PRESENTATION:

Hacking a System in Two Paragraphs: A Non-technical Guide to Cybersecurity For Story Writers

Have you ever heard someone talking about a book or movie and say “I can’t believe they wrote that stuff about (fill in the blank with your favorite story element here), that’s not how it works in the real world!” You’ll hear this from doctors, lawyers, police, and, of course, “computer people.” As a writer, you want to support your story and characters with plausible events and elements that aren’t too far out of the realm of possibility. Too many novels and movie script writers include events about computer hacking and forensics into their storylines that make even novice computer users cringe while reading.

The purpose of this talk is to discuss writing plausible elements of hacking and computer security into your stories. We’ll talk about what hacking really is and how it really works, and how you can’t discover who the criminal is in a single chapter or one 40-minute TV episode with commercials. We’ll talk about what’s both possible and plausible, and what’s unbelievable. We’ll give real world examples of books and movies that get it right, and ones that get it wrong. When we’re done, you’ll have a basic understanding of computer security and how to write plausible elements into your stories that anyone could believe!

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Presented by:

Bobby Rogers is a cybersecurity professional with over 30 years in the information technology and cybersecurity fields. He currently works with a major engineering company in Huntsville Alabama, helping to secure networks and manage cyber risk for its customers. Bobby’s customers include the US Army, NASA, the State of Tennessee, and private/commercial companies and organizations. His specialties are cybersecurity engineering,  regulatory compliance, and risk management, but he has worked in almost every area of cybersecurity, including network defense, computer forensics and incident response, and penetration testing. 

Bobby is a retired Master Sergeant from the US Air Force, having served for over 21 years. He has built and secured networks in the US, Chad, Uganda, South Africa, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and several other remote locations. His decorations include two Meritorious Service medals, three Air Force Commendation medals, the National Defense Service medal, and several Air Force Achievement medals. He retired from active duty in 2006.

He has narrated and produced over 30 computer training videos for several training companies. He is also the author of several technical books, including the “CompTIA Mobility+ All-in-One Exam Guide (Exam MB0-001)”, the “Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC) All-in-One Certification Guide”, “Mike Meyers’ CompTIA Security+ Certification Guide (Exam SY0-401)” and contributing author/technical editor for the  popular “CISSP All-in-One Exam Guide, 8h Edition”, all from McGraw-Hill Education. His many IT and security certifications include CISSP-ISSEP, CRISC, CySA+, CEH, and MCSE: Security.