Category Archives: Human Behavior

Human Behavior

Panic, disruptions and lives on hold: When is the crisis going to end? – Detroit Free Press

Kids stuck at home. Parents out of work. The guy at the register ringing up panicked shoppers' groceries. Even though ithasjust begun, the question, from everyone, is the same:When will this coronavirus crisisbe over?

The answer depends on whomyou ask.

With the number of cases growing exponentially every day,some experts believe we will bebattling the coronavirus, with some type of social distancing in place, for the next 12to 18 months, the length of time it will take to develop and test a vaccine.

Another expert told the New York Times we should begin to feel some relief from all this by May.

Anda Wayne State University infectious disease specialistsaid that unless we go on a strictlyenforced lockdown, it could be another four or five months before the number of infections peaks.

Uncomfortable notions all, but the truth is perhaps even more uncomfortable. The truth is we don't know for surewhen this coronavirussituation will be over. "We're really flying by the seat of our pants,"said Dr. Howard Markel, director for the Center for the History of Medicine at the University of Michigan and a consultant on pandemic preparedness for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

There are reasons for the uncertainty lack of research andunderstanding about the novel coronavirus that causes the COVID-19 illness, lack of testing for the illness and the incredible unpredictability of human behavior.

After all, thiscoronavirus which has killed thousands of people around the globe and infected hundreds of thousands of others is a newcomer to the roster of human viruses. "We've never had a coronavirus pandemic," said Tara Smith,an infectious disease specialist atKent State University in Kent, Ohio."We're kind of in uncharted territory. So we dont really know where this is going to go or what's going to happen."

Said Markel: "Its novelty is also its scariness."

With the coronavirus has come a tornado of information,some of it accurate, some of it flat-out wrong (gargling with vinegar won't prevent you from getting sick), all of it new and disorienting at a time when we just want to stop spinning, stand firmly on the groundand go back to the lives we were living just a fewweeks ago.

So far, thosewho study infectious diseasesknowthe coronavirus spreads through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Everyone is susceptible.It's highly contagious and can be spread even by those who are asymptomatic. For a while, there was some hope that the virus might become less virulent or even burn itself out in warmer weather, similar to the way the influenza virus calms in the summer. But"I'm not pinning my hopes on that," Smith said. Australia is in the middle of its warm-weather months and hashundreds of confirmed COVID-19 cases.

More: Michigan nurses say they don't have masks, gear to keep them safe from coronavirus at work

More: Oakland County orders malls, playgrounds closed as confirmed coronavirus case count rises

Researchers know the coronavirus makes some people extremely ill. People older than 65 are considered high-risk, andthey account for 80% of the COVID-19 deaths, according to the CDC. Those with pre-existing health conditionssuch as diabetes,hypertension or a depressed immune systemalso face an elevated level of risk which doesn't bode well for metro Detroiters.

"Our population is very vulnerable, including people who socially, fiscally underserved (and there's) a lot of diabetes,hypertension," said Dr. Teena Chopra, an infectious disease specialist at Wayne State University.

Younger adults wereinitially thought to be at lower risk for becoming profoundly ill. But then the CDCreleased a new report last weekshowing that, so far, people between the ages of 20 and 54account for 40% of the coronavirus patients sick enough hospitalized. And50%of the patients admitted to intensive-care unitshave been under age 65.

"I'm reasonably young," saidAubree Gordon, an associate professor atthe University of Michigan's School of Public Health who is 42, and studies the transmission of viruses. "I don't have any risk factors. ... I have a healthy fear of getting coronavirus. ... This virus is definitely, in my experience, in my opinion, the worst one that weve seen in the United States during my lifetime at least."

Added Smith:Right now, I thinkwe are looking at something potentially, maybe not on the scale of (the influenza pandemic of) 1918" which killed 50 million people worldwide, including 675,000 in the United States, "but maybe one level removed from that or something.Weve seen in Italy how bad it can get, and they're still also not at the end of(their crisis) by far."

Still, experts believe that 80% of the people who contract the virus experience mild to moderate symptoms. That's good news, of course, but it also prevents us from getting a clear picture ofthe scope of the virus. Because there aren't enough tests available in the United States, doctors have to prioritize who gets tested. And inmost cases, people with mild symptoms aren't being tested. As a result,there's no way of knowing how many people are actually infected. And that makes it difficult to figure out how much of the state, or the country, the virus has engulfed.

It also makes it difficult to figure out the true fatality rate of the virus, which the World Health Organizations puts at 3.4%. Comparing the number of people who die as a result of the coronavirus tothe number of people who test positive is different from comparing the number of people who die to the true number of peoplewho have the virus.

What we're seeing is that different countries have different fatality rates,'' said Smith of Kent State. "South Korea is testing everybody. So they're not only picking up the most serious cases ... theyre also picking up those mild cases that we really arent testing for here. So their case fatality rate looks a lot lower because theyre doing much more broad testing. As you test more of those mild cases, it looks like the fatality rate is going down.

"I know people are working extremely hard to try to get the tests set up so we'll have more information on the size of the outbreak soon,'' Gordon said."With that information,the government will have kind of what they need in hand to determine if the current control measures (such as social distancing) will continue or if they should get stricter. "

Even then, figuring out just how restrictive control measures should be and when they might be lifted is tricky. People don't like being limitedand cabin fever can become an issue. But viruses often strike in waves. The influenza pandemic of 1918stretched over two years, attacking and hiding, attacking and hiding. So it's possible we will loosen restrictions on movement, only to have the virus in its original form or as a mutation return with a vengeance.

Dr. Teena Chopra, medical director of infection prevention and hospital epidemiology at DMC Harper University Hospital.(Photo: Detroit Medical Center)

"For the next 12 months, we'll probably have some sort of restriction in place; that would be my guess," said Gordon, the U-M researcher."But the strictness of those restrictions will vary depending on the level of infection in the community."

If you ask me, honestly, I think there should be a total lockdown," said Chopra, who noted that the number of infections keeps rising and people in Michigan are dying. "We are not heading in the right direction. Several cities have done it, and we are not far behind. It is very important to be very proactive."

Said Smith:I know some of my extrovert friends are all ready to end this, so I don't knowwhat's going to be the best to find balance between protecting people from the virus but also keeping the economy going and keeping people's mental health stable."

So what's going to happen to us?

It's possible the virus could infect so many of us that we develop an immunity to it, a phenomenon scientists call herd immunity.But for that to happen, millions of people 60-70% of the population would need to become infected, which means millions of people would die.

It's possible a treatment may be on the way. French researchers report theyare having some success killing the virus with an anti-malarial drug calledhydroxychloroquineand some U.S. hospitals are already using it.Still, Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, cautioned against thinking the drug was a sure fire solution to the coronavirus crisis; the evidence that it's helpful is only anecdotal.There's "no magic drug" for COVID-19, he told CNN. But he added: That doesnt mean that were not going to do everything we can to make things that have even a hint of efficacy more readily available.

A vaccine would be "the holy grail," Smith said. But developing one is a lengthy process.

In the meantime, the best thing to do to mitigate the spread of coronavirus is to stay apart, stay home, avoid going out unless absolutely necessary something some younger Americans who have been gathering on beaches for spring break and, before they were shut, at campus bars have been loathe to do.Without those precautions, a terrifying report by theImperial College London, estimated2.2 million Americans could die.

As frustrating as this whole thing is, if we all work as a community well get through this," said Markel."There will be some tragic deaths, and there will be many more cases before were done. And there will be a lot of inconvenience.

But, he added, "Human beings have wrestled with microbes since the dawn of time. And I say 'wrestled' because they never really win. At best, they fight them to a draw. But they have survived and had far less tools than we have with modern medicine today. We have wonderful public health experts, infectious disease experts.

"We will get through this."

Contact Georgea Kovanis: gkovanis@freepress.com

Read or Share this story: https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2020/03/22/when-will-the-coronavirus-crisis-end/2869481001/

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Panic, disruptions and lives on hold: When is the crisis going to end? - Detroit Free Press

Human Behavior

Letters to the editor for March 22, 2020 – Opinion – Ocala.com – Ocala

Dealing with COVID-19

Floridians know well the preparations for a hurricane. We understand the general timeframes and the potential problems in the aftermath. We're strong, resilient and do what needs to be done to prepare, riding it out then beginning the clean up afterward.

But COVID-19 is not a hurricane with a relative known pattern or timeframe. COVID-19 is an insidious virus that we've never before experienced. There isn't a vaccine, treatments are still in a trial period and, for those who are hit hardest, the care is extremely intensive. Yet no matter how dedicated those brave men and women are to care for these patients, the outcome is too often heartbreaking. This virus makes no distinction between age, race or economics all are vulnerable though it is our older members and those with other other health issues who are least able to fight off the course of the virus.

Self isolation is, at this time, perhaps the best first line of defense for those who are most vulnerable, though time may show that self isolation might become the norm and not the exception. We need to take those actions that help ensure those who are the front lines of this disease our medical professionals, EMTs, police and firefighters, and those who literally keep the lights on, the water flowing and waste from becoming a secondary health problem are able to keep doing their jobs.

State and federal mandates from assistance to small businesses and their employees to initiating programs to offer COVID-19 testing as kits become available and an efficient means of getting those testing capacities into communities. Local authorities will enact those measures that are necessary to help try to slow the spread of this virus, which might include closing schools and limiting or closing public venues. The end goal of all of this is to flatten the curve of infection in the hopes to keep from overwhelming our health care system. We're a modern society with incredible medical capacities, but no society is prepared for the potential influx of patients flooding the system.

Nia Diebel, Ocala

Managing COVID-19 locally

What are the plans of our county commission to manage the impact of COVID-19 on our local economy?

We have been getting much information about health and environmental issues related to the virus situation from the local school district and medical experts at all levels of government. Also, it appears that sooner or later there may be some federal legislation to address the problems created by the COVID-19 outbreak.

However, the local economic impact will likely be just as troubling (or more so) than the potential health and daily inconvenience issues. It seems our county commission has not been forthcoming when it comes to letting us know what it can do to help supplement any actions by the federal or state governments. As we all know, bureaucratic action at those two levels is slow to get down to the local levels.

We need some out-of-the-box, unique solutions to be sure local businesses and employees don't become victims of an economic downturn short- or long-range. Get the business community involved in defining problems and solutions.

Let's hope and pray our county commission has the vision and strategies, beyond just spending money, to help get our community through some potentially tough economic times.

Stan Hanson, Ocala

Dangerous vaccinations

Vaccinations have saved the lives of thousands of humans through the years. Now we are hoping to use one to protect us from the Coronavirus. But, sadly to say, we in America have been pricked with a needle that is destroying our very soul and foundation. Its not terrorism, illegals, drugs or politicians. Apostasy from the pulpits is the culprit.

When truth became irrelevant and a feel-good religious encounter entered our society, we basked in the knowledge that everything was OK. Moral laws that govern human behavior are given by a moral law giver. There is only one, and guess what, its not the government.

Jerry Rodeheaver, Dunnellon

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Letters to the editor for March 22, 2020 - Opinion - Ocala.com - Ocala

Human Behavior

The Human Hacking Conference: Year Alpha – Security Boulevard

It was early in 2019 that we started dropping hints we had something big in the works. The anticipation was high, when, in June, we made an exciting announcement. Social-Engineer.org along with Social-Engineer, LLC was going to put on their first ever, self-produced, conference; The SEVillage Presents: The Human Hacking Conference (HHC).

This never before seen conference was going to be unlike any others. This all-encompassing event offered to teach business, security, technology, and psychology professionals the latest techniques and tips from leading experts in their fields. The Workshop Trainers were announced, and with every name the excitement increased. With experts in human deception, body language analysis, cognitive agility, and intelligence research, this event was shaping up to be the most exciting event of 2020. For those of you who couldnt attend, and those who want to relive the experience, dont worry we got you! Continue reading for a breakdown of everything that was The Human Hacking Conference: Year Alpha!

Thursday Hacking the C-Level, Pentesting, Red Teaming and more!

The Human Hacking Conference kicked off bright and early Thursday, February 20. The excitement to start was high. So much so that we had one attendee had been waiting in the conference area since 6 am! After registration and some refreshments, it was time to kick off the Opening Ceremony! Chris Hadnagy, our Chief Human Hacker, lead this event by reminding of us of the core value of the HHC, leave them feeling better for having met you.

Track 1: Hacking the C-Level & Business

After the entertaining and uplifting Opening Ceremony our attendees split up to head to their track of choice. Thursday offered two speaking tracks. Track 1 was Hacking the C-Level & Business started off with our friend Perry Carpenter, who was the face of our HHC sponsor KnowBe4. As the Chief Evangelist & Strategy Officer at KnowBe4, Perry could give some sound advice on his topic, The Art and Science of Driving Secure Behaviors.

That was followed by Social-Engineer, LLCs beloved Director of Sales, Jay Korpi. Jays fun and lighthearted personality was in full force with his speech, A Meteoric Rise from Custodial Engineer to CEO and Buying The Entire 14th Floor. I mean, check out that bow tie.

Next up was Domini Clark, who is the CEO & Founder at Blackmere Consulting. She spoke on Hacking the C-SuiteFinally Declassified: How Executive Search Firms infiltrate the C-Suite, Get the Talent to Defect, and Alter the Course of Global Business. Phew. Domini captivated her audience with this topic which helped them learn how a single executive hire can change the trajectory of an entire organization.

To finish up the morning in Track 1 was Chris Hadnagy again, who we all know as the Founder and CEO at Social-Engineer, LLC. He talked about SEeing Potential in Your Team, which highlighted the importance of knowing your team and their communication styles. He also dropped some quality Dilbert cartoons.

Track 2: Pentesting

While all that was happening, Track 2 was simultaneously running the Pentesting track. Kicking off this track was Social-Engineers Chief Operating Officer, Ryan MacDougall. His topic was Which Pentest is Right for You. Ryan highlighted how each company can determine which pentest is right for their security needs, and how they can make it benefit corporate needs.

Our very first ever SECTF contestant joined us at HHC, to discuss Active Measure. Wayne Ronaldson is from Loop Secure. His fascinating talk presented a live simulated attack that showed things from the hackers perspective. He demonstrated how social engineering phishing attack morphed into a full nation-state style attack. This demonstration taught attendees how their organization can be vulnerable to attacks, and how it can damage an unprepared business.

To finish out the Pentesting Track, one of our very good friends and Sponsor of the HHC, Chris Silvers, spoke about Scaling Phish: Pentesting the SMB. Silvers, who is the Founder of CG Silvers Consulting, left the crowd with lessons on how and how not to scale your security mindset from enterprise to Small and Medium Business environments.

As the tracks came to an end everyone attending was treated to a buffet lunch that was so amazing it can only be described in photos. These lunches were provided all 3 days of the HHC, so, for all of you foodies out there, enjoy.

Track 1: Part 2

After an incredible networking lunch out in the pavilion, our attendees fought the food coma and headed back to our speaking tracks where some amazing speeches continued through the afternoon. Track 1 resumed its Hacking the C-Level & Business theme with Robert Dean. Dean is the Cyber Janitor at Deloitte, who was a sponsor of the HHC. His discussion was titled Two of Clubs. This presentation highlighted a variety of entry level resources that are non-technical, low cost, and publicly available for people and organizations. By encouraging them to research themselves for awareness and personal security, he encouraged all to aim to inspire deeper organizational discussions on the value of logical and physical security.

The stage then prepared itself for the most enthusiastic force of all, Stephanie Paul. Stephanie is the Founder of Stephanie Paul, Inc. and is one of the most dynamic human beings we have ever met. Besides being a Workshop Trainer at the HHC (more on that soon!), she also discussed Hacking Into WHY Story Works. Her tagline for this speech was Storytelling because your biology is governed by it!, and that was proven true by how captivated the audience was about her topic. So captivated that the talk went overtime before any of us realized it had happened!

To follow up that act was Business Development expert, Allie Hansen. Besides being an HHC organizer, Allie, who has 10 years of experience, enlightened the audience on how social engineering principles can be successfully utilized in business development, and what applying those principles can mean for your company.

To finish up Track 1 we had Chase Hughes, the CEO of Applied Behavior Research. His speech The Human Factor highlighted human behavior being the deciding factor in almost all of our successes and failures. Chase taught tactics that can be applied in any conversation to not only read a person but to influence them as well.

Track 2: Red Teaming

Track 2 became the Red Teaming track for the afternoon, and it kicked off with Maxie Reynolds. Maxie is a SE Consultant with Social-Engineer, LLC. Her skills boast of not only being able to perpetually annoy Chris Hadnagy, but also performing pentests, while studying quantum computing. Maxie spoke on Personalities, Perceptions, and Persuasion, detangled luck from skill, and looked at what shapes our perceptions about one another.

Ryan MacDougall gave his second speech of the day which was on SE Teaming vs. Red Teaming. His talk explored what SE Teaming is, and how it differs from Red Teaming. This talk was followed up by a second speech by Wayne Ronaldson, who highlighted the importance of these teams. His presentation, Enemy of the State discussed and demonstrated a sophisticated adversary seeking to target business intelligence using layered attack vectors to explain the impact of a real-word attack.

Finishing up Track 2 for the day was Jeremy Dodson, Director of Technical Operations at Social-Engineer, LLC. His talk was Anatomy of a Red Team. Internal red teams can be a powerful tool for any companys security posture. Jeremys talk helped the audience gain a better understanding of the benefits and limitations of an internal team. It also highlights why and when to seek an external red team service.

Social Engineering Panel

To end the first day of the HHC, we invited some of our Workshop Trainers to sit down with Chris Hadnagy for a series of lightning interviews. R Paul Wilson, Amanda Berlin, Nick Furneaux, Stephanie Paul, and Joe Navarro, each took turns answering questions and highlighting what to expect in their workshops. These lighthearted and captivating interviews became our attendees favorite part of the day.

Highlights from this segment were:

Evening Event hosted by Deloitte

Our evening event for Thursday was hosted by our ever-gracious sponsor, Deloitte. And, the staff and attendees were delighted to have Pepper the humanoid robot there. Pepper entertained the crowd by dancing, singing, taking selfies and more. Huge thank you to Deloitte for hosting the evening and bringing Pepper along!

Friday Vishing, Workshops, and Escape Rooms!

Friday morning started off at 9 am with the Keynote Address being given by Chris Hadnagy. His theme was The Next Biggest Social Engineering Vector. While for many years we have focused on phishing as the main attack vector, vishing is closing ranks on becoming more dangerous than ever. To highlight this, Shelby Dacko, a professional visher with Social-Engineer, LLC joined Chris on stage for a live demonstration. Entering a soundproof booth, the same one we use for the SECTF, Shelby called a well-known transport company, Hertz. With just one phone call that lasted 10 minutes, she managed to gain 10 flags. It very quickly became evident why her nickname inside the company is scary little human. It also happens to be her Twitter handle.

With everyone abuzz from what they had just witnessed, they went off to the very first Workshops at the HHC. Friday was the home of 4 different workshops that each attendee could choose from at the time of signup.

Joe Navarro Anyone who has met Joe knows that he is super humble. You would never know that he holds the amount of knowledge that he does. But those who took his workshop soon learned how much he had to offer. We had an overwhelming amount of people who responded to us saying that Joes workshop had changed their life.

Joe served as an FBI special agent who specialized in behavioral assessment for 25 years. He has authored 13 books, one of which tells the story of how he successfully caught an international spy. (Seriously, check out Three Minutes to Doomsday, you wont regret it!) Joes workshop on Nonverbal Communications highlighted how body language is used to assess what is said and what is being felt. One workshop attendee told us after taking Joes workshop, The things Joe teaches are material and impactful because they are part of the human condition, interesting and, best of all, usable and actionable at work and in just everyday life, too.

Dov Baron

Dov is not only a force to be reckon with, he is also an impactful human being. Everyone who met Dov was instantly attracted to his vibrant personality. Those who took his course felt that and more. Dov has been speaking internationally for more than 30 years on the evolving world of leadership. His work is so well known that is he is twice-cited as one of Inc. Magazines Top 100 Leadership Speakers. Beyond being a bestselling author of several books, he also led the workshop How to Thrive in the AI AGE! Leadership Skills in the Year 2030.

Dovs workshop focused on Human Dynamics and the hidden forces that drives all humans to achieve. With it being predicted that 40% of people will be replaced by automation in the next 15 years, Dov focuses on what to specialize in to thrive in the age of AI. He also focused on how to bond with anyone and grow the new bottom line of success.

Nick Furneaux

Nick is not only a life-long friend of the Social-Engineer family, but a well-respected expert on cyber security and digital forensics. For 25 years, Nick has consulted for companies and law enforcement institutions in the UK, Europe, the US and more. His specialties include advanced open source intelligence (OSINT) gathering techniques, Cryptocurrency crime, and RAM analysis. Nick also wrote Investigating Cryptocurrencies which is the only book in the world to teach cryptocurrency crime investigating techniques.

Nicks workshop was Can You Find the Toothbrush?, which had nothing to do with dental care. His class taught OSINT investigators to look beyond the obvious so that they could see intelligence that can easily be missed when researching online. The workshop provided not only practical methods that they could use to see the data behind the data, but also infer evidence that is missed by many researchers. One of our attendees that was in Nicks class enthusiastically told us, Nicks class was AMAZING. He is so easy to listen to and is a very interactive trainer. He is the only teacher ever that has made me excited to learn something involving math!

R Paul WilsonWith titles like elite con artist, magician, and filmmaker, R Paul has done it all. Having executed more con games than anyone in history, he is the foremost expert in cons and scams. R Pauls experience has made him an expert of how con artists think and act when manipulating their victims. This is social engineering at its most powerful.

R Paul came to the HHC to teach those who took his workshop how magicians and cheaters think. He taught how understanding deception can reveal countless strategies that can be applied to verbal and psychological manipulation. His workshop Dark Side of the Hand included expert deception using skill and sleight of hand. Attendees who took his class left saying, It opens your mind up to both the practical possibilities and dealing with the expectation of your audience in any sense.

Social Engineering Panel All Things Rapport

As if the workshops werent enough for the day, there was another Social Engineering Panel planned for the day. Sitting down with Dov Baron, Robin Dreeke, and Brittney Caldwell, our host Chris Hadnagy interviewed them on social engineering and rapport. The conversation was enlightening to all as they learned how rapport fits into multiple aspects of life. One of our favorite moments from this panel was during a moment where Robin and Dov were discussing how rapport is used to develop strong relationships. Using the HHC as an example, they highlighted how Chris has been able to use rapport to not only form relationships with these experts in their fields but got them to all come together to form this incredible event. Our host may have shed a couple of tears hearing this, but he also might have just been chopping onions.

Evening Event hosted by Living Security

Our second evening event of the HHC was hosted by Living Security, who was also a sponsor. They create game changing experiences to help provide security awareness training. And when we say, game changing, we mean it! They brought two of their escape room games for our evening event. These escape rooms were fun and engaging for everyone.

Saturday More Joe, Workshops, and Closing Ceremonies

Joe Navarro kicked off our Keynote Address on Saturday with The Five Things You Were Never Taught About Human Interaction. Following his sold-out workshop the day before, this Keynote gave everyone the ability to learn from Joe for themselves. One of our attendees said about the information he learned from Joe, Joes was excellent. After listening to him it has made people watching even more interesting.

Saturday also offered 5 different Workshops that attendees were able to participate in.

Ian Rowland

Ian is the foremost expert on Cold Reading and is famously known as The Mind Man. Helping people and companies to be more successful by teaching amazing, transformative mind skills that have practical benefits in life and in business. Hes the first and only person from outside the USA to be hired by the FBI and asked to teach cold reading and communicative skills to their field operatives.

Ians workshop How To Be Psychic explained and demonstrated the art of cold reading (for those wondering it is, Ian describes it as how to talk to complete strangers so they think youre psychic). Those attending were able to learn how to make confident statements about literally any aspect of someones life, even when you knew nothing about them. It also explained and demonstrated how some of these same communication techniques could be applied to other areas, such as business and sales. One of the SEVillage staff members said that since the Workshop, he has been trying to decide how best to use Ians work in Vishing and Impersonation pretexts.

Stephanie Paul

Stephanie is confident and takes great pride in her achievements. In the last 29 years of rich and diverse entertainment experiences has given her the ability to internally coach executives, sales teams, Tedx speakers and more. She also has an impressive resume of being an actress, stand up, sketch comedian, director, producer, writer, and public speaker.

Her Workshop was called Caution: Using Influential Communication, Seduces Profound Connection. From the beginning, Stephanies workshop was highly entertaining, fun, and interactive. Before the workshop even started, our attendees remarked how she used music and other entertainment to get everyones energy up. From there Stephanie taught simple tools to help effectively navigate communication. She explained why the tricks she learned in the entertainment trade work in the real world and why they are so effective. She then empowered her audience and encouraged them to be innovative and shape engaging messages for maximum-effect.

Robin Dreeke

Robin is the CEO of People Formula and Behavioral Analysis Expert. He also helped Chris Hadnagy write the workbook for the Advanced Practical Social Engineering class. As a former FBI Special Agent and the Chief of the Counterintelligence Behavioral Analysis Program, Robin became passionate about the power of trust.

Robins workshop, Code of Trust & Sizing People Up was based on Robins life work and his background. It taught the tools of rapid rapport and the craft of high-level trust. His students were able to gain a deeper understanding of the power of relationships and how those relationships are the corner stone to any progress and forward movement in every aspect of life.

Brittney Caldwell

Brittney is the owner of the The Vacation Theatre Group, a freelance actor, playwright and director. She also directs Social-Engineer, LLCs Masters Level Social Engineering course. With 15 years of experience, Brittney believes in the power of performance as a teaching tool. Using her skills as an acting coach, Brittney helps facilitate specialized training for companies and individuals to improve their own training and presentation skills.

Brittneys Workshop, Acting like a Human: The Guide to Hacking Humans with Ease, used the same techniques that actors, like herself, use to help her students feel natural and easy in real life. She taught them how to have a greater awareness of themselves in all aspects, physically, vocally, mentally, and emotionally. One student related, Brittneys class really put a new perspective on how much we use nonverbals; Especially body placement and hand gestures. I felt that the way she taught, and how the lesson progressed, really showed how much of a difference our words can have when we use emphasis, contractions, context, and emotion.

Amanda Berlin

Amanda is the Senior Security Analyst for Blumira and the CEO and owner of the 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Mental Health Hackers. Amanda has spent over a decade in different areas of technology and sectors providing infrastructure support, triage, and design.

Amanda is no stranger to mental health. Having dealt with her own personal struggles for a time, she realized that she not only wasnt alone, but that there were resources that can help others. Many may ask, why a mental health Workshop at a Human Hacking Conference? Because mental health affects all, even security professionals. Amandas workshop included group exercises and content from the Mental Health First Aid program. The students walked away with a better understanding of mental health issues and how to help those around them. One of students who took Amandas class remarked, Amanda touches on an important issue in our day and age, and especially in our field. She gave practical exercises to help you cope and how and when to seek help.

Closing Ceremonies

The final event of the HHC came too soon for all of us. Closing ceremonies was a dream come true for the Social-Engineer team. The discussion of having our own conference has been years in the making, so to finally be standing at the end of it was a momentous event. Chris Hadnagy spoke for the entire team and shared a slideshow highlighting the fun moments had by all. The night ended with good food, good whiskey, and friends sharing the last few moments of the Human Hacking Conference together.

As we reflect on the HHC now, here are some of our favorite moments:

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The Human Hacking Conference: Year Alpha - Security Boulevard

Human Behavior

Facebook Spreads Fake News Faster Than Any Other Social Website, According To New Research – Forbes

UKRAINE - 2020/03/18: In this photo illustration a Facebook logo is seen displayed on a smartphone. ... [+] (Photo Illustration by Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Facebook is by far the worst perpetrator when it comes to spreading fake news. Worse than Google. Worse than Twitter. And worse than webmail providers such as AOL, Yahoo!, and Gmail.

This is according to a new study published in the journal Nature: Human Behavior.

A team of researchers led by Andrew Guess of Princeton University tracked the internet use of over 3000 Americans in the lead up to the 2016 presidential election. They found Facebook to be the referrer site for untrustworthy news sources over 15% of the time. By contrast, Facebook referred users to authoritative news sites only 6% of the time.

The authors state, This pattern of differential Facebook visits immediately prior to untrustworthy website visits is not observed for Google (3.3% untrustworthy news versus 6.2% hard news) or Twitter (1% untrustworthy versus 1.5% hard news).

The graph below depicts the size of the effect.

"Referrers to untrustworthy news websites and other sources."

How much do fake news websites actually influence peoples political views and voting decisions? This, the authors admit, is harder to estimate but they believe it has a smaller impact than is widely believed.

For one, they note that changing a voters mind is an incredibly difficult feat. By one estimate, only 1-3 people out of every 10,000 change their vote choice in response to seeing a political advertisement on television. Instead, those seeking out fake news via Facebook and other referrer platforms are likely visiting those sites as a way to reaffirm already existing beliefs and opinions.

Moreover, the researchers found that while a significant portion of Americans visited at least one untrustworthy news site during the final weeks of the 2016 election campaign (44.3% to be exact), it did not replace their appetite for hard news. The authors write, Those who consume the most hard news tend to consume the most information from untrustworthy websites in other words, they appear to be complements, not substitutes.

That said, the researchers found that Trump supporters were far more likely to visit untrustworthy news sites: approximately 57% of Trump supporters read at least one fake news article in the month prior to the 2016 election compared to only 28% of Clinton supporters. Older Americans were also more likely to visit untrustworthy news websites.

Perhaps most alarming is the observed stickiness of fake news websites. The researchers estimate that people spend an average of 64 seconds consuming a fake news articles compared to only 42 seconds on verified news stories.

More research is needed to sort out the degree to which fake news can influence public opinion. Until then, the researchers conclude the following: Our results about the relationship between untrustworthy website consumption and both voter turnout and vote choice are statistically imprecise; we can only rule out very large effects.

What is clear, however, is that Facebook was a key vector of distribution for untrustworthy websites.

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Facebook Spreads Fake News Faster Than Any Other Social Website, According To New Research - Forbes

Human Behavior

This AI-based system can teach human intention to robots – Express Computer

In a bid to give machines the ability to predict intent when interacting with humans, a team at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney is developing artificial intelligence-driven prototype human-machine interface system that will assist humans to be seen not merely as tools, but as partners.

Dr Lina Yao, a senior lecturer of engineering at UNSW and principal investigator, is busy getting AI systems and human-machine interfaces up to speed with the finer nuances of human behaviour.

The ultimate goal is for her research to be used in autonomous AI systems, robots and even cyborgs, but the first step is focused on the interface between humans and intelligent machines.

What were doing in these early phases is to help machines learn to act like humans based on our daily interactions and the actions that are influenced by our own judgment and expectations so that they can be better placed to predict our intentions, Yao said in a university statement.

At the moment, AI may do a plausible job at detecting the intent of another person (in other words, after the fact).

It may even have a list of predefined, possible responses that a human will respond within a given situation. But when an AI system or machine only has a few clues or partial observations to go on, its responses can sometimes be a little robotic.

Dr Yao is working on less obvious examples of human behaviour integrated into AI systems to improve intent prediction.

Things like gestures, eye movement, posture, facial expression and even micro-expressions the tell-tale physical signs when someone reacts emotionally to a stimulus but tries to keep it hidden.

We can learn and predict what a human would like to do when theyre wearing an EEG [electroencephalogram] device, said Yao.

While wearing one of these devices, whenever the person makes a movement, their brainwaves are collected which researchers can then analyse.

Later we can ask people to think about moving with a particular action such as raising their right arm. So not actually raising the arm, but thinking about it, and we can then collect the associated brain waves, said Yao.

Recording this data has the potential to help people unable to move or communicate freely due to disability or illness.

Brain waves recorded with an EEG device could be analysed and used to move machinery such as a wheelchair, or even to communicate a request for assistance.

According to Yao, autonomous AI systems and machines may one day look at us as belonging to one of three categories after observing our behavior peer, bystander or competitor.

While this may seem cold and aloof, these categories may dynamically change from one to another according to their evolving contexts.

At any rate, she said, this sort of cognitive categorisation is actually very human.

If you have an interesting article / experience / case study to share, please get in touch with us at [emailprotected]

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This AI-based system can teach human intention to robots - Express Computer

Human Behavior

How Deforestation Drives The Emergence Of Novel Coronaviruses – Forbes

Scientists approach a bat cave in Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda in this 2018 file photo. ... [+] The CDC scientists gathered 20 bats that reside in Maramagambo Forest as part of a research project to determine how Marburg virus finds its way to humans. (Photo by Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Scientists have been warning that deforestation may be creating an accidental laboratory for the emergence of new viruses in environments that have been disturbed by humans.

In the wake of HIV, Ebola and SARS, scientists documented a potential path for viruses from bats through other mammals to humans. Some scientists and doctors have further argued that path is paved by deforestation.

Deforestation and the sale of live wild animals or bushmeat, such as bats and monkeys, make the emergence of new viruses inevitable, while population growth, dense urbanization and human migration make their spread easier, said Dr. Seth Berkley, head of the GAVI Alliancea non-profit international vaccine initiativewriting in Scientific American.

In 2018 a group of European scientists warned in an opinion article of the role of deforestation:

The biological problem of viral emergence has not fundamentally changed, but the probability of occurrence of the risk is increasing owing to environmental change and higher environmental pressure, wrote Aneta Afelt, Roger Frutos, and Christian Devaux from the universities of Warsaw, Montpellier, and Marseilles.

Bats host more viruses than other mammals while displaying a heightened immunity to them. In the natural environment, bat populationsand the viruses they carryare limited by their ecosystems, according to the European authors, but in disturbed environments displaced bats can find anthropized environmental niches.

Houses and barns provide shelter to bats, lights attract insects they feed upon, while orchards and fields feed fruit-eating bats:

This attractive effect of anthropized environments on bats with differing biological needs results in a higher concentration and biodiversity of bat-borne viruses.

In these disturbed environments, multiple species of bats mingle, roost, hunt, and encounter the intermediate hostssuch as civet cats, monkeys, camels and horsesthat may bridge a transmission to humans.

But bats are not the enemy, the scientists agree. Their immune systems may hold the answer to viral epidemics, they are not the primary carrier of these viruses to humans, and when the viruses do reach humans, it is typically through human activity.

The COVID-19 novel coronavirus has been traced to a Wuhan market that sells live wild animals, such as civets, who are considered by some a culinary delicacy. Viruses similar to the one that causes Covid-19 have been found in Chinese horseshoe bats, and may have mutated in civets.

SARS is believed to have passed through civets as well, MERS through dromedaries or camels, the Australian Hendra virus through horses.

"The underlying causes of zoonotic spillover from bats or from other wild species have almost alwaysalwaysbeen shown to be human behavior," Andrew Cunningham, Professor of Wildlife Epidemiology at the Zoological Society of London told CNN. "Human activities are causing this."

Human activity makes the emergence of viruses more difficult to predict, according to the European group. The emergence of a virus is an extremely low probability event resulting from a stochastic combination of low probability independent events, they write, but environmental disturbances like deforestation create conditions for such events:

The increased probability of encounter and occurrence of an emergence-leading chain of events yielded by anthropized environments must be considered seriously.

A policeman watches over a civet cat captured in the wild by a farmer in Wuhan, central China's ... [+] Hubei province, in this 2003 file photo. Civets are a suspected source of the leap of both COVID-19 and SARS to humans in South China. (Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images)

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How Deforestation Drives The Emergence Of Novel Coronaviruses - Forbes

Human Behavior

John Rosemond: Tackling the dreaded ARFID | John Rosemond – Index-Journal

Blaise Pascal (162362) said there is no idea so bizarre that a philosopher has not advanced it. These days, the philosophers in question are psychologists and the bizarre ideas are their explanations of human behavior. Said explanations are bizarre because (trust me on this, I am one) psychologists wear, as a rule, ideological blinders that prevent them from accurately understanding what makes humans tick. Unable to see human behavior for what it truly represents, they justify their existence by inventing and marketing diagnoses as if giving something a name is equivalent to understanding and knowing what to do about it.

The latest manifestation of this fraud is Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder, or ARFID, formerly known as picky eating. Lots of university health centers and independent practitioners offer therapy for people of all ages whose parents never taught them that not eating what someone else, including ones mother, has taken the time to prepare and serve is rude.

One psychologist points out that most of the ARFID sufferers she sees eat the same stuff: macaroni and cheese, pizza, chicken nuggets, French fries and grilled cheese sandwiches. Lots of folks will recognize those foods as the very ones they wanted their parents to serve at every meal. I know I did. Staring at several tablespoons of steamed broccoli for three hours before I decided I wanted to get up from the table was one of the most therapeutic experiences of my childhood. My next therapy session involved Brussels sprouts. That session lasted only minutes.

Now, instead of picky eating being narcissistic and just plain rude, it is a psychological disorder that some people have. This ARFID thing has become big business, mind you. Google ARFID therapy and you will discover just how big. Some of the therapy programs for picky eating children are residential and cost more than what most people earn in a good year.

One psychologist, quoted in an online article, claims that picky eaters have control issues. Thats right. They have control over whether they eat broccoli and Brussels sprouts or not. They choose to be rude because they seek constant affirmation that their almighty feelings represent universal truths to which everyone else should genuflect.

A true story: Once upon a time, a child became infested with ARFID demons at an early age. He would begin gagging and sobbing at the very sight of a food that caused his tongue to feel even slightly less than fully happy. His parents bless their hearts catered to the ARFID demons by feeding him only macaroni and cheese, French fries and fried chicken nuggets. Sure enough, the ARFID demons grew increasingly clamorous.

By the time the parents sought my advice, the child was certifiably insufferable when it came to food. He was well on his way to becoming an adult whom no one wanted to be around if the event involved eating. I told the parents to (a) feed him only what they were eating, but in half-teaspoon portions; (b) set a timer for 15 minutes; (c) put him immediately to bed if he didnt clean his plate before the time expired; and (d) let him have seconds of anything on his plate if he ate everything within the time allotted. Within a week, the ARFID demons had fled demons cannot tolerate common sense and said child was eating everything on his plate and asking for seconds.

My parents invented that therapy, by the way. It costs nothing.

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John Rosemond: Tackling the dreaded ARFID | John Rosemond - Index-Journal

Human Behavior

Yes, you can still order takeout this and other questions answered | News, Sports, Jobs – The Adirondack Daily Enterprise

Customers step into the Little Italy Restaurant in Saranac Lake for a take-out early Friday evening.(Enterprise photo Lou Reuter)

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Friday that effective Sunday, all non-essential businesses are mandated to close and people are being asked to remain inside their homes to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Non-essential can sound vague, so heres a look at what you can and cant do:

Can I still order takeout?

Yes. Cuomos decision last week to transition all bars and restaurants to only takeout and delivery remains in effect. You can still support your favorite eateries in this hectic time.

Can I go to the bank?

Most area banks have switched to just drive-thru, ATM and online services. Lobby services are now only available by appointment with a lot of banks, so call ahead.

Can I go to the grocery store?

Yes. Before this virus broke out, the state initiated a plastic bag ban and many people switched to reusable bags. However, coronavirus can live on those reusable bags. Make sure you clean them with a disinfecting spray or wipe before going to the supermarket.

Should I buy latex gloves and face masks?

You probably shouldnt. There are shortages across the world for these medical supplies. Save them for the doctors, nurses and patients who need them.

Can I use public transportation?

No. Both Essex and Franklin County canceled their bus services.

Can I go outside?

Yes, but social distancing needs to be respected, and Cuomo recommends going out alone. Isolation can cause depression, anxiety and mental fatigue. Go out for a walk, a run, a hike or a bike. Be careful with hiking, though. Going up Mount Baker alone and with a cellphone isnt the worst idea, but hiking the High Peaks during mud season can be dangerous.

Can I go to the gym?

Nope. Youve got to work out at home or outside by yourself.

Can I go to the movie theater?

Nope. Nows the time to invest in a streaming service.

Can I go to the library?

Nope. But the New York Public Library has free e-books available on its website.

Can I get my hair or nails done?

Nope. Too much touching going on at the salon. Let the hair grow, and clip your nails at home. Cuomo ordered closing salons and barber shops.

Can I get a tattoo?

Nope. Again, too much touching and Cuomo ordered those closed, too.

What is the coronavirus?

The novel coronavirus is in the same family of viruses as the SARS, MERS and the common cold. The symptoms of the coronavirus are fever, shortness of breath, a sore throat and a dry cough. If the infection worsens, you can go into respiratory failure and require a breathing ventilator.

Who can get it?

Anybody. Dont think just because youre a spry 20-something you cant get infected. Yes, seniors and those with compromised immune systems will likely feel worse effects, younger generations can get it and spread it.

What if I think I have it?

Dont leave your home and dont rush over to Adirondack Medical Center without warning. You can infect more people that way. Stay calm and call the hospital at 518-897-2462 to see if you qualify to be tested.

Is there a cure?

No, not currently. Treating the coronavirus is like treating the flu or a cold. The best way to handle it at home is with rest, hydration and isolation. If the symptoms are severe, then call the hospital.

How can I stop the spread?

This is important. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a list of guidelines, but people should go above and beyond that.

Because there is no cure in the form of a vaccine or medication, human behavior can slow the spread. Wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds at time. Thats roughly one round of the ABC song or two rounds of Happy Birthday. Or have fun with it. Sing the chorus to the Killers Mr. Brightside.

The virus is encased in a layer of fatty lipids. Soap destroys those lipids, and water washes the virus away.

Add some hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol to the mix.

Dont touch your face. Viruses get into our bodies through our eyes, noses, ears and mouths. They cant diffuse through our hands.

Cough and sneeze into elbow, not your hands.

Social distance from other people.

If youre sick, self-quarantine. The world will forgive you for missing work.

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Yes, you can still order takeout this and other questions answered | News, Sports, Jobs - The Adirondack Daily Enterprise

Human Behavior

Why you can’t stop touching your face, according to science and psychology – CNBC

Most of us touch our faces way too much. Studies have shown that people touch their faces 23 times an hour and that's a big problem amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The eyes, nose and mouth are essentially portals for infectious diseases to enter. COVID-19 is believed to spread through respiratory droplets from someone coughing or sneezing. But if you come into contact with COVID-19, then touch your unwashed hands to any of these areas on your face, you run the risk of infecting yourself.

So wash your hands of course, but staying healthy sounds like a great rationale to stop touching your face. Yet the messages from the Centers for Disease Control and other public health authorities to stop don't making quitting any easier.

"When people say don't touch your face, what happens? We touch our face," L. Kevin Chapman, clinical psychologist and founder and director of theKentucky Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders, tells CNBC Make It.

So why is quitting so hard?

There are a number of reasons why we're so attached to this "uniquely human habit," Chapman says.

First, some face touching is almost automatic. For example, neuroscientifically, scratching an itch on your face (or anywhere else) is an automatic reflex, meaning you do it without thinking. When you have an itch, it registers as a complex pain-like sensation. Scratching or touching an itch feels good because it temporarily interrupts the discomfort. When we're in pain, our instinct is to withdraw, but when we itch, our reflex is to scratch, according to the American Academy of Asthma, Allergy and Immunology.

Touching your face can also be a habit.

Like with other ingrained habits, from biting your fingernails to cracking your knuckles, when you've repeated a behavior enough times, a part of the brain called the basal ganglia takes over. Once that happens, the behavior is almost instinctive and "the brain starts working less and less," Charles Duhigg, author of "The Power of Habit" told NPR.

Interestingly, there are also psychological reasons you touch your face. Besides typical itching and grooming habits, studies suggest that touching your face is a self-soothing tactic.

"In some sense, it's a way to regulate emotions, and it's a way to kind of tap into how we're feeling at any given moment," Chapman says.

We also do it to "convey certain facets of our identity to people," he says.

Touching your face can be a nonverbal way to communicate your feelings or emotions. For example, you might touch your face when you feel awkward or uncomfortable, or when you're trying to flirt with someone, he says.

"Ultimately, it's a habit-forming behavior because it represents so many different things for us," Chapman says.

Here are some strategies that may help keep your hands off your face, according to Chapman.

1. Shift your thinking

You're more likely to change your habits when you allow your thoughts to be flexible rather than punitive, Chapman says.

So, instead of thinking, "don't touch your face," you should tell yourself, "I'm going to be more aware of touching my face today." You can even set reminders with that message on your phone to go off every few hours.

"If you do that consistently, you're programming your brain to make that thought salient, and therefore you're more conscientious of not doing it," he says.

Whenyou slip up, use it as a reason to wash your hands and start fresh.

2. Distract yourself

The most obvious way to curb your face-touching would be what Chapman calls "distraction techniques," such as holding onto a trinket when you get the urge to touch your face. For example, you might want to keep a "fidget spinner," small toy or stress ball by your desk to play with when you're stressed or just need something to do with your hands.

Other studies on "body-focused" repetitive behaviors (such as hair pulling disorder and skin-picking) suggest that simply clenching your fists or sitting on your hands for a minute can help you resist the urge.

3. Use accessories strategically

Some people who have long hair might feel extra tempted to touch their face to move stray hairs. Chapman suggests securing your hair in a bun to prevent yourself from playing with it.

It also might be useful to wear your glasses to dissuade yourself from touching your eyes.

Similarly, wearing any kind of gloves can keep you from touching your face, he says. But they don't absolve you from having to wash your hands for COVID-19 prevention.

Check out: The best credit cards of 2020 could earn you over $1,000 in 5 years

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Why you can't stop touching your face, according to science and psychology - CNBC

Human Behavior

Published together: The human-animal bond and social distancing – Rapid Growth

As someone who was part of a team of creatives, business leaders, education institutions, and philanthropists, we all banded together in what can only be described as a midwife-of-a-situation to bring Rapid Growth, a solutions-based journalism magazine to life in April 2006.

Since that time we have had many creative folks work alongside of us as we sought to bring unique stories to our community, and also those looking at our city as a destination for fun, relocated for work, or a place simply to call home.

So as we face an unprecedented time in our planet's history that is impacting so many lives, we decided to leverage our community-partners in dialogue to produce a series of stories that reflect our time together.

The first to kick off this series we call Published Together and is a labor of love from a local businesswoman who, after our one-on-one conversation, set off to write a piece that showcases how we as locals together are helping address problems ... even during this moment of COVID_19.

Please welcome, Jenn Gavin of A Pleasant Dog.

-Tommy Allen, Publisher

---

Social distancing is hard on primates. We are designed to live in groups with each other. To look in each others eyes, feed each other, and touch each other (especially faces)! We are all starting to feel the strain of coming together by staying apart, and it looks like we might be hunkering down for a while.

Heres where your pet comes in. The human animal bond is an incredible thing. Those soulful eyes and soft fur have a real, tangible benefit. Science has definitively proven that petting a dog or cat lowers blood pressure and can help with anxiety like the anxiety that social distancing is causing in all of us. Doesnt it feel good to have physical contact with somebody? Let that somebody be your pet during this time. If you cant be with the one you love, love the one youre with!

Whats more, many of the behavioral problems people come to A Pleasant Dog to resolve are at least in part due to modern humans having little time to properly exercise and train their companion animals. So, this time of social distancing can in many ways be a gift to the furry one with whom you share your life.

Go ahead and enjoy this time. Take a stroll. Every day. Twice a day. Three times if you like. Be present in the moment. Watch your furry one sniff the breeze. And the trees. And the spot where Mrs. Smiths poodle whizzed this morning. Find pleasure in stroking a furry head by the fireside. Take advantage of those furry ears to rant about missing your birthday party. He cares. He really does (even if he doesnt quite understand every word).

You can also train and learn together! Behavior problems dont give two whits about a virus, so if youve been struggling with separation anxiety, reactivity, leash pulling, counter surfing, jumping up, or any other behaviors, take a few moments out of your day to train your dog (using positive reinforcement only please. Nobody needs negativity now). A Pleasant Dog will continue to offer free training tips via our social media throughout the crisis, as well as discounted virtual private training sessions (yes, they are a real thing, and they work).

Tricks are a great way to bond with your pet. Heres a simple one that works with cats and dogs (and most quadrupeds, really). Take out a selection of treats your pet cant live without. Tiny, pea-sized stinky things are best. Cheese and hot dog make good treats and are just 6 feet away in the fridge.

Starting on a non-skid floor, ask your pet to sit (or lure them into a sit), then place a treat directly on your pets nose, slowly raising it over their head and back toward the base of their skull a bit (instead of straight up in the sky). As soon as your pets front feet leave the floor, say yes or good and give the treat. Repeat five to 10 times, per session, slowly getting those feet higher and higher by raising your hand incrementally each time.

If your dog jumps, you moved your hand up too quickly. Once your pets sit pretty has reached the level of awesome you like, give your cue before luring them up. I use sit pretty, but you can call it anything you like.

And half the fun can be in finding a clever cue. Over time, you can fade the lure until youre just using an empty cookie hand and your verbal cue to get the same behavior (but still praise and treat after, because no one likes to work for free all the time).

Dont have a pet to share your home? Mosh Pit, Luv n Pupz, and Fetch MI Home are all reputable local rescues who pull animals from local shelters (instead of bringing them from other communities). If youre heading toward the lakeshore, Pound Buddies in Muskegon pulls needy pets from that area. And those are just a few. Consider reaching out to see if they might be able to place a foster pet in your care temporarily while you shelter at home. Fostering saves lives, especially in a time when people are less and less able to venture out to assist pets in shelters. Most foster programs provide veterinary care. All you provide is food, love, and shelter. Ready for a commitment? Bissell is sponsoring $25 adoptions at participating shelters throughout the community.

A final plea: if you are one of the lucky ones with ample change to spare, consider a donation to Pleasant Hearts Pet Food Pantry. Pleasant Hearts fills a huge need in the community already, providing needy families with pet food and care essentials to keep pets in their families, and that need is only going to grow as this time of COVID-19 lengthens. They welcome your donations here.

_______________________

Jenn Gavin, CPDT-KA, is the owner and head trainer of A Pleasant Dog. For over twenty years, Gavin has learned from and taught dogs and their people. Since opening A Pleasant Dog, Gavin and her team have helped thousands of dogs from West Michigan and throughout the country. A Pleasant Dog specializes in City Dog & People Training using evidence-based, scientifically proven methods, and a lot of love. Its practice offers everything from private lessons for common behavior issues, focused behavior consultations for aggression and anxiety, stay and train programs for busy families, and group classes.

Photos Courtesy Amy Carroll Photo and A Pleasant Dog.

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Published together: The human-animal bond and social distancing - Rapid Growth