Rebooting the cyber arsenal of democracy
Eric Foster
BSides NYC 2025 (0x05) · Day 1 · Entrepreneur
In a compelling presentation at BSides NYC, Eric Foster, CEO of **10X AI** and a veteran of the cybersecurity industry, laid out a powerful argument for why now is the "golden era" for aspiring cybersecurity founders. Titled "Rebooting the Cyber Arsenal of Democracy," Foster's talk wasn't just a guide for entrepreneurs; it was a call to action, framed as a "moral imperative" for individuals to innovate and build new companies to safeguard national security and the broader digital ecosystem. Drawing on over three decades of experience, including multiple successful exits like **Risk IQ** (sold to Microsoft for over $550 million) and **Sidaris**, as well as insights from top-tier venture capitalists such as Andreessen Horowitz, TCV, and Ballistic Ventures, Foster presented a tactical roadmap for transforming ideas into high-growth security businesses.
AI review
A founder-entrepreneur motivational talk dressed up with national-security framing — thin on substance, heavy on self-promotion, and misplaced at a BSides technical conference. Foster has real credentials and genuine exits, but this talk is essentially a VC pitch deck narrated aloud, with 10X AI as the hero of every example.