Data @ Rest

Recorded in front of a live audience at UNC CAUSE in October, 2022! The Zero Trust Framework raises valid questions about risk reduction. But, as one CISO used to say, "we have to trust someone eventually, right?" Or do we? Universities, are built on a philosophy of openness and enrichment of public understanding. How do we preserve the public's trust while securing our resources, and is there a p...

Charlie and Michael are joined by Drew Trumbull, Incident Handling Team Lead for UNC Chapel Hill's Information Security Office, to talk about the latest threats we see and what folks should do if they think they might have been targeted successfully by them, plus the importance of compassion and empathy in our field. There are also side discussions of Michael's history as an employee of COBRA. Rem...

Security and privacy are often mentioned hand-in-hand in our industry, but they're actually very different fields with different considerations and concerns--and the policies applying to one are not necessarily meant to address those of the other. Charlie and Michael welcome Kim Stahl, Senior Policy and Process Lead for UNC Chapel Hill's Information Technology Services, to discuss privacy, policy,...

Charlie and Michael have discussed communicating security risks and strategies to older users and at-risk users, but what about students and younger users? We welcome guests Lila Davidson and Louise Flinn from the UNC Chapel Hill ITS Communications team to discuss things to consider when we do outreach focusing on students and others on the cusp of their professional lives.  Contact us: dataatrest...

Anyone who works in information security knows that we, perhaps more than any other IT sector, are reliant on a forest of vendors, each promising the moon and often duplicating others' capabilities. Join Charlie and Michael for a frank discussion of the best and worst parts of managing those vendor relationships and what we look to gain from them.  Contact us: dataatrest@unc.edu Musical credit: Pi...

Charlie and Michael share a couple of updates and discuss the history--and future--of the show. See y'all in the fall! Contact us: dataatrest@unc.edu Musical credit: Pixelland Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Charlie and Michael discuss what "blockchain" means, its slightly mysterious history, its best-known applications, and their unfiltered opinions on the anciliary effects of some uses of this otherwise fascinating technology! Contact us: dataatrest@unc.edu Musical credit: Pixelland Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org...

Charlie and Michael take a conversational look at a few fundamentals of security it never hurts to revisit and review. Contact us: dataatrest@unc.edu Musical credit: Pixelland Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Online and phone-based scams are everywhere. Do you keep getting phone calls about your car's extended warranty? Do you get text messages offering to buy your house? Or did a seller in an online store offer you a refund if you took down your one-star review Charlie and Michael dive deep into the murkier end of the pool! Links: Scam Alerts (Federal Trade Commission) Romance Scams (FBI.gov) Internet...

There's been a lot of talk about election security for nearly two years now, most of it rife with conspiracy theories, misinformation, and disinformation. But what are the real risks to elections, and how do we mitigate them? Links: Election Security: Rumor vs. Reality (CISA.gov) North Carolina State Board of Elections Contact us: dataatrest@unc.edu Musical credit: Pixelland Kevin MacLeod (incompe...

Mobile Security is an evergreen concern and it only gets bigger and more mystifying. Charlie and Michael welcome back unofficial co-host Jared Perdue to discuss wireless and mobile security now and in the future! Links: Wireless Security Trends/CISO Cheat Sheet (excerpt from Jennifer Minella's talk) https://lastpass.unc.edu How to Keep Your Mobile Devices Secure (article by Jared Perdue at its.unc...

Social media can feel like a nonstop shouting match. But what if you found out half the screaming voices aren't even real people but are, in fact, bots designed to make you feel alienated, angry, and afraid?  By coincidence, this episode was published the same day a deal to purchase Twitter was put on hold due to this very concern! Contact us: dataatrest@unc.edu Musical credit: Pixelland Kevin Mac...

Join Charlie and Michael as they present to UNC CAUSE 2020 about ways to create meaningful connections and continue to develop user awareness in an era of teleconferencing and telecommuting. Contact us: dataatrest@unc.edu Musical credit: Pixelland Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Listen in as Charlie and Michael present at InfoSeCon 2020 on what to consider when relocating a workforce en masse and then get left without adult supervision for the last few minutes of the panel. Link to the video in the show notes! Watch the Video: Data@Rest at InfoSeCon 2020 Contact us: dataatrest@unc.edu Musical credit: Pixelland Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Common...

SCADA systems are the computers that control industrial systems in the real world. That may sound like a dry topic, but it's chock full of risk and fascinating stories, some of them ripped from  very recent  headlines! Links: "Someone tried to poison Oldmsar's water supply during hack, sheriff says" ( Tampa Bay Times ) "Running a fake power plant on the Internet for a month" "Caught in the Act: Ru...

Many of us have people in our lives who may be particularly vulnerable to information security risks. How do we help those folks stay safer online, avoid scams, and otherwise protect themselves? Charlie, Michael, and Casey discuss this and offer some tips & tricks! Links:  STOP. THINK. CONNECT. (CISA) Contact us: dataatrest@unc.edu Musical credit: Pixelland Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed...

Free and Open-Source Software is popular, but are they secure? The answer is: yes, maybe . Join Charlie, Michael, and Casey as we discuss how to navigate participating in the innovation of FOSS while staying safe.  Links: How to check a hash Contact us: dataatrest@unc.edu Musical credit: Pixelland Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://cr...

Join us as we discuss 2020: A Year That Existed! Musical credit: Pixelland Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Our second request of the season! Close out Season Three with Charlie and Michael as they discuss the concept of "shadow IT," the dangers it presents, and why there's that saying about a road paved in good intentions. Musical credit: Pixelland Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

A panel of folks from across the University discuss Gene Kim's  The Unicorn Project . Musical credit: Pixelland Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Michael goes down the rabbit hole of the history of modern networks and network security, and Charlie and Michael discuss different network-based attacks and how to defend against them.  Musical credit: Pixelland Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Charlie and Michael are joined by three of their colleagues - Tiffany, Glenn, and Drew - to talk about the different roles in UNC Chapel Hill's Information Security Office and how those roles intersect.  Musical credit: Pixelland Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Charlie and Michael had the honor of presenting a talk at the Hackers on Planet Earth 2020 conference. This one's on how to welcome new folks into the information security industry and some specific resources we recommend to folks who want to learn more, beginners or otherwise. You can even watch the video version, including live Q&A! Musical credit: Pixelland Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licen...

Charlie and Michael talk to our office's resident members of CLOUD FORCE(!) about cloud security. Musical credit: Pixelland Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Our colleague and listener Mark requested we cover Biometrics, and Michael loved reading up on this topic! Join in while Michael meanders down the twisting road of the history of trying to use people's bodies to authenticate their identities. Musical credit: Pixelland Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/...