Two members of UNC-Chapel Hill’s Information Security Office launch their own podcast series today.
IT Security Specialist Charlie Mewshaw and Network Firewall Lead Michael Williams teamed up to produce their podcast, “Data @ Rest,” to reach information security professionals and the public. They hope listeners will leave the podcast equipped with practical knowledge in navigating information technology safely and securely.
Mewshaw and Williams also promise a variety of discussions from technical talks to how information security is portrayed in movies and television. Ultimately, they want to use “Data @ Rest” as a platform to increase accessibility and awareness of the Information Security Office, which is a unit within ITS.
“We hope people will learn a little about the historical context surrounding the current state of the information security landscape, come away with some practical knowledge, and hopefully laugh along with us,” Mewshaw said.
Tool for listeners
The podcast will be made available to listeners on a per season basis, consisting of an introduction mini-episode, eight full-length episodes and an epilogue. Listeners can access the podcast through the Apple podcast app for Apple products and Spotify on Android devices, along with the internet at dataatrest.unc.edu. The podcast will serve as a tool for listeners who have questions regarding information security.
“So often in our field we only turn up when something’s gone wrong,” Mewshaw said. “We’d like to change that and let people know that we’re here to help in any way we can, both before and after a security question arises.”
To make the show as accessible as possible to all listeners, Mewshaw and Williams will provide explanations throughout episodes for the technical terms and ideas they discuss. Not only will the two hosts break down difficult concepts for listeners, they also plan an extensive list of guest speakers, who will join them in their discussions.
“We have a pretty extensive list of topics based on feedback we receive in the day-to-day work of our respective roles,” Mewshaw said. “People come to our office interested in many topics.”
Podcast benefits creators too
The production of “Data @ Rest” has also been a learning experience for Williams and Mewshaw as they are regularly researching and discussing different security topics.
“I personally find that researching topics and discussing them with other professionals definitely sharpens my abilities and provides valuable perspective,” said Mewshaw.
Listeners can look forward to learning about trending attacks, working in the field, best practices and data concerns — all topics Mewshaw and Williams will dive into during their first season of “Data @ Rest.”