Melanie Ensign, Discernible Inc.
Governing strategies that induce or amplify crisis are common in the public and private sectors in order to relieve public anxiety and boost confidence in the wake of an incident, but they do little to address the underlying cause. This talk will discuss lessons learned from the shark science and conservation community that can be adopted by security and privacy professionals to influence public discourse without relying on emotional manipulation or fear.
Melanie Ensign, Discernible Inc.
Melanie Ensign is the founder and CEO of Discernible Inc., a specialized security and privacy communications consultancy. After managing security and privacy communications for some of the world's most notable brands including Facebook, Uber, and AT&T, she now helps even more organizations adopt effective communication strategies that improve operations and help reduce risk. She counsels executives and technical teams alike on how to cut through internal politics, dysfunctional inertia, and meaningless metrics. Melanie also leads the press department for DEF CON and has logged hundreds of hours diving with sharks all around the world. She holds a degree in communications from the University of Illinois-Chicago and a Master of Science from Boston University.
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author = {Melanie Ensign},
title = {Da Da: What Shark Conservation Teaches Us about Emotionality and Effective Communication Strategies for Security and Privacy},
year = {2021},
publisher = {USENIX Association},
month = feb
}