POPP3R Cybersecurity: Building a human firewall

« At a rate of 39 cyberattacks per second, chances of being compromised by hackers are high. Lack of knowledge and budgeting concerns are placing most non-profits at risk. At high risk », Hernan Popper pointed out in a LinkedIn post recently. During the pandemic, he officially launched POPP3R Cybersecurity, after several years working in the field of cybersecurity.

His company, based in Winnipeg Manitoba, helps small and medium-sized businesses, non-profit and government organizations across Canada become CyberSecure by empowering their people. And the demand is high!

In-Sec-M: What is the specialty of your company in cybersecurity?

Hernan Popper: At POPP3R Cybersecurity, we do not deal with hardware or networks, we work with people. It is all about the human factor. We focus primarily on awareness and education. We offer multiple services, but we focus on Security Awareness Training, helping our clients train their staff to develop a «Human Firewall» and avoid social engineering threats. We help people make the right choices by providing ongoing social engineering training, and testing all users on recurring basis.

In-Sec-M: What sets you apart in the field of cybersecurity?

Hernan Popper: I would say understanding the bad guys’ way of thinking. Most of my time I spend investigating what are the new threats, attack vectors, breaches, etc. The hackers and techniques keep evolving. It’s exploding!

In-Sec-M: What has changed since the pandemic?

Hernan Popper: The pandemic and working from home created an amazing playfield for the attackers to breach more companies though their people. Just by sharing our computer with family, connecting to insecure wifi networks, etc, the risk has increased dramatically.

In-Sec-M: How does In-Sec-M support you?

Hernan Popper: We joined In-Sec-M to connect with experts and grow our network. I want to share what we do with other members and work together to help our clients be prepared and safe from the bad guys.

In-Sec-M: Is there any book you would recommend to your colleagues?

Yes! The Cuckoo’s Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage is a 1989 book written by Clifford Stoll. That is an old book, but that’s the one that got me interested into hacking and social engineering!

Read more about our members: Sunphinx: Protecting Organizations’ Assets From Cyber Criminals