Reporting on the World of Cybercrime with Journalist Mathew J. Schwartz

In this episode, Zaira speaks to Mathew J. Schwartz, Executive Editor at Data Breach Today and an award-winning journalist. They discuss how Mathew was drawn to writing about cybersecurity for a career, how journalists can better seek out the truth to cyber crime situations and not let criminals control the narrative, and the evolution of business resiliency to breaches and attacks.

Topics discussed:

• How Mathew combined his longtime fascination with hacking and computer crime with his love of writing into a career that tells the stories — and the truth — of the cybercrime world.
• The search for truth in cyber crime, why it’s necessary to look at multiple sources to confirm that truth, and why you should question what the crooks say about themselves because their "truth" is likely a self-promotional lie.
• How a journalist digs into cyber crime events by asking blue-sky questions to find out why certain targets are hit, and whether certain sectors are more vulnerable or whether attackers are simply being opportunistic.
• Why ransomware is an exciting and fascinating topic to cover, especially since both threats and business security are constantly evolving.
• How business resiliency to ransomware attacks has changed, and how more companies are putting security measures in place so as not to need to pay ransom.
• How cybercrime journalism will evolve in the coming years, and why it's necessary to use the correct language and terminologies to make cybercrime reporting more objective.
• Pieces of advice for future journalists, and why a journalist's job is to demystify the cybersecurity world.

Resources Mention: 

• DataBreachToday.com
• @EuroInfoSec on Twitter and Mastodon