“Misinformation” – The Greatest Threat to National Security: Chloé Messdaghi

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PUREVPNPureVPN Updates“Misinformation” – The Greatest Threat to National Security: Chloé Messdaghi

Chloé Messdaghi is an InfoSec Advocate, an activist, and the current Vice President of Strategy at Point3 Security. She strongly believes that information security is a humanitarian issue and has a keen interest to keep people safe and empowered online & offline.

Chloé is a co-founder of Hacking is NOT a Crime, the founder of WeAreHackerz (formerly known as WomenHackerz), and the President and co-founder of Women of Security (WoSEC), a podcaster for ITSP Magazine’s The Uncommon Journey, and runs the Hacker Book Club.

Question 1: What are the challenges you face as an InfoSec advocate?

Chloé: I would say the challenges are mostly around how people perceive me and judge me on the way that I look. People stating that because I don’t do this or don’t look like that, always puts me into a situation of having to constantly defend myself and prove over and over again that I deserve to be here. In other words, the challenges aren’t about the work I do. It’s the challenges that I face because of how the public sees me.  It can be difficult and heartbreaking at times. 

My colleagues and I in cybersecurity can spend the next 100 years working on major solutions to the threat landscape and user awareness – and that’s where I sincerely hope we put our energy.  Collectively, we can advance security and privacy awareness, but it’s up to us to pick the right, productive problems to focus on. Sniping isn’t advancing the cause.

Question 2: You chair several organizations. Is it difficult managing them on a daily basis?

Chloé: I would say at times I may be a few minutes late here and there to a call because of it. That’s not fun for the people who are patiently waiting for me to join… and I do feel terrible about it. It’s something that I try to improve on daily.  But other than that, I don’t find it difficult to manage them. I know how to prioritize tasks and keep a handy “TO DO” list, which helps me organize thoughts and complete things in a timely manner. Plus, I am a zero inbox person, which reduces the weight and stress when checking inboxes. Overall, being organized allows me to be in a constant flow and complete tasks without feeling overwhelmed.

Question 3: In your opinion, what’s the greatest threat to national security?

Chloé: Misinformation.

Question 4: Do you think artificial intelligence is going to cripple society or aid in further developments?

Chloé: I think it can aid if the products made were by a diverse team. I strongly believe diverse teams build better products for consumers because it reflects better of the population that it was developed for.

Take facial recognition for example – some solutions developed by non-diverse teams were falsely identifying people of color, resulting in wrongful arrests and enormous personal harms.

Diversity in development is so much more important than this industry has traditionally recognized. Fortunately, that is beginning to change.

Question 5: Hacking incidents have drastically risen, reaching an all-time high in 2019. In your opinion, how can hacking incidents be cut down?

Chloé: Burnout. I have seen many such incidents because security team members were dealing with burnout when the incident occured. When we experience burnout, it makes it difficult to complete tasks in a timely manner and prioritizing becomes a challenge, such as patching, and causes us to be more susceptible to being phished as well. If employers could support employees better by recognising mental health is important, provide better and more systematic communication to and among team members, and provide helpful resources, I think we would see less incidents.  

Question 6: Everyone has a right to access the internet safely. How do you think that’s possible?

Chloé: I think if we could drown out the sounds of misinformation around security for the public, that would be helpful. But if we really want a safer internet, every single organization needs vulnerability disclosure policies. Disclosure policies make organizations safer, by allowing bilateral trust amongst ethical hackers and organizations. In return, it can prevent attacks from attackers. We need that trust more than ever before. Check out disclose.io for learning more about creating vulnerability disclosure policies or improving them.

Question 7: Do you think VPNs are a safe way to access and share information on the web?

Chloe: VPNs can be safe, but not 100% safe. They can still be insecure and still rely on trusting the provider, unless you have your own VPN. If you are worried about using public WiFi and/or your own cellular connection, then yes, using a VPN is much safer than not using one. However, VPN providers, just like any other piece of software, are still susceptible to being attacked and even compromised. 

Question 8: Millions of people are still unaware of the dangers and repercussions of online privacy policies. Keeping this in mind, what would you put on a billboard, a message you want every netizen to know?

Chloé: “Your privacy matters. You should know and have the option of what is shared and collected. Contact your representatives to push for surveillance reform now.”

Image by provided by Chloé Messdaghi

Question 9: How can one get involved in hacker rights?

Chloé: Check out hackingisnotacrime.org! It’s a place to locate all the organizations that support hackers, and find actions that the hacker community can do to change the current landscape. If you would like to join us in the fight for rights, then join us as a volunteer! 

Question 10: Chloé, thank you for the interview. Last question, IF given a chance to be something else other than an infosec advocate, what would you be?

Chloé: An advocate for representation and equity in government. If we want a better country and policies, we must make sure that we have real representation of the people and representatives are held accountable for their actions.

Thank you Chloé, once again. As for our readers, you can also follow Chloé on her Twitter account @ChloeMessdaghi where she regularly shares her opinions. Keep following our blog for the latest cybersecurity updates and developments. That’s all for today, until next time.

author

PureVPN

date

November 24, 2022

time

1 year ago

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