Media

Dr. Dave Venable has appeared in international news, technology, cybersecurity, and national-security media as an expert on cyber conflict, intelligence, infrastructure security, geopolitical risk, emerging technology, and cybersecurity leadership.

His commentary and interviews have appeared in outlets including BBC News, Bloomberg Businessweek, CSO, Cybernews, Yahoo News, The CyberWire, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, SC Media, The Register, InformationWeek, Infosecurity Magazine, Computing, and others.

Featured Film

Midnight in the War Room

2026 — Feature Documentary

Dr. Dave Venable is featured in Midnight in the War Room, a feature-length documentary examining cyber conflict and the human and organizational pressures facing the people responsible for defending critical systems.

The film brings together more than 50 cybersecurity, intelligence, government, military, media, and national-security figures, including Gen. David Petraeus, Chris Inglis, Jen Easterly, Marcus Hutchins, Mary Aiken, and others. (Semperis)

Venable appears as a former U.S. intelligence officer and CISO.

IMDb:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt37577377/

Official Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygL5BpchuVQ

Official Film Site:
https://www.semperis.com/midnight-in-the-war-room/

Interviews, Podcasts & Media Coverage

2025

The Hidden Battlefield Under the Sea: The World’s Cable Crisis

July 24, 2025 — Cybernews

Cybernews interviewed Venable for an investigation into the vulnerability of global undersea cable infrastructure.

His analysis addressed attribution challenges, state-sponsored disruption, escalation risk, and why Europe’s subsea infrastructure is particularly exposed.

Article:
https://cybernews.com/security/hidden-battlefield-under-sea-worlds-cable-crisis/

2024

What Savvy Hiring Execs Look for in a CISO Today

July 16, 2024 — CSO Online
By Evan Schuman

Venable was interviewed on the evolution of the enterprise CISO role, including the increasing importance of business acumen while retaining substantive technical security knowledge.

Article:
https://www.csoonline.com/article/2516421/what-savvy-hiring-execs-look-for-in-a-ciso-today.html

2020

The Power Vertical — “The Great Hack”

December 22, 2020 — Podcast
Hosted by Brian Whitmore
With John Sipher

Venable joined former CIA officer John Sipher to discuss the SolarWinds compromise, Russian intelligence operations, cyber espionage, strategic attribution, and the national-security implications of major supply-chain attacks.

Podcast:
https://www.powervertical.org/2020/12/23/the-great-hack/

2019

Security’s Most Influential People in Security 2019

September 1, 2019 — Security Magazine

Security Magazine profiled Venable after selecting him as one of its Most Influential People in Security for 2019.

The profile covered his enterprise cybersecurity leadership, security governance, intelligence background, teaching, mentoring, and professional career.

Profile:
https://www.securitymagazine.com/articles/90843-securitys-most-influential-people-in-security-2019---david-venable

NepalKhabar — Cybersecurity Interview

June 3, 2019 — NepalKhabar

“America is ready to help Nepal in cybersecurity: Dave Venable”

Interview conducted in connection with Venable’s public-diplomacy work in Nepal, addressing cybersecurity cooperation, Nepal’s security capabilities, and opportunities for U.S.–Nepal engagement.

The original NepalKhabar article is no longer reliably available through its original URL.

The CyberWire Daily Podcast

May 21, 2019 — Episode 848
Guest interview with Dave Bittner

Venable joined The CyberWire Daily to discuss cyber vulnerabilities at the infrastructure level.

The conversation addressed telecommunications and 5G infrastructure, legacy systems, systemic cyber risk, and the limits of individual protection when underlying infrastructure is compromised.

Audio:
https://thecyberwire.com/podcasts/daily-podcast/848/notes

Transcript:
https://thecyberwire.com/podcasts/daily-podcast/848/transcript

Cybersecurity Experts Urge Skepticism Over Claims Saudis Hacked Bezos’s Phone

April 2, 2019 — Yahoo News

Venable provided technical analysis of allegations that Saudi Arabia had compromised Jeff Bezos’s phone.

His comments focused on the evidentiary standards required to attribute a sophisticated cyber intrusion to a nation-state.

Article:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/cybersecurity-experts-urge-skepticism-over-claims-saudis-hacked-bezoss-phone-214403513.html

2018

Hit Them Where It Hurts… Critical Infrastructure

April 9, 2018 — SC Media
By Larry Jaffee

Venable contributed analysis to an investigation into cyber threats against critical infrastructure.

He discussed vulnerable industrial-control systems, unsecured infrastructure, state threats, IoT-enabled disruption, and the increasingly artificial distinction between cyber effects and physical consequences.

Article:
https://www.scworld.com/news/hit-them-where-it-hurts-critical-infrastructure

12 Bad Enterprise Security Habits to Break

February 22, 2018 — The Enterprisers Project / Red Hat
By Carla Rudder

Venable contributed practical advice to a feature examining common enterprise security failures and organizational habits that increase cyber risk.

Article:
https://enterprisersproject.com/article/2018/2/12-bad-enterprise-security-habits-break

Patching Isn’t Working and End-Users Ignore Breaches

January 2018 — Computing
Extended Interview

Computing interviewed Venable about systemic failures in enterprise patch management following EternalBlue, WannaCry, NotPetya, Equifax, and other major incidents.

The discussion addressed patching complexity, software liability, certification, operational risk, and weaknesses in traditional security models.

Interview:
https://www.computing.co.uk/opinion/3025522/patching-isnt-working-and-end-users-ignore-breaches-says-ex-nsa-security-vp-david-venable

2017

North Korea’s Bitcoin Play

December 14, 2017 — Bloomberg Businessweek
By Dune Lawrence

Bloomberg Businessweek cited Venable in its investigation of North Korea’s use of cryptocurrency and cyber operations as mechanisms for financing the regime and evading traditional financial restrictions.

Article:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-14/north-korea-s-bitcoin-play

A Window to More Than the Soul?

September 13, 2017 — IFSEC Global
By Adam Bannister

IFSEC Global cited Venable on algorithmic profiling, artificial intelligence, privacy, and the limitations of data-driven analysis.

Article:
https://www.ifsecglobal.com/global/a-window-to-more-than-the-soul-ai-research-raises-troubling-questions-about-privacy-profiling-and-wrongful-arrest/

WannaCry: What Can You Do to Protect Your Business?

May 19, 2017 — BBC News
By Matthew Wall and Mark Ward

BBC News interviewed Venable during the global WannaCry ransomware outbreak.

He discussed the operational complexity of patching large enterprise environments and the importance of broader network-level defensive measures.

Article:
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-39947944

Does the Trump Rollback of Protections Threaten UK-US Data Sharing?

March 30, 2017 — SC Media
By Max Metzger

Venable was interviewed about the repeal of U.S. broadband privacy protections and its implications for profiling, government access to commercial data, privacy, and international data-sharing relationships.

Article:
https://www.scworld.com/news/does-the-trump-rollback-of-protections-threaten-uk-us-data-sharing

Could Soldiers, Sailors and Spies Make Better CISOs?

March 28, 2017 — SC Media
By Max Metzger

Venable contributed to a feature examining how military and intelligence experience translates into private-sector cybersecurity leadership.

He discussed how operational security, adversarial thinking, and intelligence culture can shape an information-security professional’s approach to risk.

Article:
https://www.scworld.com/feature/could-soldiers-sailors-and-spies-make-better-make-better-cisos

Laying the Smackdown — When Hacking Back Is Legitimate

February 22, 2017 — Infosecurity Magazine
By Dan Raywood

Venable contributed analysis to an extended feature on offensive cyber capabilities, active defense, deterrence, escalation, and the circumstances in which governments may respond to cyberattacks through offensive operations.

Article:
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/magazine-features/prm/laying-smackdown-hacking-back/

Bad Data + Biased Algorithms = Big Delusion

February 2, 2017 — IFSEC Global

IFSEC Global interviewed Venable following his Black Hat Europe work on metadata, surveillance, large-scale analytics, and algorithmic bias.

The interview developed his argument that larger datasets do not necessarily produce better intelligence when the source data or analytical models themselves are flawed.

2016

“Silent” Cyber Arms Race Is Making a Noise

November 27, 2016 — Raconteur / The Times
By Davey Winder

Venable was interviewed for Raconteur’s Cyber Security special report, distributed with The Times.

He discussed state-sponsored cyber operations, attribution, false-flag activity, and the danger of adversaries deliberately imitating another actor’s technical fingerprints.

Blackhat EU: Breaking Big Data

November 7, 2016 — SC Media

SC Media covered Venable’s Black Hat Europe briefing, Breaking Big Data: Evading Analysis of the Metadata of Your Life.

The article focused on private-sector surveillance, behavioral profiling, metadata analysis, privacy, and the growth of intelligence-like capabilities in commercial data collection.

Article:
https://www.scworld.com/news/blackhat-eu-breaking-big-data

Anti-Ultrasound Tech Aims to Foil the Dog-Whistle Marketeers

November 4, 2016 — The Register
By John Leyden

Following Venable’s Black Hat Europe presentation, The Register interviewed him about metadata analysis, commercial surveillance, behavioral profiling, algorithmic bias, and operational security.

Article:
https://www.theregister.com/2016/11/04/marketing_privacy/

The Power Vertical — “Will the West Hack Back?”

October 28, 2016 — Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
Hosted by Brian Whitmore
With Mark Galeotti

Recorded at the Warsaw Security Forum, Venable joined Russia expert Mark Galeotti to discuss Russian cyber operations, offensive cyber capabilities, deterrence, retaliation, information warfare, and the emerging cyber confrontation between Russia and the West.

Podcast:
https://www.rferl.org/a/podcast-will-the-west-hack-back/28078244.html

Q&A with David Venable, Masergy

June 6, 2016 — IT Security Guru

Long-form interview covering insider threats, Edward Snowden, nation-state actors, advanced persistent threats, enterprise risk, penetration testing, and the changing cybersecurity environment.

Interview:
https://www.itsecurityguru.org/2016/06/06/qa-with-david-venable-masergy/

The Rise and Rise of Ransomware

June 3, 2016 — SC Magazine UK
By Davey Winder

Venable contributed expert analysis to coverage of the accelerating ransomware threat and its evolution toward tactics previously associated with sophisticated targeted attacks.

The original SC Magazine UK page is no longer reliably available.

2015

Cyberwar Part 1: What IT Can Do to Survive

November 25, 2015 — InformationWeek
By Pam Baker

Venable was one of the experts interviewed for InformationWeek’s examination of cyberwar and its implications for private-sector technology organizations.

He discussed the possibility of coordinated attacks combining cyber and physical effects and argued that cyber conflict should be understood within a broader geopolitical context.

Article:
https://www.informationweek.com/cyber-resilience/cyberwar-part-1-what-it-can-do-to-survive

Why Are There Still So Many Website Vulnerabilities?

June 19, 2015 — CSO
By David Geer

Venable was interviewed about persistent vulnerabilities in enterprise websites and web applications.

He discussed custom development, third-party software risk, OWASP practices, penetration testing, static analysis, web application firewalls, and secure development.

Article:
https://www.csoonline.com/article/551795/why-are-there-still-so-many-website-vulnerabilities.html

Books, Profiles & Reference Works

2022

A Framework for Cyber Indications and Warning

2022 — Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA)

Venable’s work on the organizational distinction between information security and information technology is cited in INSA’s A Framework for Cyber Indications and Warning, a policy framework addressing cyber-threat intelligence, organizational warning, leadership, and the development of effective cyber indications and warning capabilities.

The report cites Venable’s 2017 CSO article, Information Security Is Not Information Technology.

Reference:
https://www.insaonline.org/docs/default-source/default-document-library/2022-white-papers/insa-framework-for-cyber-indications-and-warning.pdf

2020

Tribe of Hackers: Blue Team

2020 — Wiley
Marcus J. Carey and Jennifer Jin
Chapter 51: Dave Venable

Venable is one of the defensive-security practitioners profiled in Tribe of Hackers: Blue Team.

His chapter discusses blue-team strategy, cybersecurity leadership, defensive security, and lessons drawn from government and enterprise work.

Chapter:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781119643432.ch51

2016

WHOIS Running the Internet: Protocol, Policy, and Privacy

2016 — Wiley
By Garth Bruen

Venable is cited on pages 132–133 of Bruen’s book examining the technical, policy, privacy, and governance issues surrounding WHOIS and internet-registration infrastructure.

Book:
https://www.wiley.com/en-us/WHOIS+Running+the+Internet%3A+Protocol%2C+Policy%2C+and+Privacy-p-9781118679555

Professional & Academic Publications

2026

The Shadow Market: How the Cyber-Espionage Gig Economy is Reshaping Global Intrigue

2026 — SSRN Electronic Journal

Analysis of the growing market for outsourced cyber espionage, including contractors, hack-for-hire groups, commercial spyware, attribution challenges, and the strategic consequences of commodified intelligence operations.

DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.6777720

Publication record:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/405149713_The_Shadow_Market_How_the_Cyber-Espionage_Gig_Economy_is_Reshaping_Global_Intrigue

The Synthetic Disinformation Boom: AI and the Collapse of Trust

2026 — SSRN Electronic Journal

Analysis of AI-enabled influence operations and the declining cost of synthetic deception, including cognitive saturation as a strategic effect of high-volume synthetic information environments.

DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.6773381

Publication record:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/405148754_The_Synthetic_Disinformation_Boom_AI_and_the_Collapse_of_Trust

Synthetic Asymmetry: Intelligence Advantage and Strategic Imbalance in the Age of Technological Convergence

May 8, 2026 — SSRN

Formal theoretical development of the Synthetic Asymmetry framework, examining how converging low-cost and dual-use technologies alter intelligence advantage, strategic warning, covert action, attribution, and counterintelligence.

DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.6736158

Paper:
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6736158

2016

Three Ways Companies Can Profit from an MSSP

November 2016 — Computer Fraud & Security / Elsevier
Volume 2016, Issue 11, pp. 19–20

Professional publication examining how organizations can derive operational, regulatory, financial, and security value from managed security service providers.

DOI: 10.1016/S1361-3723(16)30092-6

Article:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1361372316300926

Authored Commentary

2026

The Next War Won’t Target Cities, It Will Target Choke Points

August 31, 2026 — The Cipher Brief

Examines how cloud infrastructure, energy corridors, undersea cables, satellite systems, and other highly concentrated systems have become strategic chokepoints in modern conflict.

Article:
https://www.thecipherbrief.com/cyber-critical-infrastructure

How Revisionist States Turn Concurrency Into Strategic Advantage

July 7, 2026 — George W. Bush Institute
With Igor Khrestin

Introduces CRINK Strategic Overload: the cumulative pressure created when China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea pursue separate objectives across multiple theaters simultaneously, imposing competing demands on finite Western attention and decision-making capacity.

The analysis treats attention capacity as a strategic resource and examines how concurrency across Europe, the Indo-Pacific, the Middle East, the Korean Peninsula, and the information environment can produce disproportionate strategic effects even without centralized adversary coordination.

Article:
https://www.bushcenter.org/publications/how-revisionist-states-turn-concurrency-into-strategic-advantage

How Culture Will Impact the AI Race

June 2026 — The Cipher Brief

Argues that decentralized initiative, mission command, institutional trust, and cultural attitudes toward autonomy may significantly affect how effectively different states integrate artificial intelligence.

Article:
https://www.thecipherbrief.com/ai-race-culture-autonomy-innovation

Deterrence Is Not Enough in the Age of Synthetic Asymmetry

June 2026 — The Cipher Brief

Examines why traditional deterrence models struggle against diffuse, deniable, technologically amplified forms of strategic disruption and develops the idea of synthetic resilience as an alternative response model.

Article:
https://www.thecipherbrief.com/deterrence-is-not-enough-in-the-age-of-synthetic-asymmetry

Synthetic Asymmetry and the CRINK Challenge: A New Framework for an Emergent Threat

May 27, 2026 — George W. Bush Institute
With Igor Khrestin

Applies the Synthetic Asymmetry framework to the emerging strategic alignment among China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.

The analysis argues that the convergence of cyber operations, precision systems, artificial intelligence, synthetic media, and other increasingly accessible technologies can allow actors to generate coordinated-looking and disproportionate strategic effects without the structure of a formal military alliance.

The analysis was developed collaboratively between the George W. Bush Institute and the Institute for Strategic Risk and Security (ISRS).

Article:
https://www.bushcenter.org/publications/synthetic-asymmetry-and-the-crink-challenge-a-new-framework-for-an-emergent-threat

The Huawei Dilemma: Why Europe Needs Strong Intelligence Guardrails

2026 — The Cipher Brief
With Mykola Volkivskyi

Examines security concerns surrounding high-risk telecommunications vendors and argues for stronger common intelligence and security standards across NATO and the European Union.

Article:
https://www.thecipherbrief.com/huawei-spain-intelligence

2025

Forget Guerrillas and IEDs — The Next Asymmetric War Will Be Engineered

2025 — The Cipher Brief

Introduces the practitioner-oriented concept of Synthetic Asymmetry: the deliberate construction of disproportionate strategic advantage through combinations of increasingly accessible and converging technologies.

Article:
https://www.thecipherbrief.com/asymmetric-war

2018

China on the March: Cybersecurity and Hidden Risks

December 17, 2018 — Forbes
With Brigham McCown

Analysis of Chinese cyber activity, infrastructure, economic competition, intellectual-property risk, and the security implications of China’s growing global technological influence.

Article:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/brighammccown/2018/12/17/china-on-the-march-cybersecurity-and-hidden-risks/

Cybersecurity: What Does the Board Want and Need?

January 23, 2018 — Infosecurity Magazine

Commentary on board-level cyber governance, director responsibility for cybersecurity risk, and the importance of translating technical security issues into business terms.

Article:
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/opinions/cybersecurity-board/

2017

Information Security Is Not Information Technology

September 14, 2017 — CSO

Commentary arguing that cybersecurity is fundamentally a security, governance, and enterprise-risk function rather than simply an information-technology specialization.

Article:
https://www.csoonline.com/article/562925/information-security-is-not-information-technology.html

2015

State-Sponsored Cybercrime: A Growing Business Threat

May 26, 2015 — Dark Reading

Early commentary examining the migration of nation-state cyber capabilities and state-sponsored operations into the threat environment facing private companies.

Article:
https://www.darkreading.com/vulnerabilities-threats/state-sponsored-cybercrime-a-growing-business-threat

Ransomware: Why You Mustn’t Pay the Ransom

2015 — IDG Connect

Commentary on ransomware economics and why paying attackers reinforces the criminal business model.

The original IDG Connect article is no longer reliably available online.