Threat Emulation with Andrew Costis
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Security risks are dynamic. Projects, employees, change, tools, and configurations are modified. Many companies utilize PEN testers on an annual basis, but as quickly as systems are revised, you may need to implement threat emulation for regular monitoring. Today’s guest is Andrew Costis. Andrew is the Chapter Lead of the Adversary Research Team at Attack IQ. He has over 22 years of professional industry experience and previously worked in the Threat Analysis Unit Team at Firmware, Carbon Black, and Logrhythm Labs, performing security research, reverse engineering malware, and tracking...
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Ransomware: To Pay or Not To Pay? with Amitabh Sinha
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Ransomware may not be on your machines due to your negligence or mistakes. It could be there because of third-party software you are utilizing. Do you know what to do if this happens to you? Today’s guest is Amitabh Sinha. Amitabh has a PhD in Computer Science and more than 20 years of experience in enterprise software, end-user computing, mobile, and database software. He co-founded Workspot in 2012. He was the General Manager of Enterprise Desktop and Applications at Citrix Systems. In his five years at Citrix, he was the VP of Product Management for XenDesktop and VP of Engineering...
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Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons with Carey Parker
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We all use technology. Things like internet browsers, search engines, instant messaging, and payment apps. But we aren’t always aware of the data being collected. This information can not only impact your privacy, but those around you as well. Today’s guest is Carey Parker. Carey is the author of , a step-by-step guide to computer security and privacy for non-techies. He also hosts a podcast by the same name. He recently retired from a career in software engineering to focus on teaching others how to defend their digital devices and protect their personal data. Show Notes: [0:53] -...
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Stopping Robocalls with Aaron Foss
Easy Prey
Finding a solution to stop spam calls to you, your family, or your business isn’t easy. We may not win this war, but we don’t want the government making this decision for us. We can make it more manageable in the meantime. Today’s guest is Aaron Foss. After winning the FTC Robocall Challenge in 2013, Aaron started Nomorobo. Since then, Nomorobo has stopped billions and billions of unwanted robocalls and spam texts from reaching our phones, and it was acquired by Applause group in August 2023. Aaron has been featured in The New York Times, Wired, CNN, CNBC, Fox News, and countless other...
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Safety Can’t Be an Afterthought with Kris Burkhardt
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Most businesses rely on some type of software, either for scheduling, payment, banking, customer lists, or something else. It’s important to know where this information is stored and what would happen if that software was hacked or you weren’t able to access it. Today’s guest is Kris Burkhardt. As Accenture’s Chief Information Security Officer, Kris leads a team of over 800 security experts charged with protecting company client and customer data. Show Notes: [0:49] - Kris describes his role at Accenture and what Accenture is known for in the security industry. [2:26] - Part of...
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Child Safety Tips with Steve Lazarus
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Is it right for parents to be the ones to have to put limits on their children’s screen time or to monitor the content they consume? Knowing the impact of social media and kids can influence the decisions that are made. Today’s guest is Steve Lazarus. Steve is a retired FBI agent, crime fiction author, and Instagram influencer specializing in personal and child safety topics. Show Notes: [0:42] - Steve shares his background and his career history in the FBI and the military. [4:02] - For a long time, Steve was anti-social media. However, since the publication of his book, he has garnered...
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Fraud: Not Going Away with Steve Lenderman
Easy Prey
Synthetic IDs can be used to open fake accounts, but without a person to file the fraud claim, how should companies deal with this type of deceit? There is no crime where someone doesn’t need to pay for the loss. Either way, the loss is passed on to the consumers in some way or another. Today’s guest is Steve Lenderman. Steve is currently the Head of Fraud Solutions North America at Quantexa and has over 25 years of experience in financial crimes investigation. His previous roles include being the Senior Vice President of Fraud Prevention Investigations at Bank Mobile Technology, the...
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Phishing Attack Awareness and Training with Josh Bartolomie
Easy Prey
Criminals do their own recon to study how vendors craft their emails and how they can structure them to match. Scammers know employees are busy and that they want to act promptly on requests, but they also understand it takes time to verify the validity of the email. How do we train employees to know what is real and what isn’t? Today’s guest is Josh Bartolomie. After joining Cofense in 2018 as the Director of Research and Development, Josh currently serves as the Vice President of Global Threat Services. He has over 25 years of IT and cybersecurity experience. He designed, built, and...
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Consumer Education for Fraud Protection with Doug Shadel
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Some scammers love the challenge of deceiving those they target while others are forced to scam. Those that thrive off of destroying others try to heighten your emotions very quickly. Both excited and angry responses can get you into making irrational decisions. Today’s guest is Doug Shadel. Doug is a former fraud investigator and special assistant to the Attorney General at the Washington State Attorney General’s office. He served as state director for AARP Washington and Strategy Director for AARP’s national anti-fraud efforts. Doug has collaborated on numerous educational videos...
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Educating Teens About Technology is Necessary with Clayton Cranford
Easy Prey
Please stop yourself from saying, “This could never happen to me or my family.” We can all have vulnerable blindspots when it comes to those we love being exploited or endangered. Even the best trained educators can be manipulated into making a mistake. Today’s guest is Clayton Cranford. Clayton is the founder of Cyber Safety Cop. He is a retired sergeant from the Orange County Sheriff's Department who served as a school resource officer, juvenile investigator, and behavioral threat assessor. He is one of the nation’s leading law enforcement educators on social media, child safety,...
info_outlineFinding a solution to stop spam calls to you, your family, or your business isn’t easy. We may not win this war, but we don’t want the government making this decision for us. We can make it more manageable in the meantime.
Today’s guest is Aaron Foss. After winning the FTC Robocall Challenge in 2013, Aaron started Nomorobo. Since then, Nomorobo has stopped billions and billions of unwanted robocalls and spam texts from reaching our phones, and it was acquired by Applause group in August 2023. Aaron has been featured in The New York Times, Wired, CNN, CNBC, Fox News, and countless other media outlets. He has testified in front of Congress, not once, not twice, but three times.
Show Notes:
- [1:14] - Aaron shares his background as a serial entrepreneur in the intersection of technology and business.
- [3:57] - At the beginning, Aaron didn’t even know what a robocall was.
- [6:47] - Robocalls have this negative connotation. They can actually be good. But there are many that are unwanted.
- [8:13] - There are different types of robocalls and there is a differentiation between spam and scam calls.
- [10:08] - Aaron explains why spam emails are easier to block than robocalls.
- [12:20] - There are some robocalls that are necessary and helpful for some people. That is one reason why not all robocalls can be blocked.
- [13:40] - Not answering the phone is not a plausible solution.
- [15:50] - Nomorobo is basically a series of bots talking to other bots.
- [16:50] - Aaron describes caller ID and how spoofing a number is possible.
- [19:42] - This is such a big problem because the barrier of entry is low.
- [21:08] - It is amazing that we can call anyone in the world. But that also means that scammers can, too.
- [22:53] - This is a complicated problem, and the future solution is a combination of government regulation, companies like Nomorobo, and AI.
- [26:29] - We are never going to win the war, but we can keep it manageable.
- [29:45] - What is the role of the carriers when it comes to robocalls?
- [31:47] - Keeping scammers on the phone does not make the problem go away.
- [33:52] - Some scams are seasonal and some are evergreen, like Medicare calls.
- [36:26] - Aaron explains the different ways these scams can be done and the range of damage they can do.
- [39:56] - At best, this is an annoyance. But there are people in our lives that are vulnerable and less protected.
- [44:42] - Sometimes, Nomorobo users have to turn it off for specific reasons and specific calls they’re waiting for.
- [47:56] - This problem is an example of “death by a thousand papercuts.”
- [49:30] - There are some red flags and things you might notice if you answer robocalls that could indicate that they are scams.
- [50:46] - This seems like an easy problem to solve, but it is far more complicated than most people think.
- [52:00] - Aaron describes what it was like to testify in front of Congress.
- [56:43] - Listen and educate yourself. Talk to other people about these things.
Thanks for joining us on Easy Prey. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes and leave a nice review.