Monthly Archives: September 2021

Evelyn Curry

Evelyn Curry is an M.B.A candidate. Her career started in the United States Air Force, where she specialized in the logistics and security of nuclear missiles. In her civilian career, she has specialized in governing technical infrastructures and mitigating organizational risks. She joined Cyber Florida as a Senior Business Analyst in 2020 with a focus on promoting sustainability and operational excellence through Organizational Change Management. Today, she serves as the Associate Director of Cyber Operations and Analytics.

2022-10-21T17:34:12-04:00September 29, 2021|
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Kate Whitaker

Kate Whitaker is a senior communications professional with more than 20 years of experience in higher education, nonprofits, and government. Specializing in communicating complex scientific and technical ideas and information to a variety of audiences, Ms. Whitaker is an expert in program development, project management, digital media, media relations, and internal and external communications. Throughout her career, she has spearheaded a variety of comprehensive branding, fund-raising, and event and program outreach campaigns across multiple channels to a spectrum of stakeholders. She holds a BA in English and an MBA in Management.

At Cyber Florida, she leads a team of talented professionals that promotes the center’s activities and accomplishments and conducts statewide public awareness campaigns, events, and programs to encourage better cyber-self-defense among organizations and individuals.

2022-10-21T17:31:31-04:00September 28, 2021|
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Ernie Ferraresso

As the director of Cyber Florida, Ernie drives the strategic vision of the organization while overseeing the center’s day-to-day operations. Ernie started with Cyber Florida in 2017 as associate director of programs and partnerships and brings decades of technology expertise and leadership experience to his role.

Prior to Cyber Florida, Ernie worked for a small technology design and integration firm as the Director of Operations, overseeing the design and implementation of cybersecurity and emergency operations center technology solutions in the U.S. and throughout Latin America.

He is a retired U.S. Marine Intelligence Officer who served in the U.S. and abroad. His work included assignments with U.S. Special Operations Forces, the intelligence community, the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies, and U.S. Cyber Command.

2022-10-20T15:49:23-04:00September 28, 2021|
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General (Ret.) Frank McKenzie

General (Ret) Kenneth F. “Frank” McKenzie, Jr. became the Executive Director of the University of South Florida’s Global and National Security Institute in May 2022. In July 2022, he also became the Executive Director of the Florida Center for Cybersecurity, also known as Cyber Florida.

He is the former Commander, United States Central Command. A native of Birmingham, Alabama, upon graduation from The Citadel in 1979, General McKenzie was commissioned into the Marine Corps and trained as an infantry officer.

He has commanded at the platoon, company, battalion, Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), and component levels. As a lieutenant colonel, he commanded First Battalion, Sixth Marines. As the Commanding Officer of the 22d MEU (SOC), he led the MEU on combat deployments to Afghanistan in 2004 and Iraq in 2005-06. In 2006-07 he served as the Military Secretary to the 33rd and 34th Commandants of the Marine Corps.

Upon promotion to Brigadier General in July 2007, he served on the Joint Staff as a Deputy Director of Operations within the National Military Command Center. In June 2008, he was selected by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to be the Director of the Chairman’s New Administration Transition Team (CNATT). In this capacity, he coordinated the efforts of the Joint Staff and the combatant commands in preparing for and executing a wartime transition of administrations.
In June 2009, he reported to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Kabul, Afghanistan, to serve as the Deputy to the Deputy Chief of Staff (DCOS) for Stability. Upon his return from Afghanistan, in July 2010, he was assigned as the Director, Strategy, Plans, and Policy (J-5) for the U.S. Central Command. In August 2012, he reported to Headquarters Marine Corps to serve as the Marine Corps Representative to the Quadrennial Defense Review. In June 2014, he was promoted to Lieutenant General and assumed command of U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Central Command.

In October 2015, he was assigned to the Joint Staff to serve as the Director, J-5, Strategic Plans and Policy, Joint Staff.

In July 2017, he was named the Director, Joint Staff. General McKenzie was promoted to the grade of General and assumed command of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) in March 2019. He relinquished command of CENTCOM and retired from the Marine Corps on 1 April 2022, completing over 42 years of service.

General McKenzie is an honors graduate of the Armor Officer Advanced Course, Marine Corps Command and Staff College, and the School of Advanced Warfighting. He was selected as a CMC Fellow in 1999, and served as a Senior Military Fellow within the Institute for National Strategic Studies at the National Defense University. He has a master’s degree in teaching with a concentration in history. He is currently the President of the Board of Directors of the Institute of Applied Engineering at the University of South Florida, a Distinguished Senior Fellow on National Security at the Middle East Institute, a Member of the International Advisory Committee of the National Council on U.S. Arab relations, and a Member of the National Security Advisory Council, U.S. Global Leadership Coalition.

2022-10-25T14:32:46-04:00September 28, 2021|
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Episode 17: Charity Wright – a Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst who is an expert on social media trolls and Super Mario

Charity Wright - a Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst who is an expert on social media trolls and Super Mario

Charity Wright is a Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst at Recorded Future who specializes in Chinese threats and disinformation. Charity is a Super Mario-loving extrovert who utilizes her research and inferencing skills in both of her full-time jobs; threat analyst and mom. Charity is a Chinese Linguist who often spends her workdays scrolling through social media searching for trolls and Chinese disinformation/propaganda. In this episode, Charity joins the No Password Required team to talk about how she came to be a linguist in the U.S. military, possibilities of where China will go in the future, and why curiosity has been one of the most essential aspects of her career. Ernie, Clabby, and Pablo talk about Clabby’s “Yahoo! news rule” and the channels they use to stay informed in the ever-changing cyber industry. In the Positively Cyber segment, Pablo introduces the sophisticated, yet mysterious, Jay Gatsby as the Chief Financial Officer of our fictitious cybersecurity organization.

2021-09-30T19:34:19-04:00September 27, 2021|
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Episode 16: Dr. Greg Hall – a Corvette-driving Research Scientist who built his own video games because his dad knew that the Atari 800 was the beginning of the computer revolution

Dr. Greg Hall - a Corvette-driving Research Scientist who built his own video games because his dad knew that the Atari 800 was the beginning of the computer revolution

Dr. Greg Hall is a Research Scientist at the Institute for Human-Machine Cognition and the University of West Florida. Dr. Hall is a Corvette-driving car lover who considers ALF to be one of the classics and has great taste in hats. He also does research in full-spectrum cyber operations and contributes to the Florida Cyber Range, a digital platform that provides training and testing solutions for academic, government, military, and industry. In this episode, Dr. Hall joins the No Password Required team to discuss his research in full-spectrum cyber operations, why the sit-and-spin has made a place in history as the best (and possibly most dangerous) childhood toy, and more. Ernie, Clabby, and Pablo discuss the government’s Rewards for Justice Program and the new $10 million reward for information. In the “Positively Cyber” segment, Pablo challenges Clabby by welcoming Harvey Specter to our fictitious cybersecurity organization as a Privacy and Cybersecurity Lawyer.

2021-09-27T17:58:43-04:00September 27, 2021|
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Episode 15: Dan Burke – a Cyber Practice Leader and natural optimist who believes every day is the best day

Dan Burke - a Cyber Practice Leader and natural optimist who believes every day is the best day

Dan Burke is the Cyber Practice Leader at Woodruff Sawyer, one of the largest insurance brokerage and consulting firms in the US. Dan is a natural optimist and family man who believes every day is going to be the best day and the next shot will always be his greatest golf shot. In this episode, Dan joins the No Password Required team to talk about his personal connection to Colby-jack cheese, the most misunderstood things about cyber risk and insurance, and his bucket-list golfing spots. Ernie, Clabby, and Pablo discuss the recent Colonial Pipeline/Bitdefender controversy and the pros and cons of publicizing intelligence that could help ransomware victims. In the “Positively Cyber” segment, Pablo introduces the iconic Winston Wolfe to our fictitious cybersecurity organization as a Data Loss Prevention freelancer.

2021-09-27T18:11:19-04:00September 27, 2021|
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Episode 14: Phillip Tarrant — a SOC Technical Manager who builds things with keyboards and blowtorches and thrives when things go “fowl”

Phillip Tarrant is the SOC Technical Manager at Compuquip Cybersecurity who is passionate about many things in life, including his pet chickens, building things both with and without a keyboard, disconnecting in nature, and welcoming people into the field of cybersecurity. In this episode, Phillip joins the No Password Required team to talk about his unique journey into the field of cybersecurity, why chicken diapers are crossing the line, why the Empire is in serious need of some data protection policies, and more. Ernie, Clabby, and Pablo discuss the presidential administration’s new cybersecurity initiatives in response to the SolarWinds attack and what they mean for the future. In the “Positively Cyber” segment, Pablo compares two members of the Mystery Incorporated gang and analyzes whether Scooby-Doo or Velma would be the better fit for our fictitious cybersecurity organization.

2021-09-27T17:42:34-04:00September 27, 2021|
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Episode 13: Rachel Tobac — an OSINT expert who credits much of her success to her improv comedy skills and her childhood mentor, Harriet the Spy

Rachel Tobac — an OSINT expert who credits much of her success to her improv comedy skills and her childhood mentor, Harriet the Spy

Rachel Tobac is the CEO and co-founder of Social Proof Security who hopes to one day work herself out of a job by improving education and awareness of social engineering attacks. In this episode, Rachel joins the No Password Required team to talk about her path from studying behavioral psychology to starting a successful cybersecurity company, why Shih Tzu’s would be the best canine cybersecurity professional, how her quirky skills serve as an asset to her company, her passion for improving diversity in the cyber and technology industries, and more. BONUS: she sings an info-sec sea shanty that is as catchy as it is informative. Clabby and Ernie talk about the recent hack on the Molson Coors Beverage Company, and in the “Positively Cyber” segment, Pablo analyzes why the Mandalorian would be the perfect fit for showing our new recruits “the way” in our fictitious cybersecurity organization. You should check this episode out soon; if Rachel is correct about the time travel butterfly effect, you may never get another chance…

2021-09-27T17:31:30-04:00September 27, 2021|
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Episode 12: Roger Grimes — a believer that the key to internet safety is simple, however, having an octopus as a pet is much more complex and scary

Roger Grimes — a believer that the key to internet safety is simple, however, having an octopus as a pet is much more complex and scary

Roger Grimes is the defense-driven evangelist at KnowBe4 who confidently defines himself as the best in the world at defending against hackers. In this episode, Roger joins the No Password Required team to discuss how being a terrible accountant led him to the world of cybersecurity, why octopi cannot be trusted, and why music is the best way to create powerful connections. Additionally, Clabby and Pablo discuss insights from the National Security Agency’s 2020 cybersecurity year in review. In the “Positively Cyber” segment, Pablo analyzes why Hermione Granger’s work ethic and determination would make her the perfect fit for Senior Director of Threat Intelligence in our fictitious cybersecurity organization.

2021-09-27T16:06:15-04:00September 27, 2021|
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