Protect The Humans At All Costs: Why Technology Alone Can't Solve Security

Speaker: Dwayne McDaniel

Room: CC 235

Time: Sat 11:25 am – 11:55 am

Format: Lecture (30 Min + Q&A)

Difficulty: Introductory

Track: Security / Privacy

Presenter Location: Remote

Experience: umpteenth time speaking

At: anywhere

Description:

Organizations spend millions protecting servers and data. They run threat‑modeling exercises and employ red teams to test defenses. But in the process, it’s easy to lose sight of who we are actually protecting: the humans who rely on these systems and entrust them with their identities and personal information.

When security becomes the “Department of No,” it’s a sign that the focus has drifted away from people and toward purely technical concerns. This talk argues that sustainable, effective security requires understanding human needs, eliminating blame, and building alignment with users and colleagues.

Attendees will explore:

Why technology alone cannot solve security

How biases and assumptions undermine security programs

Why blaming users is counterproductive

How to build real relationships with developers, operators, and stakeholders

How security teams can shift from bottlenecks to enablers

What it means to make the secure way also the easiest and most sustainable way

This is a call to action: step away from the keyboard, have real conversations, and build security programs that protect people first.

Target Audience:

Security professionals

Developers

DevOps engineers

Anyone seeking to build more human‑centered security practices