Happy Six Month Anniversary to The Secret to Cybersecurity!

Tackling cybersecurity on the cyberspace frontlines for 29 years wasn’t exactly what I thought I’d be doing when I joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 1988. A naive young man at the time, I never could have imagined what path my career would take; let alone what would happen after I retired. It was almost six months ago that my book, The Secret To Cybersecurity, was released. I’ve had many ‘pinch me’ moments, but looking back I truly never could have imagined the responses that I have gotten. With close to 8000 books sold, and 70 five-star Amazon Reviews (for an overall 4.9 rating), I’m humbled and thankful for the journey that has gotten me here.  

Before I officially retired, I gave countless presentations to the Bureau on cybercrime cases, and the statistics/information behind them. I wanted to prevent such cases from knocking on the doors of the American people, but needed additional platforms to do so. Aside from the thousands of people I’ve spoken to during my presentations and through the The Secret To Cybersecurity Book Tour, it’s comforting to know that more than eight thousand people have a cybersecurity go-to manual right in the comfort of their own homes. I’d say I’ve hit my goal, and then some.

Sharing my experiences as a retired Special Agent with the FBI has been the fun part, but handling cybercrime matters wasn’t always easy. I’ve seen such ruthless acts happen to honest, hard-working people, and I couldn’t stand by or lose another night of sleep because of it. 

My ultimate goal is to prevent you, your family, and your business from becoming the next cybercrime victim. The facts are straightforward. Cybercrime losses are reported in the trillions of dollars. Although that number doesn’t mean much to the everyday person; it might when you’re one of the victims of a breach. According to Cybersecurity Ventures, damages from these threats will reach 6 trillion by 2021. That’s a lot of money in the next two years. I bet you know someone who has been a victim of some sort of scam, if you weren’t one yourself. With today’s economy being heavily dependent on technology- I ask you to think on how much of your life is digital. I think we all know the answer. Whether it be bills, photo albums, or just social media usage; that personal information is susceptible to online predators and cyberspace criminals if you don’t know how to protect it.

OK, so I’ll admit that the facts are upsetting. But it’s not hopeless. In headline news, we mostly hear about data breaches and the huge corporations behind them. However, the most targeted victims in my experience have been homeowners, small to mid-sized businesses, non-profits, educational institutions, and religious organizations. What most people don’t know is that almost 90% of cybercrime matters could, and can, be prevented. All without spending tons of money, or having a PhD in Computer Science.

Spending money on hardware, software, anti-viruses, identity-theft protection, insurance, and training is important. However, if you don’t do what I tell you to do in the book, it doesn't matter how much money you spend on the problem. Your chances of victimization are still pretty high. In the book, I tell the stories of real life cases, to empower the audience to change their behavior. A wise man by the name of David Byerley once said, “The biggest lessons one can learn, is by knowing what not to do.” In most cases, people realized what they should have done after all of their assets were stolen. Realizing this, I want to make sure it doesn’t happen to you. 

What I’m telling people to do isn’t rocket science, but sharing the commonalities of cybercrime victimization is usually the motivating factor to change behavior. Ask yourself a few of these questions, so you know where you stand in your quest for cybersecurity protection:

• What is the most important thing you need to protect? Is it client information, employee HR information, legal documents, bank accounts, intellectual property, email, spreadsheets, social media accounts?

• Do you have a well-defined business process if a vendor wants to change financial payment information or if an employee needs to pay a bill? What if an employee asks another employee for sensitive information? How would they go about sending/retrieving that information?

• Do you know your mission-critical accounts? For example, if a cybercriminal gained access to such information, would it cause havoc to your life? Think email, bank, medical, social media, cloud, phone, security cameras etc.

• Once you have identified these accounts, are they secured with a separate password, which is unique and robust? 

• Are you using two-factor authentication (2FA) on all remote accesses?

• Are your employees trained to be the first line of defense, or are they using a stale product that uses outdated InfoSec and primitive animation?

I don’t enjoy being the pessimist in the cybersecurity conversation. I’ve seen my fair share of nefarious activity; so much so that I feel it is my duty to share with the world so it doesn’t keep happening. 

Thank you to everyone who has supported me. To those who bought the book, please make sure you give it to a family member or friend when you are done. If you could, please let me know what you think by giving me feedback on Amazon in the form of a review. While I get a kick out of reading your responses, I genuinely want to get my message out to as many people as possible. You can help me by doing all of the above.

These last few months have really flown by. From the book launch party in January, to every city I’ve been to on The Secret To Cybersecurity Book Tour, it’s been a whirlwind of hotels, Ubers, and amazing people. I’m gearing up for the fall leg of ‘The Tour’ where I’ll be speaking every week come September through Thanksgiving. If there’s one thing I’ve learned through all of my travels, it’s this: we must be more vigilant about the information we put out into the world. Don’t become the next victim- the first and last step in your cybersecurity protection is YOU!