SipCyber - Presented by IT Audit Labs

IT Audit Labs

SipCyber: Where Great Coffee Meets Essential Cybersecurity What happens when a former special education teacher turned Minnesota State Cybersecurity Coordinator sits down with a perfect cup of coffee? You get cybersecurity advice that's actually approachable. Jen Lotze from IT Audit Labs brings you SipCyber — the podcast that pairs cozy coffee shop discoveries with decaffeinated cybersecurity tips. No jargon. No fear-mongering. Just practical ways to protect yourself, your family, and your organization from digital criminals who want to ruin your perfectly good day. What You'll Get: Real-world cybersecurity advice anyone can followCoffee shop reviews and community spotlightsStories from someone who's been in classrooms, boardrooms, and government coordination centersA mission to make security everyone's job, not just the IT team'sFrom teaching special needs students to coordinating statewide cyber defense, Jen proves that cybersecurity expertise comes from the most unexpected places. And the best conversations happen over great coffee. Perfect for: Coffee lovers, small business owners, educators, parents, and anyone who wants to stay safe online without the technical overwhelm. Let's get brewing.

  1. 2d ago ·  Video

    AI Hackers Found a Way Into Your Phone's Camera

    Our phones hold our photos, conversations, locations, cameras, and microphones, and every app we install gets a key to some part of that space. In this episode of SipCyber, Jen Lotze takes a detour from coffee to Eldon St. Tea Shop in Reston, VA, ahead of a concert at Wolf Trap. She uses Reston's history as one of America's first intentionally planned communities as a lens for how we should be designing our digital lives.  Jen breaks down a recent story about Depthfirst, a cybersecurity company that built an AI-powered tool to hunt for software weaknesses. Researchers took a freely available AI model from the Chinese company Z.ai, modified it heavily, paired it with other tools, and sent it searching for bugs. The path it uncovered led all the way to a phone's camera and photos, a reminder that AI is changing how quickly vulnerabilities can be found by both defenders and attackers.  Key Topics Covered:   How Depthfirst used a modified open AI model to hunt for software vulnerabilities  Why an AI-discovered flaw reaching phone cameras and photos matters to everyday users  What AI-powered bug hunting means for the speed of future attacks  Treating your phone like a planned community where you decide what each app can access  Practical steps for reviewing app permissions for your camera, microphone, photos, and location AI is giving researchers and criminals new ways to find the cracks in our devices. The good news is that the access you control still makes a real difference.  ☕ Featured Spot: Eldon St. Tea Shop, Reston, VA  Take five minutes today to check which apps can see your camera and photos. Subscribe for weekly cybersecurity insights delivered from the best local spots across the country, and share this with someone who never reads the permission pop-ups.  #AI #AIHacking #CyberSecurity #PhoneSecurity #MobilePrivacy #AppPermissions #VulnerabilityResearch #InfoSec #DataPrivacy #DigitalSafety #SipCyber #Reston #ITAuditLabs

  2. Sep 30 ·  Video

    Episode 50: The 4 Steps to Help a Scam Victim

    When someone you love gets scammed, the questions can wait. In this milestone 50th episode of SipCyber, Jen Lotze celebrates the occasion with a visit to the Minnesota State Fair, reflecting on family, tradition, and the small businesses that make the fair feel like home, before turning to one of the most important conversations of the show: how to actually help someone after they've been taken advantage of online.  Whether it's stolen money, a hijacked social media account, or an impersonation attack, the instinct to ask "why did you fall for that?" only adds shame to an already painful moment. Jen breaks down a clear, practical four-step framework for showing up for the people you care about when a scam has already happened.  Key Topics Covered:   Why judgment and questions make scam recovery harder, not easier  The 4-step recovery framework: stop the money, secure the accounts, save the evidence, make the reports  Where to report fraud, including IC3.gov and IdentityTheft.gov  How to spot "recovery scams" that target people who've already lost money once  Why sitting beside someone through the process matters more than the advice itself This isn't just a technical checklist. It's a reminder that cybersecurity, at its core, is about protecting people.  ☕ Featured Spot: Minnesota State Fair (recorded from home, with a cold brew root beer float)  50 episodes and counting. Subscribe for weekly cybersecurity tips delivered from coffee shops and community spots across the country, and share this with someone who might need to help a friend or family member through a scam.  #Cybersecurity #ScamRecovery #IdentityTheft #OnlineFraud #InfoSec #CyberSafety #SipCyber #MinnesotaStateFair

  3. Sep 23 ·  Video

    Don't Send That Money Back: The Overpayment Scam Explained

    A friendly customer, a payment mistake, and a request to send some money back. It sounds harmless, and that's exactly the problem. In this episode of SipCyber, Jen Lotze stops at The Mug in Sutherland, NE, to unpack a fake check overpayment scam that nearly cost a small business thousands of pounds, and why the same trick works just as well on American bank accounts.  The scam starts with an ordinary customer inquiry, moves into an "accidental" overpayment, and ends with a request to refund the difference. Jen breaks down why the money you see in your account isn't always the money that's actually yours yet, and how that gap between available funds and fully collected funds is exactly what scammers exploit. Whether you run a business or just sell something online, this episode covers the one pause that can save you from a very expensive mistake.  Key Topics Covered:   How a fake check overpayment scam nearly cost a UK small business thousands  Why the FTC specifically warns American small businesses about this exact scam  The difference between available funds and fully collected funds, and why it matters  Why Venmo overpayment refund requests are almost always fraudulent  This week's cyber tip: never refund an unexpected overpayment outside your normal process ☕ Featured Coffee Shop: The Mug, Sutherland, NE  Don't let a good customer story talk you out of a smart pause. Subscribe for weekly cybersecurity tips delivered from coffee shops across the country, and share this with any small business owner or online seller you know.  #Cybersecurity #OverpaymentScam #CheckFraud #SmallBusinessSecurity #VenmoScam #FTCWarning #InfoSec #CyberSafety #SipCyber #ScamAwareness

  4. Sep 16 ·  Video

    26,000 Fake Voicemail Emails Slipped Past Spam Filters

    The tools we trust most are often the easiest to fake. In this episode of SipCyber, Jen Lotze settles in at Quixotic Coffee to break down a phishing campaign that turned an everyday inbox notification into an attack vector. Attackers impersonated the automatic "you have a new voicemail" emails millions of workplaces send every day, hiding malicious code inside disguised SVG attachments that slipped past spam filters far more often than anyone would like.  More than 26,000 of these messages hit over 5,500 organizations, each one personalized with the recipient's own email address to make it feel legitimate. Jen walks through why that familiarity is exactly what attackers are counting on, what to check before opening an unexpected voicemail email, and this week's cyber tip on locking down spam call protection on your phone.  Key Topics Covered:   How attackers impersonated over 26,000 voicemail notification emails across 5,500+ organizations  Why the malicious SVG attachments slipped past Microsoft's spam filters 75% of the time The questions to ask before opening any unexpected voicemail email  Why familiarity is the exact thing scammers exploit  This week's cyber tip: turning on spam call protection on your iPhone ☕ Featured Coffee Shop: Quixotic Coffee, MN  Don't let a familiar inbox fool you. Subscribe for weekly cybersecurity tips delivered from coffee shops across the country, and share this with a coworker who checks their voicemail email without a second thought.  #Cybersecurity #Phishing #VoicemailScam #SVGMalware #InfoSec #CyberSafety #EmailSecurity #SipCyber #ScamAwareness #DigitalSafety

  5. Sep 9 ·  Video

    Debit or Credit: Which Card Actually Protects You?

    There's a card in most wallets that people reach for out of habit, and it might be the one leaving them most exposed. In this episode of SipCyber, Jen Lotze stops by In the Loop Coffee in Minneapolis's North Loop neighborhood to break down something she's heard land again and again in rooms full of professionals: the real difference between using a debit card and a credit card.  They look the same, sit next to each other in your wallet, and tap the same way at checkout, but behind the scenes they work very differently when fraud hits. Jen unpacks why that distinction matters more than most people realize, especially with money that's already spoken for.  Key Topics Covered:   How debit and credit cards pull money differently when you tap to pay  Why credit cards generally come with stronger federal fraud protections  How debit card protection depends on how fast you catch and report fraud  What's actually at risk when debit fraud hits your checking account  Why simple daily choices, not new technology, are often the best cybersecurity move This isn't about giving up convenience. It's about knowing which card to reach for so a stolen number doesn't turn into a scramble to cover rent, payroll, or groceries while the bank investigates.  ☕ Featured Coffee Shop: In the Loop Coffee, North Loop, Minneapolis, MN  Subscribe for weekly cybersecurity insights delivered from the best local coffee spots across the country, and share this with someone who reaches for their debit card out of habit.  #DebitVsCredit #FraudProtection #CyberSecurity #InfoSec #PersonalFinance #IdentityTheft #ScamAwareness #SipCyber #DigitalSafety #MoneyTips

  6. Sep 2 ·  Video

    Inside the Cyberattack on Minnesota's Water Systems

    We trust dozens of systems we never think about, water, power, the people who keep them running. In this episode of SipCyber, Jen Lotze heads to TequeArepa with a member of her team to unpack a story that hits closer to home than most: a coordinated cyberattack on more than 30 community water systems across Minnesota.  Federal agencies have also warned about broader activity targeting the industrial equipment that runs water and wastewater systems nationwide, and Jen breaks down what actually happened, why it matters, and how a small industrial computer sitting on the public internet can become the weak link in something as essential as your tap water.  Key Topics Covered:   How internet-exposed controllers gave attackers a way into water system equipment  What happened when attackers changed network addresses and passwords on affected devices  The physical consequences reported elsewhere, including loss of water pressure and flooding • How Plymouth, MN kept water safe by switching to manual operations  Why trust in critical infrastructure has to be backed by real protections, not just good intentions This isn't a call to panic about your tap water. It's a reminder that the systems keeping our communities running deserve the same scrutiny, backups, and protection we'd want for anything else we depend on every day.  ☕ Featured Spot: TequeArepa – Venezuelan Restaurant   Subscribe for weekly cybersecurity insights delivered from the best local spots across the country, and share this with someone who works in critical infrastructure, or anyone who's never thought about where their water really comes from.  #CriticalInfrastructure #CyberSecurity #WaterSecurity #InfoSec #OTSecurity #ICS #CyberAttack #DigitalSafety #SipCyber #Minnesota

  7. Aug 26 ·  Video

    Freeze Your Credit Before Scammers Steal It

    A few minutes on the phone could be the difference between a stolen identity and a scammer hitting a dead end. In this episode of SipCyber, Jen Lotze stops by Misfit Coffee in Minneapolis, MN to revisit one of the most overlooked tools in personal cybersecurity: the credit freeze.  Inspired by a conversation with the Misfit Coffee team about playing the long game in business instead of chasing short-term profit, Jen breaks down why freezing your credit is one of those small, unglamorous decisions that pays off when it matters most. It's a topic she first covered back in SipCyber's very first episode, and one she keeps coming back to after too many conversations with people cleaning up the mess identity theft leaves behind.  Key Topics Covered:   What a credit freeze actually does and why it stops new accounts from opening in your name  The four bureaus you need to know: Experian, Equifax, TransUnion, and Innovis  How to temporarily thaw your credit for a specific lender without unfreezing everything  Why freezing accounts for your parents and kids matters just as much as your own  The mindset shift: trading a little inconvenience today for real protection tomorrow This isn't about living in fear of identity theft. It's about taking one simple step that makes you a much harder target, and helping the people you love do the same.  ☕ Featured Coffee Shop: Misfit Coffee, Minneapolis, MN  Subscribe for weekly cybersecurity insights delivered from the best local coffee spots across the country, and share this with someone who still needs to freeze their credit.  #CreditFreeze #IdentityTheft #CyberSecurity #InfoSec #DataProtection #FraudPrevention #ScamAwareness #SipCyber #DigitalSafety #PersonalFinance

  8. Aug 19 ·  Video

    When AI Sends You to a Scam Website

    Some places reveal their story a little more each time you visit. In this episode of SipCyber, Jen Lotze returns to Constellation Coffee in Apple Valley, MN, and discovers the shop's mission of creating meaningful jobs for adults with disabilities, a moment that connects straight back to her own roots as a special education teacher. From there, Jen breaks down a scam hiding in plain sight: AI tools like ChatGPT confidently recommending fake retailer websites built by criminals to catch shoppers off guard.  It started with a simple request for handbag recommendations and ended with a scam site so convincing it passed every visual check. The catch? AI doesn't vet trust, it just finds what's out there, and scammers know it.  Key Topics Covered:   How scammers build fake retailer sites that AI tools unknowingly recommend Why AI can find information but can't judge whether a business is trustworthy The 30-second website check that can save your money and your data  Red flags to watch for: too-good discounts and the word "official" in a URL  A personal story connecting Jen's teaching career to this episode's coffee shop ☕ Featured Coffee Shop: Constellation Coffee, Apple Valley, MN  Don't let AI do the vetting for you. Subscribe for weekly cybersecurity tips delivered from coffee shops across the country, and share this with someone who shops online.  #Cybersecurity #AIScams #OnlineShopping #ChatGPT #ScamAwareness #InfoSec #CyberSafety #DigitalTrust #SipCyber

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SipCyber: Where Great Coffee Meets Essential Cybersecurity What happens when a former special education teacher turned Minnesota State Cybersecurity Coordinator sits down with a perfect cup of coffee? You get cybersecurity advice that's actually approachable. Jen Lotze from IT Audit Labs brings you SipCyber — the podcast that pairs cozy coffee shop discoveries with decaffeinated cybersecurity tips. No jargon. No fear-mongering. Just practical ways to protect yourself, your family, and your organization from digital criminals who want to ruin your perfectly good day. What You'll Get: Real-world cybersecurity advice anyone can followCoffee shop reviews and community spotlightsStories from someone who's been in classrooms, boardrooms, and government coordination centersA mission to make security everyone's job, not just the IT team'sFrom teaching special needs students to coordinating statewide cyber defense, Jen proves that cybersecurity expertise comes from the most unexpected places. And the best conversations happen over great coffee. Perfect for: Coffee lovers, small business owners, educators, parents, and anyone who wants to stay safe online without the technical overwhelm. Let's get brewing.

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