This week, Audra is joined by Megan Stifel, chief strategy officer for the Institute for Security and Technology, to discuss how ransomware has evolved from a business nuisance to now a threat to national security. Megan also shares how the United States' overall response to ransomware has the potential to impact the types of attacks faced by its organizations and touches on the need for greater transparency when it comes to international cyber information sharing.

Megan Stifel is the Chief Strategy Officer for the Institute for Security and Technology. She is the founder of Silicon Harbor Consultants, which provides strategic cybersecurity operations and policy counsel. Prior to founding Silicon Harbor Consultants, she was an attorney in the National Security Division at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

She most recently served as Global Policy Officer and Capacity and Resilience Program Director at the Global Cyber Alliance. She was previously the Cybersecurity Program Director at Public Knowledge.

For links and resources discussed in this episode, please visit our show notes at https://www.forcepoint.com/govpodcast/e252

Joining us this week is Dr. David Bader, a Distinguished Professor and founder of the Department of Data Science in the Ying Wu College of Computing and Director of the Institute for Data Science at New Jersey Institute of Technology. He deep dives into the opportunity to democratize data science tools and the awesome free tool he and Mike Merrill spent the last several years building that can be found on the Bears-R-Us GitHub page open to the public. We also discuss the vulnerabilities in open-source supply chain, what about AI security teams should be concerned about, data poisoning, AI that is fair and equitable and the discussion on regulation and self-regulation in AI. Key takeaway from the conversation -- data science is indeed growing and it holds an exciting future for those that pursue it!

David A. Bader is a Distinguished Professor and founder of the Department of Data Science in the Ying Wu College of Computing and Director of the Institute for Data Science at New Jersey Institute of Technology. Prior to this, he served as founding Professor and Chair of the School of Computational Science and Engineering, College of Computing, at Georgia Institute of Technology. He is a Fellow of the IEEE, ACM, AAAS, and SIAM; a recipient of the IEEE Sidney Fernbach Award; and the 2022 Innovation Hall of Fame inductee of the University of Maryland's A. James School of Engineering.

For links and resources discussed in this episode, please visit our show notes at https://www.forcepoint.com/govpodcast/e251

This week we're joined by Julia Fallon, Executive Director of the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) and she shines a light on the appeal of school systems to cyber attackers. (HINT: it is access to PII to open credit cards, mortgages and more in the name of children that often is only detected many years later.) We also discuss the connection between schools and insurance companies, trends in how school systems are fortifying their security measures, the evolution of infosec to become a front office issue, and what schools can do to integrate cybersecurity into curriculums to both bolster security and lay a pathway for future cyber professionals.

Julia Fallon is the Executive Director of the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA), where she works with U.S. state and territorial digital learning leaders to empower the education community to leverage technology for learning, teaching, and school operations.

Involved with learning technologies since 1989, her professional interest lies in making the case for public school systems wherein educators are able to optimize technology-rich learning environments to equitably engage the learners who fill their classrooms.

For links and resources discussed in this episode, please visit our show notes at https://www.forcepoint.com/govpodcast/e250

Bill Evanina, Founder and CEO of the Evanina Group and former Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center Office of the Director of National Intelligence, joins the podcast this week to take a deep dive view into insider threat as September is Insider Threat Awareness Month. He shares insights from his many years on the counterintelligence and security front lines on what defines insider threat (Note: harm to self or others), the opportunities and challenges in available tools, information sharing and detection across organizations, the importance of leadership training and cross functional partnership to help mitigate insider threats and the criticality of sharing success stories (these really make a difference!).

Founder and CEO of the Evanina Group advising CEOs and Board of Directors on strategic corporate risk, strategy, insider threats, cyber security, geopolitical risk, intelligence centers, etc.

Instructor, University of Chicago, Graham School.

Former Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center Office of the Director of National Intelligence responsible for leading and supporting the counterintelligence and security activities of the US Intelligence Community, the U.S. Government, and U.S. private sector entities at risk from intelligence collection or attack by foreign adversaries.

Served as Chair of the NATO Counterintelligence Panel and the National Counterintelligence Policy Board, and the Allied Security and Counterintelligence Forum comprised of senior counterintelligence and security leaders from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the UK.

Previously served as the Chief of the Central Intelligence Agency's Counterespionage Group, as Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Washington Field Office and spent 24 years as a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). For links and resources discussed in this episode, please visit our show notes at https://www.forcepoint.com/govpodcast/e249

We pick back up with Joshua Corman, founder of grass roots organization I Am the Cavalry, for part two of our discussion. Josh shares insights from his many years on the healthcare cyber front lines and provides both a captivating and sobering perspective on the state of healthcare security today. And while there have been many strides forward, we still have a long way to go. Audra and I learned so much during our discussion including themes such as cyber asbestos, the emerging care desert, dependency on undependable things, recalibrating the cost of connected medicine, if you can't protect it/can't connect it, the Omnibus Appropriations Act, and actionable insights on what we can do right now, as individuals and collectively, to make a difference.

Joshua Corman is the founder of I Am the Cavalry, a grassroots organization focused on the intersection of digital security, public safety, and human life. He was formerly chief strategist of CISA's COVID Task Force, where he advised on the pandemic response, provided cybersecurity expertise on healthcare infrastructure, and supported control systems and life safety initiatives. Prior to CISA, Josh was SVP and chief security officer at PTC, where he accelerated cyber safety maturity across industries. Previously, he served as director of the Atlantic Council's Cyber Statecraft Initiative, on the Congressional Task Force for Healthcare Industry Cybersecurity, and in leadership roles at Sonatype, Akamai, IBM, and the 451 Group.

For links and resources discussed in this episode, please visit our show notes at https://www.forcepoint.com/govpodcast/e248

We had so much to talk about with this week's guest that we made it a two-part episode! Joining us this week, and next week, is Joshua Corman, founder of grass roots organization I Am the Cavalry. Josh shares insights from his many years on the healthcare cyber front lines and provides both a captivating and sobering perspective on the state of healthcare security today. And while there have been many strides forward, we still have a long way to go. Audra and I learned so much during our discussion including themes such as cyber asbestos, the emerging care desert, dependency on undependable things, recalibrating the cost of connected medicine, if you can't protect it/can't connect it, the Omnibus Appropriations Act, and actionable insights on what we can do right now, as individuals and collectively, to make a difference.

Joshua Corman is the founder of I Am the Cavalry, a grassroots organization focused on the intersection of digital security, public safety, and human life. He was formerly chief strategist of CISA's COVID Task Force, where he advised on the pandemic response, provided cybersecurity expertise on healthcare infrastructure, and supported control systems and life safety initiatives. Prior to CISA, Josh was SVP and chief security officer at PTC, where he accelerated cyber safety maturity across industries. Previously, he served as director of the Atlantic Council's Cyber Statecraft Initiative, on the Congressional Task Force for Healthcare Industry Cybersecurity, and in leadership roles at Sonatype, Akamai, IBM, and the 451 Group.

For links and resources discussed in this episode, please visit our show notes at https://www.forcepoint.com/govpodcast/e247

We're excited to welcome back to the podcast Sudhakar Ramakrishna, CEO at SolarWinds. When we first caught up with Sudhakar it was several months into his tenure at the company managing through the Sunburst attack. We were so impressed with how he was helping navigate the company through this time we wanted to check in with him more than a year later for an update on how things are going. He shares insights on the company's Secure by Design initiative, radical transparency, the power of public/private partnerships and an information sharing collaborative, CISA and creating a community of research, the opportunity for a national cyber guard, protection for whistleblowers, and the criticality of doing basic things right consistently. You won't want to miss this exciting episode!

Sudhakar Ramakrishna, President and CEO, SolarWinds

Sudhakar Ramakrishna joined SolarWinds as President and Chief Executive Officer in January 2021. He is a global technology leader with nearly 25 years of experience across cloud, mobility, networking, security and collaboration markets. He most recently served as the CEO of Pulse Secure®, a leading provider of secure and zero trust access solutions for Hybrid IT environments, where he was responsible for all aspects of business strategy and execution. Prior to Pulse Secure, Mr. Ramakrishna served as the Senior Vice President and General Manager for the Enterprise and Service Provider Division at Citrix®, where he had responsibility for Citrix's portfolio of virtualization, cloud networking, mobile platforms and cloud services solutions. Mr. Ramakrishna also has held senior leadership roles at Polycom, Motorola and 3Com. Mr. Ramakrishna is an experienced public and private company board member. Mr. Ramakrishna is a partner at Benhamou Global Ventures, a leading venture capital firm investing in emerging startups in the fields of security, analytics and applications. Mr. Ramakrishna earned a master's degree in computer science from Kansas State University and a master's of management degree from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.

For links and resources discussed in this episode, please visit our show notes at https://www.forcepoint.com/govpodcast/e246

This week on the podcast, we're joined by Mark Montgomery, senior director of the FDD's Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation and director of the CSC 2.0. Mark shares about the different physical and cyber threats faced by satellites and space networks. He also shares considerations for classifying satellites as critical infrastructure and what the legislation required to do so might look like.

Mark Montgomery serves as senior director of the Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation, where he leads FDD's efforts to advance U.S. prosperity and security through technology innovation while countering cyber threats that seek to diminish them. Mark also directs CSC 2.0, an initiative that works to implement the recommendations of the congressionally mandated Cyberspace Solarium Commission, where he served as executive director. Previously, Mark served as policy director for the Senate Armed Services Committee under the leadership of Senator John S. McCain, coordinating policy efforts on national security strategy, capabilities and requirements, and cyber policy.

Mark served for 32 years in the U.S. Navy as a nuclear-trained surface warfare officer, retiring as a rear admiral in 2017. He was assigned to the National Security Council from 1998 to 2000, serving as director for transnational threats. Mark has graduate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Oxford and completed the U.S. Navy's nuclear power training program.

For links and resources discussed in this episode, please visit our show notes at https://www.forcepoint.com/govpodcast/e245

After nearly 300 episodes we have had some of the most spectacular guests on the podcast! Every once in a while we like to bring back one of our favorite episodes from the archives because we really enjoyed the conversation and think our new listeners will as well. This week we chat on the complexities and opportunities smart cities can deliver in the US and around the globe with guest Chris Teale, reporter at Smart Cities Dive. He's spent years meeting with government and community leaders on the growth of smart cities and shares thoughts on just how fluid defining what a smart city is today. Learn which cities around the world are leading in the smart city evolution and how a patchwork of state-by-state laws and regulatory frameworks help and/or hinder progress. As well as examples of US cities you may not have expected that can share best practices and lessons learned with cities large and small across the country to help get them on the path to better utilizing technology and digitization to improve essential services (such as trash pick-up) and quality of life. He also shares insights of the 'hackers as city consultant' trend and how a federal government playbook for cities could help more cities get smarter, faster.

Chris Teale, Reporter, Smart Cities Dive

Chris is a reporter at Smart Cities Dive. He came to Industry Dive in February 2018 after spells in general assignment reporting in Alexandria and Arlington, Virginia. Chris graduated from the University of East Anglia in 2013, and moved to the Washington, D.C. area shortly after.

For links and resources discussed in this episode, please visit our show notes at https://www.forcepoint.com/govpodcast/e244

This week we welcome to the podcast Chad McDonald, Chief of Staff and CISO at Radiant Logic. He talks about the very interesting and real reality of what is becoming known as the cyber poverty line and the security vulnerabilities that funding and resource inequities can create in a supply chain and elsewhere. He also shares insights for organizations to assess where they fall on the spectrum and resources available to identify and address security gaps relative to their business. We also dive into the popular topic of Zero Trust – and ponder the philosophical questions if everything is Zero Trust is anything Zero Trust. Other topics we cover in this fun conversation include AI, deepfakes, identity and security, and what sprinkling budget dust around can get you.

Chad McDonald, Chief of Staff and CISO, Radiant Logic

Chad brings more than 20 years' experience building and managing information security programs. Chad has leveraged his security leadership to dozens of organizations across the technology, education and medical sectors. Prior to Radiant Logic, Chad defined security and technical integrations of 5 acquisitions and attained FedRAMP-in-Process status for Digital.ai. While serving as the Executive Director of the Office of the CISO at Optiv, he defined the security strategy for a $70 billion dollar merger between two technology giants.

Chad holds a bachelor's degree in information technology from Southern Polytechnic State University, as well as multiple certifications including CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional), CISA (Certified Information Systems Auditor) and PMP (Project Management Professional).

For links and resources discussed in this episode, please visit our show notes at https://www.forcepoint.com/govpodcast/e243