The Pulse of Cyber Bay

In the heart of the Sunshine State, a movement is reaching critical mass. We often talk about the “bits and bytes” of data protection, but if you step onto the floor of the 2025 CyberBay Summit, you realize that the true power of the Tampa Bay tech ecosystem isn’t just in the servers—it’s in the people.

In this special bonus episode of the CyberBay Podcast, host Serena Gandandy sat down with five industry titans for a series of “Connect 4” interviews. From VP-level strategists to CEOs and innovators, these conversations reveal a shared vision: making Tampa Bay the global capital of human-centered cybersecurity.

1. The Strategy of Accessibility: Ryan Seymour (ConnectSecure)

Our first guest, Ryan Seymour, VP of Consulting and Education at ConnectSecure, brings over a decade of experience from the legendary ConnectWise halls. For Ryan, the CyberBay movement is about more than just business growth; it’s about solving the “cost of entry” problem.

Democratizing Defense

According to recent Cyber Bay surveys, nearly 80% of organizations feel the cost of cybersecurity is prohibitively high. Ryan argues that security shouldn’t be a luxury reserved for the Fortune 500.

  • The Vision: ConnectSecure is 100% privately owned, allowing them to bypass venture capital pressures and keep prices affordable for small-to-mid-sized businesses (SMBs).
  • The Strategy: By offering no-contract, high-value tools, they are ensuring that “cyber hygiene” becomes a standard, not a line item that gets cut.

2. Basic Hygiene vs. Threat ROI: Peter Bellini (ConnectSecure)

As the CEO and Co-founder of ConnectSecure, Peter Bellini focuses on the math behind the madness. In his view, the path to a secure Florida starts with ruining the “Return on Investment” (ROI) for threat actors.

The Three Pillars of Risk

Peter cites the Verizon Data Breach Report, noting the top three paths to a breach:

  1. Credential Compromise
  2. Vulnerability Exploitation
  3. Social Engineering

“If we can make exploiting a network more expensive for threat actors,” Peter explains, “maybe they’ll find some other type of employment.” By driving down the cost of vulnerability management to as low as 11 cents per device, Peter’s goal is to put protection on millions of devices, creating a collective shield across the entire CyberBay region.

3. Protecting Critical Infrastructure: Kendra Syler & Kevin Salzer (CommHIT)

The conversation shifted toward the “unsung heroes” of Florida’s economy with Kendra Syler (CEO) and Kevin Salzer (CTO) of CommHIT, a 501(c)3 based at the Kennedy Space Center.

Why Small Businesses Are the Backbone

Kendra highlights a staggering statistic: 37% of the GDP comes from small businesses. In rural communities, these businesses are the lifeblood of manufacturing and food supply.

  • Workforce Development: Commit focuses on training the human component of cyber hygiene in areas that larger urban centers often overlook.
  • The Hub Effect: They see Tampa as the perfect anchor point to radiate cybersecurity knowledge out into rural Florida, ensuring no community is left behind in the digital age.

4. Innovation Through Teamwork: Gowtham Chilakapati (Product Leader)

New to Tampa but an old hand in analytics, Gowtham Chilakapati represents the “Innovation” side of the CyberBay coin. With 15 years in data and analytics, he views cybersecurity through the lens of Information Flow and Trust.

The Speed of Change

Gowtham provided a targeted example of how quickly the industry is evolving. Just three years ago, processing insurance or fraud claims was a manual, arduous process. Today, tools like Generative AI allow processors to identify bad actors and falsified information in seconds rather than days.

5. The Psychology of Cyber: Paul Perry

Our final guest, Paul Perry, a national speaker on the “human aspect” of cyber, brought the conversation back to its roots: human behavior.

Convenience vs. Privacy

Paul introduced the concept of Present Bias—the tendency for humans to value immediate convenience over long-term security.

  • The Choice: “You can boil every cybersecurity issue back to a single choice: convenience versus privacy,” Paul says.
  • The Solution: There is no “patch” for human behavior. The only solution is constant, consistent education that meets people where they are.

Conclusion: You Must Be Present to Win

As we move further into 2026, the Cyber Bay Podcast will continue to bring you the stories of the people building our digital future. Whether you are a technical expert or a business owner just starting your journey, remember: you don’t have to do it alone.

Stay Connected:

This blog post is a companion piece to the Cyber Bay Podcast Bonus Episode. Watch the full series of interviews on YouTube.