Cyber Security Effectiveness Podcast

The number of paths available to explore cybersecurity are seemingly endless and many professionals have made the jump between industries at least once. Tammy Hawkins, on the other hand, challenged herself constantly throughout her career by learning to apply skills to industries like in agriculture, and finance. She takes listeners through her journey from IT analyst to her current role as Director of Service Technologies at Blizzard Entertainment, and how you can adapt your skills to succeed anywhere.

The current global industry talent shortage proves to be a tough challenge and while having impressive technical skills are important, showing skill in creative problem-solving and communication may put you above the rest. Join Brian and Lisa Plaggemier, CSO at MediaPRO, as they discuss a new perspective on training and awareness, the difference between training to solve a specific problem and thinking critically, and the secret to engaging your employees.

The amount of critical infrastructure security news has exploded in the past few years due to ongoing digitalization, which has caused an overall increase of dependence on IT. Isabel Muench, Head of Branch Critical Infrastructures at BSI, talks to Brian about weaving IT security into critical infrastructure and shares stories of successes and failures.

The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is a large community of network designers, operators, vendors, and researchers passionate about the ever-evolving internet architecture. Security strategist, CISO, and board advisor Kathleen Moriarty chats with Brian about the fascinating research she's done, her upcoming book, and recommendations for scaling threat intel.

Strong cybersecurity leadership is truly tested when the organization is breached and when it comes to recovering from the damage, the response and public handling of the situation is just as important as the attack itself. Brian meets with Siobhan Gorman, Partner at communications firm Brunswick Group and former Wall Street Journal correspondent, who provides listeners with key takeaways and lessons learned from incidents past.

Students pursuing a degree in cybersecurity or computer science at Tennessee Tech University gain experience from their extracurriculars just as much as academics. Dr. Ambareen Siraj, professor/director of its Cybersecurity Education Research and Outreach Center (CEROC), discusses her approach to student education, her classes' research projects, and how they reach out to teach others in the community.

Nowadays, fraud prevention and cybersecurity go hand-in-hand. In order for financial services to succeed and thoroughly protect themselves, they must adapt and strategize according to open banking regulations. Brian talks with independent cybersecurity advisor Neira Jones about what this means for institutions of all sizes and their competitors.

Humans are often deemed the "weakest link" in security, and if organizations maintain that attitude with their employees then nothing will change. An encouraging and positive company culture can turn them into the most powerful weapon. Masha Sedova, co-founder of Elevate Security, takes listeners through the ways they can foster a more people-centered security approach for better results.

When looking at the cyber industry from a journalist's perspective and analyzing trends and transformations over time, much can be revealed. Dark Reading Executive Editor Kelly Jackson Higgins has been observing the industry for almost 15 years and has seen the most challenging issues from the consumer and organizational sides. She recalls some of the biggest turning points in the industry's past and areas still in desperate need for improvement.