GroupSense CEO and co-founder, Kurtis Minder, Intelligence Analyst, Nicole Hoffman, and Director of Intelligence Operations, Bryce Webster-Jacobsen, are speaking at CactusCon February 4-5, 2022.
GroupSense CEO and co-founder, Kurtis Minder, and Intelligence Analyst, Nicole Hoffman, are speaking at CactusCon together during the in-person session: Dissecting The Ransomware Kill Chain: Why Companies Need It. This session will explain the best way to defend against ransomware: “The Ransomware Kill Chain.” Presenters will explain the 15-step framework of the chain – from first access through encryption – by using client case studies and examples of custom-made ransomware playbooks.
Nicole was recently featured in an SC Media article, Ransomware Needs its Own Kill Chain Framework. In her article, Nicole talks about the evolution of the Kill Chain, ransomware's threat scenario, how to disrupt the Ransomware Kill Chain and about what's beyond the Kill Chain.
GroupSense's Director of Intelligence Operations, Bryce Webster-Jacobsen, is speaking at CactusCon during the in-person session: Human Intelligence Versus Artificial Intelligence: Ransomware.
The threat of ransomware is ever-evolving, just as artificial intelligence is. It’s clear that businesses need better defense, but the answer isn’t solely AI – it’s actually human intelligence. Ransomware attacks are not ending anytime soon. Not only has it become a money maker, but it’s easy money for threat actors. Companies of all sizes must take this threat as seriously as they do other major business risks. Companies need to rely on human intelligence when it comes to ransomware attacks and that means they need an expert ransomware negotiator.
In this session, Bryce Webster-Jacobsen an expert ransomware negotiator who deals with ransomware negotiations on a daily basis, will challenge the ideas of human intelligence versus artificial intelligence when it comes to ransomware attacks. Learn how expert ransomware negotiators can validate the reputation of the threat actor and why dark web monitoring and human reconnaissance is an indispensable part of the resolution process. Bryce will explain the value of a ransomware negotiator, and how they can effectively evaluate the overall risk of who you're dealing with.
Negotiation of any kind is a soft skill and can be hard to teach, especially with incident response teams, as their main focus is solving technical problems within the organization. During this session, Bryce will take a deep dive into what powers the negotiation soft skill set, including the access to information they have on these threat actors from a human intelligence perspective – a perspective that artificial intelligence just can’t bring to the table.
CactusCon is the largest annual hacker and security conference in Arizona. The last event attracted just shy of 1,500 attendees from throughout the entire country. Over the last nine years the event has established itself as a top-tier security conference and has quickly become a must-attend learning and networking event.
CactusCon is evolving constantly, striving to meet the changing needs and expectations of the InfoSec community. They attract sought-after industry leaders, offer cutting-edge workshops, and provide ample opportunities for mingling and networking with people who share a passion for information security.
Kurtis Minder is the CEO and co-founder of GroupSense, a leading provider in Digital Risk solutions. Kurtis built a robust cyber reconnaissance operation protecting some of the largest enterprises and government organizations. Kurtis has been the lead negotiator at GroupSense for ransomware response cases. He has successfully navigated and negotiated some of the largest ransomware, breach, and data extortion cases world-wide. With over 20 years in the information security industry, Kurtis brings a unique blend of technical, sales and executive acumen.
Nicole Hoffman is an experienced Intelligence Analyst with a passion for developing her fellow analysts. Her work, research, and presentations have inspired and educated others around the international analytic community. She has presented work at the 2021 SANS CTI Summit, GRIMMCON, SOCstock, the 2020 SANS Threat Hunting & Incident Response Summit, All the Talks Con, and so much more.
Nicole currently holds a BS in Information Technology with a minor in Cyber Security along with CompTIA's Sec+. You can check out her blog at threathuntergirl.com.
Prior to GroupSense, Bryce worked in strategic international education initiatives while pursuing OSINT training and investigations, primarily focused on studying extremist movements, as a passion project.