CyberBites Podcast Nick Sturgeon

Last week I had the privilege to go on the Hammer and Nigel Show to discuss the Colonial Pipeline cyber-attack. This was a fun interview and hope to be invited back on in the future!
 
Links
https://www.wibc.com/hammer-and-nigel/
https://omny.fm/shows/hammer-and-nigel-show/nick-sturgeon-talks-cyber-security

My conversation with Dewand Neely of the Eleven Fifty Academy.

The 2020 U.S. Elections are in the books... well sort of! In this episode I continue the conversation over the election and election security. Even though voting day is done the aftermath of the election and results are far from over. Now according to Election officials all went well,  there is/was no fraud, and the entire election was secure. However, we cannot forget the conversation over the last four years about how Russia interfered with the 2016 election. These officials want us to trust their word for it. If they really want us to trust the results and that things were secure, we need them to be 100% transparent. Now was there wide spread fraud, maybe/maybe not. To completely dismiss this as a crazy idea and dismiss those who are calling foul, is not going to build trust. Either side needs to present the evidence and fact in their case.
The other conversation I bring up is the rumor control efforts by U.S DHS and the Federal government. As I was preparing for this episode I came across a web page on U.S DHS CISA site on their campaign for rumor control. This campaign is part of their fight against dis-information. Looking into it, my initial reaction was not good. Is it the government's job to fight rumors even if it is part of fighting disinformation from a foreign government. This is a slippery slope issue. This effort is even happening with the Indiana state government, Governor Holcomb, and Indiana Department of Homeland Security.
 
Links:
https://fox59.com/news/national-world/cybersecurity-officials-maintain-this-years-election-was-the-most-secure-in-us-history/
https://www.cisa.gov/rumorcontrol
 

This week the Director of National Intelligence and the FBI held a press conference detailing election interference activity by Russia and Iran. In this episode I break down the video and what this activity means for you and I.
 
 
Link:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-22/fbi-russia-iran-influence-2020-election/12801440

To kick off the month of October and the National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM), I was fortunate to speak to Daniel Eliot of the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA). Daniel is the Director of Education and Strategic Initiatives for the NCSA. Since this conversation took place during the kickoff of NCSAM, I took the opportunity to ask Daniel about the purpose behind the month, the activities, themes, and importance of being cyber smart.
 
Daniel's Bio:In this role, Daniel is responsible for NCSA’s educational portfolio, and helms one of NCSA’s most successful initiatives, CyberSecure My Business, which is a national program designed to help organizations of all sizes learn to be safer and more secure online. Daniel assembles the federal government, state and local governments, academia, and the private sector to discuss cutting-edge issues and create and implement high-quality, large-scale education and awareness efforts. Daniel is an accomplished speaker and champion when it comes to cybersecurity, and regularly speaks at events across the country and collaborates on regional and national cybersecurity initiatives.
 

Social Media:
Twitter & Facebook: @StaySafeOnline
Links:
NCSA: https://staysafeonline.org/

This month we hit a tragic milestone in cybersecurity. A patient at Düsseldorf University Hospital died as a result of a ransomware attack. Though it did hit the news, I don't think the magnitude of this event is coming across or even truly understand. What can we do to make sure that this is the only time that this happens? Unfortunately, I think this is part of our reality now. Also the U.S Department of Homeland Security (DHS) deployed some very invasive technology during the Portland protests and riots. This is very dangerous and should be illegal to use against protesters. For those who are rioting... well there may be some legal gray areas there.
Links:
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-54204356https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/dhs-authorizes-personnel-to-collect-information-on-protesters-it-says-threaten-monuments/2020/07/20/6f58867c-cace-11ea-b0e3-d55bda07d66a_story.html