The Human Risk Podcast15 Tammi 2024

Sarah Armstrong-Smith on The Cyber Attacker Mindset

What’s the most effective way to manage cyber risk? The obvious answer is to have more sophisticated security systems. My guest on this episode thinks the answer is humans.

That’s because behind every cyber attack, there is a human, and the biggest point of vulnerability within an organisation is its humans. If we can better understand humans and how they behave, we can be more effective at managing cyber risk.

That’s the view of my guest on this episode, Sarah Armstrong-Smith. She’s the Chief Security Advisor at Microsoft and a leading expert in the cybersecurity space.

She's also the author of a brilliant new book called Understanding the Cyber Attacker Mindset, in which she explores the human dynamics behind cyber attacks. In other words, why do the people who launch cyberattacks do so? If we can understand that, we can start to focus on the root cause of the problem.

In our discussion, we explore:

The crucial role human behaviour plays in cybersecurity;
The emotional and psychological aspects that can affect an organization's digital defences.
Why organisations need a cybersecurity strategy that is people-focused and considers the motivations of cyber attackers.
The importance of recognizing the internal cultural dynamics within an organization that may inadvertently aid cyber attackers;
How cognitive diversity can reinforce cyber defences.
How societal and cultural influences contribute to the ecosystem of cybercrime.
Why victim-blaming when it comes to cyber attacks is counter-productive
How phishing campaigns that punish those who fail tests are a bad idea;
The Seven Sins of Cyber Crime;
The benefits of fostering a supportive workplace culture.

And much much more.

To learn more and to pre-order Sarah’s new book ‘Understand the Cyber Attacker Mindset: Build a Strategic Security Programme to Counteract Threats’: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Understand-Cyber-Attacker-Mindset-Counteract/dp/1398614289#

You can find Sarah:

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-armstrong-smith

On Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/SarahASmith75

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(368)

Jessie Singer on Why There Are No Accidents

Why might an innocuous-sounding word we all use, result in a social injustice? The answer is: when that word is ‘accident’. It’s something we hear all the time. “Sorry, it was just an accident” or “t...

19 Maalis 20221h

Professor Todd Kashdan on The Art of Insubordination

Why might insubordination be a good thing? Normally when we use that word, it’s seen as a negative.  But there’s an alternative interpretation, where insubordination is seen as a positive, constructiv...

12 Maalis 20221h 13min

Daniel Ross talks a load of BS

What should you listen to when you’ve heard the entire Human Risk podcast back catalogue? I'm glad you asked. Because one of the aims of the show is to explore ideas, stories and people that can help...

10 Maalis 20221h 4min

Dr Joe Zammit-Lucia on The Politics of Business

Why should businesses get involved in politics? Traditionally companies have tried to avoid getting involved in political issues, because remaining apolitical, means you avoid offending anyone. But ...

3 Maalis 20221h 5min

Nicole Smith-Ludvik on Skydiving & Stunts

What drives people to follow careers that involve dangerous activities like skydiving & stunts? My guest is Nicole Smith-Ludvik, a professional skydiver and stuntwoman. Last year, Nicole starred in t...

26 Helmi 202253min

Ben Knowles on Risk Compensation in Cycling

Why would a bicycle delivery company ban its riders from wearing helmets? Depending on where you're reading this, you'll either think it's normal — hello, for example, to my Netherland's based listen...

22 Helmi 20221h 5min

Jared Bibler on Iceland's Secret

Why is something that happened in Iceland in 2008 still of relevance today? The answer is revealed by my guest Jared Bibler. He's the author of a book called 'Iceland's Secret: The Untold Story of the...

18 Helmi 20221h 4min

Professor Camilla Andersen on Comicbook Contracts

How can comic books reduce human risk? We've all seen airline safety cards that use imagery to communicate complex messages in a simple to understand way. So why couldn't we use that same logic for ...

11 Helmi 20221h 3min