Lost In Cyberia
Cybersecurity doesn't have to be boring or a tick-box exercise. Annie-Mei Forster and Anika Guenov sit down with the people shaping the world of cyber: founders, researchers, and the occasional DEFCON after-party regular for honest, jargon-free conversations about what's actually going on in the industry. Because behind every threat, tool, and policy, there's a human story worth telling.
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Lost In Cyberia
Ep. 37 The Dark Side of Digital Footprints with Emerald Sage
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Content note: this episode discusses technology-facilitated abuse and may not be suitable for all listeners.
In this episode, we're joined by Emerald Sage who is the founder and CEO of the Digital Resilience Project, a not-for-profit supporting people experiencing technology-facilitated abuse through trauma-informed digital safety services.
With over 20 years in open source intelligence (OSINT), including more than a decade working within Australia's government security and intelligence community, Emerald is now using her skills to give back through the Digital Resilience Project.
We break down what OSINT actually is, why it's become a democratising force in intelligence work, and how the very same techniques used for national security can be weaponised against everyday people.
While we all want to take photos of special moments in our life(eg. graduations, weddings and birthdays), Emerald provides some useful tips on how we can be a little more careful so that we aren't giving away things like our location or workplace.
We also go deep on technology-facilitated abuse: how perpetrators exploit smart home devices, connected vehicles, and AI-generated image-based abuse to monitor and control victim-survivors, and why Emerald believes the biggest misconception about digital safety is that it's a 'tech problem' rather than a people problem.
We asked what inspired Emerald to start the Digital Resilience Project and the reasons may surprise you.
Resources mentioned:
- Digital Resilience Project (digitalresilienceproject.org)
- ANROWS research on technology-facilitated abuse (https://www.anrows.org.au/publication/technology-facilitated-abuse-national-survey-of-australian-adults-experiences/read/)
- eSafety Commissioner's Office (https://www.esafety.gov.au/)
Find us on Instagram, YouTube or LinkedIn @thecybersecuritygals