Bridging the Gap: Developing Accessible Anti-Phishing Solutions
Lydia Stepanek
BSides NYC 2024 · Day 1 · Tech - Blue
In "Bridging the Gap: Developing Accessible Anti-Phishing Solutions," Lydia Stepanek, a seasoned software engineer and consultant, addresses the persistent and evolving threat of phishing, arguing that despite common misconceptions, it remains the most prevalent internet crime. Stepanek introduces her open-source anti-phishing Gmail plugin, **Too Phishy**, as a novel approach to empower users through education rather than mere invisible filtering. The talk meticulously deconstructs high-profile phishing incidents, including the 2014 Sony hack, the 2016 John Podesta email breach, and the sophisticated 2020 zero-click exploit against Jeff Bezos, demonstrating how even advanced users and IT professionals can fall victim.
AI review
A well-intentioned accessibility play on a real problem, but the technical substance doesn't clear the bar for a security conference talk. The 'tool' is URL shortener detection and WHOIS country lookups wrapped in a Gmail plugin — none of which is novel research — and the case studies (Podesta, Sony, Bezos) are war stories everyone in the room already knows by heart.