How many of you have ever yelled “Hey, watch this!” and lived to tell the tale? This year’s exciting glimpse into psychology and its application to security is around the fun topic of decision-making. Psychologists estimate that we make thousands of decisions a day. THOUSANDS. Now, many of these are trivial, but at least some of them have the potential to impact the security of your organization. We all think we’re great decision makers, and we’re all wrong at some point in our lives. Join me to get a better understanding of how and why we make our choices, and what you can do to improve your skills and guide your users to a happier (and safer) place!
Michele Fincher is the Chief Influencing Agent of Social-Engineer, Inc., possessing over 20 years experience as a behavioral scientist, researcher, and information security professional. Her diverse background has helped solidify Social-Engineer, Inc.’s place as the premier social engineering consulting firm. As a US Air Force officer, Michele’s assignments included the USAF Academy, where she was a National Board Certified Counselor and Assistant Professor in the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership. Upon separating from the Air Force, Michele went on to hold positions with a research and software development firm in support of the US Air Force Research Laboratory as well as an information security firm, conducting National Security Agency appraisals and Certification and Accreditation for federal government information systems. At Social-Engineer, Inc., Michele is a senior penetration tester with professional expertise in all facets of social engineering vectors, assessments, and research. A remarkable writer, she is also the talent behind many of the written products of Social-Engineer, Inc., including numerous reports and assessments, blog posts, and the Social-Engineer Newsletters. Michele has her Bachelor of Science in Human Factors Engineering from the US Air Force Academy and her Master of Science in Counseling from Auburn University. She is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).