Episode 94

From Nuclear Weapons Systems to Cybersecurity Leadership with Kevin Spease

In this episode of Cyber Inspiration, Evgeniy Kharam speaks with Kevin Spease, founder of ISSE Services, about cybersecurity in highly sensitive military environments and what it truly means to build security into systems from day one.

Kevin shares how working on the Minuteman III missile program shifted his view of cybersecurity from compliance-driven documentation to engineering-driven protection. He explains why “security baked in” matters far more than simply checking boxes.

The discussion also dives into:

  • FedRAMP and government cybersecurity requirements
  • Supply chain security risks
  • Growing a cybersecurity company organically over 20 years
  • The importance of honesty, ethics, and curiosity in hiring
  • Why soft skills matter in technical environments
  • Advice for veterans transitioning into cybersecurity careers
  • Leadership lessons from difficult moments and uncertainty

This episode is packed with practical insights for cybersecurity professionals, founders, engineers, veterans, and anyone interested in critical infrastructure security.

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About the Podcast

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Cyber Inspiration
Cyber Inspiration

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About your host

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Evgeniy Kharam

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ekharam/
Evgeniy has the opportunity to spend more than 40,000 hours working in cybersecurity,
providing pre and post-sales support in various technologies and later as an architect and principal consultant.
Evgeniy is very passionate about technology, vendors, and architecture. He brings a lot of knowledge about VAR, MSSP, and technical pre-sales. He believes in connected infrastructure that there is a significant need for vendor consolidation and the ability for security control to integrate and share information.
Evgeniy is proficient in speaking on most cyber security technical domains, which include: Endpoint Security, Network Security, SIEM/SOC/SOAR, SASE/SEE, VMS, and many more.
In 2020, Evgeniy co-hosted a Security Architecture Podcast. The podcast format focuses on architecture and vendor integration into the customer environment
In 2022 he founded the Cyber Inspiration podcast; the podcast explored the minds of CTOs and CEOs when they started their cyber security company!
Personal: Evgeniy has four kids, a daughter, a son, and twins (boy and girl) . Twins are a great way to learn to multitask, and nothing scares me anymore :)(besides snakes)
Hobbies: Photography, podcasting, public speaking, snowboarding, whitewater canoeing, SUP, mountain biking, motorcycles, breathing techniques, and gadgets