To The Point - Cybersecurity

We're excited to welcome back to the podcast global security expert, speaker and author Mikko Hypponen who currently serves as Chief Research Officer at WithSecure. We dive into his book "If It's Smart, It's Vulnerable" and how cybersecurity has evolved and changed in the last year since it was published. He also shines a light on the ever-present topic of AI – the opportunity, risks, emerging regulations, deepfakes, geopolitical attack capabilities and so much more! And we talk about his road to cyber (more than 30 years!) and the spark of an article from 1983 on AI. Another great episode from Mikko you won't want to miss!

Mikko Hypponen, Chief Research Officer, WithSecure

Mikko Hypponen is a global security expert, speaker and author. He works as the Chief Research Officer at WithSecure and as the Principal Research Advisor at F-Secure. Mr. Hypponen has written on his research for the New York Times, Wired and Scientific American and he appears frequently on international TV. He has lectured at the universities of Stanford, Oxford and Cambridge. He was selected among the 50 most important people on the web by the PC World magazine and was included in the FP Global 100 Thinkers list. Mr. Hypponen sits in the advisory boards of t2 and Safeguard Cyber.

For links and resources discussed in this episode, please visit our show notes at https://www.forcepoint.com/govpodcast/e258

Andrew Borene, Executive Director at Flashpoint joins the podcast this week. He brings a wealth of insights on today's state of international security affairs gleaned from his many years in the U.S. Intelligence community, and leading private sector intelligence teams. We cover hot topics including collaboration on international cybersecurity policies, NATO's cyber defense capabilities and challenges in achieving unified, alliance-wide cybersecurity policies. We also double click into today's much discussed topic of Open-source intelligence (OSINT) and its growing popularity (such as Ukraine conflict), benefits and potential risks it poses. He also shares the journey of his professional path to security and it is quite exciting and inspiring! You don't want to miss this episode!

Andrew Borene, Executive Director for Global Business Development at Flashpoint National Security Solutions

Andrew Borene is an Executive Director with Flashpoint, a worldwide provider of specialized intelligence and data to allied governments, businesses, and critical infrastructure industries to help them take decisive action and reduce risk.

A seasoned advanced technology executive who led private sector intelligence teams at IBM, Symantec, and LexisNexis — Andrew is also a former senior official in the U.S. Intelligence Community where he led strategic operational planning for foreign counterterrorism on behalf of The White House National Security Council in addition to roles leading privacy policy and academic research efforts in areas from open-source intelligence to transnational crime. Borene is an attorney with deep national security law expertise, a Certified Information Systems Security Professional, and a US Marine Corps veteran.

Andrew's previous work has been recognized for service with both the FBI Director's Award and the ODNI Exceptional Achievement Award. He is a Life Member of the Council of Foreign Relations.

For links and resources discussed in this episode, please visit our show notes at https://www.forcepoint.com/govpodcast/e257

This week Keith Krueger, CEO of the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), joins the podcast. He shares insights on the digital inequities that exist across schools and students and the challenges they create at a time when connectivity should be a basic right for all. We also dive into the digital inequity impact on cybersecurity for school districts today – and the free resources and tools such as the CoSN developed digital equity dashboard that identifies equity gaps across school districts' networks to help illuminate actional paths to address. Keith also updates on the Biden Administration's new efforts to improve schools' cybersecurity posture and prevent future cyberattacks.

Keith R. Krueger is CEO of the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), a nonprofit organization that serves as the voice of K-12 school system technology leaders in North America. CoSN's mission is empowering educational leaders to leverage technology to realize engaging learning environments. He was selected by Ed Tech for its 2019 30 K-12 IT influencers. In 2016 Technology & Learning selected him as one of the "big 10" most influential people in edtech, and the Center for Digital Education identified him as a Top 30 Technologist/Transformer/Trailblazer. In 2008 he was selected by eSchool News as one of ten people who have had a profound impact on educational technology over the last decade. In 2016 he received a Special Recognition award from the Council of Great City Schools.

For links and resources discussed in this episode, please visit our show notes at https://www.forcepoint.com/govpodcast/e256

We are excited to welcome back to the podcast Rich Itri, Chief Innovation Officer at ECI. He joined us last year during the commentary period of the new SEC cyber rules to break down what's being proposed and potential implications for businesses. And in this podcast the conversation comes full circle as the new SEC cyber rules are coming online and act as official recognition that the ever-present danger of cybersecurity threats can impact investor decision making. We talk through some of the key aspects of the new rules that have been making headlines including the "material" disclosure guideline and timeline, grey areas and the proposed AI rule. Great insights here from Rich for every business looking to navigate the new SEC cyber rules.

Rich Itri, Chief Innovation Officer, ECI

Rich Itri is Chief Innovation Officer at ECI. Rich has over 22 years of IT executive experience, spending his entire career managing IT within the financial services industry. Prior to joining ECI, Rich was Managing Director and Chief Technology Officer for PJT Partners, a boutique investment bank, Principal and Chief Information Officer for Sky Road and held Chief Information Officer positions at Arrowhawk Capital Partners and Arbalet Capital Partners. Over the years, Rich has developed and managed innovative, business aligned platforms, that drive revenue and operational efficiencies. Rich holds positions on several Advisory Boards and volunteers his time to help non-profits leverage technology.

For links and resources discussed in this episode, please visit our show notes at https://www.forcepoint.com/govpodcast/e255

Dr. Samantha Ravich, Chairman for the Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation at Foundation for Defense of Democracies joins the podcast this week. She shares insights from her many years on the geopolitical and economic front lines of cyber, and work with many renowned government leaders, on developing a plan of action to address today's cyber threat landscape and looming threat against critical infrastructure and essential services. She also provides perspective on building resiliency, what we can learn from natural disasters relative to cyber attacks, as well as the opportunity and impact of states creating and driving their own continuity of the economy plans.

Dr. Samantha Ravich, Chairman, Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation, Foundation for Defense of Democracies ---- Dr. Samantha Ravich is the chairman of FDD's Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation and its Transformative Cyber Innovation Lab and the principal investigator on FDD's Cyber-Enabled Economic Warfare project. She is also a senior advisor at FDD, serving on the advisory boards of FDD's Center on Economic and Financial Power (CEFP) and Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP). Samantha serves as a commissioner on the congressionally mandated Cyberspace Solarium Commission and as a member of the U.S. Secret Service's Cyber Investigation Advisory Board. Samantha served as deputy national security advisor for Vice President Cheney, focusing on Asian and Middle East Affairs as well as on counter-terrorism and counter-proliferation. Following her time at the White House, Samantha was the Republican co-chair of the congressionally mandated National Commission for Review of Research and Development Programs in the United States Intelligence Community. Most recently, she served as vice chair of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board (PIAB) and co-chair of the Artificial Intelligence Working Group of the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board. She is advisor on cyber and geo-political threats and trends to numerous technology, manufacturing, and services companies; a managing partner of A2P, a social data analytics firm; and on the board of directors for International Game Technology (NYSE:IGT).

Her book, Marketization and Democracy: East Asian Experiences (Cambridge University Press) is used as a basic textbook in international economics, political science, and Asian studies college courses. Samantha is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and advises the U.S. Intelligence Community and the Department of Defense. She is a frequent keynote speaker on: What Corporate Boards need to know about Cyber Security and Warfare; The Longer-Term Trends in International Security; and the Future of Intelligence Collection and Analysis. Samantha received her PhD in Policy Analysis from the RAND Graduate School and her MCP/BSE from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

--- https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-ravich-7b5aa08b/

For links and resources discussed in this episode, please visit our show notes at https://www.forcepoint.com/govpodcast/e254

Kicking off the 20th Annual Cybersecurity Awareness Month, we welcome back to the podcast Eric Goldstein, Executive Assistant Director for Cybersecurity for the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). He shares insights on the exciting new cybersecurity public awareness campaign just launched, "Secure Our World". It features simple ways to protect yourself, your family, and your business from online threats. Eric also shares some key takeaways from the recent headline making MOVEit attack impacting 60M+ individuals and sparking a new $10M bounty from the US State Department for the Clop ransomware group. And we dive into CISA's Strategic Plan which focuses on how we will collectively reduce risk and build resilience to cyber and physical threats to the nation's infrastructure. This is an awesome episode you won't want to miss! https://www.cisa.gov/secure-our-world

Eric Goldstein, Executive Assistant Director for Cybersecurity, CISA

Eric Goldstein serves as the Executive Assistant Director for Cybersecurity for the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) as of February 19, 2021. In this role, Goldstein leads CISA's mission to protect and strengthen federal civilian agencies and the nation's critical infrastructure against cyber threats.

Previously, Goldstein was the Head of Cybersecurity Policy, Strategy, and Regulation at Goldman Sachs, where he led a global team to improve and mature the firm's cybersecurity risk management program. He served at CISA's precursor agency, the National Protection and Programs Directorate,from 2013 to 2017 in various roles including Policy Advisor for Federal Network Resilience, Branch Chief for Cybersecurity Partnerships and Engagement, Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Cybersecurity, and Senior Counselor to the Under Secretary.

At other points in his career, Goldstein practiced cybersecurity law at an international law firm, led cybersecurity research and analysis projects at a federally-funded research and development center, and served as a Fellow in Advanced Cyber Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, among other roles.

He is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the Georgetown University School of Public Policy, and Georgetown University Law Center.

For links and resources discussed in this episode, please visit our show notes at https://www.forcepoint.com/govpodcast/e253

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