Crossing The Firewall

Concern about data privacy, security, and victimhood vary from person to person. How much we are willing to do to avoid being a victim of cybercrime also varies. Why? The Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) describes this phenomenon well and provides some answers about why or why not people will protect themselves from a particular threat. This week's guest Dr. George Burruss (Professor and Cha...

This week's episode of Crossing the Firewall examines the intersection of community policing, evidence-based policing, and cybercrime. With the internet being global, an international collaborative effort is required to combat the evolution of cybercrime. Michael Newman is a Detective Chief Inspector with over 30 years policing experience. Mike is currently an Intelligence Operations Manager c...

This special episode of Crossing The Firewall features not one, not two, but four guests! Rutger and Jin return for their second episode, while Thomas and Cassandra join our hosts for their first appearance on the podcast. In this episode, the team discusses Nation State Cyberattacks, Age Verification Laws, and parenting in the internet age. You wont want to miss this wide ranging discussion! ----...

Dr. Mark Button is a Professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Portsmouth. Dr. Button is also the Director of the Centre for Cybercrime and Economic Crime, which focuses on research, teaching and knowledge services in counter fraud and related issues. Learn more about Dr. Button: https://www.port.ac.uk/about-us/structure-and-governance/our-people/our-staff/mark-but...

The phrase "Dark Web" conjures images of shady websites, terrifying realities, and a criminal underground hidden away from the rest of the world. In some instances, this may be true. However, in most instances, the "Dark Web" is far from what Hollywood portrays. For example: can you really hire a hitman on the Dark Web? Probably not...those sites tend to be run by scammers or l...

Dr. Lisa Sugiura is an Associate Professor at the University of Portsmouth's School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Dr. Sugiura's research expertise focuses on online gender-based violence and technology-facilitated sexual violence, specifically as it relates to women and girls. In this episode of Crossing the Firewall, Dr. Sugiura discusses the Incel subculture online and how it impa...

The key to any good magic trick isn't the prop, it is the deception. To trick the audience into believing what they see and ignore what they don't. Much is the same with hacking, cybercrime...and concerningly cyber terror. Dr. Max Kilger joins the hosts of Crossing The Firewall to discuss how the magic and allure of hacking created the Hacker Community and how that is evolved - and in many...

Cybercrime continues to rapidly evolve, with law enforcement and cybersecurity experts racing to stay one step ahead of the latest emerging threats. Business owners and municipality managers often find themselves vulnerable to cyber attacks and are unsure of how best to protect their organizations. Oftentimes, budget constraints, lack of knowledge and training, and staffing limitations mean that c...

What does dressing like a janitor, carrying a ladder into a movie theater, and cybercrime all have in common? We can be easily deceived and persuaded into believing just about anything with relative ease. This phenomenon is called Social Engineering. Social Engineering is the use of deception and persuasion to convince individuals to give up information or be used to gain access to areas not gener...

You're playing Call of Duty mobile, or maybe even Fortnite. You are crushing it, definitely the best you have played in a while...and then the dreaded happens...your internet starts lagging. Game over. Nothing is more frustrating than your game lagging, right Think again. In this episode of Crossing the Firewall , we speak with Dr. Asier Moneva to explore the murky waters where online gaming a...

How do we teach cybersecurity practitioners? How do we define cybersecurity education? We dive deep into why cybersecurity isn't just technical—it’s cultural, and why building hackers means building communities. From chaotic summer camps and Discord-powered learning hubs to the dangers of Cocomelon and algorithmic media, this episode tackles how education must evolve to meet a digital world th...

You click the link in the email you received. It seems legit - from a former co-worker - you're just going to sign the documents and then get back to your day. Your computer shuts down. You can't click on the pop-up that is now covering your entire screen. It says that you have to pay $1,000 to unlock your computer, only payable in Bitcoin. You have until the end of the week. You realize y...

Identity Theft isn't just a movie with Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy, it is a real issue people face every day...often with much less comedic and sentimental outcomes. Cybercriminals are always seeking new ways to gather enough personal information about you to steal your identity. Motivations vary, but it often involves financial gain. So, how do we combat this crime? How do we best prot...

Dr. Karen Holt is an Assistant Professor in the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University and an expert in sexual deviance and how it relates to digital mediums. Sextortion (the threat of sharing sexually explicit material of a victim unless money or other products are provided) is an increasing threat to people of all ages. Law enforcement is attempting to respond to this increased...