Reddit, Inc.

Leading Reddit's software security team which focuses on AppSec, ProdSec, and a secure by default developer experience.

Head of Software Security

I'm designing and implementing security systems into all facets of Reddit's business. Protecting our company's employees and our website's users is my team's main focus.

Principal Security Architect

Aviso Ventures

Limited Partner

Bank of America

A senior security leader responsible for a large team, focused on Infrastructure Security Testing.
Responsibilities have included:

Management of our Vulnerability Scanning program continuously scanning millions of endpoints and thousands of web applications,
Enterprise Remediation Governance - partnering with our infrastructure owners to remediate vulnerabilities within given SLAs,
Management of our baseline compliance monitoring program, and
Management of our Internet Hygiene and perimeter analysis.

Previously led our cloud, container, and DevOps security programs for a hybrid, multi-cloud architecture.

SVP, Sr Security Manager, Cyber Security Defense

If it's a Cloud, Containerization, or DevOps initiative it's on my desk.

My job to work with all security control owners to operationalize their control in all major public cloud providers and Kubernetes or OpenShift environments.

SVP, Cyber Security Technology - Cloud Security Architect

Liquidmatrix Security Digest

- Write articles about current events in the security world and my personal take on them.
- Host a weekly podcast about current events in the security industry.

Writer & Podcast Co-Host

Goldman Sachs

- One of 3 CISOs of consumer facing divisions at Goldman. (Honest Dollar, Marcus, and GS Bank)

Vice President

Honest Dollar

Acting CISO, built an Information Security program from the ground up at a Financial Tech startup.
- Build secure SDLC, testing, and monitoring around a FinTech application running in Google Cloud on Kubernetes hosting a ReactJS, Go, iOS/Android application and backend financial connections.
- Manage creation and maintenance of policies
- Prove secure foundations during acquisition due diligence by Goldman Sachs

Head of Security [ Acquired by Goldman Sachs NYSE: GS ]

WhiteHat Security

Transitioned out of people management for my last stint at WhiteHat and really focused on industry leadership, sales enablement, content creation, partnership building, and new product launches.

This includes but is not limited to:
- Remediation Assistance & Guidance
- Secure Development Training
- Risk Based Vulnerability Prioritization
- SDLC Architecture Review
- AppSec Program Building
- Asset Discovery

Launched and co-hosted a weekly video podcast, entitled HackerKast, with the Founder of WhiteHat Security, Jeremiah Grossman, and VP of WhiteHat Labs, Robert "RSnake" Hansen.

Director, Security Services & Research

Started and built Whitehat’s first satellite office - focusing on hiring dozens of new security engineers in Houston while maintaining the Silicon Valley SaaS startup culture. Took the team from 0-65+

Hired, trained, and managed the team and helped handle WhiteHat’s exploding customer base which went from a few hundred websites to tens of thousands during this period.

Launched our new product lines beyond our bread and butter web app security testing which included Static Code Analysis and other early development lifecycle integrations to better address the DevOps movement.

Acting figurehead representing WhiteHat Security at many local and national security events presenting on his technical security research as well as emerging threats and trends in the web application security field. (mattjay.github.io/talks)

Sr. Manager, Threat Research Center

- Lead a team of application security testers and engineers

Threat Research Center Supervisor

Web Application penetration tester for the Threat Research Center at WhiteHat Security responsible for identification of security vulnerabilities across tens of thousands of web applications.

Application Security Specialist

San Jose State University

- Taught the web application security section of a undergraduate level class on information security.

Instructor

Adelphi University

- Taught the web application security section of a undergraduate senior seminar on information security.

VerSprite, LLC

Security Consultant

Over the last two decades, I’ve helped make hundreds of organizations more secure.

My mission is to leave the Internet a more secure place than I found it.

I’m helping organizations handle billions of users' information securely and increasing brand’s trust among their customers.

I’m currently the Security Architect of Reddit.

My portfolio:

→ I’m the security architect of Reddit where I help design security into all facets of the business for the 4th largest social network in the US and a top 20 most visited website globally
→ I teach company’s how to protect against cyber attacks and save tens of millions of dollars in losses.
→ I coach entrepreneurs and CISOs that need help with infrastructure, application, cloud, and security policies.
→ I advise early-stage companies in cyber security best practices and help pass technical due diligence from investors and potential acquirers.
→ I invest in early-stage private technology companies focusing on cybersecurity, software infrastructure, employee productivity, and B2B/SaaS.
→ I volunteer for a selection of non-profits who’s missions I connect with who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford technical and specifically security consulting services..

My results:

→ 50,000k+ applications with less vulnerabilities than when I found them
→ 1B+ users data security reliant on systems I designed or secured
→ $100M+ of startup exits using my security due diligence
→ 0 advertisements or cold calls
→ 100% due diligence success rate

If you want to work with me, get in touch:

Email: mattjohansen@proton.me
Twitter: @mattjay

Matt Johansen

Security Recruiter - Founder of Hampton North

Founder of Hampton North.

Hampton North are a Cyber Security specialist search firm that are built solely with the cyber security industry in mind.

We provide multiple solutions for a multitude of clients including retained/exec search, large headcount hiring sprints, contact and contract-to-hire services and SOW engagements for firms looking for a strategic execution specialist.

Stuart Mitchell

It's Thanksgiving tomorrow. I started writing a post about all the stuff I'm thankful for and realized I sounded a bit like a self-serving prick.  I'm happy with my life, and it's because of a lot of great people, and I'll tell them all personally (or I'll try).

What I did reflect on was the years that I didn't feel particularly thankful or grateful or just in truth very happy at this time of year. Years after breakups, family losses, challenging work years etc. What I remember fondly is the people who went out of their way to make me feel special and invite me to their table, opened up their home, reached out for a phone call or a coffee.

If you can be that person to someone this holiday season, you are a damn hero in my eyes.

Happy Thanskgiving. Hug your parents, let go of some grudges and be sure to go back for a second plate of food.

With Thanksgiving around the corner, it hit me how much I owe to the cybersecurity community.

Hampton North exists because this industry gave me a shot. My team, the business we’ve built, and the life I’ve created for my family; none of it happens without the support, trust, and kindness of the people in this space.

To the leaders who took my calls when I was just getting started, to the founders, CISO's and talent teams who bet on us early, and to the candidates who’ve trusted us with their careers: thank you. 

Hope everyone gets a minute next week to breathe, reset, and spend time with the people who matter.

Hampton North keeps growing.

Our 2025 plan to dive more into the cybersecurity product world has yielded tremendous results, and we want to double down on that.

We are looking for 2 key folks to join the business in Q1 of 2026;

- Head of Engineering Recruitment - As we grow in this space, we are looking for someone who can own the engineering team. You'll be commercially focused, customer facing, but with an eye on growing out the practice over the coming years.

- Senior GTM Recruiter - Off the great work of Mike Campagna, we need someone who wants to double up with Mike and take this practice into the next stratosphere. 

Why would you join us...

- The caliber of your colleague is second to none
- High end compensation packages - we're a US business, not a UK one, we get that life over here is expensive
- Access to rooms other company's simply don't get; VC's, Advisory Board's, Private Community's
- Work from anywhere (within the US), we want the best people, not the best people in a certain  geography
- We get together though; Nashville, London, Miami, Austin, SF, LA, Boston, NYC; we've hosted meetups in all of these places
- Elite swag; Owala Water Bottles, Frank Green Coffee Cups, Peter Millar Q Zips
- We aren't gearing to sell. This might be an anti-selling point for some, but this drives the behaviors of retention and wanting people to be here and happy for a long period, because I'm not sailing into the sunset in 5 years

Hit up myself or Greg Anderson if you want to know more. There will be a limited amount of seats on the Hampton North bus; don't miss it.

‘Trust is at an all-time low for both job seekers and recruiters’: Greenhouse Software CEO says talent acquisition is in an ‘AI doom loop'. (Fortune link in comments)

Essentially, AI is making the entire hiring process, way worse than it was before. All these new products, efficiencies, shortcuts and we're worse off than when we started.

Companies are tired. Candidates are tired. We’ve created a system that feels rigged in nobody’s favor except the vendors selling 'AI-powered shortcuts' or 'ATS-proof resumes'.

It might honestly be the best time since the internet started to be a specialist recruiter (headhunter if you want to sound fancy).  You've already built the networks, pre-validated people, can call out BS if someone's fluffing what they've done at certain companies as you know teammates in that team etc.

Almost every new client we’re working with thought they were set; “great pipeline,” “perfect candidate,” “we’ve got this handled.” And every time? It’s a false economy. Eventually they throw their hands up and pass the baton to us...

I don't have the answer to fix the overall problem, and I imagine this will get worse before it gets any better if I'm brutally honest, but in the meantime Hampton North (and plenty of other recruiting companies) are going to ride the 'AI Doom Loop' wave.

If you want somebody to start the first week of January and you haven't got anyone in the pipeline to interview next week.

You're probably toast.

You have a very short window to have Hampton North fix that.

stuart.mitchell@hamptonnorth.com

CISO's trying to sleep after reading today's Anthropic report...

We're in the market for a Senior ML Engineer for a company I am incredibly bullish on. This is a seed stage cyber player who are rethinking how we look at the threat and detection landscape.

Backed by some of the best VC's in the space, incredible founder, world class team.

Role is remote (east coast) with a little travel, $170-220k base plus meaningful equity. 

Aimee Clemson is running point on the search. Reach out to her for more info.

"AI has lowered the barrier to entry for sophisticated attacks..."

"The line between nation state hacker and script kiddy has become blended..."

Last week, Conor Sherman and I were fortunate enough to have Damien Lewke, Founder and CEO of Nebulock, Inc. on the Zero Signal Podcast. We talked all things Threat Hunting in the new AI led world...

If you haven't been following Damien, you absolutely should be. Damien founded Nebulock to democratize threat hunting, making it accessible to all enterprises, not just those who can afford it or have the requisite talent in-house. This is a company and founder I'm incredibly bullish on.

Links to the episode in the comments. Like, subscribe, tell your friends, and as we round out season one of Zero Signal, we truly welcome all feedback.

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The Battle

Matt Johansen

Stuart Mitchell

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taplio

The Battle

Matt Johansen

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Stuart Mitchell's LinkedIn Performance

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