Understand the Cyber Attacker Mindset

Sarah Armstrong-Smith is recognized as one of the most influential women in cybersecurity and UK tech, with over 25 years' experience delivering and advising C-suite leaders on large-scale cybersecurity, information protection and resilience programmes. She is Chief Security Advisor at Microsoft and has previously held roles at EY, Fujitsu, AXA, and the London Stock Exchange Group. She is based in Bath, UK.

Section - ONE: Understanding types of attack, how they operate and why they are successful;


Chapter - 01: The evolution of cybercrime in the digital age;
Chapter - 02: Understanding the will and motivation of attackers;
Chapter - 03: Types of cyber attack and why they work;
Chapter - 04: How covid-19 created an epidemic of cybercrime;
Chapter - 05: Cybercrime as a service – a booming enterprise;


Section - TWO: Incidents, lessons learnt and the rise of the insider threat;


Chapter - 06: Opportunists and activists – how anyone can become a cybercriminal;
Chapter - 07: New kids on the block – new groups making names for themselves;
Chapter - 08: Syndicates – how groups work together to build services and avoid detection;
Chapter - 09: Brokers – law enforcement headaches in tracking cybercrime and money laundering;
Chapter - 10: Influencers – how nation-sponsored actors change social dynamics;
Chapter - 11: Insiders – how attackers take advantage of internal loopholes;


Section - THREE: Strategies to counteract the criminal mindset and build resilience;


Chapter - 12: Why your security awareness training sucks, and education is the differentiator;
Chapter - 13: Are people really the weakest link?
Chapter - 14: The human factor – mindset, cultural variances and what factors tip people over the edge;
Chapter - 15: Strategies for counteracting human adversaries;
Chapter - 16: The board-level response – how decisions are made in times of crisis;
Chapter - 17: Final thoughts on the direction and evolution of the human adversary;