Cybertraps Podcast

[00:00:00] Welcome to the cyber traps podcast. I am Jethro Jones. Your host. You can find me on all the social networks at Jethro Jones. The cyber chaps podcast is a proud member. Of the be podcast network. You can see all of our shows at two B podcast. dot network. And today on the show we have. A special interview from the inch 360 conference.

That's the inland Northwest cybersecurity hub. They put on a conference each year and I have the great fortune of being able to go. Go to that conference. And interview a bunch of people. So that's what you're going to hear on this episode. I hope you enjoy it. And if you want. To learn more about inch 360, go to inch 360 dot O R G.

and so Mark at Spokane Falls Community College Thank you for being part of inch 360. What made you decide to come and support this conference today?

I'm here to support a conference because I am one of the [00:01:00] I'm not gonna say a founding member, but I started out originally with other and We Watch this Inch 360 grew from a small number of folks to this large Entity that it is now.

well, and it's, it's pretty cool because I, I got involved with Heather last year and, and I, you know, am a podcaster with an interest in cyber security, but I'm certainly not an expert in the field. but I do think that it's something important that we need to be focused on. so, as you're teaching young folks, as you're working with people in the community, what are the things that are top of mind for you right now?

Well, I'm an educator, so that's number one. well, at the Falls, we're working with younger students. we do a GenCyberCamp, which brings in high school students and cybersecurity. That's an initiative coming out of the, the government. my students have, um, [00:02:00] first and cutting edge tools that they work with to be educated so they can go out and affect the workforce.

And how did you get started in this, Mark?

My background is predominantly military, so I, I got started in the military transitioned to civilian life. I kind of went away from it, but it drew me back in. So here I am today.

what advice would you have for young folks, high school, early college age, about what they personally should be doing?

Whether they're interested in cyber security as a profession, what would you say they should be doing for their own cyber maturity?

The word cyber is, it covers a lot, right? when we say cyber security, and there's a, there's a big initiative coming out of the White House that they want all Americans to be cyber aware.

So that's, I think that's the target. If we can be, if [00:03:00] we can get everyone to be cyber security aware, not necessarily cyber security experts, it will cut down on the, amount of vulnerabilities that's, that's available for exploits. awareness is the key to any phenomenon. If, as long as you're aware and you get enough education to be able to navigate things, you should be fine.

Yeah, I think, I think that's really important also, and, It can be difficult and confusing, if you're not familiar with it and don't know all the lingo, but it's not, uh, daunting. It's not something that you can't learn and can't figure out. And I think that that's important. so what is it about this conference specifically that you think people need to walk away from, from here at this conference?

Well, as with any type of conference like this, They have national ones, they have, regional ones. This one just happens to be local. [00:04:00] And by it being local, we're trying to educate our local communities, along with bringing the employers and the businesses that's, within the area. Thank you. that needs this kind of support.

So one of the things that we see a lot of are people moving to managed IT solutions and outsourcing that to companies that specialize in that. Do you see that as a good strategy, a bad strategy, uh, appropriate? Like where, where do you fall on that? And how much should an individual company know about their own IT infrastructure?

Well, as with anything, I mean, we evolve. I mean, things change. you can look at when cars first started, right? They had an engine, a steering wheel, and they just, you know, four tires and they just go. Now cars are electronic, computerized. But we, we still drive them because that's a means, a means to an end.[00:05:00]

So The IT infrastructure, it grows. If you think about Moore's Law, right, it's, it's gonna evolve and it's gonna keep evolving. So I think we just have to adjust, get the proper education, train folks the proper way, and then we just gotta adapt as things change.

Well, and to that point, I don't think that it's, it's something that you can completely outsourced, as you were talking about before.

Everybody needs to have awareness about it and know what the risks are, what they need to be doing, and what their role is in, you know, and keeping their infrastructure secure. And if that's the case, then yes, technical people who are specialized in that area can do that, but we still need to have an awareness of phishing.

And we, we've heard a lot about, uh, different kinds of attacks that can exist and things, um, today at this conference. And so, you know, being aware is going to be valuable no [00:06:00] matter what you're doing. And yes, our cars may get to the point where they're fully self driving, But this, we're not there yet, and so we still need to train our kids on how to, navigate the road safely and appropriately.

what do you see as the future of Inch360 and, and where it's going and what it can be for this community?

think as we, as we move into the future and we could talk about IOTs. entity like Inch360 can be really effective in putting on these types of functions, so we can gain more knowledge and education and pass information to people who wouldn't normally be privy to it, right?

Because everyone has. Some type of device in their home or in their pockets that's technologically capable. So, the more we know about those things, I think, I'm not going to say [00:07:00] the safer we'll be, but the more aware and the more knowledgeable we'll be based on what we can find out from conferences like these.

And I appreciate that perspective because it is something that affects everybody because everybody has those devices, everybody has smartphones and all that does is increase the vectors for bad actors and so anybody who has a device like that needs to be, Prepared and aware and know what dangers there are and how to, prepare themselves for that.

Um, so in closing, what are your parting words? what, uh, words of wisdom from your experience would you, would you like to share?

I had a news interview once, and I, I said this and I'll say it again. People can't panic. right, we're gonna, have technology. AI is here to stay.

We have to be educated. We can't run and hide, my, my only parting words will be embrace it, learn it, learn how to use it. Everything in front of you is a tool, [00:08:00] Like I say, I'm an educator, so I, I, I tend to look at things from a different perspective and I'm in this world. I'm in the AI cybersecurity IT environment, so, don't be afraid of it.

Yeah, embrace it, learn it, use it to your, to your advantage and move on. Yeah.

Okay. Well, thank you, Mark. This has been awesome. How would you like people to get in touch with you if they want to learn more from you?

I'm at Spokane Falls Community College. I'm one of the professors in the Cybersecurity Department.

So, you can look me up online. You can look me up through Spokane Falls Community College. I'm also, I've also taught at Bellevue and Big Bend Community College. So, um, my name should be somewhere in the state of Washington.

All right. Thank you, Mark. Appreciate it. Thanks.