By Jennifer Lyn Walker, The Cybersecurity Evangelist
Please enjoy this month’s episode of The Gate 15 podcast on Anchor, Spotify, Apple, Google, as well as other locations accessible via the Anchor link or almost anywhere you listen to your favorite podcasts.
The first episode of The Cybersecurity Evangelist of 2022 is actually the first Gate 15 Podcast of the year! No, we didn’t make a New Year’s resolution to publish TCE first from now on. This switch up was due to an unforeseen circumstance – which we’ll be SURE to hear about on a not-too-distant future Gate 15 podcast…
And, if TCE going first this month isn’t enough of a surprise, I have another one for you. What starts with “v,” ends in “o,” and can only be seen on Spotify? You guessed it! With a face only a mother can love, TCE episode 15 went video! Don’t worry, you can still listen on your favorite podcast platform! But for those (who shall remain nameless, Andy and Dave) giving me a hard time about video… voila! It’s also another solo episode. Yes, I plan on inviting more guests this year, but sometimes The Cybersecurity Evangelist just needs to get on the soapbox and, well…evangelize!
This episode includes a few gentle and some not-so-gentle reminders on cybersecurity best practices and practices for better cyber hygiene. I start with a few cybersecurity controls for businesses to buckle down on this year, including identifying assets, vetting vulnerabilities, and pursuing more potent password policies. Then, I actually persist on the password point with some pontification about our predilection for problematic passwords and propose pointers for a more polished password posture.
While there’s probably nothing new in this episode, I hope it serves as a gentle nudge to promote better cyber hygiene habits – not just resolutions for 2022, but positive habits to develop for all-time toward a more cyber secure you!
One tiny spoiler alert. I have been on a bit of a soapbox lately evangelizing a product that CISA initially published in November – the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog. This catalog contains over 300 vulnerabilities that threat actors are CURRENTLY exploiting on devices that haven’t been patched yet. At the time of this writing/recording, the vulnerabilities go as far back as 2010 through the present day. The catalog is regularly updated as CISA becomes aware of more vulnerabilities currently in use by the bad guys – and those aren’t always newly discovered vulnerabilities. For example, yesterday CISA added 15 vulnerabilities, including ones from 2013 and 2015 that they know are being exploited. I simply can’t say enough about this catalog and encourage all businesses/organizations/enterprises to regularly check it out. It’s truly a quick-win to help prioritize patching and vet vulnerabilities in your environment.
I hope you enjoy this episode of The Cybersecurity Evangelist podcast and are encouraged to create some new cyber hygiene habits this year, such as, new you(nique) passwords, new authentication (multifactor authentication), and using a new tool (password manager). Listen here! Watch here!
Read more about Gate 15’s full podcast menu at our Podcast page.
You can subscribe and enjoy all the Gate 15 Podcasts on Anchor, Apple, Spotify, Google, as well as other locations accessible from the Anchor link. Week-to-week, listen and learn more about our all-hazards threats, risks, mitigations, and other issues impacting homeland security risk management from our team as well as our regular and special guests. The full podcast menu includes:
- The Risk Roundtable, is a recurring monthly discussion among our team and occasional guests as we explore the all-hazards threats and risks impacting the United States and internationally.
- The Cybersecurity Evangelist, with Jennifer Lyn Walker, is a cybersecurity-focused podcast designed with a little cyber-something to help everyone be more cyber secure.
- Nerd Out! Security Panel Discussion, moderated by Dave Pounder, focuses on physical security topics including terrorism, extremism, hostile events, and other pertinent topics.
- The Gate 15 Interview, is a monthly interview between Gate 15’s founder and Managing Director, Andy Jabbour and guests from throughout the homeland security risk management community addressing a wide range of all-hazards topics and issues.
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