236: George Finney—Are Your Habits Making You A Cybersecurity Victim?

Hear how to protect yourself from cybersecurity threats

We have done a number of podcast interviews on a topic that should be of great concern to you: cybersecurity. As an anthropologist, I am always fascinated by people’s habits. Your habits, as today’s guest George Finney tells us, may make it easy for hackers to get into your data systems and make you and your organization easy victims, stealing your data, assuming your identity, and turning a good day into a nightmare. Perhaps now’s the time for you to listen to George teach you how to change your habits so you can protect yourself. You really can’t afford not to.

Do you ever awake in the morning, open your computer and wonder if you’ve been hacked during the night? Your identity stolen? Your database wiped out? If so, you need to listen carefully to my interview guest George Finney, cybersecurity expert. His goal is for you to become more vigilante, reviewing emails with better scrutiny and avoiding dangerous phishing emails that can invade your computer, your systems and your life.

Take it from me: I had my cell phone number stolen in January 2020 and with it my identity, my Google accounts, my Apple ID…I can keep going. It is not pretty, and if George can make you deadly serious about scrutinizing your emails more carefully, please give a listen.

In our technology-dependent culture, it becomes harder every day to keep up
with what’s safe and what’s dangerous, especially with so many employees working from home. There’s no escaping the ultimate responsibility for protecting ourselves and our organizations from the very real cybersecurity threats that exist online, but it doesn’t have to be an overwhelming topic to tackle. That’s where George comes in.

About George Finney

As Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Southern Methodist University, George Finney understands how our often-overlooked habits hold the solution to everyday cybersecurity challenges. In response, he developed a comprehensive approach that can help keep us secure online.

With nearly 20 years’ experience, George has helped a wide variety of companies from startups to global telecommunications firms to nonprofits improve their security posture. He has been recognized by Security Magazine as a top cybersecurity leader and is a member of the Texas CISO Council. He is also the author of several books on cybersecurity, most recently Well Aware: Master the Nine Cybersecurity Habits to Protect Your Future, available Oct 20, 2020. You can connect with George through his LinkedIn page.

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