Chapter President Message
Opportunities to connect and get Involved
Getting involved with our Chapter is an excellent way to enhance your professional development and contribute to the broader cybersecurity community. Whether you’re passionate about tackling emerging threats, sharing knowledge, or fostering connections, our Chapter offers diverse opportunities for engagement. From joining committees that drive initiatives and participating in cutting-edge events to volunteering for impactful projects or mentoring fellow professionals, there’s a role for everyone. By actively participating, you not only stay at the forefront of advancements but also help shape the future of cybersecurity. Dive in, and let’s work together to build a safer digital world!
We want to invite you to take your engagement to the next level by getting involved. Here’s How:
- Join a Committee: We have various committees focused on different aspects of cybersecurity. Whether it’s event planning, educational outreach, or policy advocacy, there’s a place for your expertise and enthusiasm.
- Attend Our Events: Our Chapter hosts a range of events, from webinars to networking meetups. These gatherings are a great way to stay updated on the latest trends and connect with fellow professionals while earning CPEs.
- Become a Speaker or Contributor: Share your knowledge and experience with the community. Whether it’s giving a presentation, writing an article, or leading a discussion, your insights are valuable to us.
- Mentor or Get Mentored: Engage in our mentorship program to either guide others or seek guidance from experienced professionals in the field. It’s a mutually rewarding way to grow and give back.
- Volunteer: We’re always looking for volunteers to assist with ongoing initiatives. Your skills can help us drive impactful changes and innovations in the field.
Currently we are seeking volunteers to help lead the following:
- Chapter mentorship program
- Women in cybersecurity group
- Small business cybersecurity initiatives
- Chapter communications and marketing
- Chapter in-person events planning
You do NOT need to be ISC2 certified to join the chapter - part of our Chapter's goal is to support those interested in earning certification.
Contact president@isc2-cgcchapter.org to get involved.
ISC2 CGC Chapter
Events
Aug Chapter Event - DevSecOps Unleashed: Integrating Security at Speed
Who: Jim Jinkins, Vice President Vantage West Credit Union
What: DevSecOps Unleashed: Integrating Security at Speed
When: Aug 15, 12:00pm
Where: Virtual
Cost: Free
Registration Link (Register by Aug 13, 5:00pm)
Jim Jinkins brings over two decades of expertise in cybersecurity to his role as Vice President at Vantage West Credit Union. With a proven track record in developing and implementing robust cybersecurity strategies, Jim is dedicated to safeguarding the community from evolving digital threats.
Jim is also passionate about sharing his knowledge and skills with the next generation of cybersecurity professionals. He has been teaching cyber security graduate courses at Seattle Pacific University since 2012, covering topics such as blockchain for business, cyber security risk management, and cyber security disaster response. Jim holds a Master’s degree in Cybersecurity Management and is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), reflecting his deep knowledge and ongoing dedication to the field. Jim is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in computer science and psychology, focusing on DevSecOps, and security data science. His goal is to contribute to the advancement of the cyber security discipline and to help organizations achieve a strong security posture in the connected world of cloud, mobile, services, and web.
Spotlight
Group Spotlight - LA Cyber Reserve
The LA Cyber Reserve is an all civilian and all volunteer force looking to help protect Louisiana from cyber attacks. We are recruiting talent of all skill ranges all across the state.
The mission of the Louisiana State Guard Cyber Reserve is to Protect What Matters in the cyber realm by building 9 cohesive Cyber Response Teams across the State, one in each GOHSEP region, to be prepared to support the National Guard in the event of a major cyber attack. Nine teams of ten members each as a minimum to start.
To meet this mission the Louisiana State Guard Cyber Reserve seeks to support a Talent Pipeline that aims to Retain, Grow, & Diversify the professional IT talent in Louisiana by providing professional networking and experience for seasoned and young IT professionals, IT students, and individuals looking to start a career in cyber incident response.
The Cyber Reserve aims to be a conduit of communication, collaboration, and promotion of the various IT professional organizations, University/College & Trade School programs, and special events around the State.
Contact the Cyber Operations Director, LTC Joel Clement, at joel.clement@la.gov to get involved or for more information.
ISC2 CGC Chapter
Community
Free Fall 2024 Bootcamp for non-Tulanians
Each semester the Tulane School of Professional Advancement IT Programs department runs a FREE bootcamp covering an entry-level IT topic for the wider community outside of the Tulane universe as a public service. This non-credit online self-paced course is meant to encourage folks who may have not had the opportunity to engage with the exciting and evolving world of Information Technology. This semester, our bootcamp will cover “Introduction to Artificial Intelligence (AI)”, with a Tulane faculty SME mentoring to an IBM-built course.
Registration page
There are only about 40 more slots available so sign up soon!
Details:
- Flexible schedule/online/distance
- Learn at own pace
- Develop contextual learning about Artificial Intelligence
- This course is part of the Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate: When enrolled in this course, students will also be enrolled in the Professional Certificate course and have the opportunity to earn it
Regional Groups
The following are associated groups that meet in major cities across the Central Gulf Coast and have support from ISC2 CGC Chapter Members.
- Greater New Orleans Area:
NOLASec LinkedIn Group site
2nd Wednesday of each month Subject to Change
Networking 5:00pm-6:00pm, presentation 6:00pm-7:00pm
Walk-On's Sports Bistreaux (1009 Poydras Street New Orleans, LA 70112) - Baton Rouge Area:
BRSec LinkedIn Group site
3rd Wednesday of each month 6:00pm-7:30pm
Walk-On's Sports Bistreaux (3838 Burbank Dr. Baton Rouge, LA 70808) - Lafayette Area:
DEFCON Acadiana LinkedIn Group site
2nd Wednesday of each month 5:30pm-7:30pm
The Ruins in River Ranch (1919 Kaliste Saloom Rd. Suite 303, Lafayette, LA 70508) - Lake Charles Area:
SWLA Cyber Club LinkedIn Group site
Last Wed every month 6:00pm-7:30pm
Walk-On's Sports Bistreaux (5313 Common St., Lake Charles, LA 70607) - Monroe Area:
NELATEK Website
Every 3rd Wednesday 6:00pm
Tower Place, 1500 N 19th St.
Podcasts
Darknet Diaries - A premier podcast for Cybersecurity folks
True stories from the dark side of the Internet
This is a podcast about hackers, breaches, shadow government activity, hacktivism, cybercrime, and all the things that dwell on the hidden parts of the network. This is Darknet Diaries.
Youtube
Website
Digital Comic
New episodes every first Tuesday of the month.
SecureNation
The Coffee Table Talks are hosted by Rachel Arnold, The Human API, with SecureNation, and Will McCullen, Program Manager for the IT Center of Excellence at PIMA Community College.
Connect with SecureNation on LinkedIn
https://securenation.net/events
The Sensuous Sounds Of INFOSEC
The Sensuous Sounds Of INFOSEC podcast is hosted by a great friend to the ISC2 GCG Chapter, Ben Malisow.
Ben is the creator and lead instructor for the WannaBeA brand of certification preparation material (wannabeacissp.com), and has worked in the fields of education/training, communication, information technology, and security, and/or some combination of these industries, for over twenty-five years. He has provided information security consulting services and training to a diverse host of clients, including the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Department of Homeland Security (at TSA), and the FBI. He has also served as an Air Force officer, after graduating from the Air Force Academy.
The podcast is available on Apple, Spotify, Pandora, and more. https://www.securityzed.com
Q2 Cybersecurity Adventures
Ending 1st ShadowScript Saga soon!
We tried to drag this out over a 12 month time frame, but we have so many more adventures to tell so we decided to push 2 adventures a year putting more content each month. We hope you have been paying attention to the clues and the different ways messages were encoded. Sincerely, The Q2 Team
About
SOCK Puppets
If you have been on a social media platform in recent years, you may have noticed an extreme degradation of helpful content. You may spend hours doom scrolling or know someone who does, one bit of information we should be aware of is a Sock Puppet Account. Sometimes we make an assumption that a person on the distant end of a comment or post is "Trolling" or a "troll", but what if it goes beyond that? Maybe you have stumbled across one or more sock puppet accounts already and didn't really think anything other than "I will not feed the trolls today" and scroll on to the next blob of content.
In the simplest form, a sock puppet account is one that is not authentic to the human author. They are used for many reasons, such as eliciting viral reactions. Many of these accounts could be connected to yours through friends, family, or coworkers and you would never know by looking at them. They avoid the common red flags and may lay low for months or even years until the account has the credibility needed to do more malicious actions. Why would someone go through this kind of trouble? Maintaining one account per platform is tedious enough these days, but to have multiple, or even dozens (hundreds in some cases) and keep them moderately active?
Some reasons may include financial or data scamming, some are part of disinformation campaigns, and still some people just like to watch the world burn.
There are, however, positive reasons to create these accounts. Some people use them to infiltrate groups of a different perspective without messing up the algorithms on their primary account. They are not malicious, and genuinely want to understand to other side of an issue. Some accounts are used by Law Enforcement to keep bad people off the internet. Still others are used by cybersecurity professionals when conducting OSINT. The reasons are endless.
If you are one of those who utilize sock puppet accounts, please use them wisely, there are people who are using the internet for the first time and really believe everything they read.
What reasons do you know (positive or negative) for using a sock puppet account?
Further reading: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/active-osint-how-sock-puppets-could-miserably-fail-christofoletti/
Special Thanks to our Chapter Sponsor
TEKsystems transforms business for their customers. TEK brings real-world expertise to solve complex technology, business and talent challenges—In Louisiana, Mississippi, and across the globe. TEK is a team of 80,000 strong, working with over 6,000 customers, including 80% of the Fortune 500 across North America, Europe and Asia. TEK is the perfect partner for scalability, full-stack capabilities and speed. TEK has strategic thinkers, hands-on collaborators, helping customers capitalize on change. TEK is building tomorrow by delivering business outcomes and driving positive impacts in our communities.
Explore the world of TEKsystems careers and put your talent to work in exciting job opportunities. Join their dynamic team and unleash your potential.
https://www.teksystems.com/en/contact
teksystems.com
ISC2 CGC Chapter
The ISC2 Central Gulf Coast Chapter, a 501(c)(3) non-profit based out of the Greater New Orleans area. It was chartered by ISC2 in January 2021 to serve the Central Gulf Coast region - Louisiana and Mississippi.
Connect with us
- LinkedIn https://linkedin.com/company/isc2-cgcchapter
- Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ISC2CGCC