Staying mindful with Sandra Estok

Host: Jeremy Cherny interviews Sandra Estok, Founder and CEO of Way2Protect

“I’m an expert in the fields of cybersecurity, IT, and data privacy. Through my stories, experience and expertise, I help people feel empowered in navigating the cyberworld. I help people find ways to protect what matters against hackers, scammers and cyber monsters, even if people feel they are too busy or do not understand the why, what or how of technology.”

How do you stay on top of the latest security threats?

Every day something else pops. It’s either a vulnerability or a new way for us to be hacked or to be breached. And so how I stay on top is I read a lot. I research a lot. I could read all the news, and I can read everything that's going on, but I'm always trying to find a way to take what's going on and make it a message that is different. And have it shifted in a way that gets into my audience. And that's what I focus on the most. How to take what's happening in the world and articulate that in a way that is more simple so people can understand it.

How do you handle awareness training for people about what the current security threats are and about the specific security threats that might impact them?

Let's take an example with phishing, which is very common. We all need emails, and so it’s an area where we’re exposed, whether you’re in security, just a regular business or a mom or dad, or kids, like everyone gets emails that are trying to either impersonate, steal or do something. So, one way that I teach phishing prevention is when we change our mindset to cybersecurity The first thing that I teach is just brief, just stop knowing that you have control over your cyber life, knowing that you can decide whether to click or not, it's so powerful. And when we start seeing it that way, we start changing. So now we are not so unconscious to just click or browse and get malware in our computers because we're not even realizing it that we're clicking on a malicious link.

What are the most important things that people can do to protect their online information?

I have three steps. The first is mindfulness. What I mean by that is when you get an email, when you get a phone call, just briefly pause. And once you do that, make whatever decision or go in whatever direction you want to go. I think number two is taking care of the basics. And by that I mean, we have a lot of different tools, devices, technology, and if we don't take care of the basics of updating and keep doing the housekeeping of things, it's gonna break. It's like if you never clean your carpet, your house. My third recommendation is that I'm a believer in intentions, decorations and keeping a positive attitude in life. I'm super grateful for everything that has happened to me. So what I do is I use a password manager. I have one long phrase as my password. And that phrase has meaning to me, because every time I type that phrase, I'm reminding myself of something that I want to achieve or something nice that it's in my day. So it makes me happy and at the same time, it’s a very long phrase that protects my passwords.

What’s your favorite tech gadget?

I will say wearables. I love to see my data and what they are. My new gadget is about wellness. It's a ring that measures how I sleep and I love it because it changed the way I do things every day. It helps me to keep myself on track. A lot of people are paranoid about having health data, but this is locked down enough where it’s safe and I can have data that helps me.