Cyber Work

Infosec and the Cyber Work Hacks podcast are here to help you pass the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) exam! So for today’s hack, we’re talking about bootcamps. The CEH exam, no matter how you slice it, is an exam that is the definition of the phrase, “It’s a marathon, not a sprint.” With 125 questions and four hours to answer them, there’s as much of a mental game at work here that’s much more than rote memorization of terms and tools. That’s why I wanted to get an insider’s look from Infosec boot camp instructor Akyl Phillips! Phillips will explain what the Infosec five-day CEH boot camp is like, the learning and retention strategies you’ll employ, and all the ways that bootcamp training can help you pass on the first try. Phillips has taught pentesters and red teamers at all levels from sheer beginners to people already in the field, and this episode is a look into how it works. Book yourself a front-row seat for another Cyber Work Hack.

0:00 - How to pass the CEH exam
3:17 - What is a CEH boot camp?
4:02 - Things to know before the CEH exam
5:30 - How does the CEH exam test practical skills?
6:46 - The day-to-day of an Infosec boot camp
11:08 - What is CEH exam day like?
12:14 - Is a cybersecurity boot camp right for me?
13:12 - Outro

– Get your FREE cybersecurity training resources: https://www.infosecinstitute.com/free
– View Cyber Work Podcast transcripts and additional episodes: https://www.infosecinstitute.com/podcast

About Infosec
Infosec’s mission is to put people at the center of cybersecurity. We help IT and security professionals advance their careers with skills development and certifications while empowering all employees with security awareness and phishing training to stay cyber-safe at work and home. More than 70% of the Fortune 500 have relied on Infosec Skills to develop their security talent, and more than 5 million learners worldwide are more cyber-resilient from Infosec IQ’s security awareness training. Learn more at infosecinstitute.com.

Today on Cyber Work, my guest is Raj Ananthanpillai, CEO of Trua, a company that is steeped in the current issues around digital credentials and data privacy. As you’ve no doubt heard, AT&T reported a data breach that compromised the personal information of approximately 7.6 million users! Ananthanpillai discusses Trua’s mission to leave data thieves holding an empty treasure chest, discusses his past work in creating TSA PreCheck and gives a bunch of great ideas and advice for making sure that you’re always thinking beyond your current position by learning and creating your way upward! All that, and a WHOLE bunch of vitriol at the industry-standard collecting of social security numbers, today on Cyber Work!

0:00 - Revolutionizing data privacy
4:20 - How Ananthanpillai got into cybersecurity
6:11 - Work as a cybersecurity CEO
9:25 - Fast tracking in cybersecurity roles
11:08 - Take your first steps in cybersecurity work
13:01 - Founding Trua
17:50 - New digital security protocols
21:10 - AT&T data breach
27:03 - How to stay safe from data breaches
29:58 - How to work in data privacy
35:14 - Skill gaps in data privacy work
37:05 - Best cybersecurity career advice
38:26 - Learn more about Trua
41:00 - Outro

– Get your FREE cybersecurity training resources: https://www.infosecinstitute.com/free
– View Cyber Work Podcast transcripts and additional episodes: https://www.infosecinstitute.com/podcast

About Infosec
Infosec’s mission is to put people at the center of cybersecurity. We help IT and security professionals advance their careers with skills development and certifications while empowering all employees with security awareness and phishing training to stay cyber-safe at work and home. More than 70% of the Fortune 500 have relied on Infosec Skills to develop their security talent, and more than 5 million learners worldwide are more cyber-resilient from Infosec IQ’s security awareness training. Learn more at infosecinstitute.com.

Mark Toussaint of OPSWAT joins to talk about his work in securing operational technology, and specifically about his role as product manager. This is an under-discussed job role within security, and requires great technical expertise, intercommunication skills and the ability to carry out long term campaigns on a product from, as he put it, initial brainstorming scribblings on a cocktail napkin through the creation of the product, all the way to its eventual retirement. Learn what it takes to connect security engineering, solutions experts, project management, and more in the role of security product manager, and how OT security connects fast, flexible IT and cybersecurity with systems that, as Toussaint put it, might be put in place and unmodified for 15 or 20 years. It’s not that hard to connect the worlds, but it takes a specific skill set.

0:00 - Working in operational technology
1:49 - First getting into cybersecurity and tech
3:14 - Mark Toussaint’s career trajectory
5:15 - Average day as a senior product manager in OPSWAT
7:40 - Challenges in operational technology
9:11 - Effective strategist for securing OT systems
11:18 - Common attack vectors in OT security
13:41 - Skills needed to work in OT security
16:37 - Backgrounds people in OT have
17:28 - Favorite parts of OT work
19:47 - How to get OT experience as a new industry worker
21:58 - Best cybersecurity career advice
22:56 - What is OPSWAT
25:29 - Outro

– Get your FREE cybersecurity training resources: https://www.infosecinstitute.com/free
– View Cyber Work Podcast transcripts and additional episodes: https://www.infosecinstitute.com/podcast

About Infosec
Infosec’s mission is to put people at the center of cybersecurity. We help IT and security professionals advance their careers with skills development and certifications while empowering all employees with security awareness and phishing training to stay cyber-safe at work and home. More than 70% of the Fortune 500 have relied on Infosec Skills to develop their security talent, and more than 5 million learners worldwide are more cyber-resilient from Infosec IQ’s security awareness training. Learn more at infosecinstitute.com.

Cyber Work Hacks knows that you have what it takes to pass the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) exam! And you don’t have to do it alone! Infosec’s CEH boot camp instructor Akyl Phillips gives you his top tips and tricks for taking the exam! Phillips breaks down the common formats for CEH questions, talks common mistakes people make while taking the exam and why it’s not the end of the world if you fail the CEH on the first time (especially if you do it with an Infosec CEH/Pentest+ dual-cert boot camp). As Phillips puts it, first you have to get to know the beast, and that will allow you to slay the beast! Sharpen your tools and get down to business with this Cyber Work Hack.

0:00 - Certified ethical hacker exam
1:42 - What is ethical hacking and the roles using it?
2:46 - Tips and tricks for taking the CEH exam
3:32 - Tools to have before the CEH exam
5:09 - Common mistakes people make with the CEH exam
6:11 - What if I fail the CEH exam?
7:02 - Will I get CEH exam feedback?
7:49 - Best piece of advice for CEH exam day
8:55 - Outro

– Get your FREE cybersecurity training resources: https://www.infosecinstitute.com/free
– View Cyber Work Podcast transcripts and additional episodes: https://www.infosecinstitute.com/podcast

About Infosec
Infosec’s mission is to put people at the center of cybersecurity. We help IT and security professionals advance their careers with skills development and certifications while empowering all employees with security awareness and phishing training to stay cyber-safe at work and home. More than 70% of the Fortune 500 have relied on Infosec Skills to develop their security talent, and more than 5 million learners worldwide are more cyber-resilient from Infosec IQ’s security awareness training. Learn more at infosecinstitute.com.

Today on Cyber Work, we’re talking about last September’s breach of the MGM Grand Casino chain, an attack that lead to a week of tech failure, downtime and over a hundred million dollars in lost revenue. The attackers were able to get in via a point that my guest, Aaron Painter of Nametag Inc, said is a common point of failure: the request for a password and credential reset from the helpdesk, and the ever-frustrating “security questions” approach to making sure you are who you are. Nametag is built to create an alternative to security questions and go beyond MFA to create a method of verification that is even resistant to AI Deepfake attempts! 

This conversation goes into lots of interesting spaces, including career mapping, the importance of diverse design teams and the benefits of security awareness training, plus you get to learn about an amazing piece of emergent tech!

0:00 - A new method of online verification
3:15 - First getting into cybersecurity and computers
7:03 - Aaron Painter's work experiences 
10:37 - Learning cybersecurity around the world
11:32 - Starting Nametag
16:25 - Average work week as Nametag CEO
19:10 - Cybersecurity learning methods
21:15 - The MGM cyberattack explained
26:07 - MGM fail safes bad actors surpassed 
29:26 - Security awareness training 
31:35 - Are data breaches the new normal
34:05 - How Nametag safeguards online data
37:59 - AI deepfakes 
40:19 - Using Nametag
42:20 - How to learn AI deep fake defense
44:14 - Design choices in digital identity 
45:54 - Different backgrounds in cybersecurity 
46:59 - Aaron Painter's favorite part of his work
48:01 - Best cybersecurity career advice
49:00 - Learn more about Nametag
50:06 - Outro

– Get your FREE cybersecurity training resources: https://www.infosecinstitute.com/free
– View Cyber Work Podcast transcripts and additional episodes: https://www.infosecinstitute.com/podcast

About Infosec
Infosec’s mission is to put people at the center of cybersecurity. We help IT and security professionals advance their careers with skills development and certifications while empowering all employees with security awareness and phishing training to stay cyber-safe at work and home. More than 70% of the Fortune 500 have relied on Infosec Skills to develop their security talent, and more than 5 million learners worldwide are more cyber-resilient from Infosec IQ’s security awareness training. Learn more at infosecinstitute.com.

Infosec and Cyber Work hacks can help you pass Cisco’s CCNA certification exam! But what if you think you’re not ready to make that jump? What would it take for you to jump into the study of the CCNA with both feet? Infosec’s CCNA boot camp instructor Wilfredo Lanz wants you to know that you can be ready to start the big learning a lot faster than you think, and tells us why some of his most entry-level students often do better on the test than their more established classmates. If the prospect of passing the CCNA on the first try got you fired up, well, that’s the point! Keep the excitement coming, and check out today’s Cyber Work Hack.

0:00 - Cisco's CCNA certification exam
0:57 - Who enrolls in an Infosec CCNA boot camp
2:50 - What should you know before studying for the CCNA?
3:50 - What does a CCNA certified IT network professional do?
6:42 - Ensuring you're ready to take on CCNA
9:59 - How to gain networking experience
11:39 - Become an IT and networking professional
12:50 - Outro

Learn more about the CCNA: https://www.infosecinstitute.com/training/ccna/

About Infosec
Infosec’s mission is to put people at the center of cybersecurity. We help IT and security professionals advance their careers with skills development and certifications while empowering all employees with security awareness and phishing training to stay cyber-safe at work and home. More than 70% of the Fortune 500 have relied on Infosec Skills to develop their security talent, and more than 5 million learners worldwide are more cyber-resilient from Infosec IQ’s security awareness training. Learn more at infosecinstitute.com.

Today on Cyber Work, I’ve got a big guest for you. Jeffrey Brown, Faculty at IANS Research, is also the chief information security officer for, not a company, not for a healthcare organization, but for the entire state of Connecticut! Brown walks me through the scope and reach of a state-wide CISO, a country-wide move toward a “whole of state” strategy and, frankly, I spend an awful lot of time talking to Brown about where he finds the time to do all the things he does.

0:00 - Being CISO of an entire state
1:50 - Early interest in computer, tech and security
5:17 - A communication background in cybersecurity
7:31 - Cybersecurity career time management
13:59 - Working as a CISO of a state
15:45 - How to prepare for a CISO role at the state level
18:51 - What does a CISO do for a U.S. state?
25:50 - State cybersecurity approach
27:41 - Cyber attacks and challenges states face
32:00 - Is cybersecurity awareness a waste of time?
37:31 - Skills needed to work in cybersecurity for the state
40:11 - Learning how to lead in cybersecurity
43:20 - Favorite parts of state cybersecurity
44:19 - Resources to improve cyber hygiene
46:14 - Best piece of cybersecurity career advice
48:47 - Learn more about Jeffrey Brown
49:33 - Outro

– Get your FREE cybersecurity training resources: https://www.infosecinstitute.com/free
– View Cyber Work Podcast transcripts and additional episodes: https://www.infosecinstitute.com/podcast

This is a very wide-ranging and inspiring episode – whether you’re slogging through cert study or hitting a wall trying to figure out your next career pivot, my talk with Jeff will absolutely give you a new perspective. Keep it right here for Cyber Work! 

About Infosec
Infosec’s mission is to put people at the center of cybersecurity. We help IT and security professionals advance their careers with skills development and certifications while empowering all employees with security awareness and phishing training to stay cyber-safe at work and home. More than 70% of the Fortune 500 have relied on Infosec Skills to develop their security talent, and more than 5 million learners worldwide are more cyber-resilient from Infosec IQ’s security awareness training. Learn more at infosecinstitute.com.

Today on Cyber Work, we continue our deep dive into industrial control systems and operational technology security by talking with Donovan Tindill of DeNexus. Now, I’m just going to come out and say it: Tindill's episode is like a cybersecurity career seminar in a box, and a must-not-miss if you’re interested in not just ICS and OT security, but specifically the realm of Risk Assessment. Tindill brought slides and literally lays out his entire career for us to see, including the highs and even some of the lows, and what he learned from them. He explains the fuzzy distinctions between ICS security and the act of determining risk for said systems, gives us a 60 year history of the increasing attack surface and number or risk types associated with operational technology, and gives us tons of great career advice and ways to get started.

0:00 - Careers in operational technology
2:01 - Donovan Tindill's interest in tech
5:30 - Tindill's career roles in cybersecurity
10:42 - The jump to a supervision role
13:19 - Average day for a director of OT cybersecurity
18:39 - Volunteerism with Public Safety Canada
22:57 - Tindill's talk on active directory a decade later
23:43 - Current operational technology challenges
29:26 - New SEC regulations
33:54 - Thoughts on the SEC regulations
35:37 - How to work in OT, ICS or risk assessment
40:34 - Skill gaps for OT, ICS and risk management
42:44 - Tindill's favorite work
45:36 - Best cybersecurity career advice
48:22 - What is DeNexus?
52:22 - Learn more about Tindill and DeNexus
53:22 - Outro

– Get your FREE cybersecurity training resources: https://www.infosecinstitute.com/free
– View Cyber Work Podcast transcripts and additional episodes: https://www.infosecinstitute.com/podcast

About Infosec
Infosec’s mission is to put people at the center of cybersecurity. We help IT and security professionals advance their careers with skills development and certifications while empowering all employees with security awareness and phishing training to stay cyber-safe at work and home. More than 70% of the Fortune 500 have relied on Infosec Skills to develop their security talent, and more than 5 million learners worldwide are more cyber-resilient from Infosec IQ’s security awareness training. Learn more at infosecinstitute.com.

Infosec and Cyber Work Hacks podcast want to help you pass the CCNA exam! So, for today’s hack, let’s talk boot camps. The CCNA is an intimidating exam, especially if you’re trying to go it alone, just you and your self-study book. That’s why I’d like to introduce you to Infosec’s CCNA boot camp instructor, Wilfredo Lanz! He will explain what the Infosec 5-day CCNA boot camp is like, the learning and memorizing strategies you’ll employ and how boot camp training can help you pass on the first try. Lanz helps his students with every networking question, and students who commit to those five intensive days will see significant results. 

0:00 - What is a CCNA boot camp like? 
1:40 - Boot camp training versus university
6:37 - Do I need to bring anything to CCNA boot camp?
7:23 - Take CCNA exam after boot camp
8:25 - Advice for taking a CCNA boot camp
9:46 - Outro

About Infosec
Infosec’s mission is to put people at the center of cybersecurity. We help IT and security professionals advance their careers with skills development and certifications while empowering all employees with security awareness and phishing training to stay cyber-safe at work and home. More than 70% of the Fortune 500 have relied on Infosec Skills to develop their security talent, and more than 5 million learners worldwide are more cyber-resilient from Infosec IQ’s security awareness training. Learn more at infosecinstitute.com.

Today on Cyber Work, we are talking operational technology, or OT, security with guest, Robin Berthier of Network Perception. From his earliest studies to his time as an academic researcher, Berthier has dedicated his career to securing the intersection between operational technology and network security, with some pretty imaginative solutions to show for it. In today’s episode, Berthier explains why modern OT security means thinking more about the mechanics of the machinery than the swiftness of the software solutions, the big conversation that infrastructure and ICS Security need to have about nation-state attackers (and finally are having!) and Berthier's best piece of career advice turns into some excellent thoughts on the importance of maintaining your network… and I don’t mean routing and switching!

0:00 - Industrial control systems cybersecurity
1:54 - How Robin Berthier got into tech
3:38 - Majoring in cybersecurity
4:55 - Intrusion detection systems
9:18 - Mechanical and cybersecurity tools
12:33 Launching Network Perception
17:03 - Current state of ICS and OT infrastructure
20:24 - Cyberattacks on industrial control systems
28:35 -Skills needed to work in industrial control systems
35:19 - Where are ICS security jobs?
36:39 - Getting into local OT systems
37:55 - Skills gaps in ICS
39:21 - Best piece of career advice
41:01 - Cultivating a work network
43:28 - What is Network Perception?
45:27 - Learn more about Robin Berthier
45:58 - Outro

– Get your FREE cybersecurity training resources: https://www.infosecinstitute.com/free
– View Cyber Work Podcast transcripts and additional episodes: https://www.infosecinstitute.com/podcast

About Infosec
Infosec’s mission is to put people at the center of cybersecurity. We help IT and security professionals advance their careers with skills development and certifications while empowering all employees with security awareness and phishing training to stay cyber-safe at work and home. More than 70% of the Fortune 500 have relied on Infosec Skills to develop their security talent, and more than 5 million learners worldwide are more cyber-resilient from Infosec IQ’s security awareness training. Learn more at infosecinstitute.com.