To The Point - Cybersecurity

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

This week we are so excited to have Nic Chaillan, founder and CEO of http://AskSage.ai join the podcast for a discussion on the explosion AI and the many implications that come with that for government and businesses. He shares insights on AI regulation – both what's underway and considerations that should be undertaken when shaping how AI is regulated – it is no quick and easy fix! And then there is the flip side of regulation – does it stifle innovation – particularly when AI is in its infancy and the power it can deliver has yet to be fully discovered. We also dive into the ChatGPT topic on everyone's mind and how to utilize this productivity enhancing tool within organizations without intellectual property entering the chat and walking out the door. And so much more…!

Nicolas Chaillan is a technology entrepreneur, software developer, cybersecurity expert, and inventor. He was the first U.S. Air Force chief software officer (CSO) and is the founder of Ask Sage, Learn with Nic, and In the Nic of Time.

For links and resources discussed in this episode, please visit our show notes at https://www.forcepoint.com/govpodcast/e242

We absolutely love when we have return guests on the podcast. And we are so excited to have Matt Bianco, President of FedWay Consulting joining us again to talk about one of our favorite topics – electric vehicles (EV). Or, more specifically, the move to electric vehicles across the federal government. The Biden Administration has set a goal of a 100% electrified fleet by 2027. Matt shares insights on progress being made to date and what the next few years look like to achieve the goal. We also discuss some of the inherent challenges with anything connected to the internet such as cyber threats to EV charging stations and securing federal EV infrastructure. And we talk about what a future of EVs means for places such as gas stations and why we're not quite there yet on solar powered cars.

Matt Bianco, President at Fedway Consulting Matt is a thought leader within the US Federal Government ecosystem related to Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging integration which includes strong knowledge of POV/GOV programs (workplace/fleet), hardware/software solutions, infrastructure, policy, etc. With partnerships across the industry including ChargePoint, Apollo Sunguard (SDVOSB), Beam Global, Freewire, etc, Matt has the ability to assist in formulating a plan that will cover every aspect of executing a flawless and easy Federal EV charging program. Other focuses include CyberSecurity initiatives and software solutions.

For links and resources discussed in this episode, please visit our show notes at https://www.forcepoint.com/govpodcast/e241

Joining us this week is Brian Knappenberger, a producer and director renowned for such documentaries as Web of Make Believe: Death, Lies and the Internet, The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz, We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists, and Turning Point: 9/11, to name a few. He shares insights from his recent documentary series Web of Make Believe (currently available on Netflix!) and the trajectory of misinformation, which has been around for centuries, through a lens from the 2016 election forward. We explore themes around technology innovation and how society adapts in both positive and negative ways – and how it presents opportunities for cyber attackers to exploit cracks in the system for financial gain. And we discuss impact of today's always on/always connected world where as Marshall McLuhan once observed has become "quite as imperceptible to us as water is to fish."

Brian Knappenberger, Producer and Director Brian Knappenberger is an American documentary filmmaker, known for The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz, We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists, and Turning Point: 9/11 and the War on Terror and his work on Bloomberg Game Changers.

For links and resources discussed in this episode, please visit our show notes at https://www.forcepoint.com/govpodcast/e240

Joining the podcast this week is Dmitry Bestuzhev, senior director of cyber threat intelligence (CTI) at Blackberry. He gives Petko an inside look into the key types of CTI and how the insights can be used to build context and determine response in specific circumstances, such as in the recent case of attempted targets at NATO. Dmitry also turns our attention to the risks posed by public charging stations - a ploy dubbed "Juice Jacking."

Dmitry Bestuzhev, Senior Director CTI at BlackBerry

Dmitry Bestuzhev is Senior Director, CTI (Cyber Threat Intelligence) at BlackBerry. Prior to BlackBerry, Dmitry was Head of Kaspersky's Global Research and Analysis Team for Latin America, where he oversaw the company's experts' anti-malware development work in the region. Dmitry has more than 20 years of experience in IT security across a wide variety of roles. His field of expertise covers everything from traditional online fraud to targeted high-profile attacks on financial and governmental institutions. His main focus in research is on producing Threat Intelligence reports on financially motivated targeted attacks.

For links and resources discussed in this episode, please visit our show notes at https://www.forcepoint.com/govpodcast/e239