From the Summer 2021 Issue

Who is Helping Cybercrime Victims?

Author(s):

Kristin Judge, CEO/President , Cybercrime Support Network

who-is-helping-cybercrime-victims

Cybercrime is the fastest growing crime in America and has created an economic crisis. Imagine the financial impact on communities when $420 billion is lost every year. Imagine the emotional impact on the millions of kids cyberbullied and lured away by online predators, or seniors drained of their retirement savings. Think about what happens to … Read more

From the Summer 2021 Issue

The Subtle Sabotage of Blame in Cybersecurity and Online Safety

Author(s):

Tim McGuinness, Ph.D, Director , SCARS - Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.

subtle-sabotage-of-blame

We All Do It, We All Blame Someone for Something Sometimes it is justified, sometimes there is cause, and it is very hard to remove it from your vocabulary – but it is always destructive. We recently heard a cybersecurity training professional tell a story about motivating a corporate team to do better with cybersecurity. … Read more

Catfishing: Not Just About Money

Author(s):

Caleb Townsend, Staff Writer, United States Cybersecurity Magazine

Catfishing, catfish

We live in a time where it is easier than ever to deceive people. For example, the internet now enables us to speak anonymously through message boards, comment sections, and even online games. Additionally, the internet can help you pretend to be a different person. Catfishing is the act of pretending to be someone else … Read more

From the Winter 2016 Issue

Social Insecurity

Author(s):

Natalie Blackbourne, President, Blackbourne Worldwide

Influence and manipulation occur every day. Deadlines at work are accomplished because your boss used their influence to get things done; somehow that adorable Scout talked you into buying an extra box of cookies; or your annoying coworker magically got you to do an extra hour of work after buying you a latte. All of … Read more

From the Winter 2016 Issue

Cybersecurity Takes the Right Person

Author(s):

Don Watson, CISSP, Senior Cyber Instructor/Senior Software Engineer, VOR Technology

There is unprecedented demand right now for qualified cyber specialists to fill the ranks of government and civilian positions.1 Although there are many people with expertise in advanced computer and network technologies, many of these workers lack experience in the security-related aspects of these technologies. As a programmer I wasn’t taught how to write secure … Read more

From the Winter 2016 Issue

How to Gain Allies and Infuence Your Services Team’s Success

Author(s):

Michelle Covert, Manager, Production Support SILA-C, Vertafore

The information security and customer service groups within an organization often make for odd bedfellows, due to the competing and often divergent goals between the two groups. Security teams’ goals are to protect and prevent the loss of customer data, information, proprietary code, or practices; services teams are focused on resolving customer-reported issues as quickly … Read more

From the Fall 2015 Issue

The Role of Social Networks in Securing Cyberspace: Opportunities and Threats

Author(s):

J. L. Billingsley, Advisory Board Member, Cyber Security Forum Initiative

Many in American society today equate social networks with online communities such as Google+ and LinkedIn. However, social networks have existed since the dawn of man. While the prominence of social networks continues to grow and has proven to be a rich research area, we already know a lot about their characteristics. For those of … Read more

From the Fall 2015 Issue

Staying a Move Ahead in Cyber-Chess

Author(s):

Dr. Alenka Brown, President , McClure, Brown & Associates LLC

Dr. Joe McClure VanHoozer, Founder, McClure, Brown & Associates LLC

Mr. Jason Christman, MS, CISSP, PMP, Subject Matter Expert, McClure, Brown, & Associates® LLC

Neurocognitive Patterns in Cyberspace  Humans process somatosensory information – defined by Kandel, et al as “different forms of energy…transformed by the nervous system into different sensations or sensory modalities: vision, hearing, touch/emotion, taste, and smell”1 – at several levels simultaneously. This information, composed of neuro psychometric indicators (NPI) – the verbal and non-verbal cues of … Read more

From the Fall 2015 Issue

Social Engineering: The Root of the Cyber Threat

Author(s):

Douglas Rausch, President, Aurora CyberSecurity Consultants, Inc.

R. “Montana” Williams, Founder and Managing Partner , Titan Rain Cybersecurity, LLC

When conducting reconnaissance of your cyber infrastructure, attackers look for weaknesses they can utilize to successfully penetrate your infrastructure with the least expenditure of resources and risk of being detected. The vulnerabilities created by human action or inaction have always been a potential attack vector. The increased focus on adding technical controls to bolster cyber … Read more