In this episode of THREATCON1, Tom and Patrick sit down with Christine Fignar, Cybersecurity Analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, for a deep dive into one of the most misunderstood areas of security: insider threats and human-driven risk.

Christine brings a unique background spanning aviation, HR, communications, and counterterrorism studies — giving her a rare lens into human behavior, stress, and the subtle signals that often precede security incidents. Her “Cone of Uncertainty” framework, adapted from hurricane forecasting models, helps visually map how threats form, build, and eventually impact an organization.

This conversation moves beyond tools and dashboards and dives into the human reality of cyber risk: stress, behavior patterns, hiring fraud, offboarding mistakes, nation-state recruitment activity, and why organizations consistently miss early warning signs.

Whether you're in threat intel, security operations, or leadership trying to understand human-centric risk, you’ll walk away with new ways to communicate threats, evaluate insider indicators, and track emerging risks before they hit.

🔍 Topics Covered

• How the Federal Reserve approaches insider threat detection
• The “Cone of Uncertainty” model — and why it works for cyber
• Why human stress is one of the strongest predictors of insider risk
• How to watch for early “storm signals” inside your organization
• The rise of nation-state hiring scams (North Korea, China)
• OSINT techniques for tracking behavioral risk
• Why cyber teams must become “English-to-English translators”
• Problems with spreadsheets, CVSS scores, and risk communication
• The hidden dangers in onboarding/offboarding workflows
• Real-world examples: sales data theft, disgruntled employees, access misconfigurations
• Why organizations still fail at protecting sensitive information

Christine Fignar

Cybersecurity Analyst, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis

Specializes in insider threat, incident response, human-behavior-driven risk, and threat intelligence analysis.

Background includes aviation operations, HR, communications, and counterterrorism/anti-corruption studies.

📢 If You’re in Cybersecurity, This Episode Is For You

Perfect for security leaders, threat intel analysts, defenders, SOC teams, and anyone who wants to understand the human side of modern cyber threats — beyond the dashboards and detection tools.