Insights from a Cybersecurity Expert: An Open Invitation to Ask

Greetings, tech enthusiasts!

I’m Nick Percoco, the Chief Security Officer at Kraken and the founder of SpiderLabs at Trustwave. I also organize THOTCON, an influential hacker conference held annually in Chicago. Today, I invite you to engage with me on a topic I’m incredibly passionate about: cybersecurity, especially in the realm of cryptocurrency.

With over 25 years of hands-on experience in the fields of technology and security, I currently hold an executive role at Kraken, one of the world’s leading digital asset exchanges. In my position, I oversee all security, IT, and engineering operations, ensuring our infrastructure is robust against threats.

Before my journey with Kraken, I served as CSO at Uptake, an innovative industrial AI company, and held the title of Vice President of Global Services at Rapid7, a comprehensive cybersecurity provider. My work has allowed me to share insights into security breaches, malware evolution, mobile security challenges, and the latest trends in information security—speaking at renowned events like Black Hat, DEF CON, and OWASP, as well as private briefings for organizations including the Department of Homeland Security, US-CERT, Interpol, and the United States Secret Service.

My fascination with technology began early; I wrote my first lines of code at just seven years old on a Timex Sinclair 1000 in the early 1980s. By the late 80s and early 90s, I was deep into the Chicagoland Bulletin Board Systems (BBSs), using a Commodore 64 and later an Intel 386 PC with Linux.

Being an active participant in the Chicago hacker community for decades, I take pride in running THOTCON, which is gearing up for its 12th annual conference in 2023. My career has also allowed me to investigate numerous high-profile data breaches, and I have been dedicated to enhancing the security measures at Kraken over the past four years to protect our users from potential cyber threats.

I welcome you to ask me anything related to my experiences, security best practices, or insights into the ever-evolving industry of cybersecurity. Let’s dive deep into the challenges and innovations that shape our digital landscape.

Looking forward to your questions!

Best,
Nick Percoco

P.S. I had a fantastic time engaging in this discussion earlier! Feel free to throw your queries my way, and I’ll do my best to respond throughout the day