MIAMISBURG, Ohio — Ex-law enforcement officer Shawn Waldman is the CEO and Founder of Secure Cyber Defense in Miamisburg. His company provides managed cyber security services to local industries, businesses and state and local government.
Waldman said in a cyber war campaign that’s happening globally, Americans with an internet connection should watch out for suspicious emails, such as the ones that hit his own mailbox.
“If you just look at it at face value, it’s got all the colors. The humanitarian effort has been something that people felt the need to get involved with, and the one thing that makes it stand out is (the) bitcoin address,” said Waldman.
He said to avoid emails that coerce a consumer to send money to what looks like a legitimate organization.
Waldman’s advice is to delete the email immediately and keep this in mind:
“Notice that email has links in it, and instead of clicking on links, if you just hover over the link, a lot of times you can see where it’s going to go if you were to click on it,” said Waldman.
Waldman said there are currently many small cyber security companies in Ohio that are involved in a defensive campaign when it comes to taking in intelligence from Russia and Ukraine.
“We’re loading that into our tools that we use behind us here, and the folks that investigate those threats in order to protect those 40 some organizations that we protect globally. There’s a second part of this that involves the state of Ohio and specifically the cyber reserve. It’s connected to the National Guard. That can provide response services to state and local governments,” said Waldman.
With rising energy costs, Waldman said cyber security threats will continue to be a global concern.
“By cutting off oil, there is certainly a threat now to not only oil producers inside the U.S., but anything critical infrastructure, so oil, water, gas, electric — all those industries should be on alert,” said Waldman.
