Todd Wade
Author: Cybercrime: Protecting your Business, your Family and Yourself
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Gabby: Business and individual financial losses from cybercrime are in the billions. Global losses are over 1 trillion. Victims are in the millions. So why was it important for you to write this book?
odd Wade, author of Cybercrime: Protecting your Business, your Family and Yourself, is the winner of the 2023 Independent Press Award in the Computers category. Todd is a Chief Information Security Officer with over 20 years experience in cyber risk management and technical operational leadership. He is globally recognized as an expert in cybersecurity. In addition to numerous speaking engagements, Todd often appears on leading cybersecurity podcasts. He has been the Chief Information Security Officer for leading fintech, technology and private equity companies as well as the former European CTO of Skechers. Todd earned his MBA from the Trium program (a joint degree from NYU Stern, HEC/Paris, and the London School of Economics). He also holds several industry certifications.
Todd: In the organizations I’ve worked with, it is hard to get people to care about cybersecurity. It’s also hard to change cyber security cultures. What I found really effective is when I make it personal to them, teach them how to improve their own cybersecurity. It’s not just to protect your business. It’s really how to protect the overall family structure. The same things you do individually carry over into the workplace. This is why I wrote the book, to really give people a better chance of defending themselves against the cyber threats that are out there right now. Gabby: The perception is that victims are people who are vulnerable, naive, and often the elderly portion of our population. Is there a certain profile of a person or a business who is more prone to cybercrime? Todd: It can happen to anyone. Young people are being hit. For some types of cybercrime they’re three times more likely to fall victim. A real problem in our society is victim shaming. The psychological impact of cyber crime is the same as a real world impact. Most of the time they’ve been taken advantage of. They just have not been prepared to recognize them or to defend against them. In fact, target cybercrime is not a new phenomenon. Gabby: In the book, you talk in depth about the historical origins of cybercrime. Todd: One of the lessons I want to bring home is cyber fraud and cyber extortion, the two most common types of cyber crime. The underlying methods are historical. They’ve been going on for centuries, the psychological persuasion methods to get the victims into an emotional state before they use these persuasion methods. What’s new is that it’s coming via email. Gabby: You’ve said the Internet is magic for criminals.
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