Hi everyone. We’re hoping and praying for everyone’s health and mental well-being right now. Take care of what really matters, yourself and your loved ones.
Episode 72 of the UNSECURITY Podcast will be dedicated to continued discussion about COVID-19 and what the pandemic means, in our daily lives and in our vocation as information security people. It’s the topic on everyone’s mind, so to not talk about it seems a little tone deaf.
Before we get to the show notes (below), I’d like to highlight a few things going on around here.
One Word
What one word would you use to describe your past week? If you’re a Twitterer, let us know by tweeting your word with the hashtag #UNSECURITYoneword. Be sure to include us (@evanfrancen and @bradnigh) in the conversation.
Not Adjusted Yet
Not sure about you, but I haven’t adjusted yet. I’m an introvert, so I was expecting to thrive in isolation. I was wrong (for now). I was surprised to learn how much personal interaction really means to me.
Everything seemed different this past week and I was definitely a little off my game. I had trouble focusing on tasks and struggled with processing events occurring all around me. Nothing made sense at times.
On Tuesday (3/17) we (FRSecure and SecurityStudio) closed the offices, and by the next day, almost everyone was online and functionally working from home. Since there was nobody at the office, I decided to work from there.
The empty office was quiet. Too quiet. The quiet forced me to realize how social we are in our office. Every (normal) day is like a family get together. A family get together where everybody actually likes each other.
In a quiet office there are no dumb office jokes. No laughter. No smiles. No fist bumps. A quiet office is just filled with empty. Our office was filled with empty and me. It was a eerie and it was lonely.
I’m assuming the adjustment will just take time. Between now and then, let’s all keep our head up and look for ways to help others. Helping others can be a great coping mechanism!
The Pledge
Also on Tuesday, I wrote a pledge and posted it on LinkedIn. This pledge is one that I plan to live by, especially now.
My pledge:
- I will NOT panic.
- I will NOT give in to fear.
- I WILL think things through.
- I WILL make prudent decisions based upon the best (non-biased) information available.
- I WILL be the person I’ve always been and learn to be better.
- I WILL help my fellow humans whenever and however I can, putting my family first.
- I will NOT use this (or anything else) to take advantage of people, and
- I will NEVER put someone in danger if I can help it.
coronavirus panic fear think prudence decisions learning helpingpeople
What Else
We did a lot this past week.
The Impact of COVID-19 on Information Security Webinar(s)
In the midst of the chaos, we decided to put together a last minute webinar for Wednesday (3/18) afternoon. Our motivation for the webinar was to help people and bring calm to the storm. Despite last minute arrangements and everything else going on, we had ~250 people come to the first session. Participation and interaction was more than we expected! There were many unanswered questions after the first session, so we decided to do a second session on Friday (3/20).
The topics we discussed were:
- Introductions.
- Before we get started.
- #1 – The current state of affairs.
- #2 – My pledge.
- #3 – FRSecure Open Letter.
- #4 – Ideas we’re kicking around.
- Topics:
- What is the impact of COVID-19 on information security?
- How to securely shift employees to remote work during social distancing.
- Some of the current social engineering scams around COVID-19 and how to avoid them.
- How to create or adjust your business’s disaster recovery plan.
- Where to go if/when you need help.
I’ve posted a copy of the presentation online for everyone.
Virtual Happy Hours
Our team started doing virtual happy hours on Thursday. Every organization should do these! We all get into an online Zoom meeting and hangout for a while. We share. We laugh. We joke. We smile. We love. These are amazing experiences that are healthy and good for the soul.
I prefer to sit and listen most of the time. Just taking it in. The sounds of my team laughing, their smiles, their dumb jokes (like really dumb), and sharing our day together are beyond magical. The joy these guys bring to my day is the best way to end it!
The Daily inSANITY Check-in
Nobody has this thing figured out and nobody has it all together.
We want to help, so we’re starting the Daily inSANITY Check-in webinar series. The purpose of the Daily inSANITY Check-in is to provide a safe place for people to discuss current events, information security things, challenges we’re facing, or whatever else comes to mind. The check-ins are short (30- to- 60-minute) daily meetings with discussion. People are always free to come and go as they please.
This is new, and we’re just getting started. Don’t expect all the kinks to be worked out day one. Visit the registration page for the full description and to signup.
K12 Cybersecurity Podcast
Good news! Our buddy Ryan Cloutier just released the first episode of the K12 Cybersecurity Podcast. His first episode is awesome! It’s so much better than our first UNSECURITY Podcast. In this episode, Ryan’s special guest is Amy McLaughlin. Amy is the Information Services Director at Oregon State University and cybersecurity project director for the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN).
This was a timely and well done episode. I recommend you subscribe to Ryan’s K12 Cybersecurity Podcast and get ready for more great content!
Pretty sure I forgot something, but that’s all for now. Let’s do a podcast (or something)!
SHOW NOTES – Episode 72
Date: Monday, March 23rd, 2020
Show Topics:
- Opening
- The week that was.
- The week that is to come.
- COVID-19
- Priorities, and where does information security fit?
- Mental and Physical Health
- Yourself and Your Loved Ones
- Business – Survival
- The Bass and The Barracuda
- Don’t be a bass. Be a barracuda.
- Priorities, and where does information security fit?
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- Why cybersecurity matters more than ever during the coronavirus pandemic – https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/03/coronavirus-pandemic-cybersecurity/
- Another plug for S2Me.
- Next Week:
- Maybe a guest; it’s been a while.
- What happens on the other side?
- Daily inSANITY Check-in Update
- What we’re doing to help.
-
- News (non-COVID-19)
Opening
[Evan] Hello listeners, this is another episode of the UNSECURITY Podcast. My name is Evan Francen, this is episode 72, and the date is March 23rd, 2020. Joining me in studio is my buddy Brad Nigh. Good morning Brad!
[Brad] If it’s a good morning for Brad, we’ll know by how he responds.
[Evan] Last week was nuts. You and I hardly had a chance to connect with all that’s going on, so we’re a little out of sorts. This would normally be your week to lead the podcast, but since we didn’t really connect, I’m hosting again. Hope that’s OK.
[Brad] He’s one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. He’s probably OK with this.
[Evan] We’ve got a lot to talk about this week. Top of mind or course is COVID-19 and what the pandemic is doing to our daily lives. Sort of hard to talk about much else right now, right?
[Brad] He might agree.
[Evan] Last week was crazy. Let’s talk about the week that was and then talk a little about what’s coming this week.
Catching Up Discussion
Discussing last week’s events and what we’re expecting this week.
[Evan] Alright, there has never been anything in my lifetime that’s been as disruptive as the COVID-19 pandemic. I sort of feel like we’d be tone deaf if we didn’t keep up the conversation.
COVID-19 Discussion
Our topics this week include:
- Priorities, and where does information security fit?
- Mental and Physical Health
- Protecting Yourself and Your Loved Ones
- Business – Survival
- The Bass and The Barracuda
- Don’t be a bass. Be a barracuda.
- Why cybersecurity matters more than ever during the coronavirus pandemic – https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/03/coronavirus-pandemic-cybersecurity/
- Another plug for S2Me.
- Next Week:
- Maybe a guest; it’s been a while.
- What happens on the other side?
- Daily inSANITY Check-in Update
- What we’re doing to help.
[Evan] The world has hardly seemed any crazier than it is today. Do all you can to maintain (or restore) your health. Good talk. Now let’s get to some non-COVID-19-related news.
News
[Evan] Alright, let’s talk about a non-coronavirus story (or two or three). Remember, attacks aren’t going to stop. In fact, they are increasing and are expected to continue to increase. Don’t ever put anything past or too low for the lowest among us.
Here’s two news stories to consider this week:
- Google addresses high severity bugs in Chrome – https://securityaffairs.co/wordpress/100164/security/google-chrome-bugs.html
- Russian Intel Agency FSB’s contractor hacked; sensitive data leaked online – https://www.hackread.com/russian-intel-agency-fsb-contractor-hacked/
- A Brand New Virus That Incorporates Mining, Hacking and Backdoor Modules – https://www.ehackingnews.com/2020/03/a-brand-new-virus-that-incorporates.html
Closing
[Evan] There you have it. Episode 72. Thank you for listening. We’re wishing everything health and sanity! Remember, we love hearing from you. If you’ve got something to say, email us at unsecurity@protonmail.com. If you would rather do the whole social thing, we tweet like that. I’m @evanfrancen, and Brad’s @BradNigh. Check out @studiosecurity and @FRSecure frequently. They’re always posting good things!
Be safe. That’s it. Talk to you all again next week!
