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UNSECURITY Episode 125 Show Notes

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A news article caught my eye this morning while getting ready for this episode of the UNSECURITY Podcast.

US Strategic Command Twitter account accessed by child: report

Link: https://www.foxnews.com/us/us-strategic-command-twitter-account-accessed-by-small-child-report

My first thought was “oh, that’s funny and sorta cute.” Then I thought some more. It seems innocent(ish) to walk away from your computer while you’re at home. What could happen? Well, this could happen, but it could have been much worse!

This is the Twitter account of the U.S. Strategic Command (“USSTRATCOM”). For those of you who don’t know what USSTRATCOM is, or what they do, here’s information from their “About” page:

“USSTRATCOM integrates and coordinates the necessary command and control capability to provide support with the most accurate and timely information for the President, the Secretary of Defense, other national leadership and combatant commanders.

The mission of USSTRATCOM is to deter strategic attack and employ forces, as directed, to guarantee the security of our Nation and our Allies. The command’s assigned responsibilities include strategic deterrence; nuclear operations; space operations; joint electronic spectrum operations; global strike; missile defense; and analysis and targeting. USSTRATCOM’s forces and capabilities underpin and enable all other Joint Force operations.

USSTRATCOM combines the synergy of the U.S. legacy nuclear command and control mission with responsibility for space operations, global strike, and global missile defense. This dynamic command gives national leadership a unified resource for greater understanding of specific threats around the world and the means to respond to those threats rapidly.”

Sounds pretty damn important! Social media is used by organizations (public and private) to disseminate information to the public and their customers. What if the information disseminated is harmful to others? In this particular case, a child typed “;l;gmlxzssaw”. The message was broadcast all over the world and caused a stir. Caused a stir, but not panic.

What if this wasn’t a child and/or the message was more nefarious. What is someone typed:

“The United States of America is under current attack. The President has raised our alert condition to DEFCON 1. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. DO NOT panic, but please be aware. Additional details forthcoming, including further instruction for protection of U.S. citizens and our assets.”

Now, you may know that USSTRATCOM would never issue such a warning on Twitter, but do others? Even if others do know this, you’ve seen how some people throw logic and reason out the window when something panicky happens, right? What if the alert was more thought out with direct instructions to do certain things that could be destructive. Would this cause a panic? On the surface, this particular instance may seem funny. In reality, it’s sad. It’s sad that people often use computers without thinking of consequences and that we are STILL trying to get people to lock their computers when they step away.

Anyway, we’ve got a show to do. Let’s get right to it, show notes for episode 125 of the UNSECURITY Podcast…

SHOW NOTES – Episode 125 – Tuesday March 30th, 2021

Opening

[Evan] Welcome listeners! Thanks for tuning into this episode of the UNSECURITY Podcast. This is episode 125, and the date is March 30th, 2021. Back again is my good friend and security ninja Brad Nigh. Welcome Brad!

Another good show today. We’re gonna talk about this FRSecure CISSP Mentor Program think you might have heard about.

FRSecure CISSP Mentor Program

  • What is it?
  • Who’s it for?
  • The history of the FRSecure CISSP Mentor Program
    • 1st class in 2010 – six students
    • 11th class in 2020 – ~2,400 students
    • 12th class this year (2021) – 5,300+ students
  • Why did we start this thing?
  • Why do we keep doing this thing?
  • Next class starts on April 12th (2021)
    • What are we expecting?
    • Who’s teaching?
    • Is there time to sign up still?
  • Is it really FREE?!
    • What strings are attached?
    • Will I be marketed to?
    • Will I be sold something?
    • Will you sell my information?
  • What’s the future of the FRSecure CISSP Mentor Program?
  • Where can I sign up?
  • Can I refer others?
  • What if I’m not planning to take the test?

And whatever other question we can think of. We’ll be transparent as we talk about the program and our experiences with it.

Want to know more? GO HERE: https://frsecure.com/cissp-mentor-program/

News

Three interesting news articles this week:

Wrapping Up – Shout Outs

Good talk. Thank you Brad, and thank you listeners!

  • Who’s getting shout outs this week?
  • Closing – Thank you to all our listeners! 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. Other Twitter handles where you can find some of the stuff we do, UNSECURITY is @unsecurityP, SecurityStudio is @studiosecurity, and FRSecure is @FRSecure. That’s it. Talk to you all again next week!

…and we’re done.

UNSECURITY Episode 124 Show Notes

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Spring has sprung!

The first day of Spring was Saturday, March 20th. If you’re from Minnesota like Brad and I are, you’re happy about this. Speaking of Brad, he’s back this week!

Let’s get right to it, show notes for episode 124 of the UNSECURITY Podcast…

SHOW NOTES – Episode 124 – Tuesday March 23rd, 2021

Opening

[Evan] Welcome listeners! Thanks for tuning into this episode of the UNSECURITY Podcast. This is episode 124, and the date is March 23rd, 2021. Back from taking a couple weeks off from the show is my good friend and co-host Brad Nigh. Welcome back Brad!

We’ve got a good show planned for you today. Let’s talk passwords! Yay, right?!

Let’s try to tackle as many common questions about passwords as we can in one show!

Passwords

  • Why do we need passwords?
    • The basics of identity and authentication.
    • A password is proof.
  • What happens when a password is compromised?
  • How are passwords compromised?
    • Caused by you.
      • Disclosed.
      • Weak.
    • Caused by them (someone you shared it with).
  • What’s the risk is a password is compromised?
    • How do we protect against password disclosure?
    • How do we protect against weak passwords?
    • How do we protect against someone else disclosing a password?
  • @SecurityStudio, we just finished a new password strength/score algorithm.
    • Eighteen rules with weights applied according to risk.
    • Length, numbers(only), lowercase(only), uppercase(only), letters(only), letters & numbers(only), known compromise(s), dictionary, dictionary w/simple obfuscation, 80%+ dictionary, 80%+ dictionary w/simple obfuscation, 60%+ dictionary, 60%+ dictionary w/simple obfuscation, doubleword, common numeric sequences, words & numbers appended, and personally common/known things.
  • The average person has how many passwords?
    • How many passwords do you have?
    • How many passwords to Brad and I have?
  • Are passwords secure?
  • Are we stuck with passwords forever?
  • What do we do to protect our passwords?
  • Does anyone like passwords?

Other Things

  • The latest registration count for the FRSecure CISSP Mentor Program was 4,701 as of yesterday (3/22) morning!
    • The 2021 program kicks off in 20 days.
    • Will we top 5,000 registrations?!
    • What do we like best about the program?
  • New features for S2
    • Nested entities within S2Org.
    • S2Me Instant Score (coming soon).
    • S2PCI (coming next month).
  • What else?

News

Three interesting news articles this week:

(PSST… Want a good list of APT groups and their operations?! – https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/1/d/1H9_xaxQHpWaa4O_Son4Gx0YOIzlcBWMsdvePFX68EKU/pubhtml#)

Wrapping Up – Shout Outs

Good talk. Thank you Brad, and thank you listeners!

  • Who’s getting shout outs this week?
  • Closing – Thank you to all our listeners! 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. Other Twitter handles where you can find some of the stuff we do, UNSECURITY is @unsecurityP, SecurityStudio is @studiosecurity, and FRSecure is @FRSecure. That’s it. Talk to you all again next week!

…and we’re done.

UNSECURITY Episode 123 Show Notes

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day! For those of you who aren’t into this holiday (for whatever reason), Happy (everyday) Day!

This has been a week full of great experiences and awesome conversations with wonderful people. It’s the people we serve who inspire us to work as hard as we do. Here’s a small sampling:

  • Daytona Bike Week (last week) – if you’ve never been to a bike rally before, I recommend you try it out someday (even if you don’t ride). There are interesting people from all walks of life and the diversity (backgrounds, race, preferences, thought, etc.) would probably surprise you.
  • Co-workers – discussions about everything from mental health (many of us did the Mental Health First Aid certification course together last week), to life challenges (relationships, family, health, etc.), to work challenges, and everything in between. It’s a blessing (to them and to me) when I stop, listen, and invest in others.
  • Customers/peers – had some check-ins this week with a few enterprise CISOs I call friends. Life as a CISO can be extremely DIFFICULT. It’s encouraging to know people care about me, and I them. CISOs are human beings who need love just like all of us do!
  • Everyday people – we’re all beautifully unique. We are similar in some respects, but there are wonderful things that make me me and you you. We’re a hodge podge of emotions, biases, beliefs, perspectives, and experiences. Rather than fight because you think differently than I do, why don’t I embrace the uniqueness and differences? Why not try to understand them and you better?

We’re not doing this enough in society and we’re not doing this enough in our industry either.

    • Why?
    • Have we lost our respect for other human beings?
    • Have we lost our ability to reason?
    • Are we afraid to share who we really are out of fear? Fear of being marginalized, silenced, and attacked (physically and online)?

I believe people are AMAZING! I believe people are worthy of respect (even if it’s only a little). I believe people should be heard and understood. I believe information security isn’t about information or security as much as it is about people. I believe people are who we serve. I believe we must invest in people more. I believe in understanding people (better). I believe loving people gives us our best chance at doing our (information security) jobs effectively, and I believe loving people gives us our only chance of saving society.

Now on to show notes for episode 123…

SHOW NOTES – Episode 123 – Wednesday March 17th, 2021

Opening

[Evan] Welcome listeners! Thanks for tuning into this episode of the UNSECURITY Podcast. This is episode 123, and the date is March 17th, 2021. Filling in for Brad again this week if my good friend and co-worker Ryan Cloutier. Welcome Ryan, glad to have you back!

  • We’ve got a great show planned today. We’ll start with the importance of reason and logic in information security, our jobs, and in life. There are many parallels between information security (or “cybersecurity” as some people call it) and life.
  • Then, if we have time, we’ll talk about passwords. Everybody hates passwords.
  • We’ll close the show with a few mentions; about the FRSecure CISSP Mentor Program and SecurityStudio’s free S2Me (very quickly growing in popularity).
  • Oh yeah, we’ve got a couple news stories too, but whatever.

Reason

  • Have we lost our ability to reason?
  • What is reason anyway?
  • Why is reason (and logic) critical to information security?
  • Why is reason (and logic) critical to risk (all risk)?
  • Why is reason (and logic) critical to life?
  • There are parallels here, like:
    • Information security is risk management.
    • There’s no such thing as risk elimination or infinite risk; they are two different ends of the spectrum.
    • There’s no such think as 100% reason/logic without emotion or vice versa; two different ends of the spectrum.
    • The goal is management.
  • If we’ve lost our ability to reason, how can we get it back? Or, if we never had the ability to reason, how do we learn it?
    • Ask “Why?” often, almost incessantly, like a three year-old.
    • Ask yourself “Why”.
      • Not in a way that beats yourself up, but in a way that you understand why you’re doing what you’re doing and/or why you believe what you believe.
      • Notice the difference between emotional response and logical response.
      • Learn to use logic and emotion where they are and how they are appropriate. Seems mechanical and awkward at first, but it should become natural/habitual over time.
    • Ask others “Why”.
      • Respectfully out of a desire to understand, and not in a confrontational manner.
      • Learn how to ask without offense. If the person your asking takes offense despite your best efforts, that’s on them.
      • Maybe they need help understanding logic versus emotion? Interesting tells about people who are unable or unwilling to use reason or logic to defend a position (or make a point):
        • They change the subject. You asked a question about one thing, and quickly find yourself in a discussion about something different.
        • They attack your character. This is a classic emotional response where the person you’re questioning probably isn’t sure why he/she believes what they do. Don’t take offense, but recognize this tactic for what it is.
    • Encourage others (especially people you trust) to question you.
      • Be prepared to defend why you believe what you believe. If you can’t (with reason), then maybe you should question what you believe.
      • When other people ask you “why”, view it as an opportunity to state your case.
      • When other people ask you “why”, it’s a great opportunity for you to learn (about perspective and reason).

NOTE: We could talk for a long time about Reason, so we might not get to the topic of “Passwords”. If we don’t get to Passwords in this episode, we’ll get to it in episode 124.

Passwords

  • Why do we need them?
  • What makes a password good versus bad?
  • What do we (Ryan and I) do to practice good password behavior? BTW, neither of us is perfect!

NOTE: Regardless of timing, we will discuss “Mentions” in this episode.

Mentions

  • FRSecure CISSP Mentor Program – We’re less than one month away from the start! I think there are more than 4,000 students signed up, so this is going to be AWESOME!
  • S2Me – the FREE SecurityStudio personal risk management tool has been growing very fast (in terms of popularity). Big news happening here, and we’re making a difference!

News

Wrapping Up – Shout Outs

Good talk. Thank you Ryan, and thank you listeners!

…and we’re done.

The UNSECURITY Podcast – Episode 92 Show Notes – Women in Security Pt9

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Good morning from Sturgis, SD! My wife and I made the trip this past week, and it’s truly been one of the best things we could have done for our mental health.

Mental health is just as important (if not more important) than physical health.

We came here (as did the other 250K other people), knowing and accepting the risk of contracting COVID. We’ve been preaching self-isolation after leaving here (for at least 14 days), and I know the people in my party will be doing so; however, we can’t speak for the others. It’s one thing to accept risk for yourself, it’s an entirely different thing to put others at risk who didn’t.

Anyway, I’ll write more about that later. On to episode 92 of the podcast! We have another INCREDIBLE guest with us this week as we begin to wrap up our Women in Security Series. Both Brad and I hope we’ve helped make our industry a little better in doing this.

Women in Security Series Quick Recap

Brad and I started the Women in Security Series in mid-June, and to be honest, we didn’t know what to expect. The purpose was to help people (including ourselves) learn more about the topic of women in the information security industry. Two guys like us are NOT experts on the topic, nor will we ever be able to articulate experiences as well as the women who live it. Why not learn by listening to women tell us about their experience and opinions?

No expectations and no plan.

Neither of us have ever done a series like this before, but we’ve both become pretty good an “winging it”. We didn’t know who would be interested in talking with us, but soon after we got started, we had many women volunteer their time to share with us. We were blown away by the graciousness of so many.

We started safe, with women we work with at FRSecure. We kicked things off in mid-June (episode 84) with FRSecure’s Chief Operating Officer, Renay Rutter, and let things sort of develop from there.

Seven weeks later (so far), and we’ve been privileged to have discussions with seven INCREDIBLE ladies with diverse backgrounds. We’ve had a Chief Operating Officer, a 35+ year information security veteran, a career-changer with a couple years’ experience, a non-profit CEO, a college-student studying cybersecurity, a veteran corporate Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), an expert practitioner who bridges the gap between K-12 and post-secondary cybersecurity, and a super cool HigherEd CISO on the show so far!

What started with no expectations and no plan turned into something really special. We’re grateful for the time we’ve spent with these women and we’re both MUCH better off for it.

Here’s our guest line up thus far:

  • Episode 84 – Renay Rutter (an information security business/IT executive)
  • Episode 85 – Lori Blair (a 35-year information security veteran)
  • Episode 86 – Victoria Fogarty (relatively new to the industry)
  • Episode 87 – Kristin Judge (founder and CEO of the Cybercrime Support Network, SC Media “Women in IT Security Influencer” in 2017, former Director of Government Affairs at the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), thought leader, and all-around amazing information security expert)
  • Episode 88 – Andrea Hatcher (Senior majoring in Cybersecurity Analytics and Operations at Pennsylvania State University)
  • Episode 89 – Judy Hatchett (Information security corporate leader and expert formerly with Accenture, Best Buy, SUPERVALU, 3M, Fairview Health Services, and current VP, Information Security and CISO at Surescripts)
  • Episode 90 – Amy McLaughlin (Information security leader and expert in education, having served with the State of Oregon, the Consortium for School Network (CoSN), Chemeketa Community College, and Oregon State University)
  • Episode 91 – Theresa Semmens (Chief Information Security Officer at the Nevada System of Higher Education, former AVP/Chief Information Security Officer at the University of Miami, and former Chief Information Security Officer at North Dakota State University)
    /not-yet-confirmed (information security executive in healthcare, CISO in higher education, or senior information security sales executive)
  • Episode 92 – Lee Ann Villella (this show) (Senior Enterprise Security Sales Consultant at FRSecure, Program Director for the Minnesota Chapter of the Information Systems Security Association, and member of the Cyber Security Summit Advisory Board Committee)
  • Episode 93 – TBD/not-yet-confirmed (not sure who to expect; expectations aren’t really our “thing”)

Seriously, this is an amazing lineup of information security professionals! These women represent our information security industry extremely well, and we’re honored to speak with them on our show!

Here’s what we’ve done so far…

Women in Security Series – Part One

We kicked off the Women in Security series on June 15th, and we couldn’t have chosen a better first guest! Renay Rutter, FRSecure’s COO, got the series started by sharing the experience, wisdom, and insight she’s gained over her 30+ year IT career. Renay expressed how important it has been for her to be strong throughout her career, and in her opinion, women need to be strong to survive in the information security industry. This was a great show!

If you missed this episode, you can catch up here; https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unsecurity-episode-84-women-in-security-pt-1-renay-rutter/id1442520920?i=1000478037575

Thank you Renay!

Women in Security Series – Part Two

We kept things in the FRSecure family for week two, hosting Lori Blair. Lori is full of information security knowledge and wisdom! She started her career in the industry in 1985, working for the federal government. Over the next 35 years, she’s traveled the world helping organizations with their information security needs and held various leadership positions. She’s excelled everywhere she’s gone and even found time to raise children along the way! Today, Lori is a Senior Information Security Consultant at FRSecure, tackling difficult challenges and mentoring other women.

I have a TON of respect for Lori, and her opinions carry weight for me (and many others). It’s not just her experience that makes Lori amazing, she’s a wonderful, practical, and level-headed person who loves mentoring others. This is a can’t miss episode, go give a listen here; https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unsecurity-episode-85-women-in-security-pt-2-lori-blair/id1442520920?i=1000479175255

Thank you Lori!

Women in Security Series – Part Three

We welcomed up and comer Victoria Fogarty to the show for Part Three. Victoria is an Associate Information Security Analyst at FRSecure, where she started her career in 2019. She possesses natural gifts for this industry, and her perspectives were fresh. She’s intelligent, relatable, and an excellent communicator. She did a great job explaining how she researched a career in information security while she was an Insurance Adjuster, a job she disliked. Her journey is pretty cool so far, and her future is VERY bright! She even shared a shocker (at least for Brad and me) in this episode. Definitely worth the listen!

If you missed episode 86, here it is; https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unsecurity-episode-86-women-in-security-pt-3-victoria/id1442520920?i=1000480167348

Thank you Victoria!

Women in Security Series – Part Four

Kristin was our first non-FRSecure guest in the series. This was a great interview! Kristin shared how she got her introduction to information security while she was serving as an elected official (Washtenaw County Commissioner). She has an incredible journey so far, especially considering she has only been in the industry for a little more than 10 years.

She held some very exciting roles before founding the Cybercrime Support Network in late-2017. Her passion for helping people is inspiring, and we’re looking forward to making a difference in this industry together!

Learn about Kristin Judge, her journey, her opinions, and her work founding and running the Cybercrime Support Network in episode 87. If you missed it, go give it a listen; https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unsecurity-episode-87-women-in-security-pt-4-kristin-judge/id1442520920?i=1000482892565

Truly an amazing person; we loved chatting with her!

Thank you Kristin!

Women in Security Series – Part Five

It was a pleasure having Andrea join us in this episode! She is a Senior at Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), majoring in Cybersecurity Analytics and Operations. She is an avid listener to our show who contacted us through email about a question she had. She was shocked and VERY appreciative when we asked her to join us. We were pleasantly surprised by how well-spoken and determined she was.

Andrea has an incredible future ahead of her in the information security industry! Here’s her take on things in episode 88, WARNING: You’ll be impressed!

Thank you Andrea!

Women in Security Series – Part Six

Judy Hatchett is truly a top-notch, no nonsense information security leader. She’s the first woman on the show with the title Chief Information Security Officer and we were very grateful to spend some time with her. Judy’s path through the information security industry took her through big corporate America (Best Buy, 3M, etc.) before she decided to tackle some of the difficult challenges in healthcare. We first met Judy back when she was the CISO at Fairview, and now we cheer her on in her new role at Surescripts. You’re going to love her perspectives and opinions!

You can catch Part Six with Judy here!

Thank you Judy!

Women in Security Series – Part Seven

I was first introduced to her though my good friend (and co-worker) Ryan Cloutier. Together, they do great work at the Consortium of School Networking (CoSN), as well as deliver compelling talks at conferences and collaborate on cool projects. Ryan talked her up so much that I sort of thought he was full of it. Could this person be as good as he said she was? Really?!

Yes, yes she is! She’s the real deal and her name is Amy McLaughlin. Here’s some stuff about her:

  • The Director of Information Services at Oregon State University
  • Adjunct Faculty (Psychology) at Chemeketa Community College
  • Cyber Security & Network Consultant & Project Lead at the Consortium of School Networking (CoSN)
  • Home improvement expert (seems like it anyway)
  • A wonderful person and friend to many!

Since we first met, I’ve gotten to know Amy pretty well through our frequent visits on the Daily inSANITY Checkin and I’ve grown to really appreciate her common sense approach to life (and information security).

Thank you Amy!

Women in Security Series – Part Eight

I’m a big fan of Theresa Semmens! She’s done great work everywhere she’s been and she’s a serious asset to our industry. She established the very respectable information security program at North Dakota State University (NDSU), played a pivotal role in starting the highly-successful North Dakota Cybersecurity Conference, did great things as CISO at the University of Miami, and now does wonderful things at the Nevada System of Higher Education.

Our conversation with Theresa Semmens was awesome! If you missed it, you should go give it a listen here; https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unsecurity-information-security-podcast/id1442520920?i=1000486972404. Great episode with some serious wisdom.

Thank you Theresa!

Women in Security Series – Part Nine

This brings us to today, and we welcome another favorite of mine, Lee Ann Villella! Lee Ann is FRSecure’s Senior Enterprise Security Sales Consultant, the Program Director for the Minnesota Chapter of the Information Systems Security Association (ISSA), and an active member of the Cyber Security Summit Advisory Board Committee.

Lee Ann brings so much more to our industry than people realize! She lives out FRSecure’s mission to “fix our broken industry” every day and sets the example for so many others.

You and I have all been hounded by sales people in our industry and sold stuff we don’t necessarily need. Not with Lee Ann! She is the epitome of what a sales person should be. She constantly has her finger on the pulse of information security, takes the time to deeply understand her customers, volunteers her time to help others, and is just all-around amazing!

We’re VERY excited to have Lee Ann on our show!

Let’s get to it!

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

SHOW NOTES – Episode 92

Date: Monday, August 10th, 2020

Episode 91 Topics

  • Opening
  • Introducing Our Special Guest: Lee Ann Villella 
  • Catching Up (as per usual)
  • Women in Security
  • News
  • Wrapping Up – Shout outs
Opening

[Evan] Hi there! Thanks for tuning into the UNSECURITY Podcast. I’m Evan Francen, my co-host is Mr. Brad Nigh, this is episode 92, and the date is August 10th, 2020. Brad, you here? Good morning!

[Brad] You know and love Brad! Brad will chime in here because he’s cool and stuff.

[Evan] So, you mighta heard, we’ve been doing this Women in Security Series. I don’t know about you Brad, but I wanted to do this series for two reasons; 1) I wanted to learn more about women’s perspectives and 2) I wanted to give women a voice, even if it’s a small one.

[Brad] Cue Brad.

[Evan] There are entire podcasts devoted to women in our industry, but I wanted to get it first hand. I have been blown away by the incredible women we’ve talked to! I’ve learned more than I could have asked for. We’re not done yet!

Today, we welcome another amazing lady. A HUGE welcome and a ton of gratitude to Lee Ann Villella for joining us today.

[Lee Ann] Cue Lee Ann.

[Evan] Lee Ann, did you know that you’re one of my favorites? So happy you’re here!

[Lee Ann] Cue Lee Ann again (maybe)

Catching Up

Quick discussion about last week, the weekend, or whatever else comes to mind.

  • How are you guys?
  • Tell me about your weekend quick.
  • Anything in particular that you’re excited about?

[Evan] As is custom around here, before we jump in on our topic, we catchup. So, Brad, how was last week and this past weekend?

[Brad] Gives us the skinny…

[Evan] And Lee Ann? What have you been up to lately?

[Lee Ann] She tells it like it is…

[Evan] My turn, I guess. Highlight was/is the time @Sturgis. I’ll tell it like I lived it.

Transition

Women in Security, Part Nine

[Evan] We’re coming to an end of our Women in Security Series and it’s been an amazing experience. Eight weeks so far, and eight great discussions with wonderful ladies in our industry. If you’ve missed any of the episodes (84 through 91), I highly suggest you go back and listen to them. Lots of really good perspective.

All this brings us to now, episode 92 and part nine of our series. Again, we welcome one of our very own, Lee Ann Villella!

Some starter questions or things for us to think about…

Do we have a shortage of women in our industry? If so, what’s the big deal?

Open Discussion (~30 minutes)

  • How did you get started in this field (information security)?
  • Tell us how you got to where you’re at today.
  • So, you’re a female selling information security services.
    • Is this a male dominated area of our industry?
    • Would you say you’re primarily interfacing with men or women?
    • Would you say it’s an advantage or disadvantage to be a woman in your position?
  • Have you experienced the “bro culture”? If so, can you share the experience with us?
  • We hear a lot about various women’s issues in our industry, and one of those is we don’t have enough women working in our industry. What’s your take, do we have a shortage of women?
  • How important is mentoring? Do you have a mentor?
  • What can we do better in recruiting more people, and specifically more women in our industry?
  • Do any other women’s issues come to mind?
  • What can people do to help? How about Brad and I?

[Evan] Thank you Lee Ann. Your pragmatic approach and great communication skills make things easy to understand. Always good stuff to think more about.

How about some quick news stuff? Lee Ann, please stick around and feel free to share your thoughts when you feel like it.

News

[Evan] Alright, here’s some newsy things that I thought were interesting this past week:

Wrapping Up – Shout outs

[Evan] There you go. That’s about it for episode 92, part nine of the Women in Security Series. One more episode left in the series, then we’ll move on. HUGE thank you again Lee Ann.

Do either of you have shout outs to give this week?

[Brad and/or Lee Ann] We’ll see.

[Evan] Thank you to all 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 @evanfrancen, and Mr. Nigh is @BradNigh.

Lee Ann, is there a particular way you’d prefer people to find you?

Lastly, be sure to follow our show on Twitter (@UnsecurityP), and follow the companies we work for, SecurityStudio (@studiosecurity) and FRSecure (@FRSecure).

That’s it, talk you all again next week!

The UNSECURITY Podcast – Episode 91 Show Notes – Women in Security Pt8

/in /by

Hope you’re well. We’ll jump right in! Episode 91, and Part 8 of the Women in Security Series!

Women in Security Series Quick Recap

Brad and I started the Women in Security Series in mid-June, and to be honest, we didn’t know what to expect. The purpose was to help people (including ourselves) learn more about the topic of women in the information security industry. Two guys like us are NOT experts on the topic, nor will we ever be able to articulate experiences as well as the women who live it. Why not learn by listening to women tell us about their experience and opinions?

No expectations and no plan.

Neither of us have ever done a series like this before, but we’ve both become pretty good an “winging it”. We didn’t know who would be interested in talking with us, but soon after we got started, we had many women volunteer their time to share with us. We were blown away by the graciousness of so many.

We started safe, with women we work with at FRSecure. We kicked things off in mid-June (episode 84) with FRSecure’s Chief Operating Officer, Renay Rutter, and let things sort of develop from there.

Seven weeks later (so far), and we’ve been privileged to have discussions with seven INCREDIBLE ladies with diverse backgrounds. We’ve had a Chief Operating Officer, a 35+ year veteran, a career-changer with a couple years’ experience, a non-profit CEO, a college-student studying cybersecurity, a veteran corporate Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), and an expert practitioner who bridges the gap between K-12 and post-secondary cybersecurity on the show so far!

What started with no expectations and no plan turned into something really special. We’re grateful for the time we’ve spent with these women and we’re both MUCH better off for it.

Here’s our guest line up thus far:

  • Episode 84 – Renay Rutter (an information security business/IT executive)
  • Episode 85 – Lori Blair (a 35-year information security veteran)
  • Episode 86 – Victoria Fogarty (relatively new to the industry)
  • Episode 87 – Kristin Judge (founder and CEO of the Cybercrime Support Network, SC Media “Women in IT Security Influencer” in 2017, former Director of Government Affairs at the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), thought leader, and all-around amazing information security expert)
  • Episode 88 – Andrea Hatcher (Senior majoring in Cybersecurity Analytics and Operations at Pennsylvania State University)
  • Episode 89 – Judy Hatchett (Information security corporate leader and expert formerly with Accenture, Best Buy, SUPERVALU, 3M, Fairview Health Services, and current VP, Information Security and CISO at Surescripts)
  • Episode 90 – Amy McLaughlin (Information security leader and expert in education, having served with the State of Oregon, the Consortium for School Network (CoSN), Chemeketa Community College, and Oregon State University)
  • Episode 91 – Theresa Semmens (today’s show) (Chief Information Security Officer at the Nevada System of Higher Education, former AVP/Chief Information Security Officer at the University of Miami, and former Chief Information Security Officer at North Dakota State University)
    /not-yet-confirmed (information security executive in healthcare, CISO in higher education, or senior information security sales executive)
  • Episode 92 – Lee Ann Villella (Senior Enterprise Security Sales Consultant at FRSecure, Program Director for the Minnesota Chapter of the Information Systems Security Association, and member of the Cyber Security Summit Advisory Board Committee)
  • Episode 93 – TBD/not-yet-confirmed (information security executive in healthcare, CISO in higher education, or senior information security sales executive)

Seriously, this is an amazing lineup of information security professionals! These women represent our information security industry extremely well, and we’re honored to speak with them on our show!

Here’s what we’ve done so far…

Women in Security Series – Part One

We kicked off the Women in Security series on June 15th, and we couldn’t have chosen a better first guest! Renay Rutter, FRSecure’s COO, got the series started by sharing the experience, wisdom, and insight she’s gained over her 30+ year IT career. Renay expressed how important it has been for her to be strong throughout her career, and in her opinion, women need to be strong to survive in the information security industry. This was a great show!

If you missed this episode, you can catch up here; https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unsecurity-episode-84-women-in-security-pt-1-renay-rutter/id1442520920?i=1000478037575

Thank you Renay!

Women in Security Series – Part Two

We kept things in the FRSecure family for week two, hosting Lori Blair. Lori is full of information security knowledge and wisdom! She started her career in the industry in 1985, working for the federal government. Over the next 35 years, she’s traveled the world helping organizations with their information security needs and held various leadership positions. She’s excelled everywhere she’s gone and even found time to raise children along the way! Today, Lori is a Senior Information Security Consultant at FRSecure, tackling difficult challenges and mentoring other women.

I have a TON of respect for Lori, and her opinions carry weight for me (and many others). It’s not just her experience that makes Lori amazing, she’s a wonderful, practical, and level-headed person who loves mentoring others. This is a can’t miss episode, go give a listen here; https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unsecurity-episode-85-women-in-security-pt-2-lori-blair/id1442520920?i=1000479175255

Thank you Lori!

Women in Security Series – Part Three

We welcomed up and comer Victoria Fogarty to the show for Part Three. Victoria is an Associate Information Security Analyst at FRSecure, where she started her career in 2019. She possesses natural gifts for this industry, and her perspectives were fresh. She’s intelligent, relatable, and an excellent communicator. She did a great job explaining how she researched a career in information security while she was an Insurance Adjuster, a job she disliked. Her journey is pretty cool so far, and her future is VERY bright! She even shared a shocker (at least for Brad and me) in this episode. Definitely worth the listen!

If you missed episode 86, here it is; https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unsecurity-episode-86-women-in-security-pt-3-victoria/id1442520920?i=1000480167348

Thank you Victoria!

Women in Security Series – Part Four

Kristin was our first non-FRSecure guest in the series. This was a great interview! Kristin shared how she got her introduction to information security while she was serving as an elected official (Washtenaw County Commissioner). She has an incredible journey so far, especially considering she has only been in the industry for a little more than 10 years.

She held some very exciting roles before founding the Cybercrime Support Network in late-2017. Her passion for helping people is inspiring, and we’re looking forward to making a difference in this industry together!

Learn about Kristin Judge, her journey, her opinions, and her work founding and running the Cybercrime Support Network in episode 87. If you missed it, go give it a listen; https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unsecurity-episode-87-women-in-security-pt-4-kristin-judge/id1442520920?i=1000482892565

Truly an amazing person; we loved chatting with her!

Thank you Kristin!

Women in Security Series – Part Five

It was a pleasure having Andrea join us in this episode! She is a Senior at Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), majoring in Cybersecurity Analytics and Operations. She is an avid listener to our show who contacted us through email about a question she had. She was shocked and VERY appreciative when we asked her to join us. We were pleasantly surprised by how well-spoken and determined she was.

Andrea has an incredible future ahead of her in the information security industry! Here’s her take on things in episode 88, WARNING: You’ll be impressed!

Thank you Andrea!

This brings us to today’s episode…

Women in Security Series – Part Six

Judy Hatchett is truly a top-notch, no nonsense information security leader. She’s the first woman on the show with the title Chief Information Security Officer and we were very grateful to spend some time with her. Judy’s path through the information security industry took her through big corporate America (Best Buy, 3M, etc.) before she decided to tackle some of the difficult challenges in healthcare. We first met Judy back when she was the CISO at Fairview, and now we cheer her on in her new role at Surescripts. You’re going to love her perspectives and opinions!

You can catch Part Six with Judy here!

Thank you Judy!

Women in Security Series – Part Seven

I was first introduced to her though my good friend (and co-worker) Ryan Cloutier. Together, they do great work at the Consortium of School Networking (CoSN), as well as deliver compelling talks at conferences and collaborate on cool projects. Ryan talked her up so much that I sort of thought he was full of it. Could this person be as good as he said she was? Really?!

Yes, yes she is! She’s the real deal and her name is Amy McLaughlin. Here’s some stuff about her:

  • The Director of Information Services at Oregon State University
  • Adjunct Faculty (Psychology) at Chemeketa Community College
  • Cyber Security & Network Consultant & Project Lead at the Consortium of School Networking (CoSN)
  • Home improvement expert (seems like it anyway)
  • A wonderful person and friend to many!

Since we first met, I’ve gotten to know Amy pretty well through our frequent visits on the Daily inSANITY Checkin and I’ve grown to really appreciate her common sense approach to life (and information security).

Thank you Amy!

Women in Security Series – Part Eight

Today we introduce you to someone very special to me personally and someone special to all she touches in our industry, Theresa Semmens! I first met Theresa when she was working at North Dakota State University (NDSU), where she spent 14 years as their Chief IT Security Officer, Chief Information Security Officer and Director of Records Management. That’s three titles in 14 years and mostly at the same time!

From NDSU, she took the Chief Information Security Officer job at the University of Miami and now she’s the Chief Information Security Officer at the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE). She’s an incredible asset to our industry and a really good person to be acquainted with!

She even wrote a nice review for the cover of my book. That’s like extra, extra credit! 😉

WELCOME THERESA!

Let’s get to the show, shall we?

Brad’s leading the show this week, and these are his notes…

SHOW NOTES – Episode 91

Date: Monday, August 3rd, 2020

Episode 91 Topics

  • Opening
  • Introducing Our Special Guest: Theresa Semmens (Chief Information Security Officer at the Nevada System of Higher Education) 
  • Catching Up (as per usual)
  • Women in Security
  • News
  • Wrapping Up – Shout outs
Opening

[Brad] Welcome back! This is episode 91 of the UNSECURITY Podcast, and I’m your host this week, Brad Nigh. Today is Monday, August 3rd, and joining me as usual is Evan Francen.

[Evan] Some sort of motorcycle adventure story…

[Brad] We have our 8th guest for the Women in Security Series this week. Theresa Semmens. Welcome Theresa!

[Theresa] She’ll say something informative or nice, I’m sure. (I don’t know Theresa, but Evan does, so I’m pretty confident in this.

Some idle chit-chat here maybe.

[Brad] Before we get started, let’s recap our week.

Catching Up

Quick discussion about last week, the weekend, or whatever else comes to mind.

  • How are you guys?
  • Tell me about your weekend quick.
  • Anything in particular that you’re excited about?

[Brad] As is custom around here, we spend a few minutes catching up before we dive head first into things. Evan, what you been up to?

[Evan] Cue Evan

[Brad] And Theresa, how about you? What have you been up to?

[Theresa] Cue Amy again…

[Brad] I’ll say some stuff about the weekend or something too. 

Transition

Women in Security, Part Eight

[Brad] This is the eighth week of our series discussing the topic of women in the information security industry. We’re definitely starting to see some patterns, but we’re still getting new and interesting insight every week. I’m going to speak for Evan here and say that I’m really looking forward to today’s discussion.

Really, this is an open discussion between myself, Evan, and our guest. Once again Theresa, thank you for agreeing to be here with us this morning.

Some starter questions or things for us to think about…

Do we have a shortage of women in our industry? If so, what’s the big deal?

Open Discussion (~30 minutes)

  • How did you get started in this field (information security)?
  • Tell us how you got to where you’re at today.
  • What’s it like being a woman in our industry? Have you experienced the “bro culture”? If so, can you share the experience with us?
  • We hear a lot about various women’s issues in our industry, and one of those is we don’t have enough women working in our industry. What’s your take, do we have a shortage of women?
  • What can we do better in recruiting more people, and specifically more women in our industry?
  • Do any other women’s issues come to mind?
  • What can people do to help? How about Brad and I?

[Brad] Thank you Theresa. Good information and things to think about. Much appreciated! How about some quick news stuff?

News

[Brad] Alright, here’s some newsy things that I thought were interesting this past week:

Wrapping Up – Shout outs

[Brad] That’s it for episode 91. Thank you again Theresa for joining us and making the eighth installment of the Women in Security Series a really special one.

Do either of you have shout outs to give this week?

[Evan and/or Theresa] We’ll see.

[Brad] Thank you to all 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 is @evanfrancen. Theresa, is there a particular way you’d prefer people to find you?

Lastly, be sure to follow our show on Twitter (@UnsecurityP), and follow the companies we work for, SecurityStudio (@studiosecurity) and FRSecure (@FRSecure).

That’s it, talk you all again next week!

The UNSECURITY Podcast – Episode 90 Show Notes – Women in Security Pt7

/in /by

So far we’ve featured six INCREDIBLE women in the Women in Security Series. Think we’re done?

Nope!

We’ve got another great guest willing to share her story, opinion, and perspective in the seventh installment! Read on…

Women in Security Series

Brad and I started this series because we wanted to learn more about challenges women face in the information security industry. Neither Brad nor I know what it’s like to walk in these shoes, so we’ve enlisted help from some of the women we know in our industry.

What better way to get a woman’s perspective on things than to ask them directly?!

So far, we’ve had six women join us as guests on the show. Each woman brought her own set of experiences, perspectives, and opinions. No two guests have been alike, and we’ve learned a TON!

Here’s our guest line up thus far:

  • Episode 84 – Renay Ruter (an information security business/IT executive)
  • Episode 85 – Lori Blair (a 35-year information security veteran)
  • Episode 86 – Victoria Fogarty (relatively new to the industry)
  • Episode 87 – Kristin Judge (founder and CEO of the Cybercrime Support Network, SC Media “Women in IT Security Influencer” in 2017, former Director of Government Affairs at the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), thought leader, and all-around amazing information security expert)
  • Episode 88 – Andrea Hatcher (Senior majoring in Cybersecurity Analytics and Operations at Pennsylvania State University)
  • Episode 89 – Judy Hatchett (Information security corporate leader and expert formerly with Accenture, Best Buy, SUPERVALU, 3M, Fairview Health Services, and current VP, Information Security and CISO at Surescripts)
  • Episode 90 – Amy McLaughlin (this show) (Information security leader and expert in education, having served with the State of Oregon, the Consortium for School Network (CoSN), Chemeketa Community College, and Oregon State University)
  • Episode 91 – Theresa Semmens (Chief Information Security Officer at the Nevada System of Higher Education, former AVP/Chief Information Security Officer at the University of Miami, and former Chief Information Security Officer at North Dakota State University)
    /not-yet-confirmed (information security executive in healthcare, CISO in higher education, or senior information security sales executive)
  • Episode 92 – Lee Ann Villella (Senior Enterprise Security Sales Consultant at FRSecure, Program Director for the Minnesota Chapter of the Information Systems Security Association, and member of the Cyber Security Summit Advisory Board Committee)
  • Episode 93 – TBD/not-yet-confirmed (information security executive in healthcare, CISO in higher education, or senior information security sales executive)

Seriously, this is an amazing lineup of information security professionals! These women represent our information security industry extremely well, and we’re honored to speak with them on our show!

Here’s what we’ve done so far…

Women in Security Series – Part One

We kicked off the Women in Security series on June 15th, and we couldn’t have chosen a better first guest! Renay Rutter, FRSecure’s COO, got the series started by sharing the experience, wisdom, and insight she’s gained over her 30+ year IT career. Renay expressed how important it has been for her to be strong throughout her career, and in her opinion, women need to be strong to survive in the information security industry. This was a great show!

If you missed this episode, you can catch up here; https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unsecurity-episode-84-women-in-security-pt-1-renay-rutter/id1442520920?i=1000478037575

Thank you Renay!

Women in Security Series – Part Two

We kept things in the FRSecure family for week two, hosting Lori Blair. Lori is full of information security knowledge and wisdom! She started her career in the industry in 1985, working for the federal government. Over the next 35 years, she’s traveled the world helping organizations with their information security needs and held various leadership positions. She’s excelled everywhere she’s gone and even found time to raise children along the way! Today, Lori is a Senior Information Security Consultant at FRSecure, tackling difficult challenges and mentoring other women.

I have a TON of respect for Lori, and her opinions carry weight for me (and many others). It’s not just her experience that makes Lori amazing, she’s a wonderful, practical, and level-headed person who loves mentoring others. This is a can’t miss episode, go give a listen here; https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unsecurity-episode-85-women-in-security-pt-2-lori-blair/id1442520920?i=1000479175255

Thank you Lori!

Women in Security Series – Part Three

We welcomed up and comer Victoria Fogarty to the show for Part Three. Victoria is an Associate Information Security Analyst at FRSecure, where she started her career in 2019. She possesses natural gifts for this industry, and her perspectives were fresh. She’s intelligent, relatable, and an excellent communicator. She did a great job explaining how she researched a career in information security while she was an Insurance Adjuster, a job she disliked. Her journey is pretty cool so far, and her future is VERY bright! She even shared a shocker (at least for Brad and me) in this episode. Definitely worth the listen!

If you missed episode 86, here it is; https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unsecurity-episode-86-women-in-security-pt-3-victoria/id1442520920?i=1000480167348

Thank you Victoria!

Women in Security Series – Part Four

Kristin was our first non-FRSecure guest in the series. This was a great interview! Kristin shared how she got her introduction to information security while she was serving as an elected official (Washtenaw County Commissioner). She has an incredible journey so far, especially considering she has only been in the industry for a little more than 10 years.

She held some very exciting roles before founding the Cybercrime Support Network in late-2017. Her passion for helping people is inspiring, and we’re looking forward to making a difference in this industry together!

Learn about Kristin Judge, her journey, her opinions, and her work founding and running the Cybercrime Support Network in episode 87. If you missed it, go give it a listen; https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unsecurity-episode-87-women-in-security-pt-4-kristin-judge/id1442520920?i=1000482892565

Truly an amazing person; we loved chatting with her!

Thank you Kristin!

Women in Security Series – Part Five

It was a pleasure having Andrea join us in this episode! She is a Senior at Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), majoring in Cybersecurity Analytics and Operations. She is an avid listener to our show who contacted us through email about a question she had. She was shocked and VERY appreciative when we asked her to join us. We were pleasantly surprised by how well-spoken and determined she was.

Andrea has an incredible future ahead of her in the information security industry! Here’s her take on things in episode 88, WARNING: You’ll be impressed!

Thank you Andrea!

This brings us to today’s episode…

Women in Security Series – Part Six

Judy Hatchett is truly a top-notch, no nonsense information security leader. She’s the first woman on the show with the title Chief Information Security Officer and we were very grateful to spend some time with her. Judy’s path through the information security industry took her through big corporate America (Best Buy, 3M, etc.) before she decided to tackle some of the difficult challenges in healthcare. We first met Judy back when she was the CISO at Fairview, and now we cheer her on in her new role at Surescripts. You’re going to love her perspectives and opinions!

You can catch Part Six with Judy here!

Thank you Judy!

Women in Security Series – Part Seven

I’m excited for this week’s guest! I was first introduced to her though my good friend (and co-worker) Ryan Cloutier. Together, they do great work at the Consortium of School Networking (CoSN), as well as deliver compelling talks at conferences and collaborate on cool projects. Ryan talked her up so much that I sort of thought he was full of it. Could this person be as good as he said she was? Really?!

Yes, yes she is! She’s the real deal and her name is Amy McLaughlin. Here’s some stuff about her:

  • The Director of Information Services at Oregon State University
  • Adjunct Faculty (Psychology) at Chemeketa Community College
  • Cyber Security & Network Consultant & Project Lead at the Consortium of School Networking (CoSN)
  • Home improvement expert (seems like it anyway)
  • A wonderful person and friend to many!

Since we first met, I’ve gotten to know Amy pretty well through our frequent visits on the Daily inSANITY Checkin and I’ve grown to really appreciate her common sense approach to life (and information security).

WELCOME AMY!

Let’s get to the show, shall we?

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

SHOW NOTES – Episode 90

Date: Monday, July 27th, 2020

Episode 90 Topics

  • Opening
  • Introducing Our Special Guest: Amy McLaughlin 
  • Catching Up (as per usual)
  • Women in Security
  • News
  • Wrapping Up – Shout outs
Opening

[Evan] Welcome! Thanks for tuning in to episode 90 of the UNSECURITY Podcast. My name is Evan Francen, the date is July 27th, and I’m here with my buddy Brad Nigh. Good morning Brad!

[Brad] Cue Brad…

[Evan] This is Part Seven of the Women in Security Series, and we have a great guest joining us today! She’s the Director of Information Services at Oregon State University, Adjunct Faculty (Psychology) at Chemeketa Community College, the Cyber Security & Network Consultant & Project Lead at the Consortium of School Networking (CoSN), and home improvement extraordinaire, Amy McLaughlin. Welcome Amy!

[Amy] Cue Amy…

[Evan] Amy, I’ve been looking forward to this show for a few weeks, or ever since you agreed to join us. We’ve really gotten to know each other during the Daily inSANITY Checkins. Thanks for being here and thanks for being cool!

[Amy] Cue Amy again…

Catching Up

Quick discussion about last week, the weekend, or whatever else comes to mind.

  • How are you guys?
  • Tell me about your weekend quick.
  • Anything in particular that you’re excited about?

[Evan] OK, as is custom around here, let’s catch up quick. Brad, tell me about your weekend and how you’re doing!

[Brad] Cue Brad again…

[Evan] And Amy, how about you? What have you been up to?

[Amy] Cue Amy again…

[Evan] I’ll say some stuff about the weekend or something too.

Women in Security, Part Seven

[Evan] Alright, let’s get to it! We’ve been doing this series called the Women in Security Series, and it’s been an amazing experience!

  • In Part One (episode 84) we kicked this thing off with Renay Rutter, the COO of FRSecure. She’s a 30+ year IT veteran leader and she told us how important it is for a woman to be strong and confident.
  • For Part Two (episode 85) we welcomed Lori Blair to the show. She’s one of the coolest and humblest information security experts I know. She’s been in this industry since 1985 and gave us a lot on insight into how she got started back then and how she loves mentoring other women.
  • Part Three (episode 86) was Victoria Fogarty, someone who’s new(ish) to the industry after switching careers. She’s a great addition to FRSecure and our industry. She displayed her excellent communication skills and cheerful demeanor on the show. On the flip side, she shared a darker story too. When she was exploring the potential opportunities in our industry, one person she met commented on how her good looks would help her. Sad that people can be that shallow.
  • We went outside our own company for the first time in Part Four (episode 87) when we met Kristin Judge. Kristin is an amazing professional who sort of stumbled into our industry when she was a County Commissioner. Once she got her start, she was off to the races, and now leads the non-profit Cybercrime Support Network. An incredible journey!
  • We were joined by Andrea Hatcher, a Senior at Penn State majoring in Cybersecurity Analytics and Operations for Part Five (episode 88) of the series. It was great getting a perspective from someone who’s just beginning her career in our industry. It was a fresh look at things and we came away feeling like our future is in good hands!
  • Last week we met Judy Hatchett in Part Six (episode 89), a wonderful information security leader with tons of corporate experience. She’s a woman who’s risen through the ranks to be one of the most respected females in our industry and she’s working hard for future generations. Truly one of the best!

This brings us to this week, Part Seven (episode 90)! We’re talking with Amy McLaughlin. We’re BIG fans of hers!

Amy, once again welcome and thank you for taking the time to visit with us!

[Amy] Cue Amy again…

[Evan] Brad and I started the Women in Security Series because we wanted to get female perspectives about some of the issues in our industry. First we’ll take a few minutes getting to know you, then we’ll expand into your thoughts on various women’s topics.

Open Discussion (~30 minutes)

  • How did you get started in this field (information security)?
  • Tell us how you got to where you’re at today.
  • One thing that I find fascinating about you is your interest in/experience in psychology. What can you tell us about this?
  • What’s it like being a woman in our industry? Have you experienced the “bro culture”? If so, can you share the experience with us?
  • We hear a lot about various women’s issues in our industry, and one of those is we don’t have enough women working in our industry. What’s your take, do we have a shortage of women?
  • What can we do better in recruiting more people, and specifically more women in our industry?
  • Do any other women’s issues come to mind?
  • What can people do to help? How about Brad and I?

[Evan] Seriously, thank you Amy! Am I going to see you in the Daily inSANITY Checkin later?

[Amy] We’ll see…

[Evan] I appreciate you and your take Amy. Let’s do like we always do and touch on a few news stories from this past week. Amy, please stick around and chime in whenever you feel like it. You got chops!

News

[Evan] Alright, here’s some newsy things that I thought were interesting this past week:

[Evan] Alright, there you have the news.

Wrapping Up – Shout outs

[Evan] Sweet, that just about does it for episode 90, Part Seven of the Women in Security Series! We’re coming to the end of the series with only a few ladies left. Next week we welcome a CISO from a university system in Nevada and a good friend. I’m excited!

Thank you once more Amy for being a great guest and asset to our industry.

Before we go, do either of you have any shout outs?

[Brad and/or Judy] We’ll see.

[Evan] Huge thank you to our loyal listeners! If you’re not loyal or a listener, you can ignore that. Just kidding. We love hearing from you, so reach out to us on LinkedIn, Twitter, or email. Whatever’s most convenient. Twittering us is easy, I’m @evanfrancen, Brad’s @BradNigh, and our show is at @UnsecurityP. You can email us at unsecurity@protonmail.com. Amy, you got a way you want people to find you?

[Amy] Cue Amy again…

[Evan] 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 89 Show Notes – Women in Security Pt6

/in /by

Ready for another installment of the UNSECURITY Women in Security Podcast Series?

NOTE: I forgot to post these notes ahead of the podcast recording. Episode 89 with Judy Hatchett was awesome! It’s been recorded and published here. THANK YOU JUDY! Now the show notes…

We have another GREAT special guest joining us! One of my favorites, Judy Hatchett, Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Surescripts will share her story and opinions in this episode (#89).

First, a quick recap of the Women in Security series thus far…

Women in Security Series

Brad and I started this series because we wanted to learn more about challenges women face in the information security industry. It would be shallow and dry if Brad and I chose to discuss this subject ourselves. Instead, we chose to interview women that we know and ones who were referred to us.

What better way to get a woman’s perspective on things than to ask them directly?!

So far, we’ve had five women join us as guests on the show. Each woman brought her own set of experiences, perspectives, and opinions. No two guests have been alike, and we’ve learned a TON!

Here’s our guest line up thus far:

  • Episode 84 – Renay Ruter (an information security business/IT executive)
  • Episode 85 – Lori Blair (a 35-year information security veteran)
  • Episode 86 – Victoria Fogarty (relatively new to the industry)
  • Episode 87 – Kristin Judge (founder and CEO of the Cybercrime Support Network, SC Media “Women in IT Security Influencer” in 2017, former Director of Government Affairs at the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), thought leader, and all-around amazing information security expert)
  • Episode 88 – Andrea Hatcher (Senior majoring in Cybersecurity Analytics and Operations at Pennsylvania State University)
  • Episode 89 – Judy Hatchett (this show) (Information security corporate leader and expert formerly with Accenture, Best Buy, SUPERVALU, 3M, Fairview Health Services, and current VP, Information Security and CISO at Surescripts)
  • Episode 90 – Amy McLaughlin (Information security leader and expert in education, having served with the State of Oregon, the Consortium for School Network (CoSN), Chemeketa Community College, and Oregon State University)
  • Episode 91 – Theresa Semmens (Chief Information Security Officer at the Nevada System of Higher Education, former AVP/Chief Information Security Officer at the University of Miami, and former Chief Information Security Officer at North Dakota State University)
    /not-yet-confirmed (information security executive in healthcare, CISO in higher education, or senior information security sales executive)
  • Episode 92 – Lee Ann Villella (Senior Enterprise Security Sales Consultant at FRSecure, Program Director for the Minnesota Chapter of the Information Systems Security Association, and member of the Cyber Security Summit Advisory Board Committee)
  • Episode 93 – TBD/not-yet-confirmed (information security executive in healthcare, CISO in higher education, or senior information security sales executive)

This is an amazing lineup of information security professionals! These women represent our information security industry extremely well, and we’re honored to speak with each of them on our show!

Here’s what we’ve done so far…

Women in Security Series – Part One

We kicked off the Women in Security series on June 15th, and we couldn’t have chosen a better first guest! Renay Rutter, FRSecure’s COO, got the series started by sharing the experience, wisdom, and insight she’s gained over her 30+ year IT career. Renay expressed how important it has been for her to be strong throughout her career, and in her opinion, women need to be strong to survive in the information security industry. This was a great show!

If you missed this episode, you can catch up here; https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unsecurity-episode-84-women-in-security-pt-1-renay-rutter/id1442520920?i=1000478037575

Thank you Renay!

Women in Security Series – Part Two

We kept things in the FRSecure family for week two, hosting Lori Blair. Lori is full of information security knowledge and wisdom! She started her career in the industry in 1985, working for the federal government. Over the next 35 years, she’s traveled the world helping organizations with their information security needs and held various leadership positions. She’s excelled everywhere she’s gone and even found time to raise children along the way! Today, Lori is a Senior Information Security Consultant at FRSecure, tackling difficult challenges and mentoring other women.

I have a TON of respect for Lori, and her opinions carry weight for me (and many others). It’s not just her experience that makes Lori amazing, she’s a wonderful, practical, and level-headed person who loves mentoring others. This is a can’t miss episode, go give a listen here; https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unsecurity-episode-85-women-in-security-pt-2-lori-blair/id1442520920?i=1000479175255

Thank you Lori!

Women in Security Series – Part Three

We welcomed up and comer Victoria Fogarty to the show for Part Three. Victoria is an Associate Information Security Analyst at FRSecure, where she started her career in 2019. She possesses natural gifts for this industry, and her perspectives were fresh. She’s intelligent, relatable, and an excellent communicator. She did a great job explaining how she researched a career in information security while she was an Insurance Adjuster, a job she disliked. Her journey is pretty cool so far, and her future is VERY bright! She even shared a shocker (at least for Brad and me) in this episode. Definitely worth the listen!

If you missed episode 86, here it is; https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unsecurity-episode-86-women-in-security-pt-3-victoria/id1442520920?i=1000480167348

Thank you Victoria!

Women in Security Series – Part Four

Kristin was our first non-FRSecure guest in the series. This was a great interview! Kristin shared how she got her introduction to information security while she was serving as an elected official (Washtenaw County Commissioner). She has an incredible journey so far, especially considering she has only been in the industry for a little more than 10 years.

She held some very exciting roles before founding the Cybercrime Support Network in late-2017. Her passion for helping people is inspiring, and we’re looking forward to making a difference in this industry together!

Learn about Kristin Judge, her journey, her opinions, and her work founding and running the Cybercrime Support Network in episode 87. If you missed it, go give it a listen; https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unsecurity-episode-87-women-in-security-pt-4-kristin-judge/id1442520920?i=1000482892565

Truly an amazing person; we loved chatting with her!

Thank you Kristin!

Women in Security Series – Part Five

It was a pleasure having Andrea join us in this episode! She is a Senior at Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), majoring in Cybersecurity Analytics and Operations. She is an avid listener to our show who contacted us through email about a question she had. She was shocked and VERY appreciative when we asked her to join us. We were pleasantly surprised by how well-spoken and determined she was.

Andrea has an incredible future ahead of her in the information security industry! Here’s her take on things in episode 88, WARNING: You’ll be impressed!

Thank you Andrea!

This brings us to today’s episode…

Women in Security Series – Part Six

Today’s guest is Judy Hatchett, a top-notch, no nonsense information security leader. She is the first Chief Information Security Officer we’ve had on the show in the series, and she’s more than worthy. We first met Judy back when she was the CISO at Fairview, and we’ve  been cheering her on (from a distance) in her new role at Surescripts. You’re going to love her perspectives and opinions!

WELCOME JUDY!

 

Let’s get to the show, shall we?

Brad’s leading the show this week, and these are his notes…

SHOW NOTES – Episode 89

Date: Monday, July 20th, 2020

Episode 89 Topics

  • Opening
  • Introducing Our Special Guest: Judy Hatchett (Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer at Surescripts)
  • Catching Up (as per usual)
  • Women in Security
  • News
  • Wrapping Up – Shout outs
Opening

[Brad] Welcome back! This is episode 89 of the UNSECURITY Podcast, and I’m your host this week, Brad Nigh. Today is July 20th, and joining me this morning as usual is Evan Francen. Good morning Evan.

[Evan] Cue Evan

[Brad] Today we’re recording Part Six of the Women in Security Series, and I’m excited to welcome our guest! She’s someone we greatly respect and someone with the experience to demand it! Today we welcome Judy Hatchett (Information security corporate leader and expert formerly with Accenture, Best Buy, SUPERVALU, 3M, Fairview Health Services, and current VP, Information Security and CISO at Surescripts) to the show. Welcome Judy!

[Judy] We know Judy and we expect something positive and/or funny

[Brad] Before we get going let’s recap our week.

Catching Up

[Evan] I don’t know if I talked to Evan since the last podcast (episode 88), I don’t know what’s up…

[Brad] And how about you Judy?

[Judy] Probably something cool…

Quick discussion about last week, the weekend, or whatever else comes to mind.

  • How are you guys?
  • Tell me about your weekend quick.
  • Anything in particular that you’re excited about?

[Brad] Thanks guys! Alright, let’s get to it.

Women in Security, Part Six

[Brad] This is the sixth week of our series discussing the topic of women in the information security industry.  I think we are starting to see some commonalities from the last five guests and I’m curious to see if Judy has similar insights. I’m also really looking forward to hearing another “outsider’s” perspective and continue this conversation. So with that let’s dive in!

Do we have a shortage of women in our industry? If so, what’s the big deal? Why is the topic important for us to talk about? Lot’s of questions and I’m sure just about everyone has an opinion. Instead of people listening to our opinions, we’re going to talk to the people this relates to the most; women! What better way to get a woman’s perspective on things than to talk to a woman? Let’s do this.

Open Discussion (~30 minutes)

  • How did you get started in this field (information security)?
  • Tell us how you got to where you’re at today.
  • Each of the ladies we’ve had on the show has given us some great insight and wisdom:
    • Part 1 – Renay mentioned the importance of being strong.
    • Part 2 – Lori mentioned the importance of mentoring
    • Part 3 – Victoria mentioned the importance of staying focused.
    • Part 4 – Kristin mentioned the importance of being yourself.
    • Part 5 – Andrea mentioned the importance of finding support.
    • Have you listened to what these ladies had to say in their interviews? If so, what were your thoughts?
  • What advice do you have for someone who’s just starting out?
  • Have you experienced the “bro culture” in our industry? If so, can you share the experience with us?
  • Have you heard about our (alleged) industry talent shortage?
    • Do you think we need more women in our industry and why?
    • Opinions about the talent shortage in our industry.
  • What can we do better in recruiting more people, and specifically more women in our industry?
  • Whatever else we’d like to share.

[Brad] Thank you Judy! Good information and things to think about more. Much appreciated! How about some quick news stuff?

Judy, please stick around. If you’ve got anything to add to our commentary, please don’t hesitate.

News

[Brad] More newsy things…

Lastly, I don’t think we need to spend any time on it as it’s been covered extensively but I thought Krebs had a really good writeup on the Twitter hack that the listeners will probably enjoy.

Wrapping Up – Shout outs

[Brad] There you go, episode 89 is in the bag. Thank you Judy for a great sixth installment of to the Women in Security series. Either of you have any shout outs this week?

[Evan and/or Judy] We’ll see.

[Brad] Thank you to all our listeners! 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 is @evanfrancen. Judy, is there a particular way you’d prefer people to find you?

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 88 Show Notes – Women in Security Pt5

/in /by

We continue the Women in Security series this week with another great guest!

Women in Security Series

The Women in Security series continues to get better each week. Brad and I started this series because we wanted to learn more about challenges women face in the information security industry. It would be shallow and dry if Brad and I chose to discuss this subject ourselves. Instead, we chose to interview women that we know and ones who were referred to us.

What better way to get a woman’s perspective on things than to ask them directly?!

So far, we’ve had four women join us as guests on the show. Each woman brought her own set of experiences, perspectives, and opinions. No two guests have been alike, and we’ve learned a TON!

Here’s our guest line up thus far:

  • Episode 84 – Renay Ruter (an information security business/IT executive)
  • Episode 85 – Lori Blair (a 35-year information security veteran)
  • Episode 86 – Victoria Fogarty (relatively new to the industry)
  • Episode 87 – Kristin Judge (founder and CEO of the Cybercrime Support Network, SC Media “Women in IT Security Influencer” in 2017, former Director of Government Affairs at the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), thought leader, and all-around amazing information security expert)
  • Episode 88 – Andrea Hatcher (Today’s Show) (Senior majoring in Cybersecurity Analytics and Operations at Pennsylvania State University)
  • Episode 89 – Judy Hatchett (Information security corporate leader and expert formerly with Accenture, Best Buy, SUPERVALU, 3M, Fairview Health Services, and current VP, Information Security and CISO at Surescripts)
  • Episode 90 – Amy McLaughlin (Information security leader and expert in education, having served with the State of Oregon, the Consortium for School Network (CoSN), Chemeketa Community College, and Oregon State University)
  • Episode 91 – Theresa Semmens (Chief Information Security Officer at the Nevada System of Higher Education, former AVP/Chief Information Security Officer at the University of Miami, and former Chief Information Security Officer at North Dakota State University)
    /not-yet-confirmed (information security executive in healthcare, CISO in higher education, or senior information security sales executive)
  • Episode 92 – Lee Ann Villella (Senior Enterprise Security Sales Consultant at FRSecure, Program Director for the Minnesota Chapter of the Information Systems Security Association, and member of the Cyber Security Summit Advisory Board Committee)
  • Episode 93 – TBD/not-yet-confirmed (information security executive in healthcare, CISO in higher education, or senior information security sales executive)

This is an amazing lineup of information security professionals! These women represent our information security industry extremely well, and we’re honored to speak with each of them on our show!

Here’s what we’ve done so far…

Women in Security Series – Part One

We kicked off the Women in Security series on June 15th, and we couldn’t have chosen a better first guest! Renay Rutter, FRSecure’s COO, got the series started by sharing the experience, wisdom, and insight she’s gained over her 30+ year IT career. Renay expressed how important it has been for her to be strong throughout her career, and in her opinion, women need to be strong to survive in the information security industry. This was a great show!

If you missed this episode, you can catch up here; https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unsecurity-episode-84-women-in-security-pt-1-renay-rutter/id1442520920?i=1000478037575

Thank you Renay!

Women in Security Series – Part Two

We kept things in the FRSecure family for week two, hosting Lori Blair. Lori is full of information security knowledge and wisdom! She started her career in the industry in 1985, working for the federal government. Over the next 35 years, she’s traveled the world helping organizations with their information security needs and held various leadership positions. She’s excelled everywhere she’s gone and even found time to raise children along the way! Today, Lori is a Senior Information Security Consultant at FRSecure, tackling difficult challenges and mentoring other women.

I have a TON of respect for Lori, and her opinions carry weight for me (and many others). It’s not just her experience that makes Lori amazing, she’s a wonderful, practical, and level-headed person who loves mentoring others. This is a can’t miss episode, go give a listen here; https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unsecurity-episode-85-women-in-security-pt-2-lori-blair/id1442520920?i=1000479175255

Thank you Lori!

Women in Security Series – Part Three

We welcomed up and comer Victoria Fogarty to the show for Part Three. Victoria is an Associate Information Security Analyst at FRSecure, where she started her career in 2019. She possesses natural gifts for this industry, and her perspectives were fresh. She’s intelligent, relatable, and an excellent communicator. She did a great job explaining how she researched a career in information security while she was an Insurance Adjuster, a job she disliked. Her journey is pretty cool so far, and her future is VERY bright! She even shared a shocker (at least for Brad and me) in this episode. Definitely worth the listen!

If you missed episode 86, here it is; https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unsecurity-episode-86-women-in-security-pt-3-victoria/id1442520920?i=1000480167348

Thank you Victoria!

Women in Security Series – Part Four

Kristin was our first non-FRSecure guest in the series. This was a great interview! Kristin shared how she got her introduction to information security while she was serving as an elected official (Washtenaw County Commissioner). She has an incredible journey so far, especially considering she has only been in the industry for a little more than 10 years.

She held some very exciting roles before founding the Cybercrime Support Network in late-2017. Her passion for helping people is inspiring, and we’re looking forward to making a difference in this industry together!

Learn about Kristin Judge, her journey, her opinions, and her work founding and running the Cybercrime Support Network in episode 87. If you missed it, go give it a listen; https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unsecurity-episode-87-women-in-security-pt-4-kristin-judge/id1442520920?i=1000482892565

Truly an amazing person; we loved chatting with her!

Thank you Kristin!

This brings us to today’s episode…

Women in Security Series – Part Five

Today we welcome Andrea Hatcher to the show! Andrea is a Senior at Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), majoring in Cybersecurity Analytics and Operations. Andrea is an avid listener to our show who contacted us through email. We invited her to be our guest, and we’re thrilled she accepted! We’ve only talked to Andrea once; a brief telephone call to prep her a little for her time in the spotlight. 🙂

Can’t wait to get Andrea’s take on things!

WELCOME ANDREA!

Let’s get to the show, shall we?

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

SHOW NOTES – Episode 88

Date: Monday, July 13th, 2020

Episode 88 Topics

  • Opening
  • Introducing Our Special Guest: Andrea Hatcher (Penn State Senior majoring in Cybersecurity Analytics and Operations)
  • Catching Up (as per usual)
  • Women in Security
  • News
  • Wrapping Up – Shout outs
Opening

[Evan] Hey there! Thanks for joining us for episode 88 of the UNSECURITY Podcast. Today is July 13th, 2020, and I’m your host, Evan Francen. I’m joined by my good friend and co-worker, Brad Nigh. Good morning Brad!

[Brad] Cue Brad!

[Evan] Today we’re doing Part Five of the Women in Security Series, and I’m excited to welcome our guest! She’s a Senior at Penn State University, majoring in Cybersecurity Analytics and Operations, and her name is Andrea Hatcher. Welcome Andrea!

[Andrea] Cue Andrea!

[Evan] I’m especially excited for today’s show for a couple of reasons. One, because Andrea is just beginning her information security career journey and we get to play a small part in it, and two, Andrea is a fan of the show. Fans of the show are the best fans in my opinion! 😉 Thanks again for agreeing to be on the podcast Andrea.

[Andrea] Cue Andrea again…

[Evan] First things first. Before we get too deep, we gotta check in.

Catching Up

Quick discussion about last week, the weekend, or whatever else comes to mind.

  • How are you guys?
  • Tell me about your weekend quick.
  • Anything in particular that you’re excited about?

[Evan] Thanks guys! Alright, let’s get to it.

Women in Security, Part Five

[Evan] This is Part Five of the Women in Security series, and each week just gets better and better. The purpose behind the series is bring to light the unique experiences, perspectives, and opinions of women in our industry in the hopes of making the path smoother and more inviting for others. We’re doing this by inviting women as guests of our show to share with us. They’re sharing their experience, their wisdom, and their opinions on a variety of topics.

We purposely chose women at various stages of their career and in various roles. The more varied the perspectives, the better the learning for all of us. That’s the theory anyway.

All that being said, let’s get back to our current guest, Andrea Hatcher!

Do we have a shortage of women in our industry? If so, what’s the big deal? Why is the topic important for us to talk about? Lot’s of questions and I’m sure just about everyone has an opinion. Instead of people listening to our opinions, we’re going to talk to the people this relates to the most; women! What better way to get a woman’s perspective on things than to talk to a woman? Let’s do this.

Open Discussion (~30 minutes)

  • How did you get started? Why information security?
  • How soon do you graduate? Got a dream job in mind?
  • Tell us about any internships you might have coming up.
  • Tell us about the Penn State Cybersecurity Analytics and Operations major.
    • How big are the classes?
    • Did you have to qualify to get accepted into the program?
    • What’s the gender ratio?
    • What do your family and friends think about your major?
  • What challenges or difficulties have you encountered so far?
  • Do you have any advice for someone just starting out?
  • Have you heard about our (alleged) industry talent shortage?
    • Do you think we need more women in our industry and why?
    • Opinions about the talent shortage in our industry.
  • What can we do better in recruiting more people, and specifically more women in our industry?
  • Whatever else we’d like to share.

[Evan] Thanks again for joining us Andrea! We’re very excited about your future and we’re sure you’ll be great!

Now it’s time for some news. Andrea, please stick around. If you’ve got anything to add to our commentary, please don’t hesitate.

News

[Evan] More newsy things…

Wrapping Up – Shout outs

[Evan] There you have it! Episode 88 is a wrap. Well, almost. Thank you Andrea for a joining us and making this fifth installment of to the Women in Security series a great one! Next week, we welcome another great guest, Judy Hatchett. Judy is a very skilled enterprise information security leader.

Either of you have any shout outs this week?

[Brad and/or Andrea] We’ll see.

[Evan] We appreciate you, our listeners. If you’ve got something to say to us on the show, send us an email at unsecurity@protonmail.com. If you’re the social type, socialize with us on Twitter. We finally set up an UNSECURITY Podcast Twitter account; @UnsecurityP. If you want to socialize with Brad, he’s @BradNigh. If you want to socialize with me, I’m @evanfrancen. Andrea, do you want people to get in touch with you? If so, how should they?

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 87 Show Notes – Women in Security Pt4

/in /by

Welcome back! Hope you and your loved ones had an enjoyable 4th of July holiday. It was a HOT one here in Minnesota!

Women in Security Series

So far, the Women in Security Series has been a smashing success! We’ve had three women share their perspectives on our show thus far, and we’ve got another five or six planned. We’re honored that our guests would share their stories about being a woman in our industry and also give us their opinions about women in information security in general. We’ve learned a ton already, and we’re hungry to learn more!

Our series will be at least ten parts long, meaning 1) we’re not even half done yet and 2) we’ll continue this until mid-August (episode 93 or 94).

Here’s our guest line up thus far:

  • Episode 84 – Renay Ruter (an information security business/IT executive)
  • Episode 85 – Lori Blair (a 35-year information security veteran)
  • Episode 86 – Victoria Fogarty (relatively new to the industry)
  • Episode 87 (today) – Kristin Judge (founder and CEO of the Cybercrime Support Network, SC Media “Women in IT Security Influencer” in 2017, former Director of Government Affairs at the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), thought leader, and all-around amazing information security expert)
  • Episode 88 – Andrea Hatcher (Senior majoring in Cybersecurity Analytics and Operations at Pennsylvania State University)
  • Episode 89 – Judy Hatchett (Information security corporate leader and expert formerly with Accenture, Best Buy, SUPERVALU, 3M, Fairview Health Services, and current VP, Information Security and CISO at Surescripts)
  • Episode 90 – Amy McLaughlin (Information security leader and expert in education, having served with the State of Oregon, the Consortium for School Network (CoSN), Chemeketa Community College, and Oregon State University)
  • Episode 91 – TBD/not-yet-confirmed (information security executive in healthcare, CISO in higher education, or senior information security sales executive)
  • Episode 92 – TBD/not-yet-confirmed (information security executive in healthcare, CISO in higher education, or senior information security sales executive)
  • Episode 93 – TBD/not-yet-confirmed (information security executive in healthcare, CISO in higher education, or senior information security sales executive)

How awesome is this lineup?!  WOW! We purposely selected a variety of different perspectives from within the women in our field, but this is way better than we expected!

Here’s what we’ve done so far…

Women in Security Series – Part One

We kicked off the Women in Security series on June 15th, and we couldn’t have chosen a better first guest! Renay Rutter, FRSecure’s COO, got the series started with sharing her experience, wisdom, and insight she’s gained over her 30+ year IT career. Brad and I learned a ton!

If you missed this episode, you can catch up here; https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unsecurity-episode-84-women-in-security-pt-1-renay-rutter/id1442520920?i=1000478037575

Thank you Renay!

Women in Security Series – Part Two

We kept things in the FRSecure family for week two, hosting Lori Blair. Lori is a treasure chest of information security knowledge and wisdom, beginning from when she started her information security career in 1985. Think about that for a second; 1985?! For the math folks in the house, that’s 35 years!

I have a TON of respect for Lori, and her opinions carry weight for me (and many others). It’s not just her experience that makes Lori amazing, she’s a wonderful, practical, and level-headed person who loves mentoring others. This is a can’t miss episode, go give a listen here; https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unsecurity-episode-85-women-in-security-pt-2-lori-blair/id1442520920?i=1000479175255

Thank you Lori!

Women in Security Series – Part Three

Part Three was incredible! Victoria is very relatable and she’s a natural when it comes to effective communication. She did a great job explaining how she transitioned from Insurance Adjuster to Information Security Associate Analyst at FRSecure. Her journey is pretty cool so far, and her future is VERY bright in our industry. She even shared a shocker (at least for me) in this episode. Definitely worth the listen! If you missed episode 86, here it is; https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unsecurity-episode-86-women-in-security-pt-3-victoria/id1442520920?i=1000480167348

Thank you Victoria!

Women in Security Series – Part Four

This is our first guest in the series who works outside the FRSecure/SecurityStudio family, and we’re honored to have her join us! We welcome Kristin Judge to our show for Part Four and Episode 87. We don’t know Kristin as well as we know the previous three guests, but judging from her BIO and LinkedIn profile, she stacks up with the best our industry has to offer! This episode is Brad’s to lead and there is no shortage of things we could talk to Kristin about (her work as Washtenaw County Commissioner, her start in information security, her time as Executive Director of Trusted Purchasing Alliance at the Center for Internet Security, her time as Director of Special Projects and Government Affairs for the National Cyber Security Alliance, her time as an information security entrepreneur, her founding of the Cybercrime Support Network, etc., etc.). Truly an amazing person that we’re very excited to chat with!

WELCOME KRISTIN!

Let’s get on with the show!

Brad’s leading the show this week, and these are his notes…

SHOW NOTES – Episode 87

Date: Monday, July 6th, 2020

Episode 87 Topics

  • Opening
  • Introducing Our Special Guest: Kristin Judge (current CEO/President of the Cybercrime Support Network)
  • Catching Up (as per usual)
  • Women in Security
  • News
  • Wrapping Up – Shout outs
Opening

[Brad] Welcome back! This is episode 87 of the UNSECURITY Podcast, and I’m your host this week, Brad Nigh. Today is July 6th, and joining me this morning as usual is Evan Francen.

[Evan] Hopefully Evan took the holiday weekend off to relax, let’s find out.

[Brad] We have an incredible guest this week, our 4th in the Women in Security series! She’s our first guest in the series from outside the FRSecure family, and I’m sure she has great stories and wonderful insights to share with us. She’s got a long BIO, including:

  • Former Washtenaw (MI) County Commissioner
  • Former Center for Internet Security (CIS) Director of Partner Engagement and Executive Director of Trusted Purchasing Alliance
  • Former National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) Director of Special Projects and Government Affairs
  • Former Principal and Owner of Opcio Solutions
  • Current Cybersecurity Author of numerous education and awareness courses
  • Current CEO/President and Founder of the Cybercrime Support Network (CSN)

And I’m sure, many, many other cool things. We’re honored to have Kristin Judge join us on the show this morning. Welcome Kristin!

[Kristin] I haven’t actually met Kristin prior to this so I don’t know what she will say.

[Brad] We sort of have a tradition around here. Before we dive in, we catch-up with each other quick. Let’s recap our week.

Catching Up

Quick discussion about last week, the weekend, or whatever else comes to mind.

[Evan] Short week and long weekend…

[Brad] And what about you Kristin?

[Kristin] I’m sure she did something very cool.

[Brad] Alright, let’s get on with the series!

Women in Security, Part Four

[Brad] This is the fourth week of our series discussing the topic of women in the information security industry. Personally I’ve found the first three weeks to be incredibly enlightening, even with people that I’ve worked with very closely for years. I’m really looking forward to hearing an “outsider’s” perspective and continue this conversation. So with that let’s dive in!

Do we have a shortage of women in our industry? If so, what’s the big deal? Why is the topic important for us to talk about? Lot’s of questions and I’m sure just about everyone has an opinion. Instead of people listening to our opinions, we’re going to talk to the people this relates to the most; women! What better way to get a woman’s perspective on things than to talk to a woman? Let’s do this.

Open Discussion (~30 minutes)

  • How you got into the industry?
  • Your journey in the industry.
  • Advice you have for someone starting out.
  • Do you think we need more women in our industry and why?
  • Opinions about the talent shortage in our industry.
  • What can we do better in recruiting more people, and specifically more women in our industry?
  • Whatever else we’d like to share.

[Brad] Thank you Kristin! Again, we’re honored to have you join us! Please feel free to stick around while we cover a few news stories from the past week.

News

[Brad] Here are a few news stories from the pas week that I thought were interesting…

Wrapping Up – Shout outs

[Brad] That’s it for episode 87. Thank you Kristin for a joining us and making this fourth installment of to the Women in Security series a great one! We’ve got more amazing guests lined up for the next five(ish) weeks, again I’m really looking forward to hearing their perspectives. Either of you have any shout outs this week?

[Evan and/or Kristin] We’ll see.

[Brad] Thank you to all 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 is @evanfrancen. Kristin, is there a particular way you’d prefer people to find you?

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

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