We're excited to welcome to the podcast David Travers, Director of the Water Infrastructure and Cyber Resilience Division at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). During our discussion he addresses key themes including, why are water infrastructure systems targeted by ransomware; how cyberattacks on water systems impact the surrounding community; and the role of cyber hygiene in protecting water systems. He also shares what we like to call an "origin story" for the sometimes-winding ...
Dec 12, 2023•44 min•Ep. 263
We're excited to welcome to the podcast Lauren Zabierek, Senior Policy Advisor to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). She deep dives into CISA's Secure by Design principles and approaches for secure by design software launched in April 2023 - with version two published on October 17, 2023. Lauren shares insights on the path to creation of CISA's Secure by Design principles and how this 'living document' will continue to evolve in the dynamic and ever-changing landscape t...
Dec 05, 2023•48 min•Ep. 262
This week we are joined by Kenneth Bible, the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for the DHS Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO). He breaks down the National Cybersecurity Strategy Implementation Plan (NCSIP) introduced in July and provides great insights on how the plan was developed, the five key pillars of the plan, actioning each of the five elements, and the role government agencies have to play in executing against the plan and its 65 initiatives. He also provides perspec...
Nov 28, 2023•32 min•Ep. 261
Dr. Siwei Lyu, SUNY Empire Innovation Professor at the University at Buffalo Dr. Siwei Lyu received his B.S. degree (Information Science) in 1997 and his M.S. degree (Computer Science) in 2000, both from Peking University, China. He received his Ph.D. degree in Computer Science from Dartmouth College in 2005. From 1998 to 2000, he worked at the Founder Research and Development Center (Beijing, China) as a Software Engineer. From 2000 to 2001, he worked at Microsoft Research Asia (then Microsoft ...
Nov 21, 2023•43 min
This week we deep dive into privacy with Mozilla Foundation's Privacy Not Included content creator Zoë MacDonald. She shares fascinating insights from the deep research the *Privacy Not Included team undertakes to assess just how private is your data when using popular apps, driving in your connected car, etc. It was quite eye opening just how little privacy there is for connected car owners – giving up all kinds of privacy in the name of modern convenience. In fact, Zoë breaks down how and why ...
Nov 14, 2023•40 min•Ep. 259
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 t...
Nov 07, 2023•43 min•Ep. 258
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 mu...
Oct 31, 2023•49 min•Ep. 257
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...
Oct 24, 2023•42 min•Ep. 256
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 k...
Oct 17, 2023•46 min
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 ...
Oct 10, 2023•39 min•Ep. 254
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 f...
Oct 03, 2023•29 min•Ep. 253
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 Stra...
Sep 26, 2023•34 min•Ep. 252
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-...
Sep 19, 2023•46 min•Ep. 251
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 inf...
Sep 12, 2023•53 min•Ep. 250
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 too...
Sep 05, 2023•51 min•Ep. 249
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, depe...
Aug 29, 2023•43 min•Ep. 248
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 discuss...
Aug 22, 2023•35 min•Ep. 247
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/p...
Aug 15, 2023•31 min•Ep. 246
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 ...
Aug 08, 2023•32 min•Ep. 245
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 t...
Aug 01, 2023•47 min•Ep. 244
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 i...
Jul 25, 2023•43 min•Ep. 243
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...
Jul 18, 2023•48 min•Ep. 242
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 ...
Jul 11, 2023•41 min•Ep. 241
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 20...
Jul 04, 2023•55 min•Ep. 240
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...
Jun 27, 2023•26 min•Ep. 239
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...
Jun 20, 2023•23 min•Ep. 238
Juhani Hintikka, President and CEO of WithSecure joins the podcast this week to discuss Finland's status as the newest member of NATO as of April 4, 2023. As many know this is a significant geopolitical move in the region, particularly when we remember Finland shares an 832-mile border with Russia, the longest of any European Union member. He provides perspective on speculation that such a move could increase the country's cyber risks and shares insights on Finland's key role in digital defense ...
Jun 13, 2023•35 min•Ep. 237
Joining the podcast this week is Ilona Cohen, the Chief Legal Officer, Chief Policy Officer, and Corporate Secretary at HackerOne. We dive into hot topics including the National Cyber Strategy, how government organizations can manage priorities, what lessons can be learned from the past and the "voluntary" reporting and compliance approach, along with breaking down the myriad funding pathways and allocations to truly make the National Cyber Strategy a reality. She also shares perspective on the ...
Jun 06, 2023•43 min•Ep. 236
Back from the archives! We loved our discussion with Dr. Andrew Hammond, Historian and Curator of the International Spy Museum so much that we brought it back for your enjoyment this week! Hammond takes us through the classic period of espionage and the reliance on physical data and spycraft techniques to transport through to the modern day battlefield of cyber intelligence and espionage. And he provides insights on the historical throughlines of attacks that haven't really changed over the cent...
May 30, 2023•57 min•Ep. 235
For this week's episode of the podcast, we're joined by Patrick Vandenberg, director of product marketing at Invicti Security. Patrick helps us unpack the reasons behind why 70% of security incidents start from web applications and talks us through the importance of application security and dynamic application security testing (DAST). Patrick also touches on where the future of application security testing may be heading and how scanning varies across industries. Patrick Vandenberg, Director of ...
May 23, 2023•56 min•Ep. 234
