The Security Debt We Pretend Isn’t There
From Adopting Zero Trust by Adopting Zero Trust
January 29, 2026 · 50 min · Season 5 · Episode 1
About this episode
This episode discusses the hidden security debt organizations accumulate as they navigate return-to-office mandates and efficiency challenges.
As organizations push return-to-office (RTO) mandates and chase efficiency, many security teams are quietly accumulating debt they don’t know how to unwind. In this episode, we are joined by Lea Cure Thorpe and Kayne McGladrey to unpack the less-discussed consequences of recent security decisions: RTO exposure, endpoint blind spots, tooling overload, analyst burnout, and the slow erosion of junior talent (thanks AI). Rather than going too crazy on hot takes and obvious trends, we focus in on operational reality, business risk, and what security leaders need to confront before these issues compound further. Where to Skim 02:00 | Is the perimeter really dead? 06:30 | RTO fallout and the return of local network risk 12:30 | Endpoint sprawl, dirty devices, and SOC fatigue 18:30 | Cloud tooling, visibility gaps, and false assurances 26:00 | AI adoption: risk appetite vs. reality 33:30 | Identity, agentic AI, and trust amplification risk 41:00 | Workforce erosion and the efficiency trap 50:30 | The business math CISOs can’t avoid 58:30 | Career development, communication, and relevance Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
People in this episode
Host: Adopting Zero Trust
Guests: Lea Cure Thorpe, Kayne McGladrey
Topics covered
- security debt
- return-to-office
- endpoint security
- analyst burnout
- AI impact
- business risk
- operational reality
Keywords
- security teams
- RTO exposure
- endpoint blind spots
- tooling overload
- analyst burnout
- junior talent
- cloud tooling
- identity risk
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: AI, CISOs
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