In this episode of CHATTIN CYBER, Marc Schein interviews Dana Mantilia, an online cybersecurity educator with an identity theft protection background. She discusses getting into the cybersecurity space, becoming a social media marketing and cybersecurity expert, and the challenges and opportunities in the industry.

Dana joined cybersecurity in the identity theft protection world in 2017, developing a product for the same (called Identron). Gradually, she realized the need and the lack of education in the industry. That was also when the idea of doing some LinkedIn videos about the same for educational purposes came to her. As she continued on the same, COVID happened; and with it, she introduced online training for non-technical employees and has since become one of the most marketed cybersecurity individuals in the US.

Dana moves on to discuss IT and cybersecurity. Addressing the gradual movement of IT professionals into cybersecurity, she explains that the two are still very different fields. She emphasizes that the two departments need to list their responsibilities and ensure they don’t get mixed up.

Discussing the importance of cybersecurity training for employees, Dana shares that it’s easy for cybercriminals to trick an employee into hacking a computer system; hence, training methods must be given importance. She adds that although some of the training can be handled with technology, a lot of it needs to be done in person to make employees remember it for longer.

Dana also discusses the most significant challenges faced when working with non-technical cybersecurity people. The most significant challenge is communication, i.e., speaking in layman’s terms. She explains the disconnect when a lot of jargon gets thrown around, and the person listening cannot understand it. Work needs to be done to better this situation.

Tune in to this episode for more learnings about cybersecurity and social media marketing from Dana!

Highlights:

“My thought process with cybersecurity is it’s still not being embraced by the private sector, just starting to be really held feet to the fire with the government side of things. So this is the time to really build their online presence over the next three to five years. And then when everybody is forced to embrace cybersecurity, they’re

going to be the first ones that are going to be seen as an authority and they’re going to be able to gain more clients.”

“My videos are very short, very focused. And if I can I add a little bit of humor into them. And just hoping that people are going to remember what the point is that I was talking about in there.”

“One of the biggest problems is that the technical people that handle the cybersecurity aspect of things, they’re extremely intelligent people. But their communication skills, when it comes to speaking to somebody in layman’s terms, is not always there’s a disconnect there.”

Time-Stamps:

[01:02] – From Connecticut to the most marketed cybersecurity individual in the US: Dana’s journey

[03:14] – What can cybersecurity folks do to help grow their network?

[05:32] – Why businesses must invest in cybersecurity training

[10:47] – The biggest challenges in dealing with non-technical cybersecurity people

Connect with Dana:

Website: https://www.cyberdana.com