Whenever a specialist says that humans are the weakest link in cybersecurity, besides educating through fear, they are crafting a narrative, creating a reality in people's heads, and making them feel helpless against cyber criminals.  Our guest, Lianne Potter, feels utterly differently about how to educate people on cybersecurity. Instead of fear, she advocates for empowering users through trust, autonomy, and, above all things, reciprocity.  Lianne is a Cyber Anthropologist, Head of SpecOps at Asda, Published Author, Host of the Shared Security Podcast, Keynote Speaker, and multi-aw ..read more

Joshua Corman is a security strategist, philosopher, and co-founder of I am The Cavalry, a collective of professionals from technology, law, and public policy who work to mitigate the impact software-enabled and always-connected devices have on public safety and human life.  We had a deeply moving conversation about Joshua's influential work in cybersecurity, the birth of I Am The Cavalry, and his experiences navigating tough life transitions.  Using his masterful ability to capture thoughts, feelings, and experiences, Joshua brings to life the essence of building genuine connections ..read more

Javvad is a brilliant Security Awareness Advocate, Speaker, sharp industry commentator, and one of the most prolific bloggers in the community. His natural talent for making the cybersecurity industry's most technical and complicated matters easy to understand is a gift and an inspiration.   Join me as Javvad masterfully dissects the negativity and the rationalization bias, using brilliant analogies to explain the disconnect between cybersecurity specialists' expectations and people’s responses to digital challenges.  And, if you’re up for it, help us answer this question: how c ..read more

How many accounts on different websites do you have?  Sharing our personal information online as a condition to access content has become a reflex. We hit the "I've read and agree to the terms and conditions" button without thinking about it. In fact, only a handful would notice if anything else is written in that box.  Yet things are starting to change; those worried about data privacy aren't only hackers anymore. The wave of awareness that questions what companies do with the personal information we share with them has started spreading to every corner of the cybersphere. &nbs ..read more

If you boil cybersecurity down to its essence, you'll find a hacker doing their best to educate, communicate, and help people see the world the way they do: with curiosity and the innate desire to understand it and make it better.  Yet what's the community reaction when a message fails to land as expected? It’s (still too) often victim-blaming, a sarcastic remark, or a vague piece of advice to do more of… something. To our guest, Alyssa Miller, it all comes down to self-awareness and understanding that, frequently, impact is more important than intent. Being more aware of how and what we ..read more

I’ve had dozens of conversations exploring the need for empathy and compassion in cybersecurity, from supporting victims of cybercrime to acknowledging the data we protect are not numbers on a screen but real people’s experiences.  Yet the transformation empathy is capable of goes way beyond cybersecurity. It seeps into the teams and companies we build, the relationships we influence through technology, it guides leadership, and so much more!  That’s why I’m delighted to open Season 5 of Cyber Empathy with a trailblazer in the community, known for his generosity, empathy, and honesty ..read more

We've had dozens of conversations on the need for empathy and compassion in cybersecurity, from being compassionate with who clicked on the infected link to seeing the data we protect not as plain numbers on a screen but as the stories of real people.  Yet the transformation empathy is capable of goes way beyond cybersecurity; it transpires into the teams of the companies we build, the relationships we influence through technology, leadership styles, and more.  Welcome to Season 5 of Cyber Empathy. Today, Vivek Ramachandran joins us to discuss the importance of empathy, compassion, a ..read more

In an industry whose goal is to protect people, purely profit-driven marketing makes no sense - and certainly doesn’t work. After over a decade of running digital marketing for high-growth B2B technology startups, my guest, Dani Woolf, realized marketing is wildly different in information security.  It took her four years after joining the cybersecurity industry in 2018 to create Audience 1st, a customer research agency built on four pillars:  curiosity to truly understand audiences empathy to listen first and identify cybersecurity buyers' pain points dedication to provide insights ..read more

The blame game is a strong reflex in cybersecurity for many people. Pointing fingers at the human error that caused the breach, complaining about the CEO who didn't invest enough resources or training in cybersecurity, and taking it out on the CISO are all common occurrences. And they don’t help anyone.  Blaming harms everything that empathy in cybersecurity represents and works so hard to change in the industry: connection, trust, personal growth, and making meaningful progress. But there’s hope! One of the most powerful solutions, actually born out of an empathetic approach to human con ..read more

Cybersecurity has a human heartbeat.  The variety of backgrounds that people in this space have enriches an industry that is day by day more interested in its human side. Different experiences bring new perspectives and ways of doing things to a community that craves human connection.  Our guest, the extraordinary Maril Vernon, is the perfect example. Coming from the social media marketing space, Maril took the cybersecurity industry by storm, becoming the 2023 Cybersecurity Woman Hacker of the Year, claiming the 2023 CyberJustu Pentest Ninja Award, and being recognized as one of the ..read more