About Blueprint

Blueprint is a cybersecurity podcast for security operations professionals who want to learn from practitioners actually doing the work. Hosted by John Hubbard, SANS Institute Cyber Defense Curriculum Lead and author of SANS SOC-related training courses SEC450 and LDR551, the show brings you in-depth conversations with SOC leaders, detection engineers, incident responders, and threat hunters defending enterprise networks.

With thousands of listeners around the globe, Blueprint brings together top-tier practitioners and leaders to go beyond surface-level security trends to explore the real challenges of building and running security operations. Episodes cover SOC detection engineering techniques, AI-enhanced security operations, SOC automation and tooling, incident response workflows, threat intelligence application, security metrics that matter, and the leadership challenges of managing defense teams.

Guests include security practitioners driving innovation from Fortune 500 companies to emerging startups, government agencies, and cutting-edge security teams, as well as tool builders and researchers advancing the state of cyber defense. Whether you're a SOC analyst looking to level up your detection skills, a security engineer building defensive capabilities, or a leader managing security operations, Blueprint delivers actionable insights you can apply in your environment.

What You'll Learn:

Detection engineering patterns and techniques used by advanced SOC teams
Practical approaches to threat hunting, log analysis, and alert tuning
How top organizations structure their security operations and measure effectiveness
Real incident response stories and lessons learned from major breaches
Emerging tools, protocols, and technologies in the defensive security space
Leadership strategies for building and scaling SOC teams

John Hubbard brings a unique perspective as both a practitioner and educator, translating complex security concepts into practical, implementable strategies. With a background in electrical engineering and years teaching thousands of security professionals through SANS, he asks the questions defenders actually care about.

Blueprint is brought to you by the SANS Institute, the global leader in cybersecurity training and certification. New episodes release regularly—subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

About the Host

John Hubbard

SANS Cyber Defense Curriculum Lead | Sr. Instructor

John Hubbard teaches people how to defend networks and leads curriculum strategy at SANS Institute, where he authors and manages multiple cybersecurity courses including SEC450 (SOC Analyst Training - Applied Skills for Cyber Defense Operations) and LDR551 (Building and Leading Security Operations Centers).
With a background in computer engineering and years of hands-on security work, John brings a systems-thinking approach to security, teaching, and podcasting. He's obsessed with translating complex security concepts into frameworks that actually make sense—whether that's improving security operations through security metrics, threat modeling, security data engineering, or leading a world-class cybersecurity team.
Blueprint cuts through the noise to explore what actually matters in cybersecurity: the people, processes, and decisions that make or break security programs. Real conversations with practitioners who've been in the trenches.