Building emotional resilience to fight disinformation

03/15/22 • 39 min

In the world of cybersecurity, not all information is power.

In fact, “only the right amount of the right information is power.” Too much information can easily lead to sensationalization of the threat and this can overwhelm even the most concerned audience. Bewildered people rarely consider actionable steps that can improve their security posture, because they have to use their resources to make sense of all the details coming towards them.

That’s why leaders in the cybersecurity community need to take an empathetic approach while disseminating information on the platforms available to them. It shouldn’t be about getting the most attention - it should be about creating a far-reaching positive impact.

Our guest today is Baptiste Robert, a cybersecurity expert and founder of Predicta Lab, where he focuses on fighting disinformation. He’s been an active contributor to the field for many years and has a lot of experience on the best way to identify and counter disinformation tactics.

In this episode, you’ll learn about how Baptiste practices empathy in his role as an ethical hacker and the area of impact he has chosen to concentrate on. You’ll also learn some important tips that can help you in identifying online scammers and misinformation. Additionally, he’ll share with us one of his success stories and the impact he hopes to have on the cybersecurity community.

In this episode, you will learn:

How Baptiste uses empathy to fight disinformation (01:12)
How he finds the balance between being informed and avoiding overwhelm (05:13)
Most people’s reaction when they realize they’ve been attacked (16:45)
Tips to detect and avoid scammers online (23:44)

Resources

OSINT - Open Source Intelligence (cybersecurity term)
MICE framework (cybersecurity term)
Baptiste Robert, le hacker toulousain qui vous veut du bien

Connect with Baptiste Robert:

Connect with Dave:

Connect with Andra:

In the world of cybersecurity, not all information is power.

In this episode, you will learn:

How Baptiste uses empathy to fight disinformation (01:12)
How he finds the balance between being informed and avoiding overwhelm (05:13)
Most people’s reaction when they realize they’ve been attacked (16:45)
Tips to detect and avoid scammers online (23:44)

Resources

OSINT - Open Source Intelligence (cybersecurity term)
MICE framework (cybersecurity term)
Baptiste Robert, le hacker toulousain qui vous veut du bien

Connect with Baptiste Robert:

Connect with Dave:

Connect with Andra:

Previous Episode

The role of empathy in the fight against stalkerware

In today’s social media-dominated world, the word stalking has been flipped to mean being harmlessly followed online, getting a ‘like’, getting a retweet, having your profile viewed constantly, among others. In fact, some even see it as a good thing because it shows how interesting one’s life is. But, that’s just one side of the coin.

The other side is dark. Stalkers use technology to abuse their victims emotionally by tracking and controlling their every move – everyone they call, text, or share intimate details with. It's a tactic abusers use to scare, deter, control, or hurt people by stripping off their privacy.

While it may start off as harmless in many cases, the ending can turn out very violent as we’ve seen in many cases. And by this, I mean kidnappings, domestic abuse, extortion, and exposing private information, among others.

However, there are solutions that can prevent unauthorized access to personal devices or alert you if you were already being spied on.

Our guest today is Eva Galperin, Director of Cybersecurity at the Electronic Frontier Foundation and co-founder of the Coalition Against Stalkerware. Inspired by victims who reached out for help, Eva has been helping people identify and secure their devices against stalkaware applications.

In this episode, you’ll hear about who uses stalkerware and why – and what is being done to keep our devices secure from this kind of tracking and intrusion. You’ll also learn more about the people working behind the scenes to help victims and prevent future attacks. Additionally, you’ll get straightforward examples of howempathy gives cyber security a higher and even more important role than you realize it has.

In this episode, you will learn:

How empathy for victims determined Eva to advocate for stalkerware detection, removal, and blocking (01:11)
The people that Eva works with and their contribution to helping those most vulnerable (06:27)
A personal experience that led Eva to analyze and fight against stalkerware (10:12)
How she approaches the stalkerware conversation when talking to non-technical people (18:45)

Resources:

Wired.com (Stalkerware article)
Coalition Against Stalkerware
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Tech Crunch (Stalkerware article)
Helping Her Get Free: A Guide for Families and Friends of Abused Women (Book)
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma (Book)
Why Does He Do That?: Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men (Book)
APT - Advanced persistent threat (Concept definition)
PCAP - Packet Capture (Concept definition)
Forensic analysis (Article)
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announcement for stronger privacy (Article)

Connect with Eva:

Connect with Dave:

Connect with Andra:

Next Episode

Attaining a fulfilling life in the cybersecurity industry

When you take time to replenish, you can serve from the overflow and avoid burnout.

Cybersecurity is a stressful industry that demands a lot of commitment from professionals in it. Sometimes, people in this industry focus so much on the task at hand that they forget to replenish themselves.

This, in most cases, results in burnout or a significant reduction in the quality of their work. That’s why practicing self-care, self-empathy, and assertiveness are essential parts of personal and professional development.

Our guest today is Cristina Magro, a personal development coach for cybersecurity professionals. She’s passionate about teaching those who keep digital infrastructure and information safe how to take care of themselves. Today, she’ll share with us the role that empathy plays in her work.

In this episode, you’ll hear about the reality of what it’s like to work in the cybersecurity industry. You’ll also learn about the challenges that people in this industry face and some tips on how to overcome them. Additionally, you’ll discover the importance of practicing self-empathy and self-care.

In this episode, you will learn:

The experience that motivated Cristina to start helping cybersecurity professionals (06:23)
Common traits of professionals in the cybersecurity space (09:45)
Why cybersecurity professionals need to be assertive (14:24)
How to help others without experiencing burnout (24:02)

Resources: