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The UNSECURITY Podcast – Episode 62 Show Notes – Iran and Stuff

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Still in Cancun for another week (Evan). I know, poor me.

One thing is certain. It doesn’t matter what I’m doing or what you’re doing, the world doesn’t pause and wait for you. Attackers still attack and defenders still defend. Some of us are thriving and others of us are just struggling to survive.

So, the big worldwide news this past week was the U.S. spat with Iran. It was immediately politicized, as we would expect, but what does it mean to you, me, and the world of information security? Let’s talk about this.

A few of you took me up on my offer last week for a free copy of UNSECURITY. Your books are being sent soon.

If you haven’t read my first book, I invite you to. You can either purchase it, or if you’re with us on our mission to fix the brokenness in our industry, contact me (Twitter, LinkedIn, email, etc.) and tell me so. I’ll send you a free signed copy! P.S. I’m not publicizing this everywhere, so let’s see if your paying attention.

I’m supposed to be leading the show this week, but I’m still out of the office. Brad and Ryan should be in studio for this episode, and I’ll call in again.

These are my notes (Evan).

SHOW NOTES – Episode 62

Date: Monday, January 13th, 2020

Show Topics:

Our topics this week:

  • Opening – Catching up
  • U.S. and Iran
    • What does it mean for information security?
    • What does it mean for you and me?
    • Avoiding collateral damage
  •  News
    • Is Microsoft sharing Skype and Cortana audio with the Chinese?
    • Security tips for college students
    • Amazon Ring employees caught snooping
  • Contact Us – featuring people looking for jobs in information security
Opening

[Brad] Hey UNSECURITY Podcast listeners! This is episode 62 and the date is January 13th, 2020. I’m Brad Nigh, your host for today’s show. Joining me in studio is Ryan Cloutier and by phone is Evan Francen. Hi guys.

[Ryan & Evan] We’re welcoming fellas, so we’ll say “hi” or something here.

[Brad] Let’s catch up quick. How was your week and what’s going?

Catching Up Discussion

Who’s doing what?

  • Ryan’s first week at SecurityStudio.
    • What was it like?
    • Anything newsworthy or exciting?
  • Brad’s crazy week.
    • Most weeks are crazy. What was craziest?
    • What are you excited about?
  • Evan in Cancun.
    • Chillin’ or workin’?
    • How’s the book coming along?

[Brad] Cool. Good things last week and coming up this week.

Switching gears a bit. I want to discuss a topic that’s on many people’s minds; the conflict between the United States and Iran, and what effect it has on our daily information security/cybersecurity lives.

U.S., Iran, and Information Security Discussion

Very significant events have taken place over the past few weeks. Events that impact our world as we know it; politically, economically, and from an information security (or cybersecurity) perspective. Let’s stay out of the politics as much as we can and leave the economic discussion to the economics experts.

What I’d like to discuss is how these current events affect us with respect to information security. We should all be concerned about how these things affect our ability to protect ourselves, our families, our schools, our workplaces, and our local governments.

First a little background on the current events:

  • December 27th, 2019 – The K-1 Air Base in Iraq was attacked killing an American civilian contractor, injuring four U.S. service members and injuring two Iraqi security forces personnel. The U.S. blamed Iranian-backed militia for the attack.
  • December 29th, 2019 – The United States attacked five Hezbollah positions in Iraq and Syria resulting is an at least 25 killed militia members and another 55 wounded.
  • December 31st, 2019 – January 1st, 2020 – Hezbollah militiamen, their supporters and sympathizers attacked the U.S. embassy in the Green Zone of Baghdad. The United States blamed Iran and its non-state allies for orchestrating the attack. No deaths or serious injuries occurred during the attack and protesters never breached the main compound.
  • January 3rd, 2020 – A targeted U.S. drone strike killed the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, Qasem Soleimani. Soleimani was considered to be the second most powerful person in Iran.
  • January 8th, 2020 – The Iranian military launched numerous ballistic missiles at two airbases in Iraq. there were neither American nor Iraqi casualties. Hours after the initial Iranian missile attacks, a Boeing 737-800 (Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752) crashed shortly after takeoff from Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport, killing all 176 passengers on board. Iran initially claimed the cause of the crash was mechanical failure.
  • January 11th, 2020 – A video showing the moment Flight 752  was hit by an Iranian missile was published by The New York Times. The Iranian government was forced to admit that it “inadvertently” shot the plane out of the sky. A wave of anti-government protests have now emerged across Iran.

Phew! These are only the latest events in decades of conflict between the two nations.

So, back to the point of our discussion. I’d like us to share our opinions, and hear the opinions of our listeners this week. You know what they say about opinions, right?

  • What does it mean for information security?
  • What does it mean for you and me?
  • How can we avoid collateral damage?

Some sources of information to guide our discussion:

[Brad] Great discussion and plenty of healthy opinion. I think the same things hold true for us that have always held true:

  1. Focus on what you can do to protect your area of influence (your habits, at home, at work, etc.)
  2. Master the fundamentals. We can’t control what Iran or the United States does, but we can make it a little less likely that we’ll be a victim in all this.
News

Now for some (other) news. Here are three newsy things that caught our attention last week.

Closing

[Brad] OK, that’ll just about do it. Be careful out there.

One last thing before we close this show out. Are you or someone you know looking for a job in information security? If so, we’d love to hear from you and help out where we can. Email us at unsecurity@protonmail.com and we’ll chat.

If you’re the social type, socialize with us on Twitter, I’m @BradNigh, Ryan can be found at @CLOUTIERSEC, and Evan’s in his usual spot, @evanfrancen.

That’s it! Talk to you all again next week!

The UNSECURITY Podcast – Episode 61 Show Notes – 2020 Look Ahead

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Hello 2020! What do you have in store for us?

In last week’s episode, Brad and I discussed some of the crappy things from 2019. It’s no doubt, we’ve got a lot of work to do in this industry. Now, in this episode, we’re going to discuss some of the great things we did this year as an industry, and we’re going to look at what 2020 should have in store for us!

Exciting Announcements

We’re starting 2020 off right, and we have some cool announcements:

  1. Our good friend Ryan Cloutier has joined SecurityStudio!
  2. We’re writing a new book!
  3. I’m in Cancun (I guess this is sorta cool for me)!
Ryan Cloutier

If you’ve been listening to our podcast for a while, you might remember Ryan. He joined us on the show in episode 27, and again in episode 44. Ryan brings a wealth of knowledge, a refreshing perspective, and an unbridled passion for information security , and we’re jacked he’s on board! Ryan will be helping me and the rest of the SecurityStudio team reach K-12, local governments, and whoever else wants to get on board with establishing rock solid information security fundamentals.

New Book

I took off for my annual trip to Cancun yesterday (1/4) to begin writing our next book. This one will be co-written with Brad and probably Ryan too. The book is unofficially titled “Securing America” and it will provide an easy-to-use manual for building fundamental information security programs and habits in the most under-served areas; SMBs, local governments, education (K-12 and post-secondary), and home.

If you haven’t read my first book, I invite you to! You can either purchase it, or if you’re with us on our mission to fix the brokenness in our industry, contact me and tell me so. I’ll send you a free signed copy! P.S. I’m not publicizing this everywhere, so let’s see if your paying attention.

Cancun

Yeah, this is year three for this trip. Year one was spent writing UNSECURITY. Year two was spent starting a book that I shelved (for now) about information security for normal people. This year, I’m starting this book (referenced above) and we’ll publish it sometime in Q3/Q4 of 2020.

We’ll cover these things (above) and some of the good things from 2019 in this episode of the UNSECURITY Podcast.

Brad’s leading the show this week, joined in studio by Ryan Cloutier. I’m calling in from Mexico, and these are my notes.

SHOW NOTES – Episode 61

Date: Monday, January 6th, 2020

Show Topics:

Our topics this week:

  • Opening
    • Exciting News.
    • 2019 in review, some of the good things.
    • What we expect 2020 to bring us.
  • Closing
Opening

[Brad] Welcome to the first UNSECURITY Podcast episode of 2020! We’ve got a jam-packed show for you today. It’s Monday, January 6th, 2020, and I’m Brad Nigh. Joining me in studio is the newest member of our team, Ryan Cloutier. Welcome Ryan!

[Ryan] Ryan does Ryan. Would you expect anything different?

[Brad] Joining us by phone from Cancun, Mexico is my usual co-host, Evan Francen. Hi Evan.

[Evan] I do me.

[Brad] Probably says something about Cancun and how he should be here too, or instead or me. Maybe he’ll ask about the weather, maybe not.

[Brad] Well, let’s get started. We have a ton of stuff to talk about today. Let’s start off by talking about you Ryan. Today is day #1 at SecurityStudio, right?

[Ryan] Says stuff.

Exciting News – Welcoming Ryan

Quick discussion and welcome.

  • Questions that may come up:
    • What will you be doing at SecurityStudio?
    • What made you want to come to SecurityStudio?
    • What are some of the challenges that lie ahead?
  • We’re pumped that Ryan’s onboard, and we’re looking forward to great things!

[Brad] Alright, Evan’s down in Cancun starting another book. He’s getting it started, and rumor has it that I and you (Ryan) will be co-writing this sucker!

Exciting News – Another Book

Quick discussion about this upcoming book.

  • Questions that may come up:
    • What’s the point for this book?
    • Who’s the audience?
    • What’s it like to write a book?
    • When can I get a copy?
  • We’re jazzed about this book because it’s a way to get the word out and make an impact on people’s lives. The fact that it’s going to be a collaboration between the three of us makes it extra exciting!

[Brad] Alright, some cool things to look forward to in 2020 and beyond! Let’s take a quick look back at 2019 and find some positive news. As infosec people, we sometimes get caught up in the bad news, but there are many good things happening.

2019 in Review – Good Things

[Brad] I think I speak for both Ryan and Evan when I say that we love this industry. There’s plenty of brokenness, but the people in this industry are amazing! Evan has a say that he uses a lot; “information security isn’t about information or security as much as it’s about people.” Using this as a segue, what good things happened in 2019 that we can be proud of?

Some things to discuss (in a positive light):

  • Is the information security industry more diverse now than it was at the beginning of 2019?
  • How are the job prospects for information security practitioners?
  • Are people more aware of information security?
  • Are CISOs emerging as real business leaders in greater numbers?
  • Is there improved collaboration among information security professionals?
  • More people are beginning to focus on fundamentals.

[Brad] Let’s focus on progress in 2020 and we should each be asking ourselves:

  1. Am I making a positive difference?
  2. Are my motives focused on greater good or selfish greed?
Closing

[Brad] OK, no news for today’s show. We’ve discussed plenty and we’re looking forward to another great year! We’re also wishing the best for all our listeners. Let’s kick some ass together in 2020!

That’s a wrap for today’s show. Thank you and welcome to the family Ryan. Evan, stay out of trouble.

Next week, we’ll start to devote 10 minutes out of every show to help someone who’s looking for a job or career change. If you’re one of these people, get in touch with us and we’ll feature you as a guest on future episode.

Get in contact with us through email at unsecurity@protonmail.com. If you’re the social type, socialize with us on Twitter, I’m @BradNigh, Ryan can be found at @CLOUTIERSEC, and Evan’s in his usual spot, @evanfrancen.

That’s it! Talk to you all again next week!

The UNSECURITY Podcast – Episode 57 Show Notes

/in /by

This week we continue the conversation with our special guest, Justin Webb. Justin is a Data Privacy & Cybersecurity Attorney, and the Chief Information Security Officer at Godfrey & Kahn, S.C. in Milwaukee.

If you missed last week’s show (episode 56), we talked about Target’s lawsuit against Chubb and China’s Cryptography Law. China’s Cryptography Law goes into effect on January 1st, and there are multiple perspectives about what it will mean for commerce, including this recent take from International Financial Law Review (IFLR).

Justin’s insights were so good, we invited him back! This week, we’re going to talk about the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).

Brad’s leading the show this week, and here are my notes.

SHOW NOTES – Episode 57

Date: Monday, December 9th, 2019

Show Topics:

Our topics this week:

  • The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)
    • What is CCPA?
    • How is CCPA similar to GDPR, and how is it different?
    • Who does CCPA apply to?
    • What are the consequences of non-compliance?
    • What advice do we have for organizations?
    • What do we think is in the future with CCPA?
    • What do we expect other states to do?
  • New Show Format (reminder)
  • News
Opening

[Brad] Welcome back! This is episode 57 of the UNSECURITY Podcast, and I’m your host this week, Brad Nigh. Today is December 9th, and joining me is my co-host, Evan Francen. Good morning Evan.

[Evan] Is it? We’ll find out.

[Brad] We have a great show planned today. This is the 2nd part of our first two-part show, and we welcome back our favorite data privacy attorney, Justin Webb. Hi Justin.

[Justin] Justin will likely say “hi” and some other things.

[Brad] In last week’s show, episode 56, we discussed a lot. We talked at length about the Target lawsuit against Chubb and we talked about China’s Cryptography Law. We intended to talk about the California Consumer Privacy Act (or “CCPA”), but we decided to move it to today’s show in order to give it more of the attention it deserves.

Before we dive in to CCPA, let’s check in quick. Guys, how was your week last week? We’ll start with you Justin.

[Justin] Justin shares what he’d like to share.

[Brad] My week was…  How about you, Evan?

[Evan] Sharing is caring.

[Brad] Alright, let’s get into this whole CCPA thing.

California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) discussion

Most of this show is dedicated to this discussion.

A few California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), references:

[Brad] Awesome discussion! I think our listeners will get some real value out of this. One quick housekeeping thing before we get into the news.

New Show Format (reminder)

[Brad] Just a quick reminder about the upcoming new addition to the show, starting after the first of the year. We’re devoting ten minutes of each show to anyone who’s looking for a job in the information security industry. Email us at unsecurity@protonmail.com if you want your slot! We’ll respond to you on a first come, first serve basis.

We’ve already received some emails, which is super cool!

If you’re chosen, and the time works out, we’ll invite you on to our show to learn about you. Think of this as a quick 10 minute interview. We’ll work out the kinks between now and the time we kick this off, but we’ll have a standard format defined by then.

If you’re looking for a job, use us to help you get the word out! Stay tuned, we’ll mention this a few more times before we make this change official.

OK, now some news…

News

[Brad] OK, lots of things this week, but we’ll focus on a few news stories.

Closing

[Brad] That’s it. Episode 57 is a wrap. Thank you to Justin for joining us and for sharing your perspective again! We’ve got another great show planned for next week, but we’re not letting the cat out of the bag just yet.

Thank you to our listeners! Keep the questions and feedback coming. Send things to us by email at unsecurity@protonmail.com. If you’re the social type, socialize with us on Twitter, I’m @BradNigh and Evan’s @evanfrancen. If you’d like to get in touch with Justin, you can find him on LinkedIn.

Lastly, be sure to follow SecurityStudio (@studiosecurity) and FRSecure (@FRSecure) for more goodies.

That’s it! Talk to you all again next week!

The UNSECURITY Podcast – Episode 56 Show Notes

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Brad and I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! We have so many things to be thankful for, including our faith, our families, our work families (FRSecure and SecurityStudio), our friends, our partners, our clients, and last, but not least, our UNSECURITY Podcast listeners!

Our listeners make our podcast worthwhile.

If you missed last week, we introduced you to one of the most amazing 15 year-old kids you’ll ever meet, Zoe Bundy. She’s an all around awesome gal, and the founder of Brainy Ladies. Give it a listen. You won’t be disappointed!

This week we welcome another special guest, Justin Webb. Justin is a “Data Privacy & Cybersecurity Attorney / Chief Information Security Officer at Godfrey & Kahn, S.C.”. We’re going to talk to Justin about all sorts of legal information security and privacy stuff. It’ll be like 30-40 minutes of free legal advice (sort of)!

I’m (Evan) leading the show this week, and here are my notes.

SHOW NOTES – Episode 56

Date: Monday, December 2nd, 2019

Show Topics:

Our topics this week:

  • Introducing Justin Webb
    • Who is Justin Webb?
    • Target vs. Chubb
    • The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)
    • China’s Cryptography Law
  • New Show Format (reminder)
  • News
Opening

[Evan] Welcome back! Unless you’re lost, you know this is the UNSECURITY Podcast. This is episode 56, and I’m Evan Francen, your host. The date is December 2nd, and joining me is my buddy Brad Nigh. Sup Brad?

[Brad] Shares some of the simple things in life.

[Evan] How was your Thanksgiving holiday?

[Brad] Great, duh!

[Evan] We have another awesome show planned today! A couple of weeks ago, I read a news story about Target suing Chubb, their insurance provider, about claims related to the infamous Target breach of 2013. Here we are, six years later, and the fallout continues.

People who know my past, know that I spent twenty-one months consulting the Special Litigation Committee (SLC) of Target Corporation’s Board of Directors who addressed the derivative claims
arising out of the December 2013 data breach. I mention this only because I’m still obligated to maintain confidentiality from this work, and for perspective. I was privileged to see almost everything about this breach, or at least it seemed that way.

So, I read the news about this lawsuit, and I figured I’d reach out to my favorite cyber-insurance guy, David Kruse and get his take. David introduced me to this cool cat, Justin Webb, an information security stud and data privacy attorney with Godfrey & Kahn, a leading law firm out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Welcome Justin!

[Justin] Justin does Justin.

[Evan] I’m sort of looking at this like we get 30 minutes or so of free legal advice. Right?

[Justin] Probably not right, but whatever.

[Evan] We’re very excited to have you join us Justin!

Discussion with Justin

Conversation items:

[Evan] Good stuff! Legalling is exhausting. Thank you Justin for providing your insight and advice!

New Show Format Discussion (reminder)

[Evan] Just a quick reminder about the upcoming new addition to the show, starting after the first of the year. We’re devoting ten minutes of each show to anyone who’s looking for a job in the information security industry. Email us at unsecurity@protonmail.com if you want your slot! We’ll respond to you on a first come, first serve basis.

We’ve already received some emails, which is super cool!

If you’re chosen, and the time works out, we’ll invite you on to our show to learn about you. Think of this as a quick 10 minute interview. We’ll work out the kinks between now and the time we kick this off, but we’ll have a standard format defined by then.

If you’re looking for a job, use us to help you get the word out! Stay tuned, we’ll mention this a few more times before we make this change official.

OK, now some news…

News

[Evan] Alright, what the heck happened this last week? Let’s see…

Closing

[Evan] That’s it. Episode 56 is a wrap. Thank you to Justin Webb for joining us and for sharing your perspective.

Thank you to our listeners! Keep the questions and feedback coming. We’re still a little behind on responding right now, so please be patient with us. We love your feedback. Send things to us by email at unsecurity@protonmail.com. If you’re the social type, socialize with us on Twitter, I’m @evanfrancen and Brad’s @BradNigh. Justin, how do you want people to socialize with you?

Follow SecurityStudio (@studiosecurity) and FRSecure (@FRSecure) for more goodies there too!

That’s it! Talk to you all again next week!

The UNSECURITY Podcast – Episode 55 Show Notes

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Here we are, show notes for the UNSECURITY Podcast, episode 55!

Last week’s show featured pioneer virus researcher and keynote speaker Kenneth Bechtel. We learned from his wisdom, and he also shared some of his recent struggles with landing a job. UPDATE: Ken informed us that he’s landed a job, and we’re pumped about it! If you know Ken, reach out an congratulate him.

This week we have another super special guest! Zoe Bundy, the teenage founder of Brainy Ladies is joining us. We’re going to dedicate the show to learning more about her, her company, and her cause! This is going to be amazing!

This is Brad’s show to lead this week, and these are my (Evan) notes.

SHOW NOTES – Episode 55

Date: Monday, November 25th, 2019

Show Topics:

Our topics this week:

  • World Meet Zoe!
    • Who is Zoe Bundy?
    • Introduction to Brainy Ladies
    • What’s next?
    • How can we help?
  • Thanksgiving – What’s one thing we’re thankful for this year?
  • New Show Format
  • News
Opening

[Brad] Welcome to the UNSECURITY Podcast. The date is November 25th, 2019 and this is episode 55. My name is Brad Nigh and joining me in studio is Evan Francen. Sup Evan?

[Evan] Things and such.

[Brad] So, Evan. You meet a lot of really awesome people on the SecurityStudio Roadshow. There are few, if any, that you mention with more admiration than our guest this week, Zoe Bundy. Before we introduce her, tell me how you met and your thoughts about what she’s doing.

[Evan] You’re absolutely right, by far the best part of being on the SecurityStudio Roadshow is meeting the people I get to meet. One of the most incredible people I’ve met is Zoe Bundy. She’s the CEO of Brainy Ladies, an organization with this super cool mission of helping more girls get into STEM.

I first met Zoe in November 2018 at Network Center’s nVision Conference in Fargo, North Dakota. Steve Marsden, FRSecure employee #3 ran up to me and told me he’d met the most fascinating girl who’s got this awesome mission to help girls get into STEM. She gave a talk at nVision 2018 and he was blown away by her poise, her ambition, and her mission. When we met in 2018, I put her in touch with some of the great women we have working at FRSecure like Megan Larkins and Lori Blair.

Fast forward to this year’s nVision conference, and I ran into Zoe again. She came by our SecurityStudio booth with her brother Grover. She’s still trucking along, making a huge difference in the world. I felt like we needed to get her on the show, get to know her a little, and help her spread the word about her noble mission!

[Brad] Awesome! Well, let’s introduce Zoe. Hi Zoe, welcome to the UNSECURITY Podcast!

Discussion with Zoe
  • World meet Zoe and Brainy Ladies!
  • Open, unscripted discussion.
  • Getting to know Zoe.
  • Questions we may/may not get to:
    • How old are you?
    • Do you come from a family with a STEM/technical background?
    • How did she come upon her mission?
    • What motivated her to do something?
    • Tell us about Brainy Ladies.
    • What plans do you have for the future of Brainy Ladies?
    • How can we get involved with helping Brainy Ladies or you?
    • What do her friends at school think?
    • Does she recruit girls into STEM? If so, what works and what doesn’t?
    • What advice does she give girls who have an interest in STEM, where should they go?
    • What about girls who are struggling with STEM, what help can we give?
    • If there was one thing you’d like our listeners to know about girls in STEM, what is it?
    • If there was one thing you’d like our listeners to help you with, what would it be?

[Brad] Wow! There are tons of opportunities to encourage girls to get into STEM. STEM isn’t for everyone, but for everyone who’s got an interest, there’s plenty of opportunity! Amazing.

Thanksgiving

[Brad] OK, this is Thanksgiving week. We all have things to be thankful for this year, starting with you Zoe, what’s one thing you’re particularly thankful for this year?

[Zoe] She can choose whatever she wants or nothing at all. This is her time.

[Brad] How about you Evan, what’s one thing you’re thankful for this year?

[Evan] We’ll see what he/I say…

[Brad] Good stuff! I’m thankful for ______________.

New Show Format Discussion (quick)

[Brad] Next let’s talk quick about an upcoming show format change, starting the first of the year. We’re going to devote ten minutes of each show to anyone who’s looking for a job in the information security industry. You email us at unsecurity@protonmail.com sometime before the next episode, and we’ll respond to you on a first come, first serve basis.

If you’re chosen, and the time works out, we’ll invite you on to our show to learn about you. Think of this as a quick 10 minute interview. We’ll work out the kinks between now and the time we kick this off, but we’ll have a standard format defined by then.

So, if you’re looking for a job, use us to help you get the word out! Stay tuned, we’ll mention this a few more times before we make this change official.

OK, now some news…

News

[Brad] There’s always plenty of news to choose from. Here’s just a couple of stories that caught our eye this week.

Closing

[Brad] Alright! Episode 55 is a wrap. Thank you again to Zoe Bundy from Brainy Ladies for joining us! We’re very excited to keep up with what she’s doing.

Thank you to our listeners! Keep the questions and feedback coming. We’re a little behind on responding right now, so please be patient with us. We love your feedback. Send things to us by email at unsecurity@protonmail.com. If you’re the social type, socialize with us on Twitter, I’m @BradNigh and Evan’s @evanfrancen. Zoe, how do you want people to socialize with you?

Follow SecurityStudio (@studiosecurity) and FRSecure (@FRSecure) for more goodies there too!

That’s it! Talk to you all again next week!

The UNSECURITY Podcast – Episode 54 Show Notes

/in /by

Show notes are almost on time this week! Yay us.

I started writing our show notes on Thursday night in the Salt Lake City airport, and now I’m finishing them on a plane back from LA. Ugh. The life.

This was a crazy week, but what’s new? While Brad’s been bustin’ his tail keeping up with FRSecure’s sales and operations, I’ve been traveling the country on the SecurityStudio Roadshow. My travels this week took me to Rochester (NY), Baltimore (MD – layover), Kansas City (MO), Salt Lake City (UT – layover), Sacramento (CA), and Los Angeles (CA – layover).

I’m supposed to get home late on Friday night. We’ll see. 🙂

If you’d like to follow the SecurityStudio Roadshow, I write a recap every week on my/this site. Keep up with me, and give me some BBQ tips.

I’ve met some amazing people on my travels, and one really cool cat is Kenneth Bechtel. I met Kenneth during week one of the SecurityStudio Roadshow. On week one, John Harmon and I traveled to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania for BSides. I was speaking in a mid-morning session and Kenneth was the keynote speaker.

I have a lot of respect for Kenneth because he’s been at his game for a long time. He’s been doing threat hunting before threat hunting was a thing. Big props to this guy. During our time together at BSides, Kenneth shared his recent troubles finding a job. This bugs me. So, I invited him to be a guest on the podcast.

We’re honored to have him share some of his wisdom. We’ll try to get to the bottom of his job search struggle too.

Special thanks to Brandon Matis for putting together last week’s anniversary show! That couldn’t have been easy.

Pretty sure I’m supposed to lead this episode, so here goes.

My show to lead this week and these are my notes.

SHOW NOTES – Episode 54

Date: Monday, November 18th, 2019

Show Topics:

Our topics this week:

  • What’s up man?
  • Introducing Kenneth Bechtel
    • The earlier days versus today. What’s changed and what’s the same?
    • The (alleged) infosec labor crunch. Kenneth isn’t the first person who’s had trouble finding work. What gives?
  • New show ideas
  • News
Opening

[Evan] Hey UNSECURITY Podcast listeners! This is episode 54, and the date is November 18th, 2019. I’m Evan Francen, and it’s my show this week. Brad’s here with me too. Care to chime in Brad?

[Brad] You know he’s got something to say. Probably something good too!

[Evan] Alright, we’ve got another great show planned!

  • Brad and I are going to catchup with our craziness quick.
  • We’re going to get real with a true information security pioneer Kenneth Bechtel. He’s got an incredible amount of wisdom to share and we want to get to the bottom of why people like Kenneth are not getting hired when we have this alleged talent shortage.
  • We’ll talk about an upcoming show idea that we have, then we’ll wrap with some newsy things.

I’m pumped about this show! So, let’s get on with it, eh?

[Brad] Brad’ll agree probably.

[Evan] So, what’s up man?! I’ve been out for the past two weeks preaching to folks everywhere and stuff. I missed you man.

Catchin’ up with Brad (quick)

[Evan] Alright, enough of that. We are excited and honored to have Kenneth Bechtel on the phone, so let’s welcome him. Hi Kenneth.

[Kenneth] He’ll confirm (unless of course we have some tech issue or something).

[Evan] Can’t tell you how grateful and pumped we are to have you on the show! We’re going to get to know each other more, and discuss things. I’d like to start off with you telling us about you, then we can talk about how the industry has evolved, then lastly, let’s discuss this whole infosec talent shortage thing.

I found an old photo of you on your Team Anti-Virus website.

About Kenneth:

“I have been actively involved in Anti-Malware defense and research since 1988 at both a corporate and international level, with close ties to the international Anti-Malware efforts and fellow researchers.

In the corporate world, I have worked as both a Virus Laboratory and Field researcher for major organizations, providing expert support for malware outbreaks.

Internationally, I was a Founding Members of AVIEN – Anti-Virus Information Exchange Network, and served as Chairman of its Disciplinary Committee and well as member of the Advisory Board to the Administrator.

I have presented at international conferences, including the Virus Bulletin Conference, at which I am a regular attendee.

My work has been published in trade magazines and specialized websites such as Security Focus.

I have written a handbook on Anti-Virus Security and was one of the co-authors of the AVIEN Malware Defense Guide. 

I am regularly asked to speak at small organization and company conferences and training seminars.“

Media requests, Opportunities and general inquiries are welcome at kbechtel@teamanti-virus.org

Discussion with Kenneth Bechtel
  • Introductions
  • The earlier days versus today. What’s changed and what’s the same?
  • The (alleged) infosec labor crunch. Kenneth isn’t the first person who’s had trouble finding work. What gives?
  • Your recent post about your cowboy hat

[Evan] Alright. Let’s see what we can do here to help each other. Kenneth, I sincerely appreciate your tireless work for this industry and for being on our show!

News

[Evan] Some interesting news stories for us to discuss this week. The first one is interesting because we’ve warned about this and sadly things are going to get much worse before they get better.

Closing

[Evan] OK, cool! Episode 54 is a wrap. Thank you again Kenneth for being on our show. I think our discussion will benefit others!

Thank you to our listeners! Keep the questions and feedback coming. We love it, well Brad does, but I don’t. Send things to us by email at unsecurity@protonmail.com. If you’re the social type, socialize with us on Twitter, I’m @evanfrancen, and Brad’s @BradNigh. Kenneth, do you have a way you want people to socialize with you?

Follow SecurityStudio (@studiosecurity) and FRSecure (@FRSecure) for more goodies!

That’s it! Talk to you all again next week!