Cybersecurity best practices for individuals shouldn't require a computer science degree — this encore episode with Mark Shriner breaks down what actually matters, from MFA to phishing to backups.

This is one of our most-engaged episodes, brought back not just for its downloads but for how much of it people actually stuck around for. Curtis and Prasanna sat down with Mark Shriner, host of the SecureTalk podcast, to talk about what real-world cybersecurity best practices for individuals look like — no jargon, no scare tactics, just what works.

The conversation opens with a genuinely shocking stat: in a University of Michigan study, 48% of USB drives dropped around campus got plugged into a computer, some within minutes. From there, the group covers MFA (and why SMS-based authentication is riskier than you think), SIM swapping, phishing, and the gift card scam that almost caught Mark's son on his third day of an internship.

On the business side, Mark and Prasanna dig into device management, BYOD policies, and tools for catching anomalous network behavior. And because this is still Backup Central, backups get their due — including some refreshingly simple advice for individuals who don't want to overthink it.

By the end, everyone agreed on the real takeaway: just do something. Don't do nothing.

If you've been meaning to turn on MFA, back up your laptop, or just get a better handle on the basics, this is the episode to catch up on.

Chapter markers:

00:00 Cold open

00:03 Meet Mark Shriner

00:10 How Mark got into cybersecurity

00:15 The University of Michigan USB drive study

00:16 Turning on MFA: Curtis's personal journey

00:19 SIM swapping and SMS authentication risks

00:23 Top security concerns for individuals

00:24 Backups, ransomware emails, and phishing basics

00:25 Being aware and pausing before you click

00:26 The gift card scam story

00:28 Phone-based scams and social engineering

00:31 Careful what you post online

00:31 Company-level MFA and security best practices

00:34 Device management and BYOD

00:35 DDI tools and data leak detection

00:43 Cybersecurity best practices for individuals: backup edition

00:45 Just do something — the summary that named the episode

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