Episode 112 - Cybersecurity and Ambient Computing with Dr. James Stanger

In this episode of the Hacker Valley Studio podcast, hosts Ron and Chris interview the brilliant Dr. James Stanger, Chief Technology Evangelist at CompTIA and scuba diving aficionado.  The episode is a kind of journey through time - touching on the past, present, and future of cybersecurity.   As the conversation begins, James looks to the past, sharing about himself and his background.  He studied English Literature, worked as a technical editor and then writer, worked in education, and finally made his way to a position with CompTIA.  All along, James demonstrated his propensity for combining aspects of his knowledge and experience, a propensity revealed most recently by the way in which his work for CompTIA merges education and cybersecurity.  James’ background has an incredible evolution to it, and has set him up to be a well-rounded and knowledgeable addition to the cybersecurity field. And his knowledge comes in handy, as much of James’s work involves answering client questions.  James shares with Ron and Chris about current trends of questions he’s facing, as well as how he encourages agility in the face of emerging technology.  Further, he explains the term, “ambient computing” and its tie to emerging tech, concluding that we are entering a hyper- or post-information age in which data is collected at an incredible rate.  Data is in the air, captured, and processed, with massive stores of information about individuals available.  This fact raises questions about how to ethically manage the data, and how to make sure it is used well.  These questions, in turn, lead to considerations of business compliance, ramifications, and the like.  As the conversation winds down, James shares areas of opportunity he sees in approaching cybersecurity from a business perspective, and explores ways in which he’d like to see the future of cybersecurity take shape - including an uptick in IT hiring, a stronger focus on implications, and more! 0:00 - Intro 1:41 - This episode features Dr. James Stanger, who begins by sharing about his background. 5:25 - What kinds of questions are companies and individuals asking these days? 8:04 - How is Dr. Stanger advising companies to pursue agility in light of emerging tech? 11:19 - What is ambient computing? 13:43 - The conversation turns to ethics, understanding of ramifications, and business compliance. 17:02 - What areas of opportunity does James see in approaching cybersecurity from a business perspective? 21:01 - James shares about what he wants the future of cybersecurity to look like.   Links:  Follow James Stanger on Twitter Connect with James on LinkedIn Learn more about CompTIA Follow CompTIA on Youtube  Learn more about Hacker Valley Studio Support Hacker Valley Studio on Patreon Follow Hacker Valley Studio on Twitter Follow Ronald Eddings on Twitter Follow Chris Cochran on Twitter Learn more about ByteChek Want to take the Introduction to EASY Framework Course with Ron and Chris? Take it for FREE here: www.hackervalley.com/easy