Rephonic
Artwork for FIRST Impressions Podcast

FIRST Impressions Podcast

FIRST.Org
Cybersecurity
FIRST Conference
Artificial Intelligence
Incident Response
Burnout
Tabletop Exercises
Known Exploited Vulnerability List (KEV)
CISA
Copenhagen
Social Engineering
Helsinki Data Breach
Large Language Models
Security Operations Centers
Burnout In Cybersecurity
Telecommunications
Peak Defense
CVE Remediation
Open Source Security
European Union
Cyber Resilience Act

The FIRST Impressions podcast brings you regularly scheduled content focused on discussions from across the incident response and security spectrum. Hosted by Chris John Riley and Martin McKeay, new episodes released first Friday of the month!

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes62Founded5 years ago
Number of ListenersCategories
Non-ProfitBusinessNewsTech News

Listen to this Podcast

Artwork for FIRST Impressions Podcast

Latest Episodes

Recorded live at FIRSTCON26 in Denver, Colorado, this episode of FIRST Impressions features an interview with John Hollenberger of Fortinet to discuss his FIRSTCON26 presentation on ChaosStack, a fresh approach to tabletop exercises designed to bette... more

Recorded live at FIRSTCON26 in Denver, Colorado, this episode of FIRST Impressions, interviews Tim Brown, CISO-in-Residence at Team8 and former CISO of SolarWinds, following his opening keynote at the conference.

Drawing on his firsthand experience... more

Recorded live at FIRSTCON26 in Denver, Colorado, this episode of FIRST Impressions, features an interview with Chris Butera, acting Executive Assistant Director for Cybersecurity at CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency), the local h... more

Rapidly approaching, the EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) is set to reshape how manufacturers develop, secure, and support digital products. In this episode of the First Impressions Podcast, Mars Cheng of TXOne Networks breaks down what the CRA means fo... more

Key Facts

Accepts Guests
Contact Information
Podcast Host
Number of Listeners
Find out how many people listen to this podcast per episode and each month.

Similar Podcasts

People also subscribe to these shows.

Recent Guests

John Hollenberger
From Fortinet
Fortinet
Episode: Episode 63: John Hollenberger, Fortinet, FIRSTCON26 Speaker
Tim Brown
CISO in residence for Team8; former SolarWinds CISO
Team8
Episode: Episode 62: Tim Brown, Team8, former SolarWinds CISO, FIRSTCON26 Keynote
Chris Butera
Acting Executive Assistant Director of Cybersecurity for CISA
CISA
Episode: Episode 61: Chris Butera, CISA, FIRSTCON26 Speaker
Mars Cheng
Head of Cyber Threat and Product Defense Center at TXOne Networks
TXOne Networks Inc.
Episode: Episode 60: Mars Cheng, TXOne Networks Inc., FIRSTCON26 Speaker
Julie Agnes Sparks
Datadog security expert discussing SaaS security and visibility
Datadog
Episode: Episode 59: Julie Agnes Sparks and Greg Foss, Datadog, FIRSTCON26 Speakers
Greg Foss
Datadog security expert discussing SaaS security and visibility
Datadog
Episode: Episode 59: Julie Agnes Sparks and Greg Foss, Datadog, FIRSTCON26 Speakers
Lily Chen
Data scientist at CyCraft, focusing on robustness of LLMs
CyCraft
Episode: Episode 58: Cheng-Lin Yang and Lily Chen, CyCraft, FIRSTCON26 Speakers
George Yang
Data scientist director at CyCraft
CyCraft
Episode: Episode 58: Cheng-Lin Yang and Lily Chen, CyCraft, FIRSTCON26 Speakers
Vijay Sarvepalli
Principal Engineer at CERT Coordination Center
CERT Coordination Center
Episode: Episode 57: Vijay Sarvepalli and Christopher Cullen, FIRSTCON26 Speakers

Hosts

Chris John Riley
Host of FIRST Impressions Podcast; frequently covers incident response, security leadership, and conference-focused topics.
Martin McKeay
Co-host providing deep dives into security engineering, threat intelligence, and hands-on defensive techniques.

Reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars from 4 ratings
  • fix the mic volume in the podcasts

    not good. great topics bad audio

    Apple Podcasts
    1
    JVo12
    Canada3 years ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Guests often bring vendor perspectives and concrete frameworks that listeners can apply in their organizations.
Content is generally technical and relevant to security teams, with a strong emphasis on actionable guidance.
Consistency in inviting industry experts is valued, though some note audio quality could be improved.
Listeners appreciate the practical, leadership-focused security insights and real-world stories from major incidents.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Apple Podcasts
#215
Germany/Business/Non-Profit
Apple Podcasts
#116
Norway/Business/Non-Profit
Apple Podcasts
#122
Taiwan/Business/Non-Profit
Apple Podcasts
#216
Japan/Business/Non-Profit

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Episode 63: John Hollenberger, Fortinet, FIRSTCON26 Speaker
Q: Now, do you keep adding additional layers throughout the whole exercise, or are you kind of getting that front-loading going and then letting them catch up?
The approach uses front-loading of three to four injects at 5 to 10 minute intervals, while letting the team talk through and discuss the scenario, so that the pressure is upfront but the team can still process and respond as the exercise evolves.
Episode 63: John Hollenberger, Fortinet, FIRSTCON26 Speaker
Q: Would you mind telling us what ChaosStack is?
ChaosStack is a tabletop exercise approach that stacks multiple injects up front, releasing them in a compressed timeframe to create an intentional overload that tests how a team handles competing priorities and stress, with the aim of revealing organizational gaps and improving response. It emphasizes front-loading information to accelerate decision-making and feedback within the exercise.
Episode 55: Merike Kaeo, FIRSTCON26 Program Chair
Q: What is the theme for this year's conference and why is it relevant now?
The theme, Peak Defense, emphasizes building adaptive systems to handle modern threats, highlighting the need for flexibility, learning, and resilience in incident response amidst growing automation and AI tools.
Episode 53: John Hollenberger, FIRSTCON25 Speaker
Q: Who should be attending your talk? What level is this?
Both technical and executive teams should attend to understand roles and responsibilities in incident response.
Episode 53: John Hollenberger, FIRSTCON25 Speaker
Q: What do you mean by storyboarding exercises?
It's essentially a blueprint for the tabletop exercise with key components like objectives, scenarios, and discussion points.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

Listeners per Episode
Gender Skew
Location
Interests
Professions
Age Range
Household Income
Social Media Reach

Frequently Asked Questions About FIRST Impressions Podcast

What is FIRST Impressions Podcast about and what kind of topics does it cover?

A security-focused interview show featuring leading practitioners and researchers who discuss incident response, threat intelligence, risk management, and practical defense strategies. Episodes often center on real-world incident leadership, open-source security, regulatory compliance, and cutting-edge topics like AI-assisted security and software supply chain resilience. Notable patterns include in-depth leadership perspectives from CISOs, practical tabletop approaches, and concrete, implementation-focused takeaways for security teams, vendors, and organizations preparing for conferences and regulatory changes. The format tends to blend personal storytelling with actionable guidance, making it useful for listeners seeking both strategic in... more

Where can I find podcast stats for FIRST Impressions Podcast?

Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for FIRST Impressions Podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to FIRST Impressions Podcast and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.

How many listeners does FIRST Impressions Podcast get?

Rephonic provides a full set of podcast information for three million podcasts, including the number of listeners. View further listenership figures for FIRST Impressions Podcast, including podcast download numbers and subscriber numbers, so you can make better decisions about which podcasts to sponsor or be a guest on. You will need to upgrade your account to access this premium data.

What are the audience demographics for FIRST Impressions Podcast?

Rephonic provides comprehensive predictive audience data for FIRST Impressions Podcast, including gender skew, age, country, political leaning, income, professions, education level, and interests. You can access these listener demographics by upgrading your account.

How many subscribers and views does FIRST Impressions Podcast have?

To see how many followers or subscribers FIRST Impressions Podcast has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.

Which podcasts are similar to FIRST Impressions Podcast?

These podcasts share a similar audience with FIRST Impressions Podcast:

1. Enkel Servering

How many episodes of FIRST Impressions Podcast are there?

FIRST Impressions Podcast launched 5 years ago and published 62 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

How do I contact FIRST Impressions Podcast?

Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.

Where can I see ratings and reviews for FIRST Impressions Podcast?

Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for FIRST Impressions Podcast from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.

View all the reviews in one place instead of visiting each platform individually and use this information to decide if a show is worth pitching or not.

How do I access podcast episode transcripts for FIRST Impressions Podcast?

Rephonic provides full transcripts for episodes of FIRST Impressions Podcast. Search within each transcript for your keywords, whether they be topics, brands or people, and figure out if it's worth pitching as a guest or sponsor. You can even set-up alerts to get notified when your keywords are mentioned.

What guests have appeared on FIRST Impressions Podcast?

Recent guests on FIRST Impressions Podcast include:

1. John Hollenberger
2. Tim Brown
3. Chris Butera
4. Mars Cheng
5. Julie Agnes Sparks
6. Greg Foss
7. Lily Chen
8. George Yang

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

Find and pitch the right podcasts

We help savvy brands, marketers and PR professionals to find the right podcasts for any topic or niche. Get the data and contacts you need to pitch podcasts at scale and turn listeners into customers.
Try it free for 7 days