About this episode

The episode features a discussion with Manal Iskander about the integration of AI in cybersecurity and the future of education in the field.

AI-Native Cybersecurity, MSP Automation, and What Education Must Change Next - with Manal Iskander On the Cybersecurity Recruiter podcast, the host speaks with Manal Iskander, founder of PCtronics , co-owner of Green Shack Marketplace, and Marketing Lead at Fugazi about how AI and cybersecurity are now inseparable and how she’s using an AI-native, agentic software stack (including SuperOps, NinjaOne, SentinelOne, Huntress, and SharePoint-based automation) to speed onboarding, triage tickets, and generate monthly security and operations reporting that drives recurring revenue plus project work. She describes using a human-centered “double diamond” approach (discover, define, design, deliver) with governance and accountability to decide what to automate vs. keep human-in-the-loop, giving examples like overriding blocked logins for a traveling CEO. She discusses private equity buying MSPs based on MRR, her goal to build toward a much larger exit, and her July 30 keynote in Sacramento for California higher-education CTOs on standardized AI adoption, governance, curriculum shifts toward critical thinking, and risks like Anthropic’s “Mythos” zero-day tool. Book recommendations…

People in this episode

Host: Thomas Richard

Guest: Manal Iskander

Topics covered

• AI-Native Cybersecurity
• MSP Automation
• Education in Cybersecurity
• Human-Centered Design
• Private Equity in MSPs

Keywords

• AI
• cybersecurity
• MSP
• automation
• education
• private equity
• critical thinking

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: PCtronics, Green Shack Marketplace, Fugazi

Products: SuperOps, NinjaOne, SentinelOne, Huntress, SharePoint

Books & works: Abundance, The Human Fork Encoded, The 80-Year Theory

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