I work at the intersection of cyber defense, AI safety, and emerging risk, where the threats are converging and the playbooks are still being written.

My career has taken me from the Marine Corps to NSA, U.S. Cyber Command, the U.S. House of Representatives, Mandiant, and Netflix. Across every role, one throughline: understanding adversaries, building high-trust teams, and translating complex problems into strategies leaders can act on.

Today, I advise organizations, governments, and research institutions on AI governance, agentic threat preparedness, and unifying safety and security into a single discipline. I contribute to global standards efforts including the EU AI Act (via OWASP AI) and lead executive education on cybersecurity and AI strategy at SANS.

If you’re navigating the future of AI risk or security strategy, let’s connect.

Chris Cochran

As a U.S. Marine who spent years working alongside special operations teams, I learned that different missions require radically different mindsets.

Everybody loves the Navy SEAL archetype: aggressive, adaptive, and masters of improvisation.

But if you deploy AI agents with that mindset, you are inviting disaster. AI doesn’t have the judgment to improvise. When it tries, it makes mistakes.

In high-stakes business environments, you don't need the "bang" of chaos; you need the "whisper" of control. You need more of a Delta Force methodology.

In my latest article, I break down why AI requires more determinism, and less heroism, and introduce CONTROL for governing agentic AI.

Read the full strategy below. 👇

Field CISO & VP, AI Security @ SANS | Bridging Cyber Defense and Frontier AI Risk | Ex-NSA, Netflix, Mandiant | US Marine Veteran

Let me set the tone clearly: This is not a debate about which group is "better." Both are elite. Both accomplish the impossible. As a US Marine, I res

Open article: Why You Need to Manage AI Agents Like Delta Force, Not Navy SEALs by Chris Cochran • 4 min read

Why You Need to Manage AI Agents Like Delta Force, Not Navy SEALs

What is your current view of AI in cybersecurity? I bet its a mixed bag. 

Foster Nethercott wants to hear directly from you. 

Make your voice heard. 

Just want the TLDR? Rob T. Lee and Foster will be hosting a livestream July 15th to cover the insights. 

Links to both in the comments. 

SANS Institute

Hi! 👋   My name is Gianna and I love bees, cybersecurity, and building things. I'm CEO & Co-Founder of the Cybersecurity Marketing Society and a marketing consultant and advisor to cybersecurity companies and tech startups. 

Recent Marketing Advisor at Votiro, a few other companies, and working on my own awesome companies: the Cybersecurity Marketing Society, a community for cybersecurity marketers to network, grow, and learn from each other!

My passions include: startups, cybersecurity, real estate, art, agtech, digital and online culture, and more!

Please include a message in your connection request but do feel free to reach out to me - I love to make connections with ambitious, passionate, and inspiring people!

Gianna Whitver

It's always saddening to hear of layoffs in our industry.  💔  For those affected by the AWS layoffs - or any layoff in cyber - myself and the Cybersecurity Marketing Society are here for you. We run a bustling, positive, and helpful community with so many of your peers who are willing to lend a helping hand. For marketers who want to stay in the cyber industry, you can participate in:

💓 Our weekly Jobs Therapy call focused on peer support & positioning yourself on getting the next role
💓 Our cyber-specific gtm jobs board (https://lnkd.in/exzcJ82b)
💓 Our #jobboard slack channel which has jobs and gigs posted daily
💓 Backchannel on companies and opps
💓 Letting us know you are looking without having to post it publicly so that I and the Society can keep an eye out for you! 

We - and I - are here for you!

We will fast-track applications for any cyber marketer impacted by a layoff - join us here: https://lnkd.in/eSm-HF-p

Open article: Apply to Join the Society | Cybersecurity Marketing Society by cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com

Apply to Join the Society | Cybersecurity Marketing Society

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The Battle

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