The world of cybersecurity is never exactly quiet, but the last few months have seen a flurry of news crossing enterprise, nation-states and the world of hacktivism.

At the heart of all of the incidents, news and manoeuvrings, however, is people – from adversaries to threat hunters, and everything in between. And  while the stereotypes would have you believe that the world of cybersecurity is simply a constant battle between shadowy hoodie wearers and Oxford-wearing IT workers, the reality is far more complex an interesting. 

In this issue of Verdict Encrypt, we speak to some of the brilliant personalities in the cybersecurity space, and look at how others have shaped the online world we occupy.

Two years ago James Linton, AKA SINON_REBORN, amused the world with his brilliant domain name deception-assisted pranks of politicians and celebrities. Now, however, he has swapped his trickster techniques for a more serious role, combatting email scammers. We catch up with the engaging Linton to find out how he made the switch and what adversaries he is dealing with now.

The last few months also saw WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange return to the headlines with his eventful ejection from London’s Ecuadorian Embassy. But as the next chapter in his story unfolds, we consider what impact, if any, his efforts have had on the cybersecurity space.

On the other side of the table, SonicWall CEO Bill Conner has built a four-decade career helping governments improve their cybersecurity strategies. We hear his thoughts on the state of government cybersecurity and what else needs to be done to combat the threat of nation-states.

Plus, we also hear from Graham Cluley, a legend in the security blogosphere who is known for his ability to turn even the most complex topic into a simple-to grasp concept, in a talk that covers everything from serious security practices to chess and Tolkein.

And if that wasn’t enough, we also take stock of the ongoing Huawei saga through the key quotes from the last few months, consider what lessons can be learned from the ransomware incident plaguing Baltimore and find out how the Middle Eastern cybersecurity industry is evolving.

For all this, and much more, read on in the latest issue of Verdict Encrypt.

Lucy Ingham

Editor