Wendy Nather, the highly respected cyber strategist, CISO, research director, and former industry analyst, joins Ann Johnson on Afternoon Cyber Tea to talk about the strategies helping defend against human-operated ransomware. Wendy has served as a CISO in both the private and public sectors leading IT security for the EMEA region of the investment banking division of Swiss Bank Corporation (now UBS) and the Texas Education Agency. Her specialties are security program management, threat intelligence, risk analysis, identity and access management, security operations, and incident response. In this episode, Wendy and Ann also discuss the Digital Extortion Task Force, which specializes in combating these attacks, and how the threat landscape has continued to widen and evolve.  

In This Episode You Will Learn: 

• What is so alarming about the recent rise in ransomware attacks 
• How human-operated ransomware is a threat to organizations in every industry 
• Why threat actors have become remarkably successful  

Some Questions We Ask: 

• What are your thoughts on the new Digital Extortion Task Force? 
• Can you elaborate on what has evolved in ransomware and the threat actors behind it?  
• What should organizations concentrate on to protect themselves against ransomware? 

Resources:   

View Wendy Nather on LinkedIn   

View Ann Johnson on LinkedIn  

Related:     

Listen to: Security Unlocked: CISO Series with Bret Arsenault   

Listen to: Security Unlocked   

Discover and follow other Microsoft podcasts at microsoft.com/podcasts

Afternoon Cyber Tea with Ann Johnson is produced by Microsoft and distributed as part of The Cyberwire Network.