Securing Democracy: DNC's Cyber Cop

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On today’s episode, CSO at the Democratic National Committee, Steve Tran, joins Matt to talk about magic, AI, and cybersecurity. As the CSO for the DNC, Steve leads their IT, physical, and cybersecurity strategy. When not defending against dedicated adversaries, Steve can be found doing “off the cuffs” performances at the World-Famous Magic Castle in Hollywood.

Today, Steve talks about how he incorporates magic into cybersecurity, his transition from law enforcement to cybersecurity, and how to mitigate risk in a fast-moving environment. What are the potential risks of using generative AI? Hear about our susceptibility to mental malware, thinking strategically versus tactically to solve problems, and how Steve manages to stay sharp day-to-day.

 

Timestamp Segments

·       [01:21] Steve, the magician.

·       [05:14] Parallels between magic and cybersecurity.

·       [07:21] Transitioning from law enforcement to cybersecurity.

·       [16:26] Using magic to manage mental health.

·       [21:25] The DNC.

·       [22:19] Decentralization and security.

·       [24:59] Getting buy-in.

·       [27:42] Thinking strategically.

·       [29:09] Mitigating risk in a fast-moving environment.

·       [36:00] AI and cyberattacks.

·       [43:25] Potential issues with AI.

·       [50:46] How Steve stays sharp.

 

Notable Quotes

·       “Mental health can really affect cybersecurity professionals.”

·       “Business isn’t meant to be just transactional.”

·       “One of the biggest barriers to why people don’t buy into it at first is because they don’t understand it.”

·       “Security issues don’t care if you don’t have a budget or don’t have a team.”

·       “Once you get people to feel a certain way, you can’t undo that.”

·       “There’s no better way to learn than to have to teach material yourself.”

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