The Cybersecurity Evangelist, Episode 9 – ISAC Series, Part 5 – REN-ISAC (Research & Education Networks ISAC)

By Jennifer Lyn Walker, The Cybersecurity Evangelist

Despite the jesting I got from the guys during last week’s Risk Roundtable, the TCE ISAC Series broadcasts on!

I am so privileged to have such awesome guests join me on The Cybersecurity Evangelist (TCE), and this segment was no different! I had the pleasure of speaking with Krysten Stevens, Director of Technical Operations, and Brett Zupan, Risk Analyst and DC Liaison from REN-ISAC. If you follow Gate 15 on any of our social media or blog posts, then you’ve heard of REN-ISAC and probably already know that it stands for Research & Education Networks Information Sharing & Analysis Center. You probably also know that REN-ISAC promotes cybersecurity operational protections and response for the higher education and research community.

I don’t want to give too much away, but some highlights from our chat:

  • The threats facing the research and higher education community – Hint: the same threats facing everyone else. Along with the importance of monitoring threats facing other sectors, because we can’t remain idle while we wait until a threat targets our own sector.
  • We also spoke to one of the cybersecurity concerns near and dear to my heart, ICS threats and how they could impact a college/university/research facility campus.
  • Most importantly, we gushed about Kim Milford’s (REN-ISAC’s Executive Director) amazing vision in 2019 to execute a series of Blended Threat Workshops that had colleges, universities, and relevant community partners, such as state/local health and law enforcement working through an infectious disease scenario… can you believe at one point the team thought the scenario development might be going too far…hmmmm!
  • We also touched on the 2020-2021 Blended Threat Workshop series scenario and the myriad ways ransomware could quickly disturb college life. I even posed the idea of a “vehicular denial of service…” 😉

Listen to the chat here, visit https://www.ren-isac.net/ to learn more, and come back next month for Part 2 of my chat with REN-ISAC on The Cybersecurity Evangelist!

Resources discussed on this episode:

Other ISAC’s (and ISAO’s) previously heard on TCE:

You can enjoy other Gate 15 Podcasts on AnchorAppleSpotifyGoogle, and other locations accessible from the Anchor link. The full podcast menu includes:

  • The Risk Roundtable, a panel discussion among our Gate 15 team
  • The Cybersecurity Evangelist, with Jennifer Lyn Walker
  • Nerd Out! Security Panel Discussion, moderated by Dave Pounder
  • The Gate 15 Interview, a monthly interview with security and risk management leaders

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