Safe Mode Podcast

In this episode of Safe Mode, we look at how opportunistic campaigns—often starting as loud disruption like DDoS—can probe for weak points and, in some cases, move closer to operational technology and industrial control systems. Using a recent Justice Department case tied to pro‑Russia hacktivist groups as a jumping-off point, we discuss what this pattern says about the OT threat landscape in 2025, from remote access and trust boundaries to engineering workflows and data integrity risk. Chris Grove, Director of Cybersecurity Strategy at Nozomi Networks, joins to explain what defenders should prioritize now to keep “noise” from becoming real-world operational impact.

Retired Lt. Gen. Charlie “Tuna” Moore, former deputy commander of U.S. Cyber Command, joins Safe Mode to break down his new paper on “dominating the digital space” and a whole-of-society strategy for defending the United States from cyber aggression. Host Greg Otto digs into why cyber deterrence often fails below the threshold of armed conflict and what a National Cyber Operations Team—integrating private-sector talent under Cyber Command oversight—could look like in practice. Plus, journalist Matt Kapko returns to unpack the messy ethics and incentives behind ransomware negotiations after new guilty pleas spotlight just how unregulated the space can be.

Greg sits down with Adam Myers, Head of Counter Adversary Operations at CrowdStrike, and Elia Zaitsev, CTO of CrowdStrike, to discuss why 2025 has been dubbed the "steroid era" for cybercrime due to AI's transformative impact on both attackers and defenders. The conversation reveals alarming statistics—a 442% increase in AI-powered voice-based phishing attacks, average adversary breakout times dropping to just 48 minutes, and 81% of intrusions now operating without any malware at all—while also exploring how adversaries are exploiting vulnerabilities faster and using AI to write exploits. However, the experts explain how AI is also empowering defenders through agentic security systems like CrowdStrike's Charlotte, which achieves 98.6% accuracy in detection triage, fundamentally shifting the economics of the defender's dilemma and offering hope that AI may ultimately benefit defenders more than attackers.

In our final episode of 2025, Dave Lewis, global advisory CISO for 1Password, joins Greg Otto to unpack the “access‑trust gap”: the growing mismatch between what employees (and tools like AI assistants) can access at work and what security teams can actually see, verify, and control. Dav explains how this gap shows up in everyday ways—logins that bypass intended controls, personal devices used for work, and teams adopting apps or AI tools faster than IT can govern them—and why that combination creates quiet but serious risk. You’ll hear practical advice on narrowing the gap with stronger identity checks, smarter device trust, cleaner SaaS governance, and simple guardrails for safe AI use that don’t crush productivity.

In this episode of Safe Mode, Jim Dolce, CEO of Lookout, reveals that 40% of phishing attacks now target mobile devices—yet CISOs are drastically underspending on mobile security compared to email protection. Jim demonstrates how AI-powered attacks have become devastatingly effective, showing how his team created a voice-cloning impersonation attack in 15 minutes that fooled over half their employees into surrendering credentials, bypassing even multi-factor authentication. He explains why credential theft is now the #1 attack vector, costing $4-5 million per breach, and how modern smishing attacks use scraped social media data to craft hyper-personalized messages that are nearly impossible for humans to detect. Jim's urgent message: enterprises must protect mobile devices with the same rigor as email systems, using AI-powered defenses to combat AI-powered threats.

In this episode, we sit down with Nate Beach-Westmoreland, Head of Strategic Cyber Threat Intelligence at Booz Allen, to explore the evolving sophistication of Chinese cyber operations and their implications for U.S. national security. Our guest breaks down how the PRC leverages trusted-relationship abuse, network edge exploitation, and AI-powered influence campaigns to infiltrate critical infrastructure, evade detection, and operate below escalation thresholds that limit allied responses. From supply chain compromises to the weaponization of artificial intelligence in information warfare, this conversation reveals the strategic chess game playing out in cyberspace—and what the U.S. and its allies must do to regain the advantage.

Visa CISO Subra Kumaraswamy joins Safe Mode to discuss the global scale and complexities of cybersecurity at Visa, from managing a billion transactions daily to maintaining a resilient, “paranoid” defensive posture. Subra reveals how his team blends innovation, threat intelligence, and layered security architectures—not just to protect Visa, but to uplift the wider payment ecosystem—including strategies for defending against supply chain attacks, leveraging AI, and preparing for deepfakes and post-quantum computing. The episode provides a look behind the scenes at how Visa is working to ensure trust and reliability in payments for its global network of cardholders, partners, and merchants.

Rebecca Krauthamer, CEO of QSecure, joins Safe Mode to delve into the rapidly shifting landscape of quantum computing and cybersecurity. The conversation covers the latest government and industry responses to the quantum threat, the urgency of adopting post-quantum encryption, and practical metrics for agencies and organizations. Listen in as the complexities and urgency of preparing for “Q-Day” are unpacked, offering key insights for policy makers, technologists, and anyone concerned with data security’s future.

On this week’s Safe Mode, Greg welcomes Jason Pufahl, VP of Security Services at Vancord. Jason shares deep insights into the evolving managed security landscape, focusing on challenges faced by small and mid-sized businesses and the practical fundamentals they need for strong cybersecurity. He also discusses the evolving role of CISA and the importance of making threat intelligence and resources broadly accessible to help organizations of all sizes strengthen their cybersecurity posture.

In this episode of Safe Mode, Betsy Cooper, founding director of the Aspen Institute’s Policy Academy, details a new initiative designed to mobilize ordinary citizens as cybersecurity policy advocates. The Cyber Civic Engagement program, supported by Craig Newmark Philanthropies’ Take9 campaign, offers virtual training sessions to equip participants with effective communication techniques, policy writing know-how, and access to one-on-one advocacy coaching. As digital threats multiply, Cooper argues that community storytelling and grassroots engagement are essential tools for prompting government action and ensuring critical local services are protected.