MediaPRO News Coverage

Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast shares some tips for steering clear of romance scams for Valentine’s Day in this Infosecurity Magazine article.

There’s a lot of room on the human side of cybersecurity training and awareness space for people who write and communicate well, who can distill complex policies into clear directives, and who can help people appreciate and connect with their cybersecurity teams, Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast tells Tech Beacon.

The essence of Data Privacy Day is the realization that data privacy is everyone’s responsibility, meaning a focused and useful approach to privacy training and awareness is an important part of any Data Privacy Day effort, Chief Learning Officer Tom  Pendergast tells Security Magazine.

A recently discovered email scam technique using a built-in Microsoft feature is further proof a skeptical eye is needed to combat emerging phishing attacks, Chief Strategist Tom Pendergast tells SC Magazine.

The sense of heightened risk and urgency is now gone from remote work, so people’s diligence may drop, especially where remote workers may not see the consequences of their actions, Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast tells Dice Insights, making reminding employees of persistent threats all the more important.

As both physical and information security teams learned from the insurrection at the Capitol building, anticipation of high-risk events should spur proactive measures that assume the worst, Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast tells SC Magazine

Anyone who suspects that they have received a vishing scam attempt over the phone should report it to their IT teams immediately, especially if they might have accidentally given up sensitive information, Chief Strategist Lisa Plaggemier tells TechRepublic.

Thanks to the impending release of a U.S. government report on UFO activity mandated by a COVID-19 relief bill, social engineers could have more fodder to build tantalizing phishing emails taking advantage of our curiosity and fear, Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast tells Threatpost.

Chief Strategist Tom Pendergast joins a variety of cybersecurity experts sharing thoughts on what prevention and response strategies and policies they would implement if they were in charge of cybersecurity at an organization the size and scale of the U.S. Capitol in this SecurityWeek article.

The cybersecurity risk and threats caused by the Jan. 6 Capitol Hill riot should be taken as seriously by security officials as the recent SolarWinds breach, Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast tells Data Breach Today.

Scammers posing as the Australian Cyber Security Centre provides a great opportunity to remind everyone that government agencies never email or call people and ask them to download software, Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast tells BankInfo Security.

Chief Strategist Lisa Plaggemier shares her thoughts as one of six InfoSec experts providing input on the 10 must-have cybersecurity skills for 2021 in this Tech Target article.

The amount of personal data that was likely compromised as part of the SolarWinds hack sets up lasting challenges for government employees and companies, Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast tells KOMO News.

Any virtual meetings held for the holidays among coworkers and employees should follow the same security standards and protocols as any other corporate communication, including being extra careful with meeting invite links, Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast tells Infosecurity Magazine.

The fact that nation state actors as part of the SolarWinds hack had months of gathering inside information that they could use to extort or manipulate employees within the breached companies should ignite planning right now to prepare employees to fend off social engineering attempts that utilize this information, Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast tells Security Magazine.

Organizations impacted by the massive SolarWinds hack should take steps now to prepare for the possibility of social engineering attacks based on any information compromised in the hack, Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast tells SiliconANGLE.

Among cybersecurity professionals, empathy and flexibility are two soft skills that will be in demand for the coming year, Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast tells Dice Insights.

Skeptical, vigilant humans are key to stopping an emerging spear-phishing campaign related to the COVID-19 vaccine, Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast tells Security Magazine.

During this online shopping season, there’s no better time to triple check things like shipping notification emails before clicking on any links, Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast tells Infosecurity Magazine.

Training and awareness managers need to be empowered to decide how their own programs will be run to optimize employee engagement, Chief Strategist Lisa Plaggemier tells Threatpost.

Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast offers some quick tips for safe and secure holiday shopping in this E-Commerce Times article.

Security teams need to be aware of how visible their training and awareness efforts are and use this visibility to work toward a security culture, Chief Strategist Lisa Plaggemier tells Dark Reading.

Cybercriminals are likely to prey on human vulnerabilities, like fear and stress, to scam people while shopping online this holiday season, Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast tells Security Magazine.

Designing secure behavior into everyday activities is a good way to ensure those behaviors stick around, Chief Strategist Lisa Plaggemier says in this Infosecurity Magazine piece about the psychology of employee training.

No one is immune to phishing emails, making it all the more important to teach employees to have healthy skepticism, and making that culturally acceptable in your organization, Chief Strategist Lisa Plaggemier tells Threatpost in this story about a GoDaddy employee getting phished.

Mercy Iowa City hospital reported that an internal email compromise and phishing email incident led to the exposure of personal information of some 60,473 individuals. MediaPRO’s Lisa Plaggemier explains how training prepares employees on how to recognize phishing threats.

Domain spoofing paired with well-written phishing emails, like are being used to send phishy IRS emails, is now standard practice for many fraudsters, Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast tells Data Breach Today.

Men in leadership roles can do their part by recognizing and encouraging women who excel in the traditionally-male-dominated world of IT and computer engineering, Chief Strategist Lisa Plaggemier tells TechRepublic.

Making voting, email, and digital transactions and the internet safe for everyone should be an issue everyone can get behind, no matter their politics, Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast tells Security Magazine in reference to a phishing scam that hooked the Wisconsin GOP.

The ability of women to see all sides of an issue is a plus for relationships with customers as well as employees, Chief Strategist Lisa Plaggemier tells SC Magazine in this special piece of coverage recognizing Women in IT Security.

With the surge of document sharing technology use the pandemic has triggered, Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast says scammers are moving in the same direction in this SC Magazine article.

Strong interpersonal skills will be key for cybersecurity teams to progress into 2021 and beyond, Chief Strategist Lisa Plaggemier tells Dice Insights.

Research suggests Amazon Prime Day will be just another opportunity for scammers to take advantage of anyone looking for a good deal, Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast warns in this piece from Security Magazine.

Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast lauds the establishment of a new Privacy Control Standard intended to give internet users greater control over how their personal data is used in this Infosecurity Magazine article.

Making security and privacy issues engaging and entertaining is a matter of finding the human drama or mystery in them through stories and real-life examples, Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast tells SC Magazine.

In the wake of many recent cyberattacks targeting the education sector, school districts and universities can benefit by focusing on the basics of security awareness for faculty and staff, Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast tells Dice Insights.

A comprehensive approach to security training and awareness should beyond traditional courses and include using articles in the company newsletter, infographics, and messaging on company social channels, Chief Strategist Lisa Plaggemier tells Security Magazine

Humor, storytelling, and a positive attitude are all attributes of good security training to keep in mind, for Cyberseucrity Awareness Month and beyond, Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast tells Tech Republic.

Nearly half of U.S. employees intend to spend 15 minutes or more per month on security training and awareness next year, but Chief Strategist Lisa Plaggemier warns the quality of the training matters if fighting fraud is the goal. Read more in this piece from PYMNTS.com.

Chief Strategist Lisa Plaggemier stresses the importance of security training that connects with employees based on the results of an original research report surveying 1,000 employees on training and security culture.

“Sound-alike” voicemails claiming to be from your boss could be one new tactic for cybercriminals using deep fake technology, Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast tells Dark Reading.

In addition to regular patching and network segmentation, Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast tells SC Magazine that security training on incident reporting should be a key lesson of the Equifax Data Breach.

The hacking of some public official email accounts among the Norwegian parliament is a reminder that any communication via electronic means is potentially vulnerable to attack and thus to public disclosure, Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast tells Gov Info Security.

While sometimes needed, consequences for employees who do not follow their company’s security policies need to be handled carefully so as not to alienate those on the front lines of a company’s security posture, Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast tells SC Magazine.

Chief Strategist Lisa Plaggemier lists some of the ways scammers can collect information about employees and their companies to launch voice phishing, or “vishing,” scams in this Fox News article.

Providing more security knowledge to people in IT, such as a software developers and data architects, so that they can do their jobs more securely could reduce the burden on the already stretched security professionals, Chief Strategist Lisa Plaggemier tells Dice Insights.

In this SC Magazine article, Chief Strategist Lisa Plaggemier applauds the quick actions and clear communications of the SANS Institute in response to a data breach that started with an employee clicking on a phishing email.

The SANS Institute data breach caused by a phishing attack shows that no one is immune and that awareness of phishing scams is more important than ever, Chief Strategist List Plaggemier tells TechRepublic.

It pays to be prepared for a ransomware attack, Chief Strategist Lisa Plaggemier tells Security Magazine, and this should include regular tabletop exercises, clear ransomware payment policies, and training and awareness for all employees.

In this SC Magazine article, Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast advises caution for companies implementing facial recognition technology and suspects many often do not think about all that could possibly go wrong with such data collection.

With increases in cyberattacks taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast tells Infosecurity Magazine the targets, humans, have not changed and are more vulnerable now than ever.

Spearphishing attacks, like the one that allowed hackers to compromise 130 high-profile Twitter accounts, rely in-part on publicly available personal information. Chief Strategist Lisa Plaggemier tells Security Magazine this should be a reminder to us all to stay vigilant.

Phone scams, or “vishing,” continue to evolve right alongside email phishing scams, as evidenced by the phone-based social engineering scammers used to compromise high-profile Twitter accounts, Chief Strategist Lisa Plaggemier tells SiliconANGLE.

The Twitter hack that comprised 130 high-profile accounts illustrates the importance of keeping aware of how much information about yourself is out there, as such details can be used for spearphishing attacks, Chief Strategist Lisa Plaggemier tells SecureWorld.

Users at defense and aerospace companies must be especially skeptical of any email contact and have to take steps to verify the legitimacy of contacts in the wake of concerted North Korean attempts to access defense contractor information, Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast tells SiliconANGLE.

Working remotely can provide opportunities for one-on-one engagement and promotion of security training and awareness initiatives, Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast tells Security Boulevard.

For safe and secure return-to-work scenarios, employers will have to put data collection controls in place for any health-related data they collect from employees; and be ready to answer employee questions about them, says Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast in this Dark Reading article.

Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast discusses why notifying potential victims of a data breach is as important as revealing how many were impacted and when in this Hospitality Technology piece about a large MGM data breach earlier this year.

IT Help Desk staff can do their part for security awareness by offering tips for securely working from home while dealing with employee technical issues, says Chief Strategist Lisa Plaggemier in this article from Dice Insights.

Chief Strategist Lisa Plaggemier predicts security will become even more of a selling point for hardware and software in the post-coronavirus “new normal” in this article from Dark Reading.

IT staff should look for “teachable moments” as they work with employees to ensure they’re securely working from home, says Chief Strategist Lisa Plaggemier in this article from Dice Insights.

Check out a roundup of thoughts on the impact of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) two years in from a sampling of security and privacy professionals, including Chief Strategist Lisa Plaggemier.

Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast shares some privacy concerns about the potential emergence of contact tracing apps as the world seeks a post-coronavirus “normal” in this Health IT Security piece.

Chief Strategist Lisa Plaggemier discusses the privacy and security risks around us and how to educate on these issues in this Q&A interview with TechNadu.

Is contact-tracing technology part of the post-coronavirus return to “normal?” Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast comments in this Gov Info Security article.

Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast talks data privacy, living in the digital area, and keeping people informed in this Q&A with AIThority Magazine.

Learn some tips for how best to send coronavirus-themed simulated phishing emails to educate employees from Chief Strategist Lisa Plaggemier in this Security Boulevard article.

InfoSecurity Magazine featured this interview with Chief Strategist Lisa Plaggemier on what makes good cybersecurity training and how to run an effective security awareness program.

In this IT Pro article, Chief Strategist Lisa Plaggemier shares advice and caution when it comes to using real-world topics to send simulated phishing emails to employees as part of training and awareness.

Hear about the importance of “soft skills,” such as creative problem-solving and communication, in modern security teams from Chief Strategist Lisa Plaggemier in this Verodin Cybersecurity Effectivness podcast episode.

Check out some advice on how to spot coronavirus phishing scams and what steps you can take to avoid them from Chief Strategist Lisa Plaggemier in this piece from The Street.

Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast comments on the need to practice strong critical thinking skills in the age of coronavirus scams.

Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast weighs in on the the cyber risks working from home brings.

Learn some key results from our 2020 State of Privacy and Security Awareness Report from Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast on the CyberWire Daily Podcast with host Dave Bittner.

MediaPRO Chief Strategist Lisa Plaggemier talks about the importance of phishing awareness related to a cyber attack on a large cruise line.

Learn some quick tips for security awareness training programs from MediaPRO Chief Strategist Lisa Plaggemier and other experts in this ZD Net article.

Chief Strategist Lisa Plaggemier offers insight into coronavirus phishing attacks and how to protect yourself against them.

JD Supra cited our 2020 State of Privacy and Security Awareness Report in this article about changes to the California Consumer Privacy Act.

HelpNet Security featured the findings of our 2020 State of Privacy and Security Awareness Report.

Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast was quoted in this piece on Data Privacy Day 2020 on the importance of private data in our modern culture.

Check out some advice for staying cybersecure while working from home from Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast in this Dark Reading piece.