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Of mice and malware
Some of the most important training I got for a career in computer security research was not from a computer-related class, but in a biology class. While these two disciplines may seem entirely unrelated, the skills that are needed in...
Have we doubled the number of women in infosec?
According to a recent (ISC)2 report, women now comprise 20% of cybersecurity workers. But without defining what jobs are being included, it’s unclear whether we’re truly making progress.
Has the word ‘breach’ has outlived its usefulness?
When someone says a data breach has happened, it’s generally understood to mean that attackers have broken into a company and stolen sensitive information. But after a growing number of high-profile privacy gaffes, the definition of...
Stop training your employees to fall for phishing attacks
Training your employees how to recognize and avoid phishing only works if trusted emails don’t look the same as criminals'.
Improving security with diversity beyond the checkbox
Security and diversity mean being compliant and fair, but also mean you need to get the widest possible range of perspectives.
Security experts must enable safer usage, not just limit unsafe behavior
Keeping the enterprise secure, even when users need to do things that are considered risky behavior.
Security lessons taught by goats
Trying to contain farm animals who are surprisingly creative and adept at getting around barriers has a lot to teach us about how to approach our efforts at protecting data from crafty users.
Using empathy to improve technology
Technical ability is only a starting point in developing useful, secure and powerful technology. If we take steps to better understand and represent a wider user base, we can get significantly improved financial results.
Why go to women-focused technology events?
Why would a woman who's perfectly comfortable in groups predominantly populated by men want to step out of her comfort zone to attend women-focused technology groups?
Three shoddy security tropes it's time to retire
It's not unusual for our collective cultural or technological understanding to discredit certain tropes over time. Tired cliches about shoddy security practices have been especially slow to be moved to the ash heap of history. Here...
What is key to improving the ratio of women in cybersecurity?
The biennial (ISC)2 report shows that the percentage of women in cybersecurity remains unchanged. Given the significant shortfall of security talent, what can we learn from this report about how to fix our weak and leaky pipeline?
Don't succumb to security fatalism
Protecting ourselves online can be incredibly complicated for anyone who isn't an expert, which has led to the current dismal state of security. Now the time for big changes to make things simpler.
Ways to improve security education in the New Year
As 2016 comes to a close, there are a few types of security advice we should strive to avoid. With all the inevitable confusion about effective ways of protecting our data and machines, security experts need to make sure the...
Supporting inclusivity in the office
Many organizations are trying to change the limited demographic of people working in technology, but some are finding the process difficult. Here are a few tips for improving your efforts to hire and retain a wider variety of people.
In defense of “Good Enough” security
Every few weeks it seems like the list of security technology declared "dead" or broken grows. But are we actually putting ourselves at greater danger by avoiding any technique or product that falls on that list?
Which non-technical skills are most important to a career in security?
You can have all the technical knowledge in the world, but this does not necessarily guarantee a successful career in security. Here are a few non-technical skills that may not be immediately obvious, which will make you stand out as...
Is social media out of touch with how people socialize?
There's been a lot of discussion about the conditions around why people are sharing less personal content on social media. But is there an aspect of how people socialize that is being left out of the conversation?
In the event of an emergency, you will be prepared
Preparedness drills for physical safety are commonplace. Why not begin doing the same for digital safety? And what would such a thing entail?
No security experience? Apply anyway
As we're facing an ever-increasing shortage of security personnel, it's time to change our recruitment tactics. Cyber security training is readily available now. Rather than searching at length for the rare individual who is a perfect...
A change in wording could attract more women to infosec
Information security is an endeavor that is frequently described in terms of war. What can we learn from history and from other industries about what a change in verbiage might do to affect the gender balance of this industry?
