Dear Members:
In this episode of the
Cybersecurity Readiness Podcast Series, I sit down with
Denny LeCompte, PhD, CEO of Portnox and former SolarWinds executive, for a candid and deeply consequential conversation on why decades of investment in passwords, MFA, and perimeter defenses have not delivered the security outcomes organizations expect. Despite all our tooling, access failures continue to sit at the root of major breaches. Drawing on firsthand lessons from the SolarWinds Sunburst incident, Denny explains why password-centric models are fundamentally misaligned with human behavior-and why layering more friction on broken assumptions only increases risk, not resilience. Together, we explore what it truly means to move toward
passwordless, device-anchored, zero-trust access-not as hype or marketing language, but as an operational discipline. Through the lens of my
Commitment–Preparedness–Discipline (CPD) framework, we reframe access control as a leadership and governance issue-one that directly impacts trust, business continuity, and long-term viability.
This is not a theoretical discussion. It's a practical examination of:
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Why passwords keep failing
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What zero trust actually requires (beyond the buzzwords)
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Why identity and device context must converge
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How leaders should assess access control maturity
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And why systems must be designed for human fallibility, not perfection
As we approach Episode 100, this conversation serves as a powerful reminder: secure access sits at the heart of cybersecurity readiness-and when access fails, everything else eventually follows.
As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts-and how your organization is moving beyond compliance toward true cybersecurity readiness.
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Dave Chatterjee
Adjunct Associate Professor
Duke University
Durham NC
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