October 21 is Wonder Woman Day. It commemorates Wonder
Woman’s first appearance in All Star Comics
#8. With the upcoming release of Wonder Woman 1984, we took the
opportunity to talk superheroes, superpowers and protecting data with our very
own Briana Butler, Engineering Services Manager at Webroot.
Q: Wonder Woman got her powers from her divine mother, Queen Hippolyta. How did you get your data protection superpowers?
I had a reboot in life. I was previously a retail buyer then
I went back to school for computer science and ended up switching to the business
school. I was hired at Webroot to be a bridge between engineering and business
– you have to have people that can speak both languages – and that’s exactly
what I wanted to do and what I was trying to forge with my new career.
I first began as a data analyst, which meant working on privacy
compliance, GDPR, CCPA, and data mapping, understanding where data is stored and
processed, and who has access to it. My latest role is as an Engineering Services
Manager, meaning I help engineering and product with personnel and hiring needs,
ISO certification and making sure our development teams receive the training
they need to stay up to date with the fast pace of tech.
Q: Wonder Woman had several superpowers, or super powerful gadgets, like indestructible bracelets and a lasso that forced people to tell the truth. Is cyber resilience a superpower?
Every superhero has different talents or powers. When we
think of cyber resilience, it’s sort of like our own personal toolbox of powers
that we can use against malicious actors who want to take our data and make
money off it.
Our toolbox of cyber resilience includes basic best
practices like knowing how to create a strong password, not clicking every link
that comes into your email inbox and daily behaviors of how to navigate and
defend yourself online. The goal is to live your best digital life confidently, without
disruption.
Q: What about our data? Does that give us any powers that we wouldn’t have without it?
I think it’s more about understanding the power data has if
we give it away. When we give people access to our data, that’s when it becomes
powerful. Whether it’s corporations or malicious actors, when we willingly hand
out our data, that gives it power because then, they know things about us. I
talk a lot about privacy and why everyone should be more critical and cognizant
of the data they’re sharing. We share a lot more than we realize. It’s time for
all of us to understand what we’re sharing and then decide if we, personally,
really want to share it.
Q: Wonder Woman encountered her fair share of comic strip villains, like the Duke of Deception, Doctor Psycho and Cheetah. Who are the villains in the digital world?
They’re the malicious actors and cybercriminals who would take
your data and sell it on the open market. It could even be the person trying to
get access to your Hulu account. There are also nation-state actors and the
companies you buy things from. There’s a huge spectrum of villains, and they
all want your data. There’s big money in data. So, it’s important that you’re
aware of what’s being shared.
I’ve started reading privacy policies – those long,
convoluted legal documents – to see if I can understand where I’m going to be sharing
my information and make a more conscious decision.
For one large social platform, when I went through it, I started
asking myself, am I really okay sharing this information? Do I really need this
service or platform? Is it necessary in exchange for what I’m about to share
with them? In the end, I didn’t sign up for it.
I’ve also gone through the frustrating and somewhat time-consuming
act of cleaning up all my passwords and using a password manager. Most people
say they have anywhere from 15 to 20 password-protected accounts. But when I
went through all the places I’ve shared my password, it was upwards of 100!
One of my favorite topics is password strength. We recently
did an analysis of password configurations with Maurice Schmidtler, our head
data scientist, who created a Monte Carlo simulation.
We took what you usually see when you’re told to create a password – like using
uppercase and lowercase letters or special symbols – and applied those within
the simulation. What we found was that the more constraints you put on a password,
the fewer viable options you have for a strong password, meaning it decreases the
number of good password options. Whereas if you focus on creating a strong
password, where length is more important than the various character-type
constraints, you’ll end up with a much stronger password. Length is strength
because it takes more computing power to break.
Q: Wonder Woman was a founding member of the Justice League. So, even she needed the help of a squad to defeat the villains. Do we need help from a squad to be more cyber resilient?
We all need assistance because as humans, we are fallible. Inevitably,
someone might click on a malicious link, or some unforeseen event might happen where
you need a backup
that’s going to allow you to recover data instead of losing it permanently.
When it comes to ransomware, or really any other attack, you
need awareness. That’s why we encourage proactive education and regular security
awareness training, so people truly understand the threat landscape and how
to identify the most prevalent types of attacks.
Q: At one point in the story, Wonder Woman surrendered her superpowers and used fighting skills instead. In what ways do we surrender our powers when it comes to cyber resilience?
Oversharing content or data about yourself, your name or address
are surefire ways to surrender power in the digital age. All these things
identify you and allow criminals to gain insight that can be used against you
through social engineering.
You’re also surrendering power when you practice poor cyber
hygiene, like repeating passwords across multiple logins. Once a cybercriminal
gains access to one login, they can discover more details about you and use it
elsewhere. For example, you may not be worried about a criminal getting access
to your Netflix account, but if you use the same password there as you do with
your bank, then the situation just became much more serious.
You also surrender power by not protecting your home network
and not using VPN when you’re on public Wi-Fi. People often think “it won’t
happen to me,” until it’s too late. And recovery can be costly and time-consuming.
That’s why implementing layers of protection up front strengthens cyber
resilience and helps keep your digital life easy, secure and free of complications.
Q: Are you going to watch the new Wonder Woman movie?
Oh sure! I will because I’ve seen all the other ones. I’m a
big fan of Guardians of the Galaxy. And, of course, I love Iron Man. And I was
a big fan of Black Panther, too. Doctor Strange is also one of my faves.
Q: If cybercriminals were villains from Wonder Woman, who would they be?
The Duke of Deception! Hackers, cybercriminals and nation-state
actors are constant antagonists, and that’s exactly who we defend our users against.
