Forensic Blogs

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Top Tech Podcasts Of April 2021

Keeping up to date with all things technology is easy with April’s podcast list! These highlighted podcasts cover a wide range of technology, from discussing the history of cybercrime and what it looks like today, to understanding the best ways to navigate your life in a digital age. They range from short, seven-minute bursts, to full fledged hour and a half deep dives, meaning there is something for everyone. Happy listening!

How I Built This is hosted by Guy Raz, an acclaimed radio and podcast personality. This NPR podcast focuses on the stories from the creators or some of the world’s best known companies, and how they came to be. These entrepreneurs and innovators transparently discuss the ways in which their businesses have come to be over the decades, with ideas and lessons left behind that can be applied to businesses of any size.

The Cyberlaw Podcast is hosted by Stewart Baker, a partner of Steptoe & Johnson LLP. The podcast is a series of weekly interviews and discussions about current events concerning technology, privacy, government, and security. Baker talks with politicians, reporters, academics, and authors, often focusing on where cybersecurity intersects with the law, and offering different opinions and debates on the topics.

Pivot is hosted by Kara Swisher, New York Magazine Editor-at-Large and Co-Founder of Recode, and Scott Galloway, a Marketing professor at NYU. This podcast discusses some of the biggest stories in business, technology, and politics every Tuesday and Friday morning. They offer their insights and opinions on the stories, lending their strong personalities to the case.

Darknet Diaries is hosted by Jack Rhysider, a knowledgeable member of the security world who has previously worked in a security operations center for a Fortune 500 company. This podcast focuses on the dark side of the web, such as stories involving cybercrime and hackers. Darknet Diaries aims to “capture, preserve, and explain the culture around hacking and cyber security in order to educate and entertain both technical and non-technical audiences.”

The CyberWire is a collection of podcasts created by the CyberWire team. These podcasts allow you to keep yourself up to date on all things happening within cyberspace, and to understand the current threats and issues happening within cybersecurity. The collection of podcasts lets you choose your preferred version of information about cybersecurity, whether it be the Daily Podcast which focuses specifically on the news, Career Notes which focuses on cybersecurity professionals, or more.

7 Minute Security is hosted by Brian Johnson, a security enthusiast who’s spent around twelve years working in IT before shifting to focus on information security in 2013. The podcast focuses on helping listeners build a career in security, with information about pentesting, blue teaming, technical security tests, online privacy tips, and more. Each podcast is only around seven minutes long, making it easily digestible content and perfect for people who can’t dedicate an hour or so of their time to listen to a full length podcast.

Back to Work is hosted by Merlin Mann and Dan Benjamin. Their podcast focuses on the convergence between people, technology, and work. Their discussions range from communication, different types of constraints and barriers, productivity, and more.

Smashing Security is hosted by Graham Cluley and Carole Theriault, two veterans of the computer security industry. This podcast takes a lighthearted approach to the news and views of cybersecurity, hacking, online privacy, and more, allowing you to laugh as you take in the helpful and educational information. Despite this different approach from most cybersecurity podcasts, the hosts are still able to handle the weighty topics easily.

Note to Self is hosted by Manoush Zomorodi. The podcast focuses on how to navigate your life in the digital age, and as the podcast’s website describes, it is “your weekly reminder to question everything.” The show focuses on the way technology is impacting different parts of our lives, and how to use it effectively without falling into traps.


Malicious Life is hosted by Ran Levi, an author of three books who’s worked as an electronics engineer and programmer for a few high-tech companies in Israel. The podcast focuses on the evolution and history of the cybersecurity industry, through interviews with experts, politicians, and hackers. This podcast is made for anyone interested in the background history of cybercrime, and the state that it is in today.

The post Top Tech Podcasts Of April 2021 appeared first on The Leahy Center for Digital Forensics & Cybersecurity.

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How to use Google Tools to Optimize Your Workplace

Living and working in pandemic times, it’s clear to see that the work landscape has radically changed. While many changes may disappear as vaccines roll out, the efficacy and efficiency of the digital workplace can’t be ignored. Having proper online workplace infrastructure offers, From allowing team members to communicate and log hours from the comfort of their own home to expanding the pool of available applicants. Google has a wide host of tools that enable businesses to take their digital workplace to the next level. This article will go through and detail a few that we can recommend for those wishing to fortify their online infrastructure.

1: Google Meet Meet

Built in through Gmail with heavy integration with the Google Calendar, Google Meet is a service that allows you to simultaneously video chat with anybody else that has a Google account, webcam, and mic. While offering basic video chat services, Meet also has special functions to aid in productivity. This includes things like breakout rooms for smaller team meetings. Also available are many accommodation options. There is a chat box for those without microphones, and virtual backgrounds to accommodate many different home environments. Live captions better accommodate those with hearing impairments, a problem that’s hard to tackle at in-person meetings. Additionally, most if not all devices support Meet, meaning you won’t need special equipment.

Meet also offers things like screen sharing, allowing an individual to present whatever is on their computer to others at the meeting. All of this lies on top of a guarantee of unlimited meetings—Google won’t rate limit you or cut you off at a certain number. For as long as you need to hold your meetings, Meet will be available to you.

2: Google Authenticator Google Authenticator - Apps on Google Play

Google Authenticator offers an easy way to ensure your team’s accounts are secure. By setting up a unique two-factor authentication code, employees can further secure their accounts. This alleviates the concern of other recovery methods, like messaging or email, being compromised. Additionally, this extra level of security greatly minimizes the risk involved in entrusting confidential information to your employees at home, which in turn helps increase your workplace’s efficiency.

3: Google Drive Suite Drive | Google Blog

The Google Drive Suite contains quintessential tools for collaborative development. No business that deals with files of any kind is complete without access to Google Drive. A collaborative file storing and sharing platform, Drive allows users to create dedicated folders in which to store files online. This includes files both made through the Google Drive Suite as well as those uploaded from the computer itself. These can then be shared to specific people or groups of people for download or editing.

Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides offer unique collaborative solutions to the traditional Microsoft Office Suite. Offering identical options to the latter, the Google Drive Suite enables easy, live collaboration. This allows team members to work together on a presentation without needing to pass it back and forth. It also allows for quick editing where necessary, and the files are all protected from accidents with cloud-based autosave and version history records + rollback.

Honorable Mention: Google Chrome Google Chrome - Wikipedia

Google Chrome gets an honorable mention here, but not for simply “being a web browser”. Instead, it’s important to highlight its integration with all of the aforementioned tools. Chrome is built in part and supported by your Google account, from history to cookies etc. This extends into making your services easily accessible, such as including quick links to the Calendar and Gmail. Additionally, Chrome hosts a wide host of add-ons and plugins that can work to create an extremely efficient workstation. While many aren’t developed specifically by Google, Chrome’s web store as many useful tools, such as Chrome Remote Desktop. This allows you to coordinate sharing and interacting with screens from different locations, useful for I.T. work, troubleshooting, collaboration, etc.

As the COVID vaccine starts to roll out and we transition back to life as “normal”, it is unlikely that we’ll see this digital work environment fade out. Businesses are recognizing the benefits of a digital workspace, and these tools will help keep your team on track in this shifting landscape.

STAY UP TO DATE WITH TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, AND LINKEDIN SO YOU ALWAYS KNOW WHAT WE’RE UP TO!

The post How to use Google Tools to Optimize Your Workplace appeared first on The Leahy Center for Digital Forensics & Cybersecurity.

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Alex Mckenna On The Importance Of Women In Bussiness

Our final Women’s History Month worker spotlight is Alex McKenna! McKenna is a fourth-year Marketing major, with a minor in Digital Marketing. She is from New York City, New York, and she currently works on the Marketing Team for the Leahy Center. Her other experiences outside of this position include work with the Champlain Marketing Department, the Clemmons Family Farm, Books Ireland, and Champlain’s Office of International Education.

What made you choose to major within the business field?

I came into college as a Business Administration major, but during an introductory marketing course I realized how much of marketing is learning about different people, and that’s something I strive to do in my personal life. So, bringing together something that interests me with a career field was almost like a perfect match.

Are there any females in business that you look up to?

I’ve actually only had women as my bosses at all of my positions before the Leahy Center, so I’d have to say all of them! They are all amazing people and inspiring to me within marketing—definitely role models that I hope to emulate one day.

What was your first experience with your major?

At Champlain, actually! The class that inspired me to switch to marketing was Marketing & The Organizational Mindset, and the live-client project I did with Northern Stage Theatre in White River Junction, VT.

What are the pros and cons of being a woman in business?

It really depends on the area you’re going into, and how male-dominated the place you’re working is. The higher-up positions for bigger companies are still almost entirely male, which makes it harder for women to reach that level. Also, there are still instances where I get talked over, interrupted, or assumed to be the note-taker instead of taken seriously. But the pros are that interpersonal relationships between coworkers become stronger bonds and therefore more effective teams, and that there’s more honest and effective communication between myself and other women I work with.

What advice would you give to younger women who are interested in getting into Marketing/Business?

I’d definitely suggest simply trying it out! What I’ve learned is that until you try something new, you’re not going to be sure whether or not you enjoy it. That was the main reason I started college with a pretty adaptable major and then found something more specific that fit my personality and interests better.

Why is it important to have women in business?

For marketing specifically, it has been pretty well proven that older (typically white) men don’t really understand much about women as a target audience. So the most obvious way to fix this is having women’s opinions on how to market something to their own demographic. However, women are also statistically more attuned to people’s attitudes and emotions than men—and when they are in leadership positions their employees are more likely to be happier and more productive due to the increase in understanding.

What would you like to achieve in the marketing field in the future?

I definitely have goals to be in a leadership role within my field so that I can bring in more diverse perspectives and provide opportunities for people and women of color who are usually underrepresented in many business settings and decisions. Additionally, I aim to use my work to shift marketing away from the “sex sells” narrative for products that have nothing to do with sex. The concept has been around for too long and generally sexualizes female bodies, which then translates into violence and discrimination against women.

STAY UP TO DATE WITH TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, AND LINKEDIN SO YOU ALWAYS KNOW WHAT WE’RE UP TO!

The post Alex Mckenna On The Importance Of Women In Bussiness appeared first on The Leahy Center for Digital Forensics & Cybersecurity.