{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Random Access Memories","title":"I Quit Being a CISO to Write a Newsletter | Mike Privette, Founder of Return on Security","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":1865,"description":"Most cybersecurity professionals spend their careers trying to become a CISO. Mike Privette got there, decided he was more interested in something else, and eventually walked away to write a newsletter.\n\nWhich sounds like a terrible career decision until you hear how it happened.\n\nThis week on Random Access Memories, I sat down with Mike, founder of Return on Security, to talk about why he traded a successful cybersecurity career for something he'd originally started as a hobby.\n\nMike spent years working his way through security engineering and leadership, but somewhere along the way became fascinated by the business of cybersecurity. Why were investors throwing money at certain companies? Why did some startups succeed while others disappeared? And why was nobody properly tracking what was happening?\n\nSo he started collecting data, writing about it and sharing what he learned. His first personal blog post took six months to get through corporate communications. Six years later, he'd built something valuable enough to become his full-time career.\n\nBut this conversation isn't really about newsletters.\n\nWe talk about the fear of walking away from a career you've spent decades building, why people become trapped chasing the next promotion, and how moving his family from America to the UK changed Mike's perspective on money, success and what actually makes a good life.\n\nThere's also a fascinating discussion about the financial side of cybersecurity. Where the investment money is going, whether we've created too many AI startups, why Mike wouldn't rush to invest in application security, and whether founders are building businesses to solve problems or simply hoping someone will buy them.\n\nWe get into something I think a lot of people struggle with, particularly when they have young families. The years when your career demands the most from you are often the exact years your children need you most.\n\nMike's decision to build something of his own wasn't just about doing...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/AgTc_ajuZymV7B6Is4iwonkllAQv6bMTNgmQnuJEL_A/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS84NGMz/OWQxZDMwZjBiYjQx/ODZlYjc3ZjJlN2Jk/YzM5Yy5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}