​For this edition of the Making Oregon podcast we bring you one interview divided into two episodes.

In the first half, we ask Stephen to tell us about his path from teenage hacker to working for the Department of Defense, Wall Street banks and social media companies. He’ll tell us how his love of research eventually lead him to become an entrepreneur—two pursuits that require very different skill sets. He’ll describe Senrio, how it works, and what makes it different from other security applications. We’ll learn how it addresses the vulnerabilities found in embedded systems. And yes, we’ll explain how ubiquitous embedded systems are—and here’s a hint—they exist in your cell phone.

In our second episode, we back track for a couple minutes and make sure everyone is on the same page with understanding how Senrio works. Then we dive into a discussion about best practices for protecting data, especially if you are a small business. Stephen will also talk about the vulnerabilities he and his developers find in consumer electronics and how Senrio can play a role in providing solutions. Plus, we’ll get his take on data privacy, metadata and what social media giants like Facebook are doing with the information users supply, whether they know it or not. Finally, we’ll ask whether data privacy really exists in today’s world and how Stephen balances his awareness of security issues with his own personal practices in daily life.