Cybersecurity careers rarely follow a straight line, and Chris Glanden’s journey proves just how unconventional the path into the industry can be.
In a recent episode of CYBR.HAK.CAST, hosts Michael Farnum and Phil Wylie spoke with Glanden, founder and CEO of Barcode Security, about how he transitioned from IT support roles to cybersecurity consulting—and eventually into podcasting and filmmaking.
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Bill Brenner
Glanden didn’t originally plan to work in cybersecurity at all.
After graduating high school, he initially pursued film studies. But when he became a father at 20, financial responsibilities pushed him into the workforce.
“I realized I needed to go into the workforce and provide,” Glanden said.
He landed a job providing technical support for a cable company in the early 2000s—earning what he joked felt like a life-changing wage at the time. The job coincided with a transformative moment in technology, when broadband internet, video-on-demand services, and HDTV were beginning to reshape consumer tech.
That role introduced him to the world of IT.
From Help Desk to Cyber Defense
Over the next decade, Glanden moved through help desk and desktop support roles, gradually building technical expertise. But it wasn’t until 2012 that cybersecurity truly entered the picture.
A friend who was building a security team at a financial institution invited Glanden to join as a junior analyst.
That opportunity changed everything.
Within months, Glanden attended the Hacker Halted conference, where he earned his Certified Ethical Hacker certification. More importantly, he experienced the culture of the cybersecurity community for the first time.
“That was really the moment I realized this is what I wanted to do,” he said.
From there, Glanden built a career in security operations and consulting, eventually working across industries including healthcare, manufacturing, and financial services. Consulting work exposed him to a wide range of security challenges and regulatory frameworks, including HIPAA and medical device security.
But another interest was quietly resurfacing.
The Cybersecurity Storyteller
Glanden’s passion for storytelling—first sparked during his brief time studying film—began to intersect with his cybersecurity work.
That intersection came into focus during the COVID-19 pandemic.
With conferences canceled and experts suddenly more accessible through virtual events, Glanden launched the Barcode podcast, reaching out to high-profile figures in the security industry.
Within his first ten episodes, he interviewed well-known figures like Bruce Schneier and Troy Hunt, establishing credibility that helped grow the podcast and eventually the broader Barcode brand.
In 2022, Glanden took a leap of faith.
After years in consulting, he left his corporate role to focus full-time on Barcode—combining cybersecurity consulting with content creation.
Today, that creative focus includes documentary filmmaking, podcast networks, and new media projects designed to explain cybersecurity issues to wider audiences.
For Glanden, the goal is simple: translate complex technical topics into compelling human stories.
“There are so many stories in cybersecurity that people outside the industry should hear,” he said.
