Episodes

In this compelling episode, Dr. Dave Chatterjee is joined by Damon Fleury, Chief Product Officer, SpyCloud to dissect one of cybersecurity’s most exploited and least understood attack surfaces—identity. With nearly three decades of experience in security, Damon shares real-world insights into how identity compromises serve as the entry point for major breaches, why a holistic approach to identity security is urgent, and how organizations can move from reactive defense to proactive resilience. Th...

In this episode of the Cybersecurity Readiness Podcast, Dr. Dave Chatterjee sits down with Richard Hummel, Director of Threat Intelligence at NETSCOUT, to unpack the fast-evolving Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) threat landscape. Richard shares unique insights from NETSCOUT’s latest global threat intelligence report, discussing the strategic weaponization of DDoS attacks in geopolitical conflict, the role of AI in modern attack infrastructure, and why proactive preparation, not prevention, ...

Social engineering continues to be the primary gateway for cyberattacks, responsible for nearly 80% of fraud and ransomware incidents. And notably, 1 in 4 of these social engineering attacks originate via phone calls. Yet many enterprises continue to leave their phone systems exposed. In this episode, Dr. Dave Chatterjee engages Richard Quattrocchi, Vice President of Digital Transformation, Mutare Inc., in a compelling discussion on the often-overlooked threat of voice-based cyberattacks, partic...

Dr. Dave Chatterjee and David Close discuss the implications of post-quantum cryptography (PQC) on cybersecurity readiness. David, a Chief Solutions Architect at Futurex, explains the evolution of cryptographic methods to counter quantum computing threats. He highlights the importance of NIST's role in standardizing quantum-resistant algorithms like Kyber and Dilithium. David shares practical examples, such as Google and Cloudflare's hybrid TLS implementation and a financial institution's use of...

The adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen-AI) applications and tools are exploding. The global AI infrastructure market is projected to reach over $96 billion by 2027. AI applications are being used to empower every organizational function and industry, from logistics and supply chain to manufacturing, healthcare, finance and banking, marketing and sales, and customer sales. However, such adoption and use of AI tools and platforms has greatly expand...

Dr. Dave Chatterjee hosts a discussion on elevating your offensive program with Mark Carney, CEO @ Evolve Security, and Yaron Levi, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Dolby Labs. They emphasize the importance of a proactive, continuous approach to cybersecurity, contrasting it with traditional reactive measures. Key points include the need for a threat-informed, programmatic mindset, continuous threat exposure management (CTEM), and the integration of business objectives. They stress t...

Dr. Dave Chatterjee and Kee Jefferys, Technical Co-Founder of Session, discuss the use of blockchain technology in enhancing the security and privacy of messaging apps, specifically Session. Session, which has over a million monthly active users, uses a decentralized network of nodes incentivized by Session tokens. Unlike traditional messaging apps, Session does not require a phone number for sign-up and employs onion routing and end-to-end encryption to protect user data. Kee emphasizes the imp...

Despite companies’ best efforts, stored access credentials inevitably get stolen or misused. Whether it is a disgruntled employee posting the data, an employee that makes an innocent mistake exposing that data, a company needing revenue selling the information, a criminal hacker group stealing the information, or a government-backed group stealing the information, etc. it is simply a matter of when not if that information will be stolen. “The only truly safe way to handle people’s secrets is ne...

In this episode, Shrav Mehta, Founder, and CEO at Secureframe, joins me to discuss major cybersecurity incidents in 2024, highlighting five significant breaches: National Public Data (2.7 billion records), AT&T (50 billion), Ticketmaster (500 million), Change Healthcare (145 million), and Dell (49 million). We emphasize the importance of proactive measures, such as data minimization, continuous training, and zero-trust models. I stressed the need for leadership engagement, robust incident respon...

In this episode, Aaron Painter, CEO at Nametag, joins me in discussing the Deepfake fraud phenomenon and how organizations and individuals should protect themselves from such scams. A recent study conducted by finance software provider Medius finds that over 53% of businesses in the U.S. and U.K. have been targets of financial scams powered by “deepfake” technology, with 43% falling victim to such attacks. 85% of the finance professionals polled view such scams as an “existential” threat to thei...

IBM recently reported a 71% year-over-year increase in attacks using valid credentials. This continued use of stolen credentials is also evident through ongoing public incidents like the string of attacks targeting Snowflake's customers that resulted in breaches at AT&T and Advanced Auto Parts. Lynsey Wolf, Team Lead and Insider Threat Analyst at DTEX Systems believes that users' psychological and behavioral traits are being overlooked when it comes to defending against credential misuse. In thi...

Accelerating into the cloud without caution often brings complexities that can cause more harm than good. Gartner has noted that cloud configuration errors cause 95% of cybersecurity breaches. With the rapid pace of cloud adoption, less time is spent ensuring systems are built and operated effectively with proper cyber hygiene. In this episode, Dale Hoak, Director of Information Security at RegScale, joins me in discussing cloud compliance-related challenges and best practices. Here are some ter...

In this episode, Mike Manrod, the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) of Grand Canyon Education, and Ori Eisen, the Founder and CEO of Trusona, joined me to discuss how best to reduce the risks of social engineering attacks on IT support and help desk personnel. This episode was motivated by the major cyber attack that brought MGM Resorts International's operations to a screeching halt. It was a social engineering attack where the attackers gained super administrator privileges by providin...

In this episode, Laurie Salvail, Ph.D., Executive Director of CYBER.ORG, joins me to discuss the importance of cybersecurity education for K-12 students. Primarily funded by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), CYBER.ORG is a powerful and free resource available to K-12 students and educators in the United States. CYBER.ORG’s Range, a cloud-based virtual environment, empowers K-12 students with real-world cybersecurity skills in a secure platform. To access and download ...

As machine learning algorithms continue to evolve, Large Language Models (LLMs) like GPT-4 are gaining popularity. While these models hold great promise in revolutionizing various functions and industries—ranging from content generation and customer service to research and development—they also come with their own set of risks and ethical concerns. In this episode, Rohan Sathe, Co-founder & CTO/Head of R&D at Nightfall.ai, and I review the LLM-related risks and how best to mitigate them. To acc...

The importance of maintaining uninterrupted services cannot be overemphasized, especially in light of the recent global IT outage fiasco. With the increasing dependence on cloud-based services, uninterrupted connectivity is essential to maintaining business continuity. Since identity providers control access to an organization's application and data, any downtime can shut down mission-critical operations. It was great to have Eric Olden, Co-Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of Strat...

In this episode, Chris Petersen, Co-Founder and CEO of RADICL, and I discuss the challenges of securing the small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) that serve the United States defense industrial base (DIB) and critical infrastructure. These SMBs play a significant role in supporting the Advanced Defense Systems that protect our nation from domestic and international threats. So, it is imperative to review what it takes to keep these SMBs safe from cyber-attacks. To access and download the ent...

In this episode, John Funge, Managing Director at DataTribe, and I discuss the Global IT Outage caused by a flawed update to CrowdStrike's cloud-based security software. We also review DataTribe's recently published report on cybersecurity trends and predictions for 2024. In closing, John shares some tips and recommendations for those seeking cybersecurity funding. To access and download the entire podcast summary with discussion highlights -- https://www.dchatte.com/episode-69-2024-cyber-tren...

The recent breach of the Change Healthcare platform serves as a strong reminder that the healthcare sector remains extremely vulnerable to different types of attacks. In late February, a ransomware gang known as Black Cat claimed responsibility for hacking Change Healthcare, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group. The intruders disrupted operations and stole up to four terabytes of data, including personal information, payment details, insurance records, and other sensitive information. It is also r...

The fast-evolving quantum computing phenomenon represents a paradigm shift in how computers process data. Due to its ability to process vast amounts of data and solve complex problems at an unprecedented speed, quantum computing holds great promise for new material discovery through the simulation of physical systems, portfolio optimization in finance, and more. It also poses a significant threat to cybersecurity, requiring a change in how we encrypt our data. Even though quantum computers don’t...

In this podcast, I enjoyed talking with Chirag Shah, Model N's Global Information Security Officer and Data Privacy Officer, about creating a security-minded culture. Infusing a security culture within organizations starts with leadership buy-in and support. Chirag highlighted the need for interactive and engaging training programs tailored to specific departments, involving real-world examples and practical scenarios. He stressed the significance of fostering a security mindset among employees ...

Student-led cybersecurity clinics are increasingly playing an essential role in strengthening the digital defenses of nonprofits, hospitals, municipalities, small businesses, and other under-resourced organizations in our communities while also developing a talent pipeline for cyber-civil defense. Sarah Powazek, Program Director - Public Interest Cybersecurity at the University of California, Berkeley Center for Long Term Cybersecurity (CLTC), sheds light on this important development. One of th...

Developing and maintaining resilient and secure data centers is a huge part of cybersecurity readiness. Spiros Liolis, Chief Technologist and Managing Consultant, EYP Mission Critical Facilities, Part of Ramboll, joins me to discuss the challenges and best practices of creating and maintaining state-of-the-art data centers. Topics covered include a) elements and attributes of resilient data centers, b) creating and maintaining a resilient and adaptive data center, and c) the different types of r...

Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) play a vital role in modern software development, enabling the integration of services and facilitating the exchange of information. The ubiquity of APIs is a testament to their success in supporting many functions. However, their prominence has also made APIs a target for cyberattacks. Jeremy Snyder, Founder & CEO of Firetail.io, joins me in discussing how to secure APIs effectively. Our discussion revolves around the following questions: What do we ne...