#CyberChats

In this bonus episode, we talk about Cyber Saturday - a day of cyber exploration for rising 5th-10th grade students with workshops covering cybersecurity, data protection, and online safety. Cyber Saturday is Saturday May 4th, from 9am to 2pm, at TAC in Columbia, Maryland.

Alethe Dennis, mistress of social engineering, talks about what social engineering is, how it can improve overall security for a company, and her path to becoming a professional social engineer and DefCon Black Badge holder. She also discusses what to teach your kids about not getting engineered, how to ethically learn and practice your skills, and gives some reading recommendations.

Imagine working hard, finally starting a job, and hating it all while being cyberstalked. Would you know what to do? Our guest this episode shares how to approach these challenges so you can get the best outcome but also keep moving forward in a new career.

Our guest Kennedy Taylor is a Senior Technology Risk Consultant for Ernst & Young, where she supports our Department of Defense.

Topics discussed: starting jobs, cyber stalking, protecting yourself online via social media settings, asking for help

DEF CON is one of the biggest cyber conferences of the year, and this year's DEF CON 32 will feature a new initiative called DCNextGen -- a track for kids and teens of all skill levels, from complete beginner to practitioners. There will be CTFs (Capture the Flag events), badges you can solder and program, workshops on technical skills, and even the opportunity to present a talk. In this episode, we talk with the host of DCNextGen herself, BiaSciLab. Listen in as she shares how she got to where she is today and how DEF CON has played a role.

BiaSciLab is a 17 year old hacker, Maker, and international speaker. She was the youngest speaker at H.O.P.E. and has spoken multiple times at DEF CON; Speaking in the Voting Village, Bio Hacking Village, and the r00tz Asylum kids con. For DEF CON 32 she will be running DCNextGen, the DEF CON initiative bringing training for kids and teens.

Topics discussed:
DefCon, DCNextGen, getting started in cyber conferences, open sourc evs closed source software, DCNextGen Ticket Sponsorship

Cyber crime can seem like something that only the most technically advanced people could pull off. But with last year's MGM hack, attackers basically had the door held open for them as they logged in with valid credentials they engineered someone to give them, stole company data and demanded payment. In this episode, we’ll learn how to protect ourselves and our information by learning how humans are vulnerable tech. You won’t want to miss this.

Dr. Aunshul Rege is the Director of the Cybersecurity in Application, Research, and Education (CARE) Lab at Temple University.

Topics discussed:
Social engineering (SE), ethics and SE education, CARE lab, cyber adversarial behavior, cyber education curriculum design, summer SE competition, CIRA data set, shoulder surfing, cyber security pathways and workforce shortage, diversity in the workforce

Connect with Dr. Rege & Temple:
Twitter: @Prof_Rege Instagram: @prof_rege

Temple University Social Links:
Twitter: @TU_CARE Instagram: @tu_care_lab

Collegiate Social Engineering Competition
Twitter: @CollegiateSECTF

Being a leader in cyber often denotes valuable insights gained from a long career. Today's guest is not only a highly regarded leader in cyber but is also NCF's very own CEO, Laura Nelson. Learn how Laura's career has shaped her views on the importance of data privacy, what she's most excited about at the NCF, and how mentorship has played a vital role getting her to where she is today.

Laura Nelson joined the National Cryptologic Foundation (NCF) as President and CEO in early 2019. She is leading the Foundation’s growing partnership with the National Security Agency as well the NCF’s Education and Engagement programs.

Curious about cryptography and why it’s linked to cybersecurity? How can something like math help us fight the bad guys? On this episode, our highly esteemed guest will bring her experience in research, cryptography, and law in order to explain how cryptography can be used to solve some of the world’s biggest problems.

Anjana Rajan is the Assistant National Cyber Director at The White House.

Topics discussed: how cryptography/cryptology/cybersecurity are related, math and cryptography, using cryptology to fight exploitation, post-quantum cryptography, how to get started in cryptography

Register here for the NCF’s FREE episode challenges:

Closing the workforce gap is a huge challenge within the cybersecurity industry, and the demand for professionals continues to grow worldwide. How can we address the barriers to solving this issue? This week's guest has long partnered with NCF to be a part of the solution and has helped to identify the roots of the problem so that others can gain an understanding of the broader issue at hand.

Dr. Melissa Dark is the founder of DARK Enterprises, Inc., a non-profit that focuses on cybersecurity education Development, Assessment, Research and Knowledge Transfer.

Topics discussed: DARK Enterprises, Cybersecurity curriculum guidelines, Teach Cyber Curriculum, Cyber Supply

Connect with our Guest:

Happy new year! To start off 2024, we are resolving to think more critically about all of the info we share online before we share it! To do that, we're re-listening to our first ever #CyberChats Podcast episode with Dr. Eliot Jardines. We'll see you back in a couple of weeks with new episodes and new challenges. In the meantime, let us know -- how are you resolving to stay safe online in 2024?

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From your likes and dislikes to your location and even your personal conversations, your personal data is not only collected by companies every day but, thanks to new technologies, is also made available to individuals and groups around the world. So what happens with all of that seemingly harmless information when the wrong person has access to it?

In this episode, we take a closer look at the world of technology and how it affects your personal privacy. We talk with our guests about the issue of inadvertently sharing private information, explore ways in which our personal data can be exploited, and discuss what you can do to protect your information and keep it, and yourself, safe.

So, grab your headphones, and get ready to learn all about the not-so-secret life of your data. It's time to take control of your online identity and keep your private info safe!

In this special episode of the #CyberChats podcast, we’re celebrating the halfway point of Season 2 by featuring our guests from throughout the season. Get ready to hear all of their tips for being cyber smart in a collection of this season’s Fast Five responses. 

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Cybersecurity is a team sport and one of our values as an organization is to help elevate those who are working with us to spread awareness about data care and cyber careers. We also want to provide you with reliable resources if you are looking to help in our mission to educate others about taking care of their data. This episode highlights some of our invaluable partners: MetaCTF (our challenge sponsor for the first part of this season), Start Engineering, and UMGC.

Topics discussed: MetaCTF, CTFs, Start Engineering, Outsmart Cyberthreats,

The start of the winter season means quality time with friends, family, and loved ones, which means it's the perfect time to talk to the people we care for about staying safe online.

A new school year is upon us, and many of our routines are changing to adapt. But what are you doing to take better care of your data this school year? Do you know what information you're sharing? If you don't know much about your data, and want to be empowered so you can know what steps to take, this is the place to start!

Our guest Hannah Sutor is a Principal Product Manager at GitLab and data privacy advocate. You can find more information about taking care of your data on her sites:

Imagine working hard, finally starting a job, and hating it all while being cyberstalked. Would you know what to do? Our guest this episode shares how to approach these challenges so you can get the best outcome but also keep moving forward in a new career.

Our guest Kennedy Taylor is a Senior Technology Risk Consultant for Ernst & Young, where she supports our Department of Defense. Kennedy will be competing for the title of Miss America this January 2024!

Topics discussed: starting jobs, cyber stalking, protecting yourself online via social media settings, asking for help,

Our teenage guest will talk about a very well known competition called CyberPatriot. Because the team he helped build has yielded such great success in competition, he’s passionate about giving back and helping others find a space in the cyber community. You’ll enjoy hearing about the content of his blog post concerning CyberPatriot, and we’ll go over inside tips on how to make and maintain ANY high performing team.

Akshay Rohatgi, three-time CyberPatriot National Champion, is currently a college student at University of California, Irvine.

Topics discussed: CyberPatriot, getting started, how to win, teamwork, giving back to the cyber community

Happy Cybersecurity Awareness Month! Cyber crime can seem like something that only the most technically advanced people could pull off. But with the recent MGM hack, attackers basically had the door held open for them as they logged in with valid credentials they engineered someone to give them, stole company data and demanded payment. In this episode, we’ll learn how to protect ourselves and our information by learning how humans are vulnerable tech. You won’t want to miss this.

Dr. Aunshul Rege is the Director of the Cybersecurity in Application, Research, and Education (CARE) Lab at Temple University.

Topics discussed:
Social engineering (SE), ethics and SE education, CARE lab, cyber adversarial behavior, cyber education curriculum design, summer SE competition, CIRA data set, shoulder surfing, cyber security pathways and workforce shortage, diversity in the workforce

Getting more cyber ed opportunities in the K12 space is a difficult problem to troubleshoot. In this episode, we’ll show how solutions can come from the students themselves! Take note from our enthusiastic and motivated teen guest as they share how they navigated creating and managing a school cyber club and got jobs in tech before college.

Our guest Sully Vickers is an intern at Markel, is the founder of the Glen Allen Cybersecurity club, and is likely a future CISO.

Topics discussed:
Starting a cyber club–tools to consider, cyber club activities, networking under 18, public speaking, is college necessary?, TikTok data collection, advice for others

A new school year is upon us, and many of our routines are changing to adapt. But what are you doing to take better care of your data this school year? Do you know what information you're sharing? If you don't know much about your data, and want to be empowered so you can know what steps to take, this is the place to start!

Our guest Hannah Sutor is a Principal Product Manager at GitLab and data privacy advocate. You can find more information about taking care of your data on her sites: