Home / Resources / Blog / Author / James Robinson

James Robinson

Director, Risk and Threat Management

James Robinson is responsible for our internal information risk management and threat management programs within information security and is a member of the Office of the CISO for Optiv. Robinson uses real world experiences to help enterprise-level organizations to solve their security and related business issues. He also develops and delivers a comprehensive suite of strategic services and solutions that help CXO executives change their security strategies through innovation.

Three Steps for Management and Remediation of Security Vulnerabilities with Third Parties

May 24, 2017 · By James Robinson · 0 Comments

Over the years, security organizations have had to deal with many vulnerabilities that required quick response and remediation. Some examples that come to mind include Heartbleed, Shellshock, numerous specific vendor product vulnerabilities, and as we saw recently: WannaCry. All of these advisories require our organizations to quickly assess the exposure and impact; however, many of us stop at our own infrastructure. As we have seen with mobile, cloud and continued outsourcing, maintaining focus within our own virtual walls is not enough. There is significant risk and exposure to information if we have decided to leverage a service offering or third party.

Ransomware Kill Chain and Controls - Part 2: Once the Crying is Over, the Controls Must Kick In

May 17, 2017 · By James Robinson, Nick Hyatt · 0 Comments

In the first part of the blog series, we alluded to the impending danger of ransomware campaigns. It appears the concerns were justified, given the size of the most recent cyber attack that hit countries worldwide on May 12. The WannaCry ransomware program, also called WannaCrypt, WanaCrypt0r and Wanna Decryptor, was launched by a group of cyber criminals causing computers in more than 100 countries to lock up and be held for ransom.

Three Steps to Enhancing Your Third-Party Risk Program

April 6, 2017 · By Peter Gregory, James Robinson · 0 Comments

In the world of third-party and vendor risk management, many new practices are being adopted. Over the past few weeks, members of Optiv’s third-party risk team have initiated conversations with key industry leaders through a series of roundtable discussions. These thought leaders own or participate in their organizations’ third-party strategies. During these sessions, we shared leading practices and principles, and identified a number of common trends.

Ransomware Kill Chain and Controls - Part 1

April 20, 2016 · By James Robinson · 0 Comments

With the rising threat of ransomware, we continue to see more and more coverage of the topic in the news and in marketing campaigns. I guess about half of all marketing emails I get are ransomware-oriented. It could be the lists I am on, but I think ransomware is shaping up to be the top marketed threat in 2016.

Reducing Your Personal Attack Surface

February 11, 2016 · By James Robinson · 0 Comments

Many of us are consumers of technology, I would consider myself in the upper echelon of this group. I own multiple laptops, desktops, servers, cloud-based workstations, tablets, mobile devices, smart fashionware and social media accounts, to name a few. But, with this enthusiasm and love for the newest gadget or tool to stay connected comes a new risk – one that organizations have been fighting for years, and the consumer is starting to face. This is the risk of your personal attack surface.

Financially Motivated Whaling Attacks

January 14, 2016 · By James Robinson, Ping Look · 0 Comments

On any given day, many people receive hundreds of emails. But when an employee receives an email from their CEO, CFO or another senior executive, they are more likely to notice and respond. Unfortunately, this natural human behavior is exactly what malicious actors are exploiting in the latest “whaling” attack.

Preparing for a Boardroom Discussion - Expect the Expected

April 8, 2015 · By Renee Guttmann, James Robinson · 0 Comments

Organizations must focus on many areas within the business to ensure corporate data and assets are secure. Even though there are competing priorities, application security must be an important component of a successful information risk management program.

Mapping Cyber Attacks to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

March 16, 2015 · By James Robinson · 0 Comments

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is basically a theory that aims to understand what motivates people, represented as a pyramid that maps the different levels of needs. At the lowest level are the basic human needs that are required to function. As those needs are met, individuals move up the hierarchy to fulfill deeper and more complex needs.

Protecting Personal Devices

January 13, 2015 · By James Robinson · 0 Comments

The holiday season has come and gone, and 2015 is officially upon us. Many of us are back at work toting a shiny new tablet, phone or laptop we were fortune enough to receive as a gift. But before you start surfing the Internet or installing applications (apps), an important first step to take is to enhance your security by “hardening” your device.

Protecting Against the Inevitable

December 8, 2014 · By James Robinson, Jeff Horne · 0 Comments

Imagine this situation: you are sitting in your office, all is going well, when you receive an urgent invite for a due diligence committee meeting to potentially acquire another business. This isn’t the first time your company is evaluating acquisition targets; and then it hits you – the last time this happened your organization came under attack.

(22 Results)

Stay Connected

Subscribe to our Blog RSS feed to stay up-to-date on latest news.