DICE Man Ray Semko was in Peoria, Illinois last month giving a D*I*C*E briefing to the community, sponsored by CIAN (http://www.ciancenter.com/) which provides Data Center, Security and Network Services in the central Illinois area. He had a great time, was glad to be back and here’s how it went:
http://www.ciancenter.com/news/the-return-of-the-dice-man-was-a-success/
The Return of the D*I*C*E Man was a Success!
Peoria welcomed the return of Ray Semko, aka D*I*C*E Man, on May 11, 2012. What an exciting day we had. Starting with a radio interview on the WMBD “Greg and Dan Show,” the former counterintelligence agent shared with the listening audience the security threats companies in Central Illinois need to be aware of and how those threats are only getting worse. D*I*C*E Man (Defense Information to Counter Everything) explained that educating employees to be aware of their surroundings will help in stopping “the bad guys” because so often it is the employees within who are getting the “crown jewels” that are sacred to their business.
Mark Welp and Gretchen Wirtz, hosts of “WEEK Good Company,” then met with Ray to do a brief interview to discuss why Americans need to be constantly vigilant and responsible for their own protection. The episode of “Good Company” aired on Thursday, May 17.
The members of Rotary Club of Peoria were captivated by the “mini briefing” given by Semko during their weekly meeting on May 11. Many members followed up the lunch hour asking questions regarding the security issues that were addressed. There was quite the buzz from this eye-opening briefing.
The main D*I*C*E Man event sponsored by CIAN was held at Packard Plaza in Peoria from 2–4 p.m. with a “meet and greet” immediately following, when guests took the opportunity to visit with Semko while enjoying light refreshments. Over a hundred guests sat engaged in the briefings and mind-opening information. Briefings of local heists to what is happening within our government kept the audience quietly but intently listening. Illustrations on how to be aware of our surroundings, especially in the workplace, evoked understanding nods from the audience. The information may appear to be logical information that everyone should either know or seek out but unfortunately most of us live in our own little world, which in our heads is a safe, happy place.
The D*I*C*E Man briefings brought to life the many security threats that surround us as Americans, especially in the cyber world. Protecting our networks is imperative and can be done only with appropriate security measures and education. Why would we work so hard to only let our pertinent information be stolen by our own employees (or spies for other countries) so that they can turn around and put us out of business and use our geniuses for their profit? It doesn’t have to be this way; thankfully there are people like Ray “D*I*C*E Man” Semko, passionate about the safety of our country and about the people who call the USA home, who spends his days traveling across the country to educate us.
To learn more about the D*I*C*E Man, visit his website at raysemko.com, and be sure to stay tuned to learn when you can attend his 2013 briefings underwritten by CIAN.
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Security expert warns of dangers — lots of dangers — in Peoria seminar
By Steve Tarter, Peoria Journal Star newspapers, May 12, 2012
Attending a seminar by Ray Semko, otherwise known as the DICE Man, is like watching one of those teen slasher films: you expect trouble around every corner.
Semko, a security expert who once worked counterintelligence for the U.S. military, was in Friday at the Packard Plaza in Downtown Peoria, where he laid out a few of the dangers we face today.
With the theme, “Don’t gamble with your security, “ DICE Man – a colorful figure with pony tail and Uncle Sam outfit – was sponsored by CIAN, Inc., 1803 W. Detweiller Drive, a firm specializing in computer security.
But DICE Man – DICE stands for Defense Information to Counter Everything, by the way – wasn’t just warning about passwords and hacking threats.
“We have to be as smart as the bad guys,” he said.
“China’s preparing for war with the United States,” said Semko, who pointed out how the world’s most populous country was successfully copying everything it could from America. “The last original idea China had was spaghetti,” said the speaker.
But there’s more to worry about. Not only do Russian agents still operate in the United States as actively as they did during the Cold War but “Vladimir Putin is the most dangerous leader in the world today because he’s smart and he understands security,” Semko said.
The problem with most of us in this country is that we’re too trusting and simply unaware of what’s going on in the world today, he said.
Want more bad news? The FBI reports there are 33,000 gangs operating in this country with 1.4 million members, said Semko, who also counseled women in the audience to be aware of their personal safety – on the street or in a mall.
Needless to say, social media came under Semko’s scrutiny. Facebook is Disgracebook in his book. Say what you will about your likes and dislikes, leave your work out of it, he said.
Semko is an adept performer who’s performed security briefings for over 20 years. Using humor to engage the audience, his more exuberant rants remind me of John Pinette, the rotund comedian who suggests that people who don’t know what they want at McDonald’s “get out of the line.”
But there’s no getting out of the line when it comes to security issues with DICE Man. If something seems a little funny to you, call the FBI, he says.
By the seminar’s conclusion, Semko could be likened to Kevin McCarthy at the end of the “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” who warned, “They’re here already! Watch out!”
