How an Anthropologist Approaches a Security Breach with Patricia Ensworth

Human-Centered Security

In this episode, we talk about:

• How anthropology can help security teams uncover the “why” behind security breaches.
• Why it’s important for designers to familiarize themselves with information security risk management.
• What designers should know about quality assurance applied to security.
• How to fight for the time needed to build security into products.

Patricia Ensworth is a business anthropologist whose work focuses on the human factors affecting the development and maintenance of innovative products, services, and systems. As a technology project manager at leading global financial services firms (Merrill Lynch, Moody’s UBS, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley) she came to specialize in risk analysis and quality assurance, often recently in relation to cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Her consulting firm Harborlight Management Services LLC provides organizational research and management training to clients in a broad range of industries, as well as government agencies and non-profits. She is the author of The Accidental Project Manager: Surviving the Transition from Techie to Manager (Wiley 2001) and numerous technical articles about multicultural teamwork in software engineering. She is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor teaching in a graduate business degree program at New York University.