C Suite Claudette McGowan

If you’re like 80% of the population, debit or credit cards are your preferred method of payment when you’re out and about at restaurants, the movies, or sporting events. But did you know that paying with a card in public can put you at a greater risk of being the target of cyber scams like electronic pickpocketing? In this episode, Claudette and her guests explore how bad actors use the electronic pickpocketing technique in public areas like airports, bus terminals and stadiums to steal people’s credit card information. She sits down with Wayne Ronhaar, CEO of Cylentium, and Zane, Senior Manager of TD’s Cyber Assurance Program, also known as the red team, to explore how the technology that made tap payments possible, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), has also put us at an increased risk of being electronically pickpocketed. This episode will help you learn more about how electronic pickpocketing works, its impacts, and strategies for staying protected while making purchases in high-traffic public zones. 

In a zero-day exploit or attack, a hacker will identify a vulnerability within a network and use it to their advantage before developers are even aware of it or have time to fix it—hence the term “zero-day.” With cyber security issues skyrocketing in recent years, 2021 was the worst year for zero-day attacks in history, with almost double the total number of attacks in 2020. In this episode, Claudette and her guests explore the phenomenon of zero-day attacks, how they work, and most importantly, how they can be mitigated in the future. To help inform the discussion, she sits down with cyber security experts Anna Loshkareva, the Senior Vice President of Advanced Cyber Defense at Booz Allen Hamilton, Jake Norwood, the Lead Cyber Security Delivery Executive for EU and the UK at Booz Allen Hamilton, and Stephen, the Senior Manager of TD’s Cyber Security Operations Center.

Cyber security is a field that’s been experiencing rapid growth in the last 20 years. As we all become more virtually connected, online security has become an increasingly crucial priority for organizations of all sizes. In fact, there were a reported 3.5 million unfulfilled roles in cyber security in 2021, up 350% from 2013. With numbers like these, the need for more qualified professionals in this field is stronger than ever. In this episode of C Suite, Claudette discusses career paths in cyber security, what companies are looking for in their next search for talent, and how organizations can raise awareness about this ever-evolving career path. Along with her guests Francois Guay, the Founder of the Canadian Cybersecurity Network and Francois Guay & Associates, Deryck, TD’s Senior Manager of Information Security, and Aliyah, a student who’s pursuing a career in cyber security, Claudette will explore some of the factors contributing to the current war for talent in cyber security and how we can encourage more young people to pursue a career in the field.

Cybercriminals tend to target the most vulnerable people, making newcomers to our country and international students all the more susceptible to scams and frauds. In this episode of C Suite, Claudette explores the cyber and real-world threats to Canadian newcomers. Frauds and scams can begin as early as the immigration process, and they continue after newcomers land in Canada to start their new lives. In this episode, listeners will learn about some of the most common scams targeting newcomers to Canada like fraudulent promises of guaranteed work permits, student visas being peddled by unscrupulous immigration agencies, and even deportation threats made against students by fake Service Canada staff members. To inform the discussion, Claudette sits down with expert guests Joshua Schachnow, the Founder and CEO of Visto.ai, and Nouhaila Chelkhaoui, the founder and CEO of Scale Without Borders. She also speaks with Mrinal, an international student who was the target of a scam on his first day at the University of Windsor.

One of the most notable things about the internet is the double edged sword of anonymity. The internet allows many people the opportunity to explore interests or express their creativity anonymously, without having their actions tied to their true identity, yet it can also mean that bad actors can do serious harm to others without being tied to their wrongdoing. “Doxing” occurs when someone is “outed” online by having their true identity, often even including personal information like their phone number or home address shared publicly online. On this episode, we learn why cybercriminals might do this and how we can protect ourselves and our privacy while still reaping all the benefits of what the online world has to offer. We hear from John Boursheid, the co-founder of Removaly, an online data removal service he founded after his own experience with doxing. We also hear from Thomas, an avid member of the online gaming community who shares his own experiences with doxing, and Steve whose Customer Protection and Intelligence Operations team at TD works to protect TD customers and affiliates from online threats.

In the last decade, couples of all ages have found their significant other via dating apps and online websites, with over 15% of U.S. adults saying they’ve tried or continue to use online dating. But in an online world where anonymity can be maintained behind the veil of a screen, love doesn’t always turn out the way some hoped. In this episode of C Suite, we learn how the emotional stakes of online dating can lead to more than heartache. Catfishing, luring someone into a relationship using a fake persona, can entangle innocent online love seekers with bad people and even result in financial consequences. Most importantly, we explore how to stay safe using this technology, with tips and insights from expert guests Zach Schleien, the CEO and Co-Founder of Filteroff, and Nicole Blumenfeld, the Director of Trust and Safety Operations at Tinder. We also hear a real story of a romance scam that reminds us all of the importance of staying vigilant while dating online.