Safe Mode Podcast

Amid the endless hype about AI — how it will either revolutionize the world or end it as we know it — Sayash Kapoor is a rare voice of reason. A PhD candidate at Princeton University and a researcher at the Center for Information Technology and Policy, he is also the author of the newsletter AI Snake Oil, an essential resource to understand AI, its risks, and what to do about them. On this episode of Safe Mode, he sits down with host Elias Groll to discuss his research around AI risk, how best to understand it and the interventions necessary to better study AI models. CyberScoop reporter Tim Starks and FedScoop reporter Rebecca Heilweil also join the show to describe how U.S. federal agencies have been affected by a breach of Microsoft carried out by a notorious Russian hacking group.

In order to deliver major improvement in the security of the digital systems we all rely on, the Biden administration has embarked on a major initiative known as secure by design. That initiative aims to build more secure hardware and software by prioritizing security in the design process and asks developers to rethink how they approach building products. So can it be done? On this episode of Safe Mode, the veteran cybersecurity executive Dave Aitel, who spent six years at the National Security Agency before founding the security firm Immunity, sits down with host Elias Groll to offer a hacker’s perspective on secure by design. CyberScoop reporter Christian Vasquez joins the show to discuss the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s proposed new rules for when critical infrastructure entities will have to report cybersecurity incidents.

Journalist Byron Tau sits down with host Elias Groll to discuss his eye-opening book about commercially available data. CyberScoop reporter Derek B. Johnson joins the show to discuss recent indictments and sanctions targeting Chinese hackers accused of surveilling politicians and dissidents.

When ChatGPT debuted in the fall of 2022, it set the internet ablaze and opened many people’s eyes to the capabilities of a new generation of machine learning technology. It also caught the attention of some of the world’s most sophisticated hackers. For the companies developing leading edge AI models, preventing hackers from misusing them now represents a key challenge. Sherrod DeGrippo is the director of threat intelligence strategy at Microsoft, and on this episode of Safe Mode sits down with host Elias Groll to discuss how state-backed hackers are experimenting with AI tools. CyberScoop reporter Christian Vasquez also joins the show to discuss how industrial cybersecurity experts are responding to Chinese hacking operations targeting critical infrastructure.

Kiersten Todt has worked on just about every hot-button cybersecurity issue you can imagine. Currently the CEO of Liberty Group Ventures, her most recent role in government was as the chief of staff at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. As a Senate staffer, she drafted key parts of the legislation that created the Department of Homeland Security, and during the Obama years, she was the executive director of the Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity. She sits down with host Elias Groll for a wide-ranging conversation about the cybersecurity policy landscape. CyberScoop reporter Derek B. Johnson also joins the show to discuss his reporting on how election officials are preparing for the ways AI might disrupt this fall’s elections.

Every day, AI models are being deployed in new places, and that is creating demand for a new industry: companies that secure AI systems. Whether it’s preventing models from being used to write malicious code or creating spearphishing emails or keeping safe the data that companies are using to train AI systems, large language models raise a host of new security challenges. David Haber is the CEO of Lakera, a start-up that builds tools to keep AI models secure, and he sits down with host Elias Groll to discuss this new industry and how companies are approaching the challenge of securing AI systems. CyberScoop reporter AJ Vicens joins the show to discuss a ransomware attack by the group known as ALPHV that has caused major disruptions to the U.S. health care systems.

In recent months, U.S. security officials have issued a series of dire warnings about the hacking threat to American critical infrastructure. According to a chorus of intelligence officials, Chinese hacking groups have infiltrated U.S. critical infrastructure entities like ports and power grids, prepositioning themselves in the event of a conflict. But Chinese hackers are just one part of the threat landscape facing critical infrastructure entities. Dragos CEO Robert M. Lee is on the frontline of protecting critical infrastructure entities and he sits down with host Elias Groll to discuss how Chinese operations are shifting. CyberScoop reporter AJ Vicens joins the show to discuss claims by LockBit that the ransomware group has returned following last week’s takedown operation.

When Hamas fighters crossed into Israel on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 Israelis and kidnapping hundreds more, it marked a new era of the conflict between Israel and an array of militant groups. Most of that conflict has played out in the form of brutal, bloody fighting, but it has also taken place online in the form of cyber operations. Adam Meyers, Crowdstrike’s head of counter adversary operations, sits down with host Elias Groll to discuss how the digital dimensions of the conflict have played out. CyberScoop reporter AJ Vicens also joins the show to discuss a wide-ranging takedown operation targeting the LockBit ransomware gang.

Whether you call it hacking or legitimate security research, getting computers to do things that they shouldn’t is an activity that exists in a legal gray area. Sometimes, hackers acting in good faith will find themselves on the other end of a cease-and-desist letter, a lawsuit, or even a prosecution. A new initiative called the Security Research Legal Defense Fund is trying to make sure that white hat hackers who do find themselves in trouble have the legal representation they need. Harley Geiger is the founder of the Security Research Legal Defense Fund and is also a cybersecurity lawyer at Venable. He sits down with host Elias Groll to discuss his work funding legal aid for hackers. CyberScoop reporter AJ Vicens joins the show to discuss calls by major tech companies for governments to do more to combat commercial spyware.

Everyone seems to agree that AI is going to revolutionize warfare, but exactly how is very much up for debate. Jack Shanahan has worked at the center of the U.S. military’s attempt to integrate AI into how wars are fought. In 2020, he retired as a Lieutenant General from the U.S. Air Force after a 36-year career. He was the inaugural director of the Department of Defense’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center and was the first director of the Pentagon’s Algorithmic Warfare Cross-Functional Team, better known as Project Maven. He sits down with host Elias Groll to discuss how the U.S. military is integrating AI into its warfighting capabilities. Reporter Derek B. Johnson joins the show to discuss his reporting about how state election officials are preparing for 2024. Links: Deepfakes, dollars and ‘deep state’ fears: Inside the minds of election officials heading into 2024 | CyberScoop New Hampshire authorities trace Biden AI robocall to Texas-based telecom | CyberScoop