{"id":119882,"date":"2023-02-04T16:37:11","date_gmt":"2023-02-04T13:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timeskuwait.com\/news\/?p=119882"},"modified":"2023-02-04T16:37:11","modified_gmt":"2023-02-04T13:37:11","slug":"building-bridges-inspiring-and-empowering-communities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timeskuwait.com\/news\/building-bridges-inspiring-and-empowering-communities\/","title":{"rendered":"Building bridges, inspiring and empowering communities"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tapping in the Untapped by Mercedes Vazquez<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Tapping into the Untapped podcast by Mercedes Vazquez hosts exceptional guests for a panel discussion on some of the world\u2019s most pressing issues: an integrated approach to cybersecurity and women\u2019s economic security for a thriving economy, pressing needs to successfully navigate complex and uncertain times.<\/p>\n

Mercedes Vazquez hosts Christy Watkins and Guillermo Christensen as exceptional guests to have a panel conversation around, some of the, world\u2019s most pressing issues to enable a responsible and thriving future: an integrated security approach to cybersecurity, AI ethics, combating ransomware, inclusion and a level-playing field, on a panel conversation on her podcast Tapping into the Untapped on Spotify.<\/p>\n

Christy Watkins is the Public Affairs Counselor of the United States in the State of Kuwait and Guillermo Christensen is a Partner at K&L Gates, cybersecurity & national Security expert and former CIA & FBI official.<\/p>\n

An exclusive interview that took place during Guillermo\u2019s visit to Kuwait, as the Tapping into the Untapped initiative aims to build bridges between continents while inspiring and empowering communities to advance, flourish and thrive, therefore security and cybersecurity play an integral component as part of the puzzle of a multi-stakeholder dialogue at a global scale.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe U.S. Embassy in Kuwait invited Guillermo to join us as a cybersecurity expert but also to share his knowledge and expertise in the Private and Government sector. The U.S. State Department and the U.S. Government for that matter are prioritizing cybersecurity.\u201d As Christy Watkins shared on the podcast.<\/p>\n

Christy and Guillermo shared their personal journey and story as well as their motivation to pursue a career in foreign service, as Christy had explained: \u201cService is key. The U.S. foreign service with the U.S. State Department has been a natural fit for me. For me it has been a great experience being able to push foreign policy but also to learn about how other Governments and how other people think\u201d and Guillermo\u2019s experience pivoting from working for the Government (CIA & FBI), to diplomacy to cybersecurity, to help, inspire and empower younger generations to pursue a career in Diplomacy and Cybersecurity, based on their experience as role models in their respective fields. As Mercedes had said: \u201cChoice creates change and impact, and consciousness is the enabler. Become an active agent of change in your community\u201d<\/p>\n

Companies of all sizes and scales, from SMB\u2019s to very large corporations, are being subject to an organized crime organization: Ransomware. Guillermo elaborates on it further: \u201cRansomware is an epidemic of crime that is affecting companies, sometimes individuals and certainly Governments across the world. The problem is that the criminals who attack as ransomware have turned this into a very profitable business, who have developed a business that is well organized and globalized who operate primarily in places like Russia but they have affiliates all over the world.<\/p>\n

They do the same thing you would do if you were setting up a profitable business and then once they have that model worked out they figured out they could even expand by renting or leasing their service, that\u2019s what we call ransomware-as-a service. Very similar to what big companies do where they rent you space on their cloud infra that hackers the criminals are essentially providing you this as a service, including collecting the ransom, distributing it and then distributing the profit. They are doing this at scale where some of them are taking a profit of hundreds of millions of dollars a year.<\/p>\n

Some of the learnings of facing ransomware attacks according to Guillermo\u2019s expertise would be: \u201cAt the heart of the problem is the lack of an integrated response can be devastating not just to companies but Governments.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mercedes then added, as a interlink between the integrated approach to security: There\u2019s an increasing necessity of inclusion for peaceful, secure, sustainable development as well a direct correlation between women\u2019s security and their ability to thrive, Christy then shared \u201cWhen we take a look at the success of women, what we have seen is when women have access to good jobs, steady income, good healthcare, a level-playing field. That\u2019s good for everyone. It\u2019s good for their children, it\u2019s good for their family and it\u2019s good for the economy. When we talk about inclusion, we are talking about women having the same opportunities as men, around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Christy, elaborates further and shares the first ever women\u2019s economic security strategy with four lines of efforts that the Biden administration is focusing on:<\/p>\n

Economic competitiveness.<\/strong><\/p>\n