Chris Merkel
Chris leads Northwestern Mutual’s Incident Response, Insider Risk and Detection Engineering functions. Beyond his current role, he has had a distinguished career in cybersecurity, leading global organizations and solving cutting-edge challenges in cloud security, appsec, product security, threat-informed defense strategies and automated assurance methodologies. Chris is passionate about professional development, organizing career villages, performing career counseling, mentoring and being actively involved in helping non-traditional students get their start in cybersecurity.
Session
From KBLV in Las Vegas, it’s This North Korean Life, I’m your host, Chris Merkel. In today’s show we have a tale about unlikely international relationships.
This is a story about a senior software engineer, a farmer, and the complex supply chain funding North Korea’s weapons programs, operating out of organizations just like yours. We’ll unpack how the rise of remote work and over-employment schemes created perfect conditions to enrich the Kim regime. Our story unfolds in three acts:
Act I: /r/paycheck: The pandemic and the rise of over-employment schemes.
Act II: My friend Ben: Understanding the threat of workforce infiltration.
Act III: Trust Issues: Helping people bring their authentic selves to work.