Easy Prey

There are so many things to learn about utilizing crypto, understanding the benefits as well as the benefits. It can be used to save time and money, but you need to be careful and only interact with reputable companies. Today's guest is Bam Azizi. Bam is a tech entrepreneur and the co-founder and CEO of Mesh, which provides FinTech companies with a seamless and secure one-click system for users to transfer their assets for deposit, payment, and payout. He previously founded No Password, a cybersecurity identity company acquired by LogMeIn in 2019.

Show Notes:

• [0:53] - Bam shares his background and current endeavors with Mesh, of which he is co-founder and CEO.

• [2:26] - Bam explains how he found himself working in FinTech with his background in cybersecurity.

• [5:01] - You cannot educate every single user on the planet. People make mistakes all the time and there should be no shame about that.

• [7:37] - Defense needs to get it right 100% of the time, but to move the scam forward, the scammer only needs to get it right once.

• [11:01] - Security and compliance act like guardrails.

• [12:30] - There are mechanisms in place that can protect users, but there are pitfalls and disadvantages.

• [13:41] - Crypto is like any other type of data, but how it is stored is different.

• [14:57] - Crypto is inherently secure, but transit becomes a problem.

• [17:34] - Sometimes, you just don't know who you are sending money to or if the company receiving funds is legitimate.

• [19:40] - Bam explains what happens when we initiate a transaction and try to rescind it.

• [22:02] - We should be able to identify the people interacting with blockchain.

• [23:40] - The industry wants crypto to be adopted world wide, but if that were to happen, some things need to be accepted.

• [24:48] - The blame can't be placed on one entity.

• [26:40] - One major benefit to crypto is global transfers.

• [30:44] - There are a lot of moving pieces when it comes to crypto and you never actually see it. It's hard to think about in-transit security.

• [33:30] - There is a huge pushback against crypto from banks and financial institutions.

• [35:09] - Crypto has been demonized to some extent, but as a technology and the advances we will see in coming years, it's not inherently bad.

• [37:34] - We can build practices and mechanisms that can prevent collapses.

• [40:36] - There are some risks in using crypto but some risks are much bigger than others.

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There are times we can answer a question without much thought. If we were to examine the reasons why we gave the answer, would we change our response? Today's guest is David McRaney. David is a journalist, author, and lecturer fascinated with brains, minds, and culture. He has created a blog, book, and ongoing podcast entitled You Are Not So Smart which is about self-delusion. His most recent book, How Minds Change, is all about the science behind how and why people do and do not change their mind and the intricacies and nuances of persuasion.

Show Notes:

• [1:09] - David shares what he does as a science journalist and how he found himself interested in the topics he writes and speaks about.

• [4:38] - The way people work has always fascinated him.

• [6:50] - David shares a story about psychology that really excited him.

• [8:35] - In the height of blogging's popularity, David began his blog You Are Not So Smart.

• [9:57] - David explains what the Introspection Illusion is.

• [12:31] - If you want something, you will come up with reasons why.

• [13:40] - An example of this is when you share what you like about another person.

• [15:59] - This concept can be looked at as delusion, but it's really just how brains work.

• [19:30] - What do you have in place to approach your own feelings and beliefs?

• [23:08] - David and Chris go through an exercise to demonstrate guided metacognition.

• [27:00] - We can answer some questions quickly, but others need more thought.

• [30:00] - The technique that David demonstrated is used to allow people more introspection.

• [32:22] - Start with things that you love and practice this technique.

• [33:37] - David and Chris talk about conspiracy theories and how to improve critical thinking.

• [35:27] - ConspiracyTest.org is a site that gives you a score on how susceptible you are to conspiratorial thinking.

• [37:48] - Conspiracy theories seem much more prevalent now, but conspiratorial thinking is no more rampant than it has been in the past.

• [39:32] - What should we do if a friend or family member has fallen into conspiratorial thinking?

• [42:17] - Finding reasons to rationalize conspiracy theories has never been easier with the internet.

• [44:31] - There are reasons that some people are more attuned to this thinking and some are more skeptical.

• [48:36] - Think about a scenario and imagine your initial reaction.

• [49:33] - Build rapport and assure the other person that you are not out to shame them. Get out of the debate frame.

• [52:01] - You can have conversations that don't end in a dead end.

• [55:13] - Reactance is when someone takes away your agency.

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The advent of technology has created both advantages and challenges for people trying to protect themselves from harmful situations. Being aware of the capabilities of the technology around us, the data that can be collected, and how it can be accessed can lead us to being physically safer.

Today's guest is Audace Garnett. Audace provides assistance nationally and internationally supporting crime victims and domestic violence survivor organizations. She worked at the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office where she served as Teen Services Coordinator in the Victim Services Unit. She is current a Technology Safety Project Manager with Safety Net at the National Network to End Domestic Violence, where she focuses specifically on the intersection between domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and technology.

Show Notes:

• [1:12] - Audace shares what she does with Safety Net and the National Network to End Domestic Violence.

• [5:18] - 97% of cases include tech misuse, but Audace explains that domestic violence is very underreported.

• [8:06] - Technology is not the problem. It's the person behind the technology that is causing harm.

• [9:22] - A common problem is the sharing of images without consent. Victims can report this to StopNCII.org.

• [11:42] - Survivors should trust their instincts.

• [13:17] - Audace shares some tips on protecting online identification.

• [15:54] - A major and unfortunately common concern and problem is location tracking through mobile devices.

• [18:25] - Tracking devices like Airtags and apps on smartphones can alert abusers of your location.

• [20:33] - Some vehicles also come with integrated GPS tracking.

• [22:14] - Although these services and tracking/monitoring devices can be used maliciously, the technology itself is not the problem.

• [24:20] - Another technology misuse possibility is abusers interacting in a victim's social media platform as the victim.

• [25:56] - The impact of this interferes greatly with day to day life.

• [28:11] - The Domestic Abuse Hotline is a space to not only report domestic violence, but they can also help with support, resources, and a plan.

• [30:20] - How can community members help with this problem and build awareness?

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Social engineering has become so creative and clever with the ways scammers are trying to infiltrate your world. AI and deep fakes are only going to make things worse. Over the past 30 years, fighting viruses and malware has only increased with no end in sight. Today's guest is Roger Grimes. Roger is a Data-Driven Defense Evangelist for KnowBe4. He is a 34-year computer security expert and an author of 14 books and over 1,300 articles on computer security.

Show Notes:

• [1:06] - Roger shares his background and his drive to continue writing in the field of computer security.

• [3:17] - In his career as an accountant, Roger found himself more interested in the computer side of things.

• [7:45] - Things have gotten worse every year. Ransomware has attacked hospitals and law enforcement in addition to personal devices.

• [10:21] - In many cases, older devices are very hard to replace.

• [11:44] - Most employees of a company don't know how devices work when it comes to security and things go without updates and patches.

• [15:10] - Some companies are getting better about making sure products are set to auto-patch.

• [16:20] - Social engineering is involved in about 70-90% of all successful hacks.

• [17:23] - Compromised credentials is another common way hackers are easily able to gain access to accounts.

• [19:38] - Social engineering is all about getting you to perform an action that is harmful to yourself or your organization.

• [19:50] - Three qualities to look for: unexpected, asking you to do something you've never done before, asking you to do something harmful.

• [21:12] - If something has those qualities, slow down before clicking anything within an email.

• [23:26] - Really good scammers will prepare you for the scam.

• [25:06] - It is hard to retrain yourself to think about these things during any communication.

• [27:14] - People shouldn't get in trouble with their organization for taking precautions.

• [29:47] - Scammers prey on vulnerable populations, including the elderly.

• [32:10] - Always remember that no legitimate organization accepts payments in gift cards.

• [34:10] - The best we can do right now is educate people to help prevent successful scammers. There's no stopping it.

• [36:04] - Try to use a MFA that is phishing resistant.

• [38:55] - Roger shares the experience of his fingerprints being stolen.

• [41:20] - Security questions are surprisingly guessable in a lot of situations. Your password might not be guessable, but the security questions aren't always secure.

• [44:31] - Roger shares some data about patches and what is important to remember.

• [48:31] - Roger sets a time every few months where he sits down and changes every single one of his passwords.

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As we approach the next season, threat actors will be keeping a close eye on dating apps. These apps have become a prime target for threat actors due to the size of the market expanding to over 300 million users and the rich information stored in these apps.

Today's guests are Jason Kent and Will Glazier. Jason is a hacker-in-residence at Cequence Security. He has a diverse information security, networking, and IT background and a generous level of knowledge for most pieces of the IT spectrum including firewalls, security architecture, security controls, and security infrastructure.

Will Glazier is the Head of Threat Research at Cequence Security where they protect some of the world's largest brands from sophisticated bot attacks and threats against the public facing APIs. Will has a background in fraud abuse and prevention as well as building threat intelligence systems.

Show Notes:

• [1:18] - Jason and Will share their backgrounds and current roles at Cequence Security.

• [5:24] - As common as scams and fraud are, even Jason and Will have personal experience with them.

• [7:39] - Dating app attacks are particularly hard because they prey on vulnerable people. There are so many cases, that there should not be shame around talking about it.

• [9:32] - The first red flag is when someone you are talking to on a dating app tries to get you over to texting or another app.

• [11:37] - In any given month, the amount of malicious API transactions that Cequence is blocking is in the billions.

• [13:52] - Fake accounts are constantly made but not as heavily used as taken over accounts.

• [16:08] - Scammers are now paying for premium accounts to appear more legitimate and the investment pays off when they scam someone.

• [18:11] - There are tools people can buy to make all accounts look real through automation.

• [19:29] - It is essential that people in a fraud department can trust the information and push it out to Cequence.

• [22:04] - Some organizations will pay a ransom to decrease the time wasted and money lost. In their eyes, the money lost to pay the ransom isn't as much.

• [26:11] - Margins are getting tighter for the bad guys.

• [30:31] - The infrastructure that scammers use varies. There are some that are really well known at Cequence and some that are more difficult.

• [32:51] - It is easier to take out one big player than to take out hundreds of small ones.

• [36:03] - There are human and political pressures that make things more challenging for security.

• [38:07] - Romance scammers are employing new tactics and switching them up.

• [39:48] - If you put too much trust in the platform that it makes you trust the random person you're talking to, take a step back.

• [42:40] - Take a look online for things that have been done by scammers historically, especially if you are new to dating apps.

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Everyone who's on the internet is exposed to risk. Every time you set up a new account or app, you create another place where your data can be hacked or breached. This makes your differing passwords crucial.

Today's guest is Troy Hunt. Troy is a Pluralsight author and instructor, Microsoft Regional Director, and Most Valued Professional specializing in online security and cloud development. He is a conference speaker and runs workshops on how to build more secure software with organizations. He is also the creator of the popular data breach aggregation service known as Have I Been Pwned.

• [1:26] - Troy shares what he currently does and the work he is known for.

• [2:57] - You can put your data in one place and it can traverse the internet and end up in places you don't expect.

• [6:54] - There's a challenge in running a site that has millions of queries at any time.

• [9:25] - Troy shares some of the accomplishments of Have I Been Pwned.

• [13:32] - Does he experience a lot of malicious traffic? He used to. Troy explains how he has managed this.

• [18:14] - Have I Been Pwned has been around for a while and began as a lot of manual labor for Troy.

• [23:10] - It is crucial for organizations to be receptive to security reports.

• [25:09] - In a lot of ransoms, data of specific groups of people are used as threats.

• [27:56] - Troy lists some of the things that happen on the back end of running a site like Have I Been Pwned.

• [30:36] - Cloud services have been an amazing advancement in technology, but they open up more points of entry.

• [33:35] - There is a hierarchy of multi-factor authentication. Troy discusses the current strategies that are best practice.

• [35:45] - For users, what is the second-factor authentication you can manage to use?

• [37:27] - There are different risk levels to different things. What do you actually need to carefully protect and what level of inconvenience are you willing to bear?

• [39:59] - Troy shares how his parents have been impacted by confusing technology. What is the right technology for a demographic?

• [43:15] - Some data is more important than other pieces of information.

• [45:33] - Some data is also more or less important to different individuals.

• [46:54] - For those managing and discussing data breaches, we also need to be aware that there are pieces of data that could be important to someone but isn't important to others.

• [48:24] - Unfortunately, data breaches haven't gotten less common and aren't really getting better.

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As people age and their physical and mental health declines, conservatorships are often considered. If you're not careful, the entire estate can be spent on management costs and abuse can occur. There are things a family can do for better outcomes.

Today's guest is Diane Dimond. Diane is the author of four books and is a veteran investigative reporter for radio, TV, and print. Crime and justice is her preferred genre and she broke the Michael Jackson story twice. Currently abusive guardianship and conservatorships are her focus.

• [0:55] - Diane shares her background as an investigative reporter.

• [2:48] - Her recent book We're Here to Help: When Guardianship Goes Wrong is all about the possible pitfalls and risks of conservatorships.

• [5:15] - Diane explains how guardianship and conservatorship is granted.

• [6:21] - In a lot of cases, Diane has found that judges assume if conservatorship is being asked for that the family is dysfunctional.

• [8:59] - Guardians are paid out of the ward's estate and many charge an outrageous amount of money.

• [10:31] - The most public conservatorship that went wrong was Britney Spears's. But some celebrity guardianship scenarios have been beneficial.

• [12:29] - Diane firmly believes that guardianship needs to be harder to establish.

• [14:06] - Anybody can initiate a petition.

• [17:14] - Once it is in front of a judge, it can become a catch-22 situation.

• [19:11] - Every state is different and many are starting to pass some reform. Florida in particular is a terrible state for this system.

• [20:42] - SEAR is a very useful resource if you are in an abusive guardianship situation.

• [23:07] - It is almost impossible for the ward to make any decisions.

• [25:50] - It is you against a whole system.

• [27:52] - Unfortunately there is a lot of criminality that is possible.

• [29:51] - It isn't impossible for abusers to be caught and punished, but it is not common.

• [31:59] - There are alternatives to guardianships that really should be considered.

• [34:21] - If these abusers were punished, they would go somewhere else and commit a different crime, but they would at least leave these vulnerable people alone.

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Many parents assume that their children will never be groomed by a predator and then miss the opportunity to educate their kids on the techniques that are used. Every child, regardless of gender, can be manipulated and tricked into making poor choices and put themselves in dangerous situations. Today's guest is Michael Buraimoh. Michael joined Breck Foundation as CEO in January 2022. He is dedicated to the foundation's mission to create a better online world for children and young people and is helping take the foundation's important work to new heights. He is an author, and having his own children inspires him to create a safer digital world for them to grow up in.

• [1:01] - Michael shares the background and the reason behind the creation of the Breck Foundation.

• [4:02] - Michael's own background is in criminal justice, specifically with young people.

• [6:23] - It is crucial that parents are honest and open with their children about this discussion.

• [7:51] - Ignore the misconceptions about grooming.

• [10:37] - Safety doesn't mean having to put every form of digital activity aside. Parents need to be involved.

• [12:07] - Trust is the key to ensuring that a child will tell their parents things that are happening online.

• [14:05] - There are signs to look out for that could be indicative of something going on.

• [16:32] - It can be hard to determine what is unsafe and what is normal teenage conversations, but it's important to be aware of red flags.

• [18:11] - Young people now are digital natives. They have to be able to engage online.

• [19:52] - There is a place and time for parental controls and limiting access, but relationships are far more important.

• [21:42] - The Breck Foundation educates parents but also the children and young people themselves.

• [23:08] - Young people need to know that if someone is trying to isolate them from their friends and family through secret conversations, something isn't right.

• [24:52] - Look for a trusted adult to report to. For parents, contact authorities.

• [28:30] - Screenshot, shutdown, and report. The Breck Foundation has a lot of resources for this education.

• [31:51] - Play virtually, but live real.

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Currently we have hard copy passports and driver's licenses, but as our digital identities evolve, we may find ourselves with a worldwide digital standardized way of proving who we are. Today's guest is Philipp Pointner. Philipp leads Jumio's digital identity strategy and the initiative to enable multiple digital identity providers in its ecosystem. Prior to Jumio, Philipp was responsible for paysafecard, Europe's most popular prepaid solution for online purchases.

• [0:53] - Philipp shares his background and current role at Jumio.

• [2:12] - Our online identity has changed very quickly over the last decade.

• [3:47] - Over time, this evolution has made people a lot more comfortable with technology.

• [5:50] - The changes that Philipp thinks are coming may cause problems with some countries not accepting them.

• [7:30] - The digital identity will likely be more secure than physical copies of important documents like passports and driver's licenses.

• [10:47] - Chris and Philipp discuss a recent experience in verifying the credibility of physical documents.

• [12:52] - With more sophisticated benefits to a digital identity comes more sophisticated attack attempts.

• [15:40] - Where does one turn if they are a victim of identity theft?

• [17:11] - Philipp believes that it should be the responsibility of an organization to ensure the end user is safe.

• [18:48] - Philipp shares the results of a survey that asked people if they were willing to take more steps to ensure that they were secure online, but the exception was social media.

• [22:02] - Education around scams is improving and increasing, but not about everything.

• [26:20] - The technology exists to keep people more secure, but it isn't employed as often as is necessary.

• [27:47] - At the end of the day, the inconvenience is always put on the end user.

• [29:07] - Biometrics are strong and have a lot of well governed standards already in place.

• [31:40] - Research shows that the requirement to change passwords every 90 days is ineffective.

• [32:59] - Currently, there isn't a one-stop shop to receive the education they need to better understand cybersecurity.

• [35:48] - Philipp and Chris talk about the recent issue with concert tickets being purchased by bots for scalping.

• [38:28] - The general public has become an easier target than in years past because of the increase in online activity.

• [40:09] - People vastly overestimate their ability to detect fake images and deep fakes.

• [41:42] - Philipp explains what it means to have a reusable digital identity.

• [43:30] - When digital identity is used to verify in the future, will users have the ability to revoke their provided information?

• [46:58] - Pursue education on this topic and then take action.

• [50:01] - Your data is definitely online and it's important to be aware of what is available for potential scammers to know.

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Cyber criminals are growing in their attack planning. CISA is continuing training their teams to look for vulnerabilities and help out not only the government, but other entities secure their networks and products. Today's guest is Robert Karas. Rob came to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency in 2010. He has over 30 years experience in the information security field and significant experience in building nationally recognized security platforms. At CISA, Rob built the Cyber Hygiene Program, risk and vulnerability assessments, and penetration testing programs. He has also created the Cyber Defense Education training programs to address industry challenges. Rob was also recognized by Cyber Patriot as Mentor of the Year.

• [1:03] - Robert shares his background, what he does at CISA, and what CISA does as an agency.

• [4:01] - At CISA, agents hack into a company's system with their permission to see where the vulnerabilities are.

• [5:53] - Phishing and social engineering continue to be the most successful attacks.

• [8:41] - A lot of times it feels like good security equals bad customer service.

• [10:27] - Playbooks are all the same or similar but the tools that CISA uses are unique.

• [12:29] - With the introduction and evolution of AI, there is some preparation to be done for an inevitable increase in attacks.

• [14:07] - Attackers prey on human vulnerability and emotion.

• [15:53] - Phishing emails are so good now that many times they really appear to come from someone you know.

• [17:15] - Over the last ten years, the statistics of people reporting a scam have improved.

• [20:16] - It is important for organizations to be prepared. For help with this, you can email [email protected].

• [23:39] - CISA has implemented Secure by Design.

• [25:30] - If you suspect you are communicating with a scammer, stop communicating right away.

• [27:02] - It is overwhelming when you think about the amount of devices we have that are connected and relied on.

• [30:16] - The amount of data we have and can have access to is so immense. How can we inspect everything?

• [32:09] - When it comes to purchasing new devices, ensure that frequent updates are part of the guarantee.

• [34:41] - A great place to start for resources on CISA's website. Robert shares some of the resources available, including Secure Our World.

• [35:54] - CISA also offers free vulnerability scans for businesses.

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