SANS Institute Launches Season 3 of “Cyber Leaders” Podcast, Featuring Unfiltered AI, Quantum, and Crisis Decision-Making Insights

Bethesda, MD, Nov 17, 2025 – As AI, quantum computing, and global cybercrime redefine the CISO’s role, SANS Institute is launching Season 3 of its Cyber Leaders Podcast to explore how top security leaders are adapting in real time. Hosted by SANS Institute’s James Lyne and Professor Ciaran Martin, the podcast gathers some of the most respected voices in cybersecurity for discussions about leadership, risk, and resilience in the age of AI disruption.

This season’s weekly audio episodes feature honest, experience-driven conversations with global experts from across public, private, and research sectors, including leaders such as Heather Barnhart, Paul Chichester, and Curtis Dukes. Guests come from organizations such as Applied Quantum, the Center for Internet Security, IBM, and SANS Institute, offering perspectives ranging technical depth, policy insight, and operational leadership. Each episode goes beyond talking points to explore how real leaders make tough decisions under pressure and uncertainty, providing hard-won insights on prioritizing what matters and building resilient programs.

“The security community doesn’t need another surface-level podcast,” said James Lyne, Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer at SANS Institute. “The Cyber Leaders Podcast is for practitioners who want context, real conversations that combine technical depth with leadership perspective.”

No filters. No fluff. Each episode delivers behind the scenes insight into expert-driven strategies from the front lines of cyber defense, policy, and enterprise risk. Listeners can hear about relevant topics this season including:

• AI’s impact on cybersecurity and what it means for leaders
• Cognitive load in cyber teams
• Idaho murders and mobile forensics
• The real-world impact of cybercrime beyond headlines
• Governance in a fragmented internet
• Quantum readiness for CISOs

“Our goal is to help CISOs step back from the noise,” added Professor Ciaran Martin, CISO Network EMEA at SANS Institute. “By hearing how their peers think, lead, and adapt, security leaders can make better decisions, not just faster ones.”

The Cyber Leaders Podcast releases new episodes every Friday, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and directly via this link. Subscribe now to hear how the sharpest minds in cybersecurity are thinking out loud.

About SANS Institute

The SANS Institute was established in 1989 as a cooperative research and education organization. Today, SANS is the most trusted and, by far, the largest provider of cybersecurity training and certification to professionals in government and commercial institutions worldwide. Renowned SANS instructors teach more than 85 courses at in-person and virtual cybersecurity events and OnDemand. GIAC, an affiliate of the SANS Institute, validates practitioner skills through more than 50 hands-on technical certifications in cybersecurity.