#56 – The Best Cybersecurity Defense (And It’s Not Found In Technology)


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EFFECTED USERS: Everyone who uses the internet

Hair of fire 3 of 5

SUMMARY: Cybersecurity is about changing culture, not employing technology.

Last March, the White House puts out dire warnings about escalating cyberthreats. Today businesses nationwide are doing their best to fortify their data security tools and software.

But business leaders, and personal users are overlooking a hacker’s primary way in: vulnerable, exploitable humans. The best defense against cyberthreats, say two veteran cybersecurity strategists, lies in an organization’s security culture. 

More than 85% of breaches traced back to humans and ransomware attacks surfacing every two seconds—at a cost of billions of dollars. Whether you are in charge of cybersecurity for a Fortune 500 or your household—one thing is clear: promoting security information and “awareness” isn’t enough. You must bake security into your culture. 

Here with me to talk about all of this today is Kai Roer. Kai is the chief research officer for KnowBe4, and created the Security Culture Framework (SCF), which transformed the information security industry. He received the Ron Knode Service Award by the Cloud Security Alliance for his extensive volunteer work in the security community, he is a popular keynote speaker and guest lecturer, and is the author of two books on cybersecurity protection.

  1. What is a ‘culture’ related to cybersecurity
  2. How to scientifically measure your security culture across 7 unique dimension
  3. What is a good anthropological analogy for cybersecuity culture: Seatbelts

Security culture is a mysterious and confusing topic to many leaders. Most mistakenly believe that simply sharing best security practices will “fix” their people’s oh-so-risky behaviors, say PERRY CARPENTER and KAI ROER, authors of The Security Culture Playbook: An Executive Guide to Reducing Risk and Developing Your Human Defense Layer (Wiley; April 19, 2022). 

More about Kai:

His Twitter handle is: @kairoer

His LinkedIn Profile is https://www.linkedin.com/in/kairoer

Hi Blog is: roer.com

His company’s US webpage is: https://www.knowbe4.com/

His latest book is: https://www.securityculturebook.com/

See other books by Kai’s here: https://www.amazon.com/Kai-Roer/e/B004805MYC

That’s all the time we have!

Don’t forget to check out our sponsor, and home of my day-job: SAFE Classroom, at http://www.thesafe.io

Thanks for listening

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David W. Schropfer

David W. Schropfer is a technology executive, author, and speaker with deep expertise in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing. He currently serves as Executive Vice President of Operations at DomainSkate, where he leads growth for an AI-driven cybersecurity threat intelligence platform. As host of the DIY Cyber Guy podcast, David has conducted hundreds of interviews with global experts, making complex topics like ransomware, AI, and quantum risk accessible to business leaders and consumers. He has also moderated panels and delivered keynotes at major industry events, known for translating emerging technologies into actionable insights. David’s entrepreneurial track record includes founding AnchorID (SAFE), a patented zero-trust mobile security platform. He previously launched one of the first SaaS cloud products at SoftZoo.com, grew global telecom revenue at IDT, and advised Fortune 500 companies on mobile commerce and payments with The Luciano Group. He is the author of several books, including Digital Habits and The SmartPhone Wallet, which became an Amazon #1 bestseller in its category. David holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Miami and a Bachelor of Arts from Boston College.

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  1. Pingback: Cybersecurity Expert Kai Roer on DIY Cyber Guy – DIY CyberGuy with David W. Schropfer

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