This week we deep dive into privacy with Mozilla Foundation’s Privacy Not Included content creator Zoë MacDonald. She shares fascinating insights from the deep research the *Privacy Not Included team undertakes to assess just how private is your data when using popular apps, driving in your connected car, etc. It was quite eye-opening just how little privacy there is for connected car owners – giving up all kinds of privacy in the name of modern convenience

We’re excited to welcome back to the podcast global security expert, speaker and author Mikko Hypponen who currently serves as Chief Research Officer at WithSecure. We dive into his book “If It’s Smart, It’s Vulnerable” and how cybersecurity has evolved and changed in the last year since it was published.

Andrew Borene, Executive Director at Flashpoint joins the podcast this week. He brings a wealth of insights on today’s state of international security affairs gleaned from his many years in the U.S. Intelligence community, and leading private sector intelligence teams. 

This week Keith Krueger, CEO of the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), joins the podcast. He shares insights on the digital inequities that exist across schools and students and the challenges they create at a time when connectivity should be a basic right for all.

We are excited to welcome back to the podcast Rich Itri, Chief Innovation Officer at ECI. He joined us last year during the commentary period of the new SEC cyber regulations to break down what’s being proposed and the potential implications for businesses. In this podcast, the conversation comes full circle as the new SEC cyber rules are coming online and act as official recognition that the ever-present danger of cybersecurity threats can impact investor decision-making.

In this replay episode, Dr. Samantha Ravich, Chairman for the Foundation of Defense of Democracies joins the podcast this week. She shares insights from her many years on the geopolitical and economic front lines of cyber, and work with many renowned government leaders, on developing a plan of action to address today’s cyber threat landscape and looming threat against critical infrastructure and essential services.

To wrap up the 20th Annual Cybersecurity Awareness Month, we welcome back to the podcast Eric Goldstein, Executive Assistant Director for Cybersecurity for the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). He shares insights on the exciting new cybersecurity public awareness campaign just launched, “Secure Our World.” It features simple ways to protect yourself, your family, and your business from online threats.

In this episode, we talk with Megan Stifel, Chief Strategy Officer at the Institute for Security and Technology, about the changing threat of ransomware and the worldwide response. Megan shares insights from her broad background in cybersecurity policy, including her time at the U.S. Department of Justice and the Global Cyber Alliance. The discussion covers how ransomware has shifted from a business nuisance to a national security threat, leading to new government strategies such as sanctions, intelligence tools, and financial regulations. Megan also highlights the importance of fixing software vulnerabilities and using government procurement power to promote better security practices.

Joining us this week is Dr. David Bader, a Distinguished Professor and founder of the Department of Data Science in the Ying Wu College of Computing and Director of the Institute for Data Science at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He deep dives into the opportunity to democratize data science tools and the awesome free tool he and Mike Merrill spent the last several years building that can be found on the Bears-R-Us GitHub page open to the public.

This week we’re joined by Julia Fallon, Executive Director of the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) and she shines a light on the appeal of school systems to cyber attackers. (HINT: it is access to PII to open credit cards, mortgages, and more in the name of children that often is only detected many years later.) We also discuss the connection between schools and insurance companies, trends in how school systems are fortifying their security measures, the evolution of infosec to become a front office issue, and what schools can do to integrate cybersecurity into curriculums to both bolster security and lay a pathway for future cyber professionals.