tony Pietrocola, President and Co-founder of AgileBlue, and co-host Joe Marquette, AgileBlue CEO and Co-founder, sit down with AI strategist, advisor, and educator Jason Lowe to explore how rapidly expanding AI capability is outpacing control mechanisms across industries. From healthcare breakthroughs to workforce disruption and global AI competition, the conversation moves beyond hype into practical leadership realities.

Key takeaways:

• AI is expanding faster than governance and control frameworks can keep up.
• Continuous learning models could fundamentally change how AI systems behave and evolve.
• The global AI race is not just commercial; it carries geopolitical implications.
• AI-driven productivity gains are reshaping entry-level and junior workforce roles.
• The five human skills that will matter most in an AI-driven world: collaboration, communication, curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking.
• And more!

Connect with Tony Pietrocola:

• AgileBlue
• LinkedIn: AgileBlue
• YouTube: @agileblue
• LinkedIn: Tony Pietrocola

Connect with Jason Lowe:

• AI Diatribe
• LinkedIn: AI Diatribe
• LinkedIn: Jason Lowe

AI is moving faster than most organizations are ready for, and the real risk is not the technology itself, but how leaders choose to adopt it. From boardrooms to security operations centers, the balance between innovation and control has never mattered more.

In this episode, host Tony Pietrocola, President and Co-founder of AgileBlue, and co-host Joe Marquette, AgileBlue CEO and Co-founder, are joined by Ken Stasiak, veteran cybersecurity leader and founder of NegotiatorIQ, to unpack what AI adoption really means for security teams, executives, and boards. Together, they explore how AI mirrors the early days of the internet boom, why cultural readiness matters just as much as technical capability, and how organizations can avoid overtrusting or underutilizing AI. Ken shares insights on governance, cognitive bias, SOC transformation, and the human responsibility that must remain firmly in place as automation accelerates.

Key takeaways:

• Why AI adoption today feels similar to the internet boom of the late 1990s
• The difference between AI as a tool and AI as a decision-maker
• How overtrusting AI can create long-term regulatory and operational risk
• Why culture and leadership mindset determine successful AI integration
• What a healthy human + AI workflow looks like inside a modern SOC
• And more!

Connect with Tony Pietrocola:

• AgileBlue
• LinkedIn: AgileBlue
• YouTube: @agileblue
• LinkedIn: Tony Pietrocola

Connect with Ken Stasiak:

• Stasiak
• LinkedIn: Ken Stasiak

Cybersecurity doesn’t fail because of weak tools. It fails because of weak translation.

When executives hear acronyms instead of impact, critical decisions stall.

In this episode of Zero Trust Issues, host Tony Pietrocola, President and Co-founder of AgileBlue, and co-host Joe Marquette, AgileBlue CEO and Co-founder, sit down with seasoned CISO Lee Buttke to unpack one of the most overlooked risks in modern cybersecurity: the communication gap between technical teams and business leadership.

Drawing from real-world incident experience, Lee shares how overly technical reporting during a breach created confusion at the executive level, and what security leaders should focus on instead.

• Why cyber acronyms like TTPs can derail executive understanding
• The difference between technical reporting and business impact reporting
• How to communicate containment, exposure, and operational disruption clearly
• Why cybersecurity maturity frameworks create alignment across leadership
• How assigning a monetary value to cyber risk drives smarter decisions
• The role of the CISO in elevating cybersecurity conversations to the board level
• Why resilience in 2026 depends on proactive communication, not reactive defense
• And more!

Connect with Tony Pietrocola:

• AgileBlue
• LinkedIn: AgileBlue
• YouTube: @agileblue
• LinkedIn: Tony Pietrocola

Connect with Lee Buttke:

• AgileBlue
• LinkedIn: Lee Buttke
• LinkedIn: AgileBlue

When the lights stay on, most people assume everything is fine. But what if the real danger is unfolding quietly behind the scenes?

In this episode, host Tony Pietrocola, President and Co-founder of AgileBlue, sits down with AgileBlue CEO and Co-founder Joe Marquette and Major General (Ret.) Ryan Heritage, former Director of Operations at U.S. Cyber Command. They unpack the evolving risks facing critical infrastructure and why modern cyber threats are more subtle, persistent, and strategic than ever.

Key takeaways:

• Why critical infrastructure now extends far beyond traditional military targets
• How the cyber domain functions as both maneuver space and a weapons platform
• What “persistent engagement” means in today’s peer-to-peer cyber competition
• Why AI currently provides asymmetric advantages to attackers
• The importance of constantly challenging security assumptions at the executive level
• And more!

Connect with Tony Pietrocola:

• AgileBlue
• LinkedIn: AgileBlue
• YouTube: @agileblue
• LinkedIn: Tony Pietrocola

Connect with Joe Marquette:

• LinkedIn: Joe Marquette

Connect with Ryan Heritage:

• GRVTY
• LinkedIn: Ryan Heritage

A deal fell apart at the worst possible moment, and instead of ending the story, it sparked the idea that became AgileBlue. In Episode 1 of Zero-Trust Issues, the founders share how a setback at Black Hat helped shape their approach to cybersecurity, automation, and resilience.

In this first episode of Zero-Trust Issues, host Tony Pietrocola, President and Co-founder of AgileBlue, sits down with co-host Joe Marquette, AgileBlue CEO and Co-founder, and Chief Technology Officer Stephen Smith to tell the company’s origin story and what it revealed about the cybersecurity market. The conversation begins in August 2019 at Black Hat in Las Vegas, when the team learned they’d lost what they believed would be their first major deal—sparking an immediate “are we done?” moment. From there, they unpack what it takes to build a security business that can scale without simply adding more headcount. They also discuss why visibility matters when communicating cyber risk to executives and boards, and why “AI-native” security is quickly becoming table stakes as attackers adopt the same tools.

Key takeaways:

• How resilience after a setback can become a competitive advantage
• Why scaling security operations requires automation—not just more people
• What “AI vs. AI” means in practice, and why AI-native defense is no longer optional
• How to make cyber risk visible and understandable for CEOs and boards
• The real-world pain points in legacy security models that led AgileBlue to build differently
• And more!

Connect with Tony Pietrocola:

• AgileBlue
• LinkedIn: AgileBlue
• YouTube: @agileblue
• LinkedIn: Tony Pietrocola

Connect with Joe Marquette:

• LinkedIn: Joe Marquette

Connect with Stephen Smith:

• LinkedIn: Stephen Smith

In a world where AI is both the biggest risk and the strongest defense, Zero-Trust Issues helps cybersecurity and technology leaders stay ahead of threats. Hosted by Tony Pietrocola of AgileBlue, this podcast explores how AI and humans can work together to outsmart attackers, strengthen resilience, and turn cybersecurity from fear into confidence.

Each episode dives into real stories, emerging AI trends, and expert insights to help you take control of your digital future.