With any new technology, malicious actors exploit vulnerabilities and create uncertainty. But there are tools investigators, regulators, and cybersecurity professionals can use to fight back. In this episode, Chainalysis’ Jackie Burns Koven, Head of Cyber Threat Intelligence, shares how to mitigate risks and build trust in emerging spaces, drawing from her work across the cryptocurrency and blockchain landscape.
Since Chainalysis launched in 2014, the platform has been used to solve some of the world’s most high-profile criminal cases and safely expand consumer access to cryptocurrency. Jackie joined Chainalysis in 2019 after serving as an Intelligence Officer in the U.S. Department of Defense. In this conversation, she reflects on the crucial role Chainalysis plays in enhancing blockchain safety and ensuring its viability. She also offers valuable advice on how early-stage startups and leaders can stay informed in the rapidly evolving tech ecosystem, and how they can think about implementing their own systems. The episode also explores the challenges new technologies like AI face from malicious actors, the importance of effective collaboration between technology and government agencies, and the steps needed to stabilize the crypto industry long-term.
Conversation highlights:
00:00 – Introduction to Chainalysis
05:30 – Why Chainalysis is working with government agencies to fight bad actors
14:00 – How the blockchain threat landscape is evolving with AI
16:30 – The role of education in rising crypto threats, like pig butchering
29:10 – Advice for staying up to date on the rapidly evolving technology ecosystem
31:34 – Building a Cyber Threat Intelligence team; Jackie’s role
Featured: Jackie Burns Koven, Head of Cyber Threat Intelligence at Chainalysis and Amit Kumar, Partner at Accel
Learn more about Accel’s relationship with Chainalysis:
- Accel & Chainalysis
- Our Investment in Chainalysis: Meet the startup that brought down the biggest dark web marketplace
- Secrets to Scaling with Chainalysis’ Michael Gronager: “Growth and scaling are the hardest things to get right”
Explore more episodes from this season:
- S2E1 | Klaviyo’s Andrew Bialecki on proving a tech startup can be built anywhere
- S2E2 | Webflow’s Vlad Magdalin on the biggest lessons learned from bootstrapping and raising capital
- S2E3 | Syrup’s James Theuerkauf on building an AI-powered product that cuts through the noise
- S2E4 | Sysdig’s Suresh Vasudevan on embracing a “challenger mindset”
- S2E5 | CrowdStrike’s George Kurtz on building a generational company
- S2E6 | Accel’s Amit Kumar and Ivan Zhou on being an effective startup partner when things don’t go according to plan
- S2E7 | Remote’s Marcelo Lebre on the future of the global workforce
- S2E8 | Gamma’s Jon Noronha on how early-stage startups can challenge industry incumbents
- S2E9 | Monte Carlo’s Barr Moses on creating a playbook for a product that’s never been built before
- S2E10 | ConductorOne’s Alex Bovee on the critical ingredients of a high-growth startup
- S2E11 | Netskope’s Sanjay Beri on building an iconic company through controlled innovation
- S2E12 | Chainalysis’ Jackie Burns Koven on building trust in new technologies
- S2E13 | Wonder's Marc Lore on blending vision and execution
Access Spotlight On Season 1 episodes here.
