E-ChannelNews Podcasts

Send us a Text Message.In this podcast, we discuss with Derek Manky, chief security strategist and VP of global threat intelligence at Fortinet about the recent FortiGuard Labs report “Dark Web Shows Cybercriminals Ready for Olympics. Are You?”, which examines the threat actors, methodologies, and tactics being used to target attendees, viewers, businesses, and agencies of the upcoming games. Derek highlighted the heightened risk for this event compared to previous games, emphasizing the importance of preparedness and vigilance. He also touched on the importance of shoring up network resilience, using machine learning and artificial intelligence, creating preparedness playbooks, and conducting training and education to combat these evolving threats. The conversation also explored the blurred lines between cyber and physical security, emphasizing the need for a cyber-physical security operating system to address these complex threats.Some of the findings were:Surge in darknet activity targeting France since 2H 2023.The sale of stolen credentials and compromised VPN connections to enable unauthorized access to private networks. Ads for phishing kits and exploit tools customized for the Paris Olympics. The sale of French databases that contain PII on French citizensHacktivist activity spiking, specificallyby pro-Russian groups.Phishing kits and infostealers abound, and there are a significant number of typosquatting domains registered around the Olympics.

Send us a Text Message.Jim Alkove is founding CEO of adaptive and autonomous identity security provider Oleria (derived from genus of clearwing butterflies). He co-founded the company to fill a critical gap within the industry: there’s a glaring deficiency in identity security protocols and management. According to CrowdStrike, 80% of breaches use compromised identities. And, only about half of organizations are, at best, even somewhat confident in the effectiveness of their identity and access management program.In this podcast, Jim emphasized the importance of trust in organizational dynamics. He provided valuable insights into the evolving landscape of trust and security in the digital realm and the evolving threat landscape, highlighting the increasing challenges faced by defenders due to the changing global norms and the asymmetric nature of cyber defense. He also discussed the positive trend of rising prioritization of cybersecurity in governments and private organizations, emphasizing the efforts to raise the cybersecurity standards. Additionally, Jim mentioned the significant growth in cybersecurity spending, indicating a positive shift in the industry. Julian and Jim explored the role of AI in cybersecurity, emphasizing the need for organizations to leverage AI for defense against evolving threats. They discussed the potential risks of data leakage and emphasized the importance of AI governance to ensure responsible deployment. 

Send us a Text Message.ThinkLabs AI, a new startup in Canada and the US, focused on developing technology to help enhance grid planning through a combination of intelligent automation and AI, is developing its flagship product, ThinkLabs Copilot, to help enable control room operators to more effectively operate complex modern grids in increasingly challenging contexts.Josh Wong, ThinkLabs’ Founder and CEO discussed how AI and IT are transforming the grid. He outlined the challenges facing the electrical grid, including its aging infrastructure and the increasing complexity driven by renewable energy sources and electric vehicles.He emphasized the need for AI-based intelligence to address the unpredictability and volatility of the grid. He highlighted the use of AI surrogate models to run scenarios and optimize power systems operations, ultimately enabling real-time, pre-trained intelligence for efficient problem-solving.Josh explored the application of AI in grid optimization, discussing the challenges of integrating AI into grid operations and the critical role of human intuition and experience. He emphasized the potential for AI-driven state estimation to calculate critical grid variables and the use of AI as a virtual operator and digital assistant in the control room and planning team. Additionally, he stressed the need for collaboration and ecosystem approach in fostering innovation in the sector, and the responsibility of using AI to accelerate the transformation of the grid while understanding its carbon footprint.

Send us a Text Message.Speakers: Ori Bendet VP of Product Management at Checkmarx and Itamar Golan, CEO at Prompt Security.As a new crop of AI-related threats emerges from the rapid adoption of generative AI I tools within application development, companies face challenges and risks associated with the adoption of AI, including data leakage and the need to manage AI in a way that does not compromise security.Ori and Itamar discussed the complexities of AI security and code leakage, emphasizing the need for robust protection measures. They also touched upon the potential risks associated with AI-generated code and the importance of implementing policies to mitigate these risks.Listen to this podcast to learn more about how the partnership between the two companies is addressing two areas of risk arising from the use of GenAI tools that are already in widespread use by development teams. Also watch our past interview with Checkmarx: https://www.e-channelnews.com/enabling-application-security-posture-management-with-checkmarx-brinqa/

Send us a Text Message.XM Cyber announced findings from its third annual State of Exposure Management Report, produced in collaboration with the Cyentia Institute, which found that identity and credential misconfigurations represent a staggering 80% of security exposures across organizations, with a third of these exposures putting critical assets at direct risk of breach - a gaping attack vector actively being exploited by adversaries.During this podcast, Zur Ulianizky, VP of Security and Research at XM Cyber, presented his company's attack path management solutions and the importance of prioritizing remediation efforts to improve security posture. He discussed different types of security exposures, the challenge of balancing security measures with user access to systems, and the need to categorize servers based on their criticality. He also emphasized the importance of mapping critical assets and threats to prioritize security efforts and addressed the vulnerabilities in the cloud environment.Be sure to check out our January 2024 interview with XM Cyber: https://www.e-channelnews.com/xm-cyber-introduces-first-exposure-management-solution-working-across-environments/