Over the last two decades, I’ve helped make hundreds of organizations more secure.

My mission is to leave the Internet a more secure place than I found it.

I’m helping organizations handle billions of users' information securely and increasing brand’s trust among their customers.

I run a cybersecurity media brand called Vulnerable U. We run a popular cybersecurity newsletter along with daily social media video content across platforms.

We've also built a team @ Vulnerable U to help YOUR company with its tech marketing needs. The team is staffed with experts who can create content for you without the marketing cringe factor. You don't need to teach us to spell Kubernetes. (I'm hiring content creators here if you're looking)

My portfolio:

→ I was the head of Software Security at Reddit where I help design security into all facets of the business for the 4th largest social network in the US and a top 20 most visited website globally
→ I teach company’s how to protect against cyber attacks and save tens of millions of dollars in losses.
→ I coach entrepreneurs and CISOs that need help with infrastructure, application, cloud, and security policies.
→ I advise early-stage companies in cyber security best practices and help pass technical due diligence from investors and potential acquirers.
→ I invest in early-stage private technology companies focusing on cybersecurity, software infrastructure, employee productivity, and B2B/SaaS.
→ I volunteer for a selection of non-profits who’s missions I connect with who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford technical and specifically security consulting services..

If you want to work with me, get in touch

Matt Johansen

Dove into Anna P. and crew's malware analysis of this new phishing technique.

It has everything! Fake ublock origin clone. New malware family. New ClickFix varient that crashes your browser. and more!

https://lnkd.in/gEZnTK-V

Security Recruiter - Founder of Hampton North

Founder of Hampton North.

Hampton North are a Cyber Security specialist search firm that are built solely with the cyber security industry in mind.

We provide multiple solutions for a multitude of clients including retained/exec search, large headcount hiring sprints, contact and contract-to-hire services and SOW engagements for firms looking for a strategic execution specialist.

Stuart Mitchell

If you have 5 minutes, here are my predictions for security hiring in 2026.

Hiring is back ; but if you’re relying on “Apply for job” buttons, you’re already behind. I believe less than 50% of hires will be made this way in 2026.

That's my biggest take, but we're also going to see:

- New security job titles that didn’t exist 12 months ago
- Household-name CISOs and security professionals leaving “safe” logos for 10-person startups
- A brutal war for top sales talent in security
- And a widening gap between people who kept learning… and people who didn’t

I’ve been on the front line of this market every day, and the shifts are already happening.

Have a watch, let me know where you agree, let me know where you think I'm wrong...

As the Hampton North team start to filter down to South Florida for SKO, I want to give a shoutout to a couple of HN OG's, ✨Ruby Murphy✨ and Ross Gisondi.

I haven't told this story publicly, but we had a VP lined up to join HN starting January 2025. Signed, semi-onboarded, even helped some of our hiring decisions (lesson learned there). At the last minute, and in fairness to the guy, for very unfortunate circumstances, he had to pull out. I was gutted. I was so close to handing over some of the responsibilities I really didn't like, and in a turn of events, my wife had just told me she was pregnant (a baby we only tried for because I had a number 2 coming in!)

In a scramble, I flew Ross and Ruby out to Fort Lauderdale. "Guys, for the next few months, I'm going to need a little bit more out of you, I need you step up and help me on some things outside of your job description. My focus will be getting the very VP to come in and make us better (hi Greg)"

They did it. Both were incredible.

Now, as a team of 10, we (somewhat poetically) get together in the South of Florida tomorrow again. But none of this happens without that few months of heroics from Ross and Ruby in the first half of 2025. 

Here's to you Ross and Ruby! The OG's.

Incredible couple of days down in Fort Lauderdale with the Hampton North team for Sales Kick Off.

Quick summary before I bore LinkedIn with the full play-by-play. 2025 was an amazing year , and in 2026, the bar goes up again. But with success comes responsibility. We stay humble, stay hungry, and prove ourselves every single week. Just because we’ve had some success doesn’t mean we’ll ever accept being outworked, out-delivered, or out-hustled. Out-anything, really.

We redefined and sharpened our core values:

 Execution. Intentional Urgency. High Ownership. Continuous Improvement (Kaizen, for those who appreciate Japanese culture).

We also set the theme for the year: “The Year of Best Practice.” We’ve done incredibly well, but at times we’ve played to the beat of our own drum. This year, we get in rhythm.

We recognized our award winners:

Best Newcomer – Lee Hills. Came in and crushed it from day one.

Most Improved – Aimee Clemson. No one has worked harder to level up. Inspiring to see

Top Biller – ✨Ruby Murphy✨ Say no more. An unbelievable year. (Now even more stylish with a classic Chanel purse.)

Truth is, it’s a lot of fun building a company where the team just looks at each other and says, “Yeah;  this is it.”

We had some fun too. Greg Anderson beat us all at go-karting (who knew?), Lee won bowling, Aimee is a Guitar Hero queen, and Lee and I tied it up on the golf course.

Also turns out we're incapable of getting a photo of the 10 of us together; maybe next time...

Still on the hunt for a Director of Compliance for a cybersecurity client of mine.

MUST have gone through the FedRAMP ATO process for a Security or SaaS business.

Remote role (US). $180-200k base plus package.

HMU

Kicking off a search for a Director of Compliance for a cybersecurity company;  looking for a hands-on leader as this is a smaller team.

Must have real FedRAMP (ATO) experience and have built/run compliance programs inside a SaaS or cybersecurity company. 

High-impact role, great team, awesome boss and 100% remote.

https://lnkd.in/eiTXDhvB

Medical, Vision, Dental, 401(k) and 2+ benefits

Excited to be welcoming Lara Hursh to the Hampton North team today.

Lara brings over 5 years of experience in the recruiting space, with the majority of that time spent in the GTM world.

We’re pumped to add another world-class recruiter to the HN GTM team, building on the great work Mike Campagna has done getting this practice up and running over.

Are you a CISO, VC or CEO heading to RSA?

Do you golf? ⛳ 🏌‍♂️ 

Want to play at the course that hosted the 2020 PGA Championship? 

Hampton North are hosting a golf outing at TPC Harding Park on the morning of Monday March 23rd before the action really gets started at Moscone. 

We have very limited spaces, so ping me or one of the team here to lock up a spot. We are close to half capacity already.

The hiring market never seems to stay the same.

And the truth is, we're seeing a very different 2026 (and H2 2025) than we've seen in the previous years of 2023 through H1 2025.

Layoffs are down, huge investments are being made (AI, defense tech, infrastructure), people who have been building quietly are starting to see progress. You only have to look at the company's looking to hire recruiters at the moment, both agency and internally.

Reactive hiring might have gotten you by in the last couple of years, but it's not going to play in 2026.

✨Ruby Murphy✨ needs 3 x Software Security Engineer's (Senior/Staff level) for a world class health-tech brand. Must have really strong engineering chops (pass a coding test).

Remote in the US.

$220-270k base plus stock.

Hit her up, or tap me on the shoulder for an intro.

Looking forward to getting up to Boston this even to attend Step Function and Nebulock, Inc.'s 'Security Speakeasy Demo Night' this evening

We'll see a 'Shark Tank'esque product demo's of Oryo.io, watchTowr, Nebulock, Inc. (excited to heckle Damien Lewke) and many more.

The all star panel of judges will be...

Andrew Smeaton, 7 x CISO 
Mark Sutton - CISO at Bain Capital
Ravi Thatavarthy, CISSP - CISO at Rite Aid
Conor Sherman - Podcast host. Also CISO in Residence at Sysdig

If you're around in Boston this evening, this is an event you should be attending. Drop me a note and I'll send you the invite link.

I was grateful to sit down with Sean Anderson on The Rag Podcast again (episode went live this week) and share a pretty honest take on the Hampton North journey.

By most measures, it’s been hugely successful: awards, incredible clients and candidates, top-tier recruiters joining the team, strong profits, and even some flattering investment and acquisition interest.

But it’s been bloody hard. (Maybe harder than the overconfident 32 year old who started this thing expected)

Balancing life as a very hands-on dad to two young kids, running the front and back office, being the sole salesperson in year one, losing my father, and (unwisely) not taking advice in my first 2 years because I struggled to trust folks.

Halfway through 2025 we really turned a corner, bringing Greg in as VP and Marc on to advise, and immediately the weight on my shoulders dropped exponentially. It's no surprise that we've been cooking on gas ever since.

We work in an industry where everyone wants to show off performance all the time, and yeah, maybe I can get caught up in that too, but I think it's important to share that this is all very real and we all go through it, even if things look good.

Flying the flag one more time to remind folks that I'll be in London next week, anchored around a couple of incredibly exciting meetings and events (not least, the White Hat Ball)

I have a few windows on Thursday and Friday and I'd love to meet;

- Incredible recruiters in the  go-to-market software or AI space, particularly as it touches cybersecurity. 
- CEOs, Founders, and Investors within cybersecurity who maybe are working the UK and European market that are looking to enter the US market that we can discuss around
- Anyone who has having a significant influence in the cybersecurity community right now that could potentially be a guest for the Zero Signal Podcast.
-Of course, any old friends in the security or recruitment industry

Shoot me a note and we'll find time.

I’ll be on the road quite a bit this month.

Boston — Thursday, January 15
New York City — Tuesday, January 20
London — January 29–30

Each trip is centered around some great events, but I’ll have time in every city to connect with people 1:1.

I’m especially keen to meet with:

- Security leaders who are growing their teams or facing hiring challenges
- World-class recruiters curious about the HN magic and whether there could be a fit here
- VCs and Talent partners looking for a best-in-class security hiring partner to support their portfolio companies
- Founders of security companies looking to build their revenue and engineering functions

If you’ll be around, drop me a note here and we’ll get some time on the calendar.

Vas Khomyk is in the market for a Security Operations Manager for a world class financial services institution in Nashville.

$150-180k base plus bonus. 4 days on site. Will pay relo if needed.

Hit up Vas or tap me on the shoulder for an intro.

Irritating of Verizon to have an outage just 90 minutes after Conor Sherman and I recorded an episode of Zero Signal Podcast.

Would've been a great conversation topic for the show.

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