Disruption Through Kindness | John Strand's Revolution in Security Education | Part 1
From Security Cocktail Hour by Joe Patti and Adam Roth
January 12, 2026 · 28 min · Episode 68
About this episode
John Strand discusses his revolutionary approach to security education, emphasizing the need for systemic change rather than superficial fixes like scholarships.
John Strand isn't interested in fixing the broken security education system—he's tearing it down and rebuilding it. In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, the founder of Black Hills Information Security explains why scholarships don't solve the real problem, how American universities are losing ground to European programs, and the unexpected places where he's finding the next generation of security talent. What We Cover: Why scholarships preserve a broken system instead of fixing it The barriers that actually matters: Not what you expect American universities vs. European programs: who's winning and why Career changers bringing new perspectives to the industry. AI's "fallow period" in hiring and what comes next The standardization of mediocrity: how AI is making everything "blah" 00:00 Introduction 00:50 Rethinking Cyber Education 07:01 Diversity Brings Amazing People into Security 09:53 Changing Lives 11:42 Giving Back to the Community 14:33 The Strand Family of Companies 17:02 Security's AI Mistake Part 2 coming soon Website: https://securitycocktailhour.com Newsletter: https://securitycocktailhour.com/newsletter LinkedIn…
People in this episode
Hosts: Joe Patti, Adam Roth
Guest: John Strand
Topics covered
- security education
- scholarships
- American universities
- European programs
- career changers
- AI in hiring
Keywords
- security education
- scholarships
- American universities
- European programs
- career changers
- AI hiring
- diversity
- community
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Black Hills Information Security
Places: American, European
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