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Fortify Your Digital Life: Avoiding Cyber Sabotoge, for Business Owners, Employees, and Everyday Internet Users
97 Plays1 year ago
Join us for an insightful episode as we explore the world of cybersecurity with Albert E. Whale, founder and CEO of IT Security Solutions, Inc. With over 30 years of experience in leading teams to better cybersecurity, Albert is a renowned expert in the field. In this episode, he shares valuable insights on building secure digital environments and protecting sensitive information. We discuss pressing issues such as the quality of security in online money trading apps, risks of social media and website information leaks, and concerns surrounding popular platforms like TikTok. Albert's mission is to empower businesses and individuals to take control of their cybersecurity journey. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from an industry expert and gain practical tips to enhance your digital security. Share this episode to spread awareness and connect with us on social media to join the conversation. Visit https://TheHackedBook.com to explore Albert's book and coaching services. Let's build a safer digital world together.
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Transcript
Introduction to 'The Organic Matrix' Podcast
00:00:06
Speaker
Welcome to The Organic Matrix, the life guide in your pocket. Are you a business owner, IT professional, entrepreneur, remote worker, or just someone concerned about online security? Stay tuned as we explore vital cybersecurity insights with expert Albert Whale that could safeguard your business, career, and personal life from digital threats.
Albert Whale's Cybersecurity Journey
00:00:30
Speaker
Albert E. Whale is a cybersecurity titan with over 30 years of experience
00:00:35
Speaker
He's on a mission to empower businesses, remote workers, and everyday users with the knowledge and tools to defend against digital threats. As a service-disabled US Navy veteran, and thank you for your service. Well, it's my pleasure.
00:00:50
Speaker
Award-winning author and renowned international public speaker, Albert has dedicated his career to demystifying the complex world of cybersecurity. His hands-on experience spans from assisting the FBI post-9-11 to saving the Veterans Administration over $1 million in just six months.
00:01:12
Speaker
Albert's expertise and passion for security has led him to work with global banks, the U.S. Air Force, and small to medium-sized businesses worldwide. In today's episode, Albert shares invaluable insights and advice on how to fortify your digital life. No matter your background or industry, don't miss the opportunity to learn from one of the best in the business.
00:01:37
Speaker
Looking for career advice, personal development tips, or inspiring stories? Our Matrix members has you covered. Don't miss out. Bookmark our podcast and follow us on social media for a life guide in your pocket. Albert, thank you so much for being here on the show. Oh, Samantha, thank you for inviting me. Albert, can you share your journey in cybersecurity and what motivated you to become a leading expert in the field?
00:02:04
Speaker
Yes, sure. I started in cybersecurity right on 9-11. I was actually building access points for telephone companies to sell access to the internet for their subscribers. And then 9-11 happened. And that's when the FBI came to my door and they asked me to help them with a project. It actually was the
00:02:48
Speaker
And right after helping them out with the investigation, we co-jointly formed the Pittsburgh FBI Member Alliance. And that member alliance then became a national organization.
00:02:58
Speaker
investigation of the September 17th watch list.
00:03:03
Speaker
which helped teach security to the national critical infrastructure, banking systems, transportation, healthcare, utilities, and so forth. All those necessary things that we use every day to improve the quality of our lives. Most of us wouldn't know what it'd be like to be without electricity anymore, right? Or not be able to drive our car across country if we had to.
00:03:31
Speaker
Absolutely. I can't even imagine my life without internet access. Well, that's another story altogether. So in starting with the training for security for the national critical infrastructure, I soon learned that volunteers don't get paid.
Personal Responsibility in Cybersecurity
00:03:50
Speaker
I was shocked. No, I'm kidding.
00:03:54
Speaker
I actually started in cyber on 9-11 because I have six kids. And I thought, who's going to better protect these kids and our country than a veteran? And I'm standing up. And that's when I drew the line in the sand and said, that's what I'm going to focus on. And I did, working with
00:04:16
Speaker
companies internationally, helping the VA with software security, teaching the Air Force what software application security was, working with major banks, and going global now with organizations for healthcare, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, you name it, every business needs cybersecurity.
00:04:40
Speaker
On that note of pharmaceuticals and since the pandemic, people have been using all of these third party apps to access medication.
Security Risks of Free Apps
00:04:49
Speaker
That means that they're putting their personal information on these third party apps and putting their medical records
00:04:55
Speaker
While we do your book, I was mind blown at how you mentioned that anything free is like you get what you pay for. Anything free compromises your security and that these apps use our information and they sell our information because there's no rules against it really. Well, so you actually sign an agreement for use of the application that they can use your information.
00:05:24
Speaker
And they could use information that includes your contacts, your messages, your web browser history, your location data, who your friends are, who do you talk to, the whole nine yards. So imagine that amount of information going out because you wanted to play a kids game or order pharmaceuticals from a third world country. What you're really doing is much worse than that.
00:05:52
Speaker
Absolutely. And another thing that really stood out to me is how people use Telegram and WhatsApp because it's encrypted, right? And we think that's safe. When reading your book, I love that you mentioned that, yeah, you're safe till the encryption is interrupted. Can you explain this to the audience and what comes with using apps connected to Facebook and WhatsApp and Telegram? I love when I go to the gym and I see smoothie bars.
00:06:21
Speaker
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00:06:51
Speaker
Sure, so apps on Facebook, again, this is somebody that's provided a service. They're paying to get access to you. Let's step back a second. Do you pay to get access to Facebook? No. So because you're not paying for it, you're the product. These advertisers that are giving access to applications, which we don't know who wrote them, right?
00:07:18
Speaker
So we're really not sure what their intent is. And usually picking the name that best suits you from your Zodiac or something like that or Words with Friends or some other activity isn't the main intent of these applications. Their main intent is installing spyware, malware, and backdoors on your computer. And they do that quite easily because you're giving them access
00:07:47
Speaker
through your use on Facebook.
Evolution of Technology Security
00:07:51
Speaker
I can't tell you how many countless times I've had to clean out my mother's computer system, and she's got 50 tabs open at the same time, all with different malware settings on it. That gives me chills. That's a wake-up call, because I don't think that there's a huge conversation around this.
00:08:14
Speaker
The more we get integrated into technology and we're involving AI into it, I would love to hear your perspective on the evolution of technology. Because in your book, you talk about the timeline and it's very fascinating to see where we were then to where we are now. And I also want to hear your perspective on AI chatbots like ChatGPT and other AI generators that people are commonly using today.
00:08:41
Speaker
Okay, well, you asked for a whole lot. Are you ready to drink from the fire hose?
00:08:48
Speaker
So here we go. When I was in college and I went to Penn State as an electrical engineer, we were told back in the day, and this is before the internet, that we're gonna be building systems and solutions. And it's our responsibility as the engineers that are creating these products to put the brakes on and not release technology before it was really ready. And I didn't quite understand that when I was a student.
00:09:14
Speaker
But as the days evolved and we brought the Internet to use and I saw that, you know, when we first got on the Internet, we didn't need to have firewalls and then magically
00:09:27
Speaker
somebody pressed a button and people were knocking on our servers trying to get in and we had to invest in firewalls to protect them. When people build technology, they immediately want to try to attack it and break it apart so they can get access to the inner workings because they want to do different things with it. It's usually not the things that you intended it to be used for and that's the whole problem.
00:09:57
Speaker
Having built a product that was intended initially for consumers, you know, IOT devices and all these ring doorbells and wireless access points and, you know, smart TVs, these are all connected to our internet, right? But the problem is we don't know what's inside of them. We don't know if they're secure. And I'm gonna just go out on a limb here and say, they're probably not.
00:10:26
Speaker
the Wi-Fi point that you stick up to get access in your home, it isn't secure. And really, anybody that had any desire could go find a script on Google and hack your Wi-Fi and get access to your internal network. That's how bad and dangerous it really is.
00:10:49
Speaker
So the smart TV that we bought, it was a Samsung TV last year, maybe a year and a half now, we found out it had a crypto coin miner on it. And that's unique because I don't remember anyone ever saying,
00:11:08
Speaker
that they bought a TV to have a crypto coin miner mining crypto coins for somebody else to gain benefit from and giving them backdoor access to their home network. Can I ask like, how does that happen? How did that happen? It was built in. It's by design. I have a smartphone, one of these devices.
00:11:38
Speaker
Where is this built? Probably China. Probably is right. Matter of fact, most of our technology is built there. We have become addicted to buying technology for cheap from a third country that wants what we have. Do you see a problem there? A hundred percent.
00:12:03
Speaker
But yet nobody's really looking at that as a problem. They're saying, oh, let's send jobs overseas to improve the world. What's really not improving the world, it's decreasing our security in this country. Yes. Yes. I agree. And the other thing is.
00:12:23
Speaker
I find it that the common person doesn't think about this because we have expectations that our governing bodies have it covered.
Challenges in Internet Security
00:12:35
Speaker
And I would love for you to introduce a conversation about how our personal security is our personal business and how the government actually isn't responsible for that.
00:12:45
Speaker
Well, they're not. And they've come out and said several times for anybody that was listening that they're not going to mandate security controls on the internet because it's a public access point. And anybody can do anything that they want. It's kind of like you're in the wild, wild West. If you've heard that song before. That's the first thing I thought about.
00:13:11
Speaker
So it's always buyer beware. It's always, you know, you get what you pay for. If you're not paying for the service, I think I already said this, you're the product. And if you're not protecting your data, then you're giving it away. And most people say, I don't have anything that they don't want. And that's the furthest thing from the truth. They want access.
00:13:41
Speaker
You're here, they're not. They want in your phone, in your computer, in your house, so they can get access to more people that are here. Hacking on the internet is a lot like spreading a virus. You can't see it and you don't know it's there until it's too late.
00:14:03
Speaker
When I was reading your book, I also found it shocking that one of the organizations that you helped had a infiltration malware and it took them 18 months to find out. 18 months is like the eternity for a hacker to get everything that they need. Most hackers get into a system in under 15 seconds. To take 18 months to find that there was an issue 18 months ago,
00:14:34
Speaker
is clearly not helping the security, is it? That's so concerning. That's why I say that all these tools that we're using today in cybersecurity are reactive tools. They're actually waiting for an event to happen. And then they're going to send log data to a central location so somebody can analyze it. Maybe they have some comprehensive tools that are searching and they're going through the configurations to figure out what happened.
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Speaker
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00:16:43
Speaker
But the main thrust of it is it's already happened. It's not preventive. It's reactive. And if you're not preventing, you're not stopping the attacks. You're not stopping ransomware. You're not stopping identity theft. You're not stopping anything that's going to take your data and shut you down.
00:17:08
Speaker
That's the reality. That's the truth. And you know what? I think this is just one symbol of a lot of things that we need to reform in our governing country because our healthcare system is the same way. Oh, I'm going to treat the symptom. It's already too late. Preventative care in a spiritual, physical, mental, and now environmental because the internet is a representation of our collective consciousness.
00:17:34
Speaker
It's a reflection of ourselves. Our technology is a rendition of mankind's legacy. And we can see the archetypes of man clearly on how the internet's being used by these bad actors and people with malintention. And like human nature, you know, the preventative side is the most important.
00:18:03
Speaker
I know that I split this question into a lot of things. I definitely want to hear your thoughts about AI, but while we're on the topic of prevention, can you talk about some preventative measures that our audience can take to protect their identities? Sure. Don't use the same password on all of your accounts. As a matter of fact, today, since we're still in a work from home environment, write your passwords down.
00:18:29
Speaker
Nobody's coming into your house to look at your passwords. If you were in the office and you stuck those passwords under your keyboard, they would probably fire you, but you're at home. So write them down and try to remember them. But we also have password, forgot password utilities now that will help you recover.
00:18:51
Speaker
but don't use the same one everywhere you go because if they compromise one social media account, you might lose everything. Another good tip is to not use free WiFi. If you're in a public location, how do you know that the WiFi that's there is really good and it's not somebody representing the WiFi for that business? Because there's lots of tools that do that very easily.
00:19:22
Speaker
I didn't think of that.
Public WiFi and Security Risks
00:19:23
Speaker
That is so true. That's so true, because for a while, I was living in the road, and I was using this hotspot. And I'm a content creator, so I have to use free Wi-Fi sometimes. But I can easily change the name of this hotspot to say, this gas station's free Wi-Fi. And I have never thought about that before.
00:19:46
Speaker
So a lot of things happen where your phone, your laptop, whatever your device is that connects to wifi, it will beacon and send out a request. Hey, is my net gear wifi available here in the airport? And if somebody's listening and they have a device that will respond, it will say, yes, I'm right here. And you'll connect to somebody else's wifi.
00:20:15
Speaker
automatically and not know that you're using a rogue Wi-Fi spot. So if you can get your own access point that uses 5G or 4G or whatever G, OG, you're a little better off because now they're also mimicking cell sites. They can emulate AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, whatever.
00:20:45
Speaker
Wow. Wow. We got a lot of work to do now. Once we know, we can't go back. It's hard to unsee something when you've seen it. Absolutely. What are some of the most common cyber threats that... Oh, actually, before I ask that question, I would love to know, what is your perspective on the emerging AI technology?
00:21:11
Speaker
While I appreciate that we want to advance our culture and technological evolution, I also fear that it's going to be used for evil purposes as much as it could be for good.
00:21:27
Speaker
The problem I have with it is it's not been tested and trusted more so than just rapidly adopted. And what happens to everybody that used to have a job to create content that this tool is going to do, where are they going to work? So if we use AI instead of people, what are we really focusing on?
00:21:51
Speaker
That's a very good question. Are we focusing on rapid results or are we focusing on human experience? One of our founding foundations in this country is the pursuit of happiness. It's very hard to pursue happiness if you don't have a foundation of job security. I think what you mentioned is something that a lot of people are concerned about today.
00:22:19
Speaker
Sure. And happiness comes from within. And if you can control what you're doing, then you're in control rather than relying on somebody else. And that's more about what I do at Napoleon Hill Institute as well. Yes. Yes. I can't wait to get into that.
00:22:39
Speaker
So I would love to ask you a few questions about It's Safe. Can you tell us about your product and the origin story behind it? Sure. The It's Safe cybersecurity of product sits inside the network and it watches traffic going in and out.
00:22:59
Speaker
and it blocks the bad activities before they can reach the destination. Either to rogue sites out on the internet or to computers inside your home network or business network. Right now it's running for businesses but I intend to provide a smaller reduced version for homes as well.
Introducing 'It's Safe' Cybersecurity Product
00:23:20
Speaker
Because people can't see these attackers and
00:23:24
Speaker
Right now there's no firewalls or virus scanners on these devices at all. So you can't even tell if you've been hacked or compromised or anything. That's the scariest part and that's the biggest reason why I think this conversation is so important.
00:23:41
Speaker
If we can have access to this kind of protection as like a solar entrepreneur or as a regular person that wants to protect themselves online, I feel like because the government doesn't want to get involved with their online security in our meta universe, the point that they're like to borrow the term is becoming more prevalent in so many ways with virtual reality technology, with how we educate people now with the zoom and
00:24:08
Speaker
Literally, like Napoleon Hill's book says, Marconi, he connected every international person as backyard neighbors. And today, that is more a fact than any other day. This is a technology that is necessary in every home. How can we get closer to achieving that goal of having it safe be something that every homeowner can have?
00:24:33
Speaker
Well, right now we're raising funds to create the business solution which will evolve into the home solution. So if your listeners have angel investors that are ready to help us grow, we're ready to change the world in cybersecurity because this proactive solution actually interrupts and disrupts the attacker. We're not gonna wait until the event has happened to say, oh, you've been hacked.
00:25:01
Speaker
We're gonna say we stopped the hack. Continue.
00:25:07
Speaker
That's what we need Matrix members. We need this episode to go viral and we need it to go viral to protect you. We are sending you love and security. Albert started this journey trying to protect his kids and now he's protecting the world. So let's get this message out there because we need Albert's help. On that note, when it comes to personal protection, I also want to mention something that we commonly use and it's Cash App, Venmo, PayPal, and Zelle.
00:25:37
Speaker
With all of these money sending services that have our information, how can we protect ourselves from potential threats in regards to our electronic dollar? So I don't try to do anything on my phone. Again, I refer back to there's no firewall and there's no virus scanner. And I have no access to know what's going on unless it's in my home connected to my network through my ItSafe appliance.
00:26:05
Speaker
which I do protect because of the coin miner, the crypto coin miner on our TV. Who expected that? PayPal, I don't have a problem with, they're on their own hosted servers and I can get to it from my computer system, okay? And that's a little different than using a phone with no protections.
00:26:28
Speaker
I'm resistant to anything that I have to download to my phone in order to get access to financial data because I don't know what's going on in the app. I don't know what the security is in the app, especially given third-party security often being the back door inside businesses. I certainly can't afford to have my bank account drained. I don't think anybody can.
00:26:59
Speaker
I still go to the bank personally, hand them a check and say hello to the tellers and they're glad to see me because they still have a job because I'm coming to see them. And the big point about that is you can't hack paper. I love that quote. So you can get Venmo or Stripe or anything else to give you money faster and they're going to take a part of it.
00:27:27
Speaker
But do you really need it faster than tomorrow? If somebody handed you a check and you took it to the bank, it clears in one day. And there's no discount on it. You don't have to pay fees to get access to it. A little bit of effort can save somebody's jobs and you can go a really long way. Exactly. Plus if we resist being converted to digital currency,
00:27:53
Speaker
then it's a lot harder for them to turn off the value of what we have. Oh, I'm glad that you mentioned that because that's something that I know a few people who are very concerned about that. People who are probably like a lot older than me because the people my age are like already being born into digital currency. And so, you know, people on older generation, they know what's going on when it comes to the physical currency and how
00:28:20
Speaker
the American dollar was first backed up by gold, then that got taken away and the concern of the value behind our currency. I see that many people's concerns is if we went on a completely digital model, if some attack happened where we didn't have access to the Internet or energy, how are we going to measure our currency? Exactly. We'll lose it all.
00:28:49
Speaker
So can you give us a few of your thoughts on that topic? That's a scary rabbit hole. I don't want to go down. Yes, I abhor the fact that we abolish the gold standard on our currency. I think it brings us more closer to the fiat currency world, and it's not a reality I want to live in. Yeah, me too. I don't even want to go into the conspiracy theory. I'll just do that personally with you later.
00:29:21
Speaker
Okay.
00:29:23
Speaker
Oh, so I recently saw a reel on Instagram and this man was talking about how people are using QR codes to hack people. And so you know how they have those electric scooters that you can rent in most cities? In New York City, they have it too in Atlanta, Florida. And they usually, the way you pay for it is like they have a QR sticker. So some hacker took a QR code and put it on top of that sticker and flushed it real good. So you couldn't even see that it was replaced.
00:29:53
Speaker
Right. Yeah, they were accessing everybody's credit card information right there and then because- Huh, go figure. They do the same thing with skimmers on gas station pumps, right? Yeah. There's a section in my book about that too. What's a skimmer?
00:30:09
Speaker
A skimmer is some, you know, when you stick your card into the gas pump for it to read it, it also senses your data as you go in with your credit card to collect it and send it off to the attackers. So do people hack these systems or is it something that like there's a fault because it's built in?
00:30:30
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00:32:31
Speaker
They modify the system by either adding something on the front end or opening up the machine and adding something internally. That's why on some gas pumps, you'll see tape. That's a registration tape or a certification tape that it's been tested. Wow, I learned something new today. Now I have something else to be vigilant for because I had no idea. Yeah, it's a hot thing.
00:33:02
Speaker
They do it at major gas stations because everybody goes to pump gas. But if they shut down the electrical grid, how are you going to recharge your electric car? That's a big point. Yeah, it's very true. These are very valid questions and concerns that we have to figure out before we fully become dependent on the coming singularity.
TikTok and Chinese Influence Concerns
00:33:28
Speaker
Good point. Thank you.
00:33:32
Speaker
What concerns do you have about TikTok and its potential security vulnerabilities? I saw an awesome caricature in your book. Matrix members, you have to read this book. It's just so good. You won't want to put it down. It's called hashtag hacked by Albert. And he has this character picture that says, oh, ever since he started working with China, we have gotten a lot of a lot less virus attacks. I thought that was so funny.
00:34:00
Speaker
and I wanted to loop that in with TikTok. Can you educate us more about TikTok? TikTok was built by China. They actually have a version in China that educates their children. But in the United States what they're doing is they're attempting to
00:34:18
Speaker
deprogram our kids by making them dependent on short snippets of videos to give them a dopamine kick so that they forget about doing their studies and they're more dependent on TikTok.
00:34:32
Speaker
but it also allows them access to all the data on your phone, all of your friends that you're connected to, and builds these social networks so that people can see who are you following, who's following you, and get larger groups of people to compromise. TikTok, it's a service. You're not paying for it, you're the product.
00:35:02
Speaker
Well, I wish I can ask you what do you think that China is doing with the data, but I don't know if that's classified. I have my assumptions, but yeah, you don't really want to know what I know. I got chills, man. I'm trying to stay still. Once they have the data, you can't get it back. It's like the genie getting out of the bottle, right?
00:35:28
Speaker
I dream of Jeannie or the Jeannie from Aladdin's lamp. Once they get out, they don't want to go back in. Once your data's out of the network, you can't get it back. Anybody that thinks that they're going to pay a ransom and get the data back, all they're really getting is access back to their computers, but their systems are still infected. Whatever allowed the attackers inside their networks has not been fixed.
00:35:57
Speaker
And you can go and buy new equipment all you want and stick it in there, but their people, processes, and technology have not solved the problem that allowed them in in the first place. This is huge. They need a proactive tool that determines what's good and what's bad and stops all the bad. And that's why they need your digital membrane. It's safe. Correct.
00:36:24
Speaker
We're calling it an ATM, an Active Threat Mitigation Tool. It could be an automatic teller machine because we're saving you millions of dollars from getting breached.
00:36:38
Speaker
Oh, yeah. I would I would love to read for you to reiterate, like, why does the small, small business owners, matrix members, your small business owner, if you know a big business owner, Albert, can you tell them why they need to listen up right now and how it's safe is going to help their business?
Cybersecurity for Small Businesses
00:36:58
Speaker
So the small businesses are what the backbone of this country are built on.
00:37:04
Speaker
and they're usually working with bigger businesses that might have security in place, but they're not prepared to do the security of the small businesses as well. So they're actually becoming the backdoor into bigger business, especially in the work from home environment, because the security perimeter has been breached. With everybody working from home,
00:37:29
Speaker
all the security is spread out everywhere, which just makes it harder and harder to control.
00:37:36
Speaker
But with small business, if you've got security in your office and your employees are using best practices for cybersecurity or using an appliance that's proactive like It's Safe, that could actually be a benefit for reducing your insurance claims. Everybody wants to have insurance against their business getting hacked.
00:38:00
Speaker
A lot of insurance companies are saying no to that plan anymore, especially if you don't have policies, reviews, and automated solutions in place. Seems like you're the best insurance policy out there. Well, the problem with insurance policies are they don't stop the breach. And they don't fix the problem.
00:38:26
Speaker
either. They're going to help you pay some of the costs of monitoring for your clients. But if you've been breached, do you think your clients are going to want to continue to work with you? And that explains why Meta lost so much money. Like the last few years, they just lost a huge lawsuit and they're having to pay back thousands, like millions of Facebook users for a data leak.
00:38:53
Speaker
And they don't care because they're going to get more money from more advertisers to get more breaches. I found it fascinating in your book when you mentioned that around the same time, Meta changed their name from Facebook to Meta, that they were a company that was working out of Ireland. Yes. Can you kind of reveal like what's going on over there? Well, the whole intent with that was
00:39:21
Speaker
they could incorporate their operations in Ireland and not have to pay taxes, especially to the United States. Yes. And so did the government catch on to that and say, Hey, you gotta, you gotta change your business name and get right? Well, they changed the business name to get out from underneath the
00:39:46
Speaker
the Irish trying to go after them for their taxes as well, because they found out what was going on and said, hey, we would like a slice of that pie. You're over here using our systems and our people or utilities and everything else and benefiting it.
00:40:06
Speaker
Thank you for bringing us the tea on that. Honestly, I feel like that is an example of how most of the 1%, that small group of people all function. Like, oh, I'm going to have my fairs done internationally. They all have this strategy on how to avoid paying their dues. It's interesting to see when they actually do get caught with responsibility because it's not a story often heard.
00:40:37
Speaker
True. So with how technology is moving in the direction that it is today and with these AI bots and the increase of social media platforms and the user having so much dopamine that they're downloading things like if they're drunk at the bar, choosing drinks. What do you see in the future when it comes to cybersecurity threats?
00:41:00
Speaker
Oh, I don't know. That's an open book, especially when people start to utilize artificial intelligence and using chat GPT to weaponize solutions, making them faster and more destructive. The tools that we have today, which are reactive, are just going to be completely ineffective.
00:41:26
Speaker
Not that they're doing a whole lot that's stopping things in the first place, but that's what most organizations have today. As an industry leader, you've participated in the red teaming events for Hack the Pentagon and Hack the Air Force. Can you show us some insights from those experiences and how they influence your understanding of cybersecurity?
00:41:47
Speaker
I was asked to participate because of my understanding, but I'm not at liberty to discuss what I found during those events. Okay. Well, maybe what about your spiritual experiences, like without telling us details, but what kind of confidence did that give you on how necessary your job is? Well, it was essential because
00:42:13
Speaker
At some point, I was constantly being told, oh, that's a problem, but it's not in scope. And if something's not in scope, then you're supposed to ignore it. The whole problem with that is the attacker never says, oh, I can't test that because it's out of scope. They go after everything. In scope or out of scope doesn't matter to them as long as they can get in.
00:42:44
Speaker
So if you're only taking a pinhole approach at the problem, then you're not seeing the big picture. Thank you. And I feel like that's an echo everyone can use in their lives in every situation. Like the ignorance is bliss. Is it really bliss when you fall down and you can't see and you don't know where you are? It's like ignorance is bliss is saying it's okay not to use your six higher faculties so that you can feel safe. Right.
00:43:15
Speaker
Albert, you've authored the amazing book I'm reading right now, hashtag hacked, which helps guide people on their cybersecurity journey. Oh my gosh, matrix members, if you still have questions for Albert, you need to get his book. And I'm saying this because it's going to give you so much value. And he also has these great opportunities where you can contact him personally and ask him the questions that are weighing on your heart and mind. Can you tell us more about the inspiration behind the book and
00:43:43
Speaker
What readers are ultimately gonna get from it? So I thought it was important that we take a journey together to understand what cybersecurity is and why it's important. And also how broad of a field it is because we're missing 5 million people in the field right now. And we need to get more parties interested in working in cybersecurity. It's a very lucrative field and we need talent
00:44:13
Speaker
because we're being out-talented by our adversaries. So I thought it would be essential to write hashtag hacked to talk about that so we could get more people interested, as well as writing the second book, hashtag hacked two, which additional people 14 came to me to say, we want to be in your second book. And I published it with 12 additional authors, including myself.
00:44:44
Speaker
What is the title of the second book? Hashtag Hack 2. It's right there behind me. Oh, that's so cool. I can't wait to check that one out. That one's the international best selling book. On Hack 2, what would the reader expect to learn from the second rendition of Hack? OK, Hack 2 gives the perspective of 12 additional cybersecurity professionals working in the field.
00:45:13
Speaker
So it's not just my perspective, but it's also their perspective and what they're doing and how they look at cybersecurity. And each has a different perspective because the field's so broad, you can do many different things in cybersecurity and we all need help. One lady, the only lady author worked in sales and she was a rock star for sales as far as I'm concerned.
00:45:40
Speaker
There were several people that worked in government contracting and working with solutions there. There's others that do pen testing. One of them even talks about his firsthand experience in a data breach and what things transpired while he was on that journey.
00:46:02
Speaker
Wow. Wow. So we get to learn from experience here. I love that. Wow. We get to really see why we need to pay attention. Thank you so much. Exactly. Besides being a cybersecurity expert, you also offer coaching services.
Coaching and Consulting Services
00:46:19
Speaker
How do your coaching services compliment your work in IT security? And what kind of support can clients expect while working with you?
00:46:27
Speaker
So I take a broad range with coaching. It could be anywhere from professional coaching in the security field or in expansion for opening their mind and giving them free thought.
00:46:42
Speaker
The coaching that I got from Bob Proctor enabled me to write three books within a year, not even understanding that I had the ability to write a book in the first place, but then to go and complete three books in a one-year timeframe seems incredible. So being able to support people in helping them grow in their desired field
00:47:08
Speaker
is what I do in coaching now for Napoleon Hill Institute. I'm one of their founding coaches for the Institute itself.
00:47:19
Speaker
matrix members, NHI is the place you need to be. Contact Albert if you are interested in stepping it up in your life. I met Albert through the NHI. A friend introduced me and then Albert adopted me as my mentor and I have to say my life is different. I can't say like my life has changed because it's already changed. Like I arrived in a different dimension.
00:47:41
Speaker
So if you're ready to experience a life that you've only dreamt about, contact Albert and find out how you can enroll in NHI and get his guidance because I promise you, you will not be let down. For our listeners interested in getting a copy of your book or exploring your coaching services, where should they go to find more information to get in touch with you? Well, they can go to the book website, thehackedbook.com. They can contact me there.
00:48:10
Speaker
And they'll also have links to the second book as well. But email works for me quite well. And I'll be happy to talk to anyone that wants to get in touch, do consulting work for security, free thinking, empowerment, or anything of the above. Thank you so much, Albert. Can you tell the audience your email just in case some of them are driving?
00:48:35
Speaker
Sure. You can reach me at Albert at the hacked book. That's T H E H A C K E D B O O K dot com. Thank you so much, Albert. It has been an extreme pleasure to have you on our show. And thank you so much for fighting for our wellbeing. It's my pleasure. Thank you.
00:49:00
Speaker
What an eye-opening conversation with Albert E. Whale. With over 30 years of experience in cybersecurity and an impressive resume, he has shared some truly invaluable insights with us, from discussing the importance of secure online transactions to highlighting the dangers of social media and website information leaks. We've covered a lot of ground in this episode, but our conversation does not end here.
00:49:26
Speaker
Albert needs your help to take his innovative and game-changing solution to the next level. If you are an angel investor or you know someone who is, and even if you don't, one share can expose us to that one person we need to reach.
00:49:42
Speaker
you can be a part of something huge. So share this episode with everyone you know and let's make it go viral and reach the right ears so that we can make a difference in our emerging world. And don't forget to follow us on social media and tag us on your posts. And please let us know your thoughts. Let's keep this conversation going.
00:50:02
Speaker
If you're ready for more Matrix Mentors and exclusive content to help you improve your life, stay tuned for next week's episode. Thanks for tuning in on the Organic Matrix show and we hope we found our Matrix Mentors and their insights inspiring and helpful. If you're enjoying the show, here are two easy ways you can help us grow and reach more amazing members.
00:50:23
Speaker
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00:50:47
Speaker
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