On today's episode, we're breaking down phrases you've heard a million times: “security is everyone’s job,” “humans are the weakest link in the security chain,” “it’s not if you get breached, but when.” Returning guest Alyssa Miller drills into these comforting nostrums and explains why, even when they’re used for well-intended purposes, they often act to limit the conversation and the options, rather than address the hard work needed to overcome these evergreen problems. You’re not going to want to miss this one, folks! It’s all that, plus a little bit of book talk, today on Cyber Work!

0:00 - Intro
1:38 - Alyssa's tweet that inspired this episode
4:00 - Why you need to read the Cybersecurity Career Guide
9:10 - Cybersecurity platitudes and clichés
11:30 - Cliché 1: "It's not if you get breached, but when"
18:44 - Cliché 2:"Just patch your shit"
24:58 - Cliché 3: "Users are the weakest link"
32:34 - Cliché 4: "Security is everyone's job"
35:52 - Cliché 5: What is a "quality gate"?
44:14 - Cliché 6: "You just need passion to get hired"
48:14 - How to write a better cybersecurity job description
50:15 - Business value of diversity and inclusion
52:52 - Building a security champions program
55:12 - Where can you connect with Alyssa Miller?
56:44 - Outro

Secure coders are responsible for developing and writing secure code in a way that protects against security vulnerabilities like bugs, defects and logic flaws. They take proactive steps to introduce secure coding methodologies before the application or software is introduced into a production environment, often following recommendations from the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) Foundation.

0:00 - Intro
0:25 - What does a secure coder do?
5:48 - How do you become a secure coder?
9:46 - What skills do secure coders need?
12:28 - What tools do secure coders use?
17:08 - What roles can secure coders transition into?
19:50 - What to do right now to become a secure coder

Diana Kelley returns to the show to discuss her work as a board member of the Cyber Future Foundation and the goings-on at this year’s Cyber Talent Week. Whether you’re a cybersecurity hiring manager who doesn’t know why you’re not getting the applicants you want, a candidate who hears the profession has 0% unemployment but still can’t seem to get a callback or anyone in between, DO. NOT. MISS. THIS. EPISODE. This is one for the books, folks.

0:00 - Cybersecurity hiring and job searching
4:30 - Diana Kelley of Cyber Future Foundation
9:00 - Cyber Future Foundation talent week
13:58 - Reexamining cybersecurity job descriptions
21:52 - Cybersecurity hiring manager and applicant training
27:10 - Strategies to bring in diverse talent from other industries
33:06 - Narrowing your cybersecurity job pursuit
39:37 - Using different educations in cybersecurity roles
41:32 - Implementing an educational pipeline
44:40 - Hiring based on strong skills from other trades
48:22 - Cybersecurity apprenticeships
53:22 - Fostering cybersecurity community value
59:09 - Diana Kelley's future projects
1:00:30 - Outro

Today on Cyber Work Ché Wijesinghe of Cape Privacy talks about the safe and ethical collection of user data when creating machine learning or predictive models. When your bank is weighing whether to give you a loan, they can make a better choice the more info they know about you. But how secure is that contextual data? Hint: not as secure as Wijesinghe would like!

0:00 - Machine learning and data collection
2:37 - Getting started in cybersecurity
3:15 - Being drawn to big data
4:35 - What data is driving decision-making?
9:04 - How is data collection regulated?
15:02 - Closing the encryption gap
16:50 - Careers in data privacy
19:07 - Where can you move from data privacy?
21:20 - Ethics of data collection
23:25 - Learn more about Wijesinghe
23:55 - Outro

A Privacy Manager is responsible for the development, creation, maintenance and enforcement of the privacy policies and procedures of an organization. They ensure compliance with all privacy-related laws and regulations. The Privacy Manager takes an active lead role when a privacy incident or data breach occurs and will start the investigation. They will then monitor, track and resolve any privacy issues. The Privacy Manager builds a strategic and comprehensive privacy program for their organization that minimizes risk and ensures the confidentiality of protected information.

Advanced knowledge of privacy law and data protection is critical to success in this role.

0:00 - Working as a privacy manager
0:40 - What does a privacy manager do?
3:02 - Experience a privacy manager needs
5:15 - Is college necessary for a privacy manager?
8:05 - Skills needed to be a privacy manager
10:30 - What tools does a privacy manager use?
11:15 - Where do privacy managers work?
12:15 - Roles privacy managers can move to
13:30 - How do I get started becoming a privacy manager?

Just getting started? This role is for you!

The Cybersecurity Beginner role focuses on the foundational skills and knowledge that will allow anyone to take the first step towards transitioning into a cybersecurity career. No prior knowledge of cybersecurity or work experience is required. The only prerequisite is a passion for technology and cybersecurity.

0:00 - Working as a cybersecurity beginner
0:41 - Tasks a cybersecurity beginner may take on
4:15 - Cybersecurity work imposter syndrome
5:49 - Common tools cybersecurity beginners use
9:08 - Jobs for cybersecurity beginners
13:50 - Get started in cybersecurity