Zach Zaffis may be a hacker, but he's one who rides in wearing a white hat.

Mr. Zaffis spends his days attempting to break into banks and businesses - a role the Certified Ethical Hacker calls "super fun." It also given him keen insight into the minds of bad actors and malicious "black hatters" who seek to exploit security vulnerabilities in the name of profit.

"A hacker is somebody who has a strong grasp on technology as well as security ... and they have a huge amount of confidence," Mr. Zaffis, ProCircular's security engineer and offensive security specialist, told attendees of the CBJ's fifth-annual Cybersecurity Breakfast on Sept. 24. "Back in my day, hackers were people who had a thirst for knowledge, they were curious and wanted to know how things worked ... but [today], people think of a person who's an unruly, turbulent, contentious individual."

In his presentation, "Understanding the Mind of a Hacker," Mr. Zaffis broke down who the hackers are, their motivations and methods, and how "white hatters" like himself can ultimately take the bad guys down.

White-hat hackers include "red team" penetration testers like Mr. Zaffis, who attempt to break into networks to demonstrate weaknesses, as well as "blue team" defenders, who harden networks and help reverse engineer malware and ransomware.

On the side of chaos are threat actors.

"These are the bad guys and the intent here is disruption," Mr. Zaffis explained. "They are there to steal, infect or gain. Their primary targets are things like - everything. Literally anything."

Why do they hack? The answer is simple: "Money, money, money, money. It's just that."

Read the full members-only story in this week's print or digital editions of the CBJ. 

The community is invited to attend the third and final open house for the Czech Village/NewBo Action Plan from 6-7:30 p.m. Wednesday at NewBo City Market, 1100 Third St. SE.

 

Residents will be able to review concepts developed over the course of the summer through community input. The plan outlines goals and action steps in a variety of key categories, including pedestrian connectivity, bicycle infrastructure, what future infill development might look like, and tactics to retain the historic nature of Czech Village and NewBo. Residents will be asked to help the city prioritize action steps to meet the goals of the plan.

 

The Czech Village/NewBo Action Plan follows similar planning initiatives already completed, including the College District Action Plan, Mount Vernon Road Corridor Action Plan and the Northwest Neighborhood Action Plan.  These plans take the concepts identified from the city's comprehensive plan, EnvisionCR, and develop action steps and goals tailored to a specific geographic region. 

	IBA executive committee (l-r): Matt Lujano, Aaron Kness, Peg Scott, Brad Lane, John Sorensen

The  Iowa Bankers Association has  elected officers and directors to serve on its 2019-20 board of directors. These leaders assumed their roles during the IBA annual convention held Sept. 22-24 in Des Moines.

 

Officers for the IBA executive committee include:

• Brad Lane, at Security Savings Bank in Gowrie, chair of the board
• Aaron Kness, at Iowa State Bank & Trust in Fairfield, chair-elect
• Peg Scott, at Union State Bank in Greenfield, past chair of the board
• Matt Lujano, at Westside State Bank in Westside, treasurer
• John Sorensen, IBA president and CEO, secretary of the board

Officers were nominated and approved by IBA member banks from across the state. The IBA executive committee leads the board of directors, which is responsible for setting policy and overseeing the general operation of the IBA.

 

Also serving on the 2019-20 IBA board of directors are:

• Mary Kay Bates, at Bank Midwest in Spirit Lake, representing the northwest region
• Erik Skovgard, at Lincoln Savings Bank in Reinbeck, representing the northeast region
• Tony Kaska, at Midwest Heritage Bank in West Des Moines, representing the central region
• Greg Gannon, at DeWitt Bank & Trust Co. in DeWitt, representing the east region
• Kevin Campbell, at The Shelby County State Bank in Harlan, representing the southwest region
• Miles Gaston, at Libertyville Savings Bank in Fairfield, representing the southeast region
• Abram Tubbs, at Ohnward Bancshares in Maquoketa, serving as member-at-large
• Brett Smith, at Wells Fargo Bank in Des Moines, serving as member-at-large
• Mike Wilson, at Bankers Trust in Des Moines, serving as member-at-large