RIMScast: The World of Cybersecurity with Kelvin Coleman

The World of Cybersecurity with Kelvin Coleman

Jun 25, 2019

Welcome to RIMScast. Your host is Justin Smulison, Business Content Manager at RIMS, the Risk and Insurance Management Society.

Today’s guest is Kelvin Coleman, the Executive Director for the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA). Kelvin is a veteran of high-stakes cybersecurity posts at the White House and in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and has excelled in public and private leadership roles throughout his 20+ year career.

Justin and Kelvin are diving into the world of cybersecurity in this episode! They discuss Kelvin’s previous roles, some of which include the White House, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and of course, his current role with NCSA. Kelvin gives his thoughts on the cybersecurity landscape and how it has changed over the years, his thoughts and reaction to the recent Baltimore ransomware attack, and whether or not he believes that attackers are becoming more and more sophisticated and pragmatic with their attacks. He also gives his advice to small and medium-sized businesses regarding ransomware attacks, what good cybersecurity practices look like, and what we can all look forward to from the National Cybersecurity Agency in 2019.

Key Takeaways:

[:15] About today’s episode and featured guest!

[:30] About some of RIMS fantastic upcoming events.

[1:17] More about today’s guest, Kelvin Coleman.

[2:02] How did Kelvin end up with posts at the White House and Department of Homeland Security?

[5:06] Under what administration did this part of Kelvin’s career start?

[5:37] So it wasn’t a complete overhaul of the prior administration?

[7:01] How has the landscape changed at the White House since 2010-2011 when Kelvin was working there?

[8:17] Kelvin gives his thoughts and reaction to the recent news of Baltimore having endured a ransomware attack where several systems and levels of its infrastructure were impacted.

[10:46] Did Baltimore reach out to the NCSA for support or advice?

[11:58] Kelvin offers some pieces of advice to small and medium-sized businesses so that they can learn from the attack in Baltimore.

[14:39] Does Kelvin believe that attackers are becoming more sophisticated and pragmatic? Does he think that they’ve caught on to the importance of cyber insurance policies to play or exploit the system that way?

[16:01] Kelvin describes his experience working with risk managers in the private sector.

[17:40] When Justin and Kelvin met back in April, Kelvin led a great discussion with Matthew Travis from CISA where he spoke about the National Risk Management Center (NRMC) that was established by DHS in 2018. How is the NRMC being received by the public? And are companies reaching out to CISA during a breach or crisis?

[19:53] Was there ever a time in the White House or DHS when Kelvin took a specific action and saw how it impacted a person, a government official, or a company?

[24:11] Outside of the tech industry, is there another industry that has a finger on the pulse of good cybersecurity practices?

[25:39] Kelvin outlines what we can all look forward to from the National Cybersecurity Agency for the rest of 2019.

[27:54] Justin thanks Kelvin for joining him this episode and lets listeners know where to follow-up to learn more!

Mentioned in this Episode:

The 44th Annual RIMS Educational Conference: July 29th–August 3th in Naples, Florida

2019 RIMS Canada Conference: Sept. 8th–11th in Edmonton, AB, Canada

2019 RIMS Western Regional Conference: Sept. 9th–11th in Las Vegas, NV

RIMS Legislative Summit: Oct. 16th–17th in Washington, DC

RIMS ERM Conference 2019: Nov. 4th–5th in New Orleans, LA

RIMS Risk Forum India 2019: Nov. 22nd in Mumbai, India

Upcoming RIMS Events

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