Adam Pilton of Heimdal

In this episode of Modern Cyber, Jeremy is joined by Adam Pilton, a cybersecurity expert with a background of 15 years in law enforcement, where his final role was as a Detective Sergeant leading the Covert Operations and Cybercrimes team. Drawing on his unique experience investigating and prosecuting hundreds of offenders, Adam provides a frontline perspective on the current state of cybercrime, noting that cybercriminals are "getting better and stronger" while individuals and businesses are "not keeping up".

The conversation focuses on the human and organizational challenges in cybersecurity, stressing that small businesses should abandon the belief that they are too small to be targeted, as attackers "hit small businesses all day long" for incremental profit. Adam discusses the severe practical impacts of attacks, warning that businesses must "expect downtime" and be prepared for the significant time needed for recovery. He advocates for storytelling and analogies (like the comparison of hacking to a burglary) over technical regulations to build a strong security culture.

Adam also shares insights from his post-law enforcement work as an auditor and consultant, highlighting the common organizational "motivation problem" where people acknowledge the risk but delay action, comparing it to perpetually starting a diet "tomorrow". Finally, he addresses the breakdown of trust in the age of deepfakes (citing the Irish election example) and the critical need for continuous tabletop exercises to test communication and expose "little gaps" before a crisis hits.

Guest Bio – Adam Pilton

With a background of 15 years in law enforcement, Adam's final role was as a Detective Sergeant leading the Covert operations and Cyber Crime teams. Since then, Adam has worked in cyber security since 2016 across various roles and has a broad understanding of cyber security, from the impact of cyber crime upon individuals and businesses to the need to convey the right messages to senior leaders and end users, ensuring engagement and support.

As a subject matter expert in multiple areas for a large organisation, Adam has investigated and supervised hundreds of cases, identifying and prosecuting offenders. He has introduced digital tactics into overt and covert investigations, developing digital capabilities. Adam also held responsibility for training, utilising his communication skills to simplify the complex.

Adam has worked with multi-national businesses developing their people and processes to improve their cyber security maturity.

Episode Links

• https://heimdalsecurity.com/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/adampilton/