Bonus: How Secure by Design and Public-Private Partnerships Drive Deterrence: A Conversation with Jen Easterly | 27

In this episode, Ciaran and James are joined by cyber policy and practices leader Jen Easterly. Together they discuss the power of storytelling in cybersecurity, the evolution of cyber as a tool of state power, and why Secure by Design is critical to improving the security of the technologies we rely on.

Highlights

Jen Easterly talks and articles:

• • Black Hat Keynote: Hacking the Cybersecurity Puzzle
  • Helsinki Sphere25: Secure by Design Jen Easterly | SPHERE25
  • Jen and Ciaran’s article on naming conventions: Call Them What They Are: Time to Fix Cyber Threat Actor Naming

The Early US Cyber Establishment

• • Realtime Regional Gateway (RTRG) and early battlefield data platforms: Inside the government’s secret NSA program to target terrorists | The Apps They Carried: Software, Big Data, and the Fight for Mosul
  • The creation of dedicated cyber units within the US military: Army establishes Army Cyber Command | Army activates first-of-its-kind Cyber Brigade
  • Operation Buckshot Yankee: Throwback Attack: An attack on the DoD leads to Operation Buckshot Yankee
  • Prospective U.S. Cyber Commander Talks Terms of Digital Warfare | WIRED

Major Global Cyber Incidents Affecting Financial Systems and Infrastructure:

• • Iranian DDoS attacks on US banks: Cyber Attacks on Six Major American Banks | Iranians Charged with Hacking U.S. Financial Sector — FBI
  • Lazarus; Bangladesh Bank heist | WannaCry attack | NotPetya
  • SolarWinds | Half NIM campaign by China | Kaseya | JBS
  • Colonial Pipeline hack explained: Everything you need to know
  • Log4j vulnerability
  • China’s Salt Typhoon | Volt Typhoon
  • Shields Up | CISA

US Cyber Operations in the Current Era

• • US cyber operations linked to activity around Venezuela: Venezuela strike marks a turning point for US cyber warfare | US developed ‘non-kinetic’ cell ahead of Venezuela mission to push cyber operations
  • The President’s ‘discombobulator’: Trump says U.S. used secret 'discombobulator' on Venezuelan equipment during Maduro raid
  • Cyber increasingly integrated with other military domains
  • Public reporting around cyber elements in operations involving Iran and other conflicts: What role has cyber warfare played in Iran?

The Secure By Design Initiative

• • Secure by Design framework: Secure By Design | CISA explains how to apply secure-by-design principles
  • Carnegie Mellon University launch: Secure Software by Design 2023
  • Shift to secure-by-design must start at university level, CISA director says | Cybersecurity Dive | CISA Director Jen Easterly's Address at Carnegie Mellon University
  • Secure by Design Pledge
  • Industry criticism and emerging regulations: Stop Hacklore! | An open letter to third-party suppliers – Pat Opet | The Cyber Resilience Act - Summary of the legislative text

RSAC and the Cybersecurity Ecosystem

• • RSAC Unveils Expanded Vision and Grows Leadership Team to Serve the Cybersecurity Community Year Round
  • Innovation Sandbox
  • Jen Easterly Named CEO of RSAC, the World’s Leading Cybersecurity Community Platform
  • Four Horsemen of Cyber Reunite at the RSA Conference

Additional resources:

Zenith Z248 | Commodore 64 - Computer

Subscribe & Follow:

• Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform.
• Follow us on X, Facebook, and LinkedIn for updates.

Contact:

• Have questions or comments? Email us at cyberleaderspodcast@sans.org