Ex-FBI agent: Your company is at risk

Robert Shields spent 20 years in the FBI hunting cybercriminals and cyberterrorists. When he started, criminals were snatching data off diskettes. Then crime went virtual. The job was intense. He loved it. He rose through the ranks and retired as special agent in charge.

Then he decided to take a break, do some fishing and get a new job.

For the past six months, Shields, 57, has been using his cybersecurity expertise and investigative skills as director of forensic and valuation services at Sikich, an accounting and consulting firm.

Why did you choose the FBI? What led you down that path?

I joined the FBI in 1995. I worked for two insurance companies before then, and I worked as a programmer. I had a friend who talked to me about applying for the FBI. I have to admit, at the time, I wasn’t sure. I was a little older. I was 34.

So why did you do it?

They were hiring. I thought I’ll take the test. I went over to the test, and about a year later, I was hired to go to Quantico (training academy) to start as an agent. I wanted to make the switch because I always have enjoyed the cyber field, computers. I felt there was no better place to get some of the best knowledge of technology than the FBI.

Was training at Quantico one of the hardest things you’ve ever done?

Yes. I think it’s mentally (challenging). Knowing that you may not have a job at the end if you don’t make it through these 17 weeks. I had never shot a firearm before I went to Quantico. Trying to learn to shoot a firearm, that really was something I had to work hard at to be able to qualify and be certified to carry a firearm.

All those years in the FBI, what kind of cybersecurity issues were you dealing with?

If you think back to when I started, you were dealing with the diskettes and CDs. People were stealing software and copyrights. You would have had a computer intrusion, where somebody may have gone in and they destroyed files (inside) the machine. It might have been an employee. It might have been somebody from the outside.

Today, you don’t see this. Everything is done in the virtual world now. Today, the intrusions have become much more significant along with, as you probably have heard about, ransomware. It’s just growing. It’s a crime.

Are we all vulnerable in the “cloud?”

We are, but security has gotten everyone’s attention (so) we have better protocols in place. The insider threat is a growing concern.

What are “insider threats” and should we be worried?

We let people into our companies and trust them, whether you’re a contractor, an employee or whether you’re somebody who has access from the outside because we gave it to you. If I had access to a hard drive that had all types of files out there and I just downloaded all those files, put them on a thumb drive or I send them to my email account, how do you prevent me from doing that?

How do you do that?

The easiest answer is to make sure that you have the engagement of management, not just your cybersecurity managers but your managers across the organization to include your executives who are engaged and understanding: “What is my vulnerability inside?”

What kind of measures can an organization take in trying to prevent an employee security breach?

As simple as it sounds, making sure you are providing proper training that talks about what you can and cannot do. It may prevent that person by (compelling them to think), “OK, I may not be allowed to do this or I know I can’t do it.” You’re putting that — I don’t want to call it fear — but you’re putting that concern out there that, “Hey, these are our protocols.” Like today, we all know we shouldn’t download something, but we do.