Last week I had the privilege to go on the Hammer and Nigel Show to discuss the Colonial Pipeline cyber-attack. This was a fun interview and hope to be invited back on in the future!

Links

https://www.wibc.com/hammer-and-nigel/

https://omny.fm/shows/hammer-and-nigel-show/nick-sturgeon-talks-cyber-security

In the final episode of the year I had the pleasure and honor to chat with an old friend, colleague, and former boss, Dewand Neely of the Eleven Fifty Academy. Dewand is the former CIO for the State of Indiana. I have known him for well over a decade. I first worked with Dewand when he was a manager at IOT and I was a newly appointed Sergeant with the Indiana State Police. Over the years I was extremely fortunate to work with and for him. At Eleven Fifty he is the Chief Operations Officer where he has been working hard to expand not only the coding academy but the cybersecurity academy. During our conversation we were able to catch up a bit, talk about the cybersecurity academy/range, and reminisce about the trade delegation to Israel in 2016. 

If you are interested in learning more about Eleven Fifty or would like to learn some new skills, go check them out!

Links:

https://elevenfifty.org/team/dewand-neely/

The 2020 U.S. Elections are in the books... well sort of! In this episode I continue the conversation over the election and election security. Even though voting day is done the aftermath of the election and results are far from over. Now according to Election officials all went well,  there is/was no fraud, and the entire election was secure. However, we cannot forget the conversation over the last four years about how Russia interfered with the 2016 election. These officials want us to trust their word for it. If they really want us to trust the results and that things were secure, we need them to be 100% transparent. Now was there wide spread fraud, maybe/maybe not. To completely dismiss this as a crazy idea and dismiss those who are calling foul, is not going to build trust. Either side needs to present the evidence and fact in their case.

The other conversation I bring up is the rumor control efforts by U.S DHS and the Federal government. As I was preparing for this episode I came across a web page on U.S DHS CISA site on their campaign for rumor control. This campaign is part of their fight against dis-information. Looking into it, my initial reaction was not good. Is it the government's job to fight rumors even if it is part of fighting disinformation from a foreign government. This is a slippery slope issue. This effort is even happening with the Indiana state government, Governor Holcomb, and Indiana Department of Homeland Security.

Links:

https://fox59.com/news/national-world/cybersecurity-officials-maintain-this-years-election-was-the-most-secure-in-us-history/

https://www.cisa.gov/rumorcontrol

This week the Director of National Intelligence and the FBI held a press conference detailing election interference activity by Russia and Iran. In this episode I break down the video and what this activity means for you and I.

Link:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-22/fbi-russia-iran-influence-2020-election/12801440

To kick off the month of October and the National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM), I was fortunate to speak to Daniel Eliot of the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA). Daniel is the Director of Education and Strategic Initiatives for the NCSA. Since this conversation took place during the kickoff of NCSAM, I took the opportunity to ask Daniel about the purpose behind the month, the activities, themes, and importance of being cyber smart.

Daniel's Bio:

Social Media:

Twitter & Facebook: @StaySafeOnline

Links:

NCSA: https://staysafeonline.org/

This month we hit a tragic milestone in cybersecurity. A patient at Düsseldorf University Hospital died as a result of a ransomware attack. Though it did hit the news, I don't think the magnitude of this event is coming across or even truly understand. What can we do to make sure that this is the only time that this happens? Unfortunately, I think this is part of our reality now. Also the U.S Department of Homeland Security (DHS) deployed some very invasive technology during the Portland protests and riots. This is very dangerous and should be illegal to use against protesters. For those who are rioting... well there may be some legal gray areas there.

Links:

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-54204356

19 years ago today our nation was changed forever. The promise most of us made was never to forget. The first part of this episode I talk about my own personal experience and where I was at 19 years ago. The conversation leads to why remembering is important to the issues going on today. The last part of the episode is talking about the 2020 elections. This also pivots into work that my company Iuvare Cyber is doing around election security. This episode is dedicated to all those who lost their lives on this day 19 years ago.

Links

c-Watch Elections Training Program: https://www.cyberresilienceinstitute.org/programs/c-watch-2020/

On this episode of the CyberBites Podcast, I had the pleasure of speaking with James Czerniawski of the Libertas Institute. The Libertas Institute is based in Lehi, UT and is a 501(c)3 who's mission "is to change hearts, minds, and laws to build a freer society by creating and implementing innovative policy reforms and exceptional educational resources." James is a Policy Analyst specializing on Technology and Innovation. The conversation starts out by framing the challenges and problems we as individuals and our government's face as it relates to technology, privacy and security. From there James talks about the Privacy Proposal that the Libertas Institute is working to get passed in the Utah State Legislature. This was a really fun conversation and super thankful for James taking time out of his week to chat. I want to thank Lindsay Marie for making the introduction and helping to set this conversation up.

James was born in New Jersey and raised in New York. Prior to joining Libertas, he was a Program Coordinator for the American Institute for Economic Research. He earned his master’s degree in economics from George Mason University where he was a Mercatus MA Fellow. He graduated from the State University of New York – Purchase with a bachelor’s in economics and American history. He is a travel enthusiast, a professional gamer, a cellist, an actor, a book worm, and a strong supporter for the ideas of liberty.

You can find James on Twitter: @JamesCz19

As a special note: this was the first time recording on a Rodecaster Pro. Man did this thing surpass my expectations. The sound is great, the ability to control and adjust things during the recording as fantastic, and you have to love the built in sound board.

Links:

https://libertasutah.org/limited-and-open-government/proposal-the-privacy-protection-act/

https://libertasutah.org/

Twitter: @LibertasUtah

Making her CyberBites Podcast debut (though in reality she is a veteran of the show), Lindsay Marie joins me for a chat on all things COVID-19, the social & political impact that this virus has and will have on us. It is always a great chat with Lindsay. I do want to thank Lindsay for her help in helping me with the idea for the rebranded podcast and for being a supporter of the show. Even with this pandemic she has been busy. Go check out some of her recent work, links are below!

Social:

Facebook,Twitter, Instagram: @LindsayMarieLP

Links:

www.lindsaymarie.com

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/may/7/justin-amash-is-not-why-joe-biden-will-lose-to-pre/

https://townhall.com/columnists/lindsaymarie/2020/05/08/military-spouse-sues-florida-commissioner-for-suspending-concealed-weapons-applications-n2568485

https://www.glennbeck.com/young-voices/biden-backs-yet-another-criminal-justice-policy-with-disastrous-consequences

On the official first episode of the CyberBites Podcast, I was fortunate to virtually site down for a CyberBites Chat with Eric Wassenaar of Veracode. Eric and I have known each other for about a year now. We first meet at the 2019 CyberTech Midwest Conference and have since gotten to work together. Eric is not only a cyber warrior but a trained Opera singer. During our converstation we talked through a gambit of cybersecurity issues but also talked about how the COVID-19 situation will change not only cybersecurity, but how it will change IT.

You can find out more about Veracode and their services at: https://www.veracode.com/

Eric can be found on Twitter @Edwtenor and www.ericwasssenaar.com!