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the Minds Behind GrayKey
Episode 2
Join us as we speak with Grayshift co-founders, CEO, David Miles, and Chief Product Officer, Braden Thomas. We are thrilled to learn more about their careers, the origins of Grayshift, and a few little-known facts about themselves and the company.
[01:11] David Miles reveals the early years of his career and that his background isn’t in the forensic space.
- David discusses kicking off his career in cybersecurity with a company called Internet Security Systems in Atlanta, GA in 2001.
- Following his career at Internet Security systems, Miles tells us about a company he started with some former colleagues, End Game.
[03:37] Braden Thomas shares his love for Apple products, getting started in the security space, and junk hacking vs. hacking.
- Braden tells us about his dream job of working in security at Apple while studying computer science in college.
- After 6 years with Apple, the glamorous world of security consulting seduced Thomas away from Apple and how that eventually led him to a fateful meeting working with Grayshift Co-founder David Miles.
[08:35] David talks about the founding of Grayshift in 2016.
- David explains that when the San Bernadino, California case happened, it really drove home the fact there’s a real challenge for law enforcement when it comes to accessing modern mobile devices.
[11:39] Wilton recalls what it was like the first time he saw a GrayKey demo in the early days of the company.
- Wilton shares with the audience he was in Myrtle Beach when GrayKey was first revealed and how he couldn’t even get into the room to hear Miles or Thomas speak because they were so packed with interest from the law enforcement community.
[13:21] Braden dives into the world of vulnerability research.
- Braden explains what vulnerability research is, what exploits are, and how they’re used.
- Braden discusses the murky world of forensics and vulnerability research with Wilton.
[19:14] Debbie sparks a discussion with Braden and David around when they knew they’d landed on something special with GrayKey.
- Braden recalls his defining moment following the surprise launch of GrayKey at their first Techno Security conference.
- David discusses what it was like to see the reactions of customers when they first began to demo the product.
[25:14] Debbie admits to being a skeptic when she first saw some of the early GrayKey demos.
- Debbie also reveals the excitement from a law enforcement professional’s perspective at finally having a mobile forensics tool that worked the way they needed it to.
- David jumps into a discussion about privacy and being intentional with who Grayshift customers are.
[33:07] Wilton asks Braden what’s the biggest challenge been of starting up a company that’s been so successful and is growing so quickly.
- Braden explains the importance of bringing on an experienced management team and focusing on providing excellent customer support.
- David echoes Braden’s comments and adds the importance of surrounding yourself with the right people in the right roles.
[45:36] David reveals future goals for Grayshift.
- David tells listeners how Grayshift is striving to be the market leader and be the technology customers want to use for Apple, Android, and other modern mobile devices.
- David says Grayshift is also constantly working to invent new techniques and capabilities to ensure that our customers have solutions.
[46:58] The team closes out their discussion by offering advice to those interested in the field of forensics, digital forensics, cybersecurity, and/or vulnerability research.
- Braden and David offer some helpful advice and wrap up their interview discussing striking a balance between security today and tools like GrayKey, and where you find Braden if you’re a customer and ever want to chat.
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