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The UNSECURITY Podcast – Episode 63 Show Notes – Mission

I’m grateful to be back home. Two weeks in Cancun, Mexico where the sun was shining and the temperature was in the 80s. Now, I’m back in Minnesota where there’s a foot of snow on the ground and the temperature is in the single digits. I’m grateful to be back home because I’m with my family again. My FRSecure and SecurityStudio family!

THANK YOU to Brad and Ryan for doing holding down the fort!

OK, I was in Cancun to begin writing our next book. It’s “our” next book because Brad’s going to write his part and Ryan’s going to add a little flair too. The book is unofficially titled “Securing America” and will start to come together over the next couple of months. The (rough) outline looks like this so far:

  • Introduction
  • Information Security Operating System (ISOS)
    • Components
    • The Cycle
  • Securing America
    • Small Business
    • Local Government
    • Education
    • Home
  • The People Component
  • The Asset Component
  • The Control Component
  • The Process Component
  • The Measurement Component
  • The Journey – All Working Together
  • Starting NOW

If this book is anything like the first one (UNSECURITY), there’s likely to be some changes to the outline, but this is what we’ve got so far.

Alright. On to the show. This is episode 63 of the UNSECURITY Podcast. I’ll be hosting and these are my notes. Joining me in studio will be my co-host Brad Nigh and SecurityStudio’s very own Ryan Cloutier.

Let’s do this!

-Evan


SHOW NOTES – Episode 63

Date: Monday, January 20th, 2020

Show Topics:

Our topics this week:

  • Opening
    • Back Home
    • Book (Securing America) Status
    • What did I miss?
  • U.S. and Iran
    • Finishing the discussion from last week.
    • We’re not out of the woods.
  •  The “Mission” and CISSP Mentor Program
    • What is it?
    • Why do we care?
    • How can you join us?
  • News
Opening

[Evan] Hey UNSECURITY Podcast listeners! This is episode 62 and the date is January 20th, 2020. I’m Evan Francen, and it’s good to be back! I’m hosting today’s show, and joining me in studio is my friendly co-host Brad Nigh and my left-hand man Ryan Cloutier. Hey guys.

[Brad & Ryan] They’ll say “hi” or something.

[Evan] Did you guys catch that? I called Ryan my “left-hand man”. Of course you did, you guys read the show notes! You know why I called Ryan my “left-hand man”?

[Brad & Ryan] Stumped. Maybe.

[Evan] Well, I’ll tell you…

[Evan] Alright, I’m back home. It feels good to be back, and it couldn’t have been any better to come back to a bunch of smiling faces at our holiday party on Saturday! What did you guys think?

[Brad & Ryan] Sharing thoughts and such.

[Evan] We have a ton to cover today! Let’s catch-up quick. You guys cool with that?

Catching Up Discussion
  • Back home
    • Holiday Party
    • Q1/2020, Expectations
  • Book (Securing America) things
  • Did I miss anything?

[Evan] Like always, many good things to look forward too. Love you guys and love being back. Last week I had to run halfway through the show. We were talking about tensions between the United States and Iran and how it affects us all. There’s this talk of a cyberwar between us, and I just want to close the loop a little on the topic.

U.S. and Iran Discussion

[Evan] OK, the world’s not likely to end today, but we need to stay vigilant. Complacency and ignorance come with consequences. Switching gears now…

We talk about this mission at FRSecure and SecurityStudio. Brad, you have your take. Ryan, you have yours. I’ve certainly got mine too, but what is this “mission” and why is it important for our listeners to know about it?

Discussion about The “Mission” and CISSP Mentor Program

An open and honest discussion about our mission.

  • What is it?
  • Why do we care so much about it?
  • Are there ways for people to join us? If so, how?

The CISSP Mentor Program Registration is Open!

[Evan] Yes, it’s all about the mission! The theory is if you focus on the mission you’ll make money, but if you focus on the money, you’re certain to miss the mission. Love it! Alright, good talk. Let’s cover a few news stories, and wrap this thing up.

News

There’s always plenty of news in the information security industry. Here are a few stories that caught my eye recently:

Closing

[Evan] Wow. Lot’s going on and plenty of news to stay up on. I guess this is why they pay us the big buck, right?

This is the end of our show, and we close these things out pretty much the same way every week. Keep sending us your feedback, tips, of whatever else you’d like us to know at unsecurity@protonmail.com. If you have a suggested guest for us to reach out to, let us know that too.

If you’re the social type, socialize with us on Twitter, I’m Evan and you can find me @evanfrancen. Brad’s a cool cat, and you can find him @BradNigh. Ryan’s not to shabby himself, follow him at @CLOUTIERSEC.

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

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

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

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!