AI models weight trust signals differently in cybersecurity. A comprehensive framework for building entity authority as a security vendor, covering third-party corroboration, author entities, community presence, research credibility, & authority flywheel that compounds citation share.

The post Building Entity Authority in Cybersecurity: The Trust Signals AI Models Actually Weight for Security Vendors appeared first on Security Boulevard.

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What started as two marketers looking for support has grown into a 4,000-member community and CyberMarketingCon, the go-to conference for anyone driving go-to-market in security. In this replay from Chris Hughes’ Resilient Cyber show, Gianna and Maria share what makes the Society different, why the event feels more like a reunion than a conference, and what’s waiting in Austin this December (or online if that’s easier): hands-on workshops, founder + investor sessions, and this year’s theme — the Marketing Time Machine.

RSAC has officially expanded its research team with 11 new hires, plus another major research release is dropping this October. Guests Ben Waring and Jessica Porter join us to break down what the expansion means for the industry and how RSAC is stepping into year-round thought leadership. They also take us inside the new RSAC digital community, where AI-powered tools, curated news briefs, and private peer groups keep cybersecurity pros connected long after the conference floor closes. On the startup side, it’s the 20th anniversary of Innovation Sandbox with submissions up nearly 40% and a new $5M investment fueling each finalist’s growth. Plus, for anyone eyeing the RSAC 2026 stage, Ben and Jessica share what makes a Call for Speakers submission stand out and what gets it cut. Listen to this episode before your next submission, pitch, or conference plan; you’ll thank yourself later.

Joseph Barringhaus didn’t set out to become a part-time app builder. He was tired of doing budgets in Google Sheets and decided to see if one of those new AI coding tools could do it better. It turned out it could, and that one experiment snowballed into a whole new way of working he calls vibe coding. In this conversation, Joseph and Gianna get into what vibe coding looks like in practice: quick tools that make a sales call easier, event games that buyers actually remember, and rough-and-ready prototypes that speed up work with designers. They also talk honestly about the risks (where AI still breaks), the temptation to chase too many shiny tools, and why Joseph swears by his “three bets” rule to keep marketing focused. 👉 Tune in to the full episode to hear Joseph’s stories firsthand from the budgeting app that started it all to the bold bets shaping how he runs marketing today.

Step inside the Torq Universe, a marketing world where the Big Hat isn’t just swag, it’s a storyline; the Sock Goblin explains why your SOC is drowning in false positives; and a falcon named Robert Girdle might swoop into the next conference booth. In this episode, Gianna teams up with Tessa The (Senior Field Marketing Manager at Torq) and Brittney Wittfeldt-Zec (Senior Social Media Manager at Torq) to unpack how Torq turned characters and inside jokes into a real growth engine: from 4K to 29K+ LinkedIn followers, cybersecurity pros cosplaying their merch, and a community that actually asks for more lore. Why does it matter? This isn’t marketing theater; it’s proof that buyers connect faster and deeper when your brand lives in a world they want to join. 👉 Tune in to hear how Torq bridges field and social, measures what sticks, and keeps expanding a universe that cybersecurity folks can’t stop talking about.

Ask Sarah Acker about her team at HUMAN Security, and you won’t just hear “brand” or “demand gen.” You’ll hear humans, cyborgs, and bots. That playful framing comes straight from how she describes the groups on her team, showing her mix of structure and creativity in cybersecurity marketing. In this conversation, Sarah walks us through HUMAN Security’s transformation from White Ops into a cybersecurity company, the realities of merging with PerimeterX, and why she believes the best marketing is equal parts “pretty” and “gritty.” Along the way, we cover FBI investigations, a Halloween parade float, and the persistence of old logos that still turn up on invoices years after a rebrand. If you’ve faced the challenges of rebrands, mergers, or balancing creativity with effectiveness in cybersecurity marketing, Sarah’s stories offer a clear look at what it takes to make it work.

Antu Buck didn’t plan to end up in customer marketing. She started in sales, carrying a bag as a BDR and enterprise rep, before realizing the part she loved most was building customer relationships. That path led her to McAfee, Intel Security, and now Gigamon, where she’s the Senior Director of Customer Marketing & Community. In this episode, Antu explains customer marketing, how it grew from “reference calls” into a core pillar of modern marketing, and why advocacy, community, and lifecycle programs all matter. We also discuss the common mistakes companies make when they treat community as a checkbox, how to prove ROI in a low-disclosure industry, and what it takes to turn a happy customer into a true superfan. Listen in as Antu previews her 30/60/90-day playbook for building a customer marketing program and catch the full plan live at ⁠CyberMarketingCon⁠.

CISOs get all the cold emails, but they’re not always the ones who decide if your product lives or dies. In this episode, Rob Solomon (CrowdStrike) and Jennifer Reed (Amazon Web Services, AWS) join hosts Gianna and Maria to explain why the real buying power often sits with solution architects and security engineers. They take us inside the AWS-CrowdStrike-NVIDIA Cyber Accelerator Program (Gianna is a mentor for the program), share how joint launches like Falcon for AWS Security Incident Response come together, and spell out what startups get wrong when pitching technical buyers. You will hear how to move past fear-based messaging, make adoption seamless, and why internal marketing matters as much as the external splash.

The Cyber Guild is built on community, helping people use technology to their advantage and ensuring that no one is left behind in the digital age. In this episode, Executive Director Debbie Sallis joins Gianna to share how that mission comes to life: through three targeted events helping people professionally develop in the cyber world. They host Uniting Women in Cyber, a flagship event that feels more like an experience than a conference; Cyber Connect, which pivoted in response to federal layoffs to support professionals in transition; and RISE, a mentorship program connecting seasoned leaders with those just starting their cybersecurity careers. With only four staff and a dedicated group of volunteers, Debbie shows how impact isn’t about scale or budget, it’s about showing up, creating space, and meeting the moment together. This episode is about how community, not scale, drives change in cybersecurity and how you can be part of it.

For Brandon Min, building Herd Security has meant tackling two challenges at once: helping companies create a culture of security while also figuring out how to market a startup on a scrappy budget. In this episode, he shares how Herd rethinks security awareness with micro-training that employees finish, why 90% of cyberattacks start with users, and what it takes to build “herd immunity” inside organizations. On the marketing side, Brandon walks us through testing ideas before building, finding overlooked SEO wins, and how, in his experience, a $50 guerrilla stunt brought in more leads than a trade show booth that cost 500x more. It’s a rare look at the crossroads of security culture and startup marketing, and it offers plenty of lessons for anyone trying to build attention and trust in cybersecurity.

Sri Sundaralingam has led teams at global enterprises and multiple startups in cybersecurity and enterprise software. He is now the CMO at Xage Security and has held leadership positions at Cisco, Symantec, ExtraHop, Shape Security, Mojo Networks, and Endace. He breaks down what carries over between big-company and early-stage environments and what you must relearn. In the episode, we explore hiring for creativity vs. experience, how to test a move from individual contributor (IC) to manager before you commit, and practical ways to handle politics while keeping work moving. Sri also shares how he frames Zero Trust and other technical concepts so buyers understand the value. Listen if you’re deciding between startup and enterprise, weighing IC vs. management, or want concrete hiring and communication tactics you can use this quarter.

Ransomware has evolved from one-off attacks to a fully operational criminal economy. Today, cybercrime groups operate with defined roles, shared infrastructure, and a growing reliance on AI to speed up intrusion, encryption, and extortion. Our guest this episode unveils insights from tracking the fraudulent side of the internet. Dr. Diane Janosek, CEO of Janos LLC and former senior executive at the National Security Agency (NSA), joins Gianna to unpack the structure and strategy behind ransomware-as-a-service. Drawing on her background in law, compliance, and national security, including her leadership at the National Cryptologic School, she breaks down how these syndicates function, what most companies get wrong in their response, and why even well-maintained backups aren’t the safety net they once were. We also explore how AI is accelerating the criminal kill chain, the real stats behind ransom payments (and regrets), and why ransomware is increasingly a tool of geopolitical disruption, not just financial gain. 🎬 The trailer for the film is included in this episode with permission. Courtesy of the Bold Stroke. All rights reserved. Dawn of Cyberwarfare – Produced by the Bold Stroke – Directed by Alisha Merkle & Fabrizio Dublino

You can’t copy Maya Doron. Not just because she’ll notice (and yes, she has receipts), but because everything she does on social at Wiz is built on something AI can’t touch: chaos, specificity, and a running list of what we’re calling Maya-isms. As Growth Marketing Manager at Wiz, Maya helps shape one of the most original brands in cybersecurity — from viral puppies and cloud cornflakes to musicals, memes, and “what’s in your tabs?” CISO interviews. In this episode, she joins Gianna to talk through what makes content real, what makes it work, and why going viral is never the goal. They get into the problems with AI-generated blandness, the return of photos on LinkedIn, how sensory marketing taps into memory even more deeply than visuals, and what it takes to build a brand people don’t just notice — they respect.

Matt Calligan, Director of Revenue Operations at ArmorText, joins us from Iceland to talk about what it takes to build a sales motion from scratch in cybersecurity when your product is built for moments nobody wants to think about. As the company’s first salesperson, Matt shares how he helped ArmorText find early traction through ISACs, why the government wasn’t the buyer they expected, and how private-sector incident response teams became their core market. We dig into go-to-market lessons around timing and trust, and why most traditional sales tactics don’t work when the use case is crisis-driven. We also discuss selling through distributors without a formal channel program, supporting marketing without a full-time team, and what happens when converting at 80% but only if the right people have heard of you.

Carmen Harris is the person you call when no one wants to cover your product, and she’ll tell you exactly why. Founder and CEO of Signal and Noise, she joins Gianna to break down what’s changed in cybersecurity PR and how to get attention in 2025. We get into why the adage “product news is dead” isn’t totally true, how founders should build their brand before launch, and what makes an editor hit delete on your pitch in two seconds flat. Carmen also shares how to use the summer slowdown to reset your comms strategy, why you need to calendar-stalk your competitors, and how to get real face time with execs (even if you have to bully your way into the room). Listen in for real-world tips you can use on your next launch or media push.