Safe Mode Podcast

Writer and researcher Bilyana Lilly breaks down how private sector and government assistance to Ukraine has helped stop many Russian cyberattacks targeting Ukraine. CyberScoop reporter Tonya Riley and Safe Mode host Mike Farrell discuss kids online safety legislation moving forward in the U.S. Congress.

Thinking like a hacker means finding creative solutions to big problems, discovering flaws in order to make improvements and often subverting conventional thinking. Bruce Schneier, a cryptographer, security professional and author, talks about the benefits for society when people apply that kind of logic to issues other than computers. In an interview with CyberScoop Editor-in-Chief Mike Farrell, he talks about the need to hack Democracy to rebuild it, how to get ahead of the potential peril from AI and the future of technology – both the good and bad. Elias Groll joins the show to discuss the story of a Chinese hack and why it has put Microsoft under a microscope in Washington.

Cyberattacks have played a significant role in the war in Ukraine. Officials in Washington and Kyiv have blamed Russian hackers for targeting satellite systems and using digital assaults to execute disinformation and psychological warfare campaigns. Victor Zhora, the deputy chairman of the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine, is actively involved in defending against those attacks and talks to Safe Mode about the evolution of cyberwar in Ukraine. CyberScoop reporter AJ Vicens also joins the show to talk about his reporting on the cybercrime underworld and hacker forums such as BreachForums.

There’s growing concern about the existential dangers of AI. At the same time, there’s boundless optimism about its potential for good. Anne Neuberger, White House deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology, sits down with Elias Groll, CyberScoop senior editor, to talk about how the administration thinks about the best approaches to limit AI harms without getting in the way of innovation. CyberScoop reporter Tonya Riley joins Safe Mode host Mike Farrell to discuss a recent lawsuit involving OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, as well as White House cyber priorities and an approach to regulating AI that borrows from post-war arms control schemes.

When the FBI seized the website earlier this year operated by the Hive ransomware group, it was the result of the bureau's efforts to infiltrate the infrastructure that cybercrime groups rely on to carry out their attacks. The bureau has set out to get inside these group’s networks, destroy them from the inside, help victims and prevent ransomware. Cynthia Kaiser, deputy assistant director within the FBI’s Cyber Division, joins Safe Mode to talk about the Hive takedown and what else the bureau is doing to fight cybercrime. CyberScoop reporter Tonya Riley joins Safe Mode host Mike Farrell to talk about the digital privacy implications of the Dobbs ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade last year, a fascinating story about an Iranian hacking group and some ways that people are misusing open-source AI models.

Pig butchering has become an all-too-common online con that costs victims millions of dollars annually. And there’s little remedy for a growing number of victims. But Erin West, a California prosecutor, has made it her mission to fight back against these scams and the people executing them. She talks with CyberScoop Editor-in-Chief Mike Farrell about the origin of pig butchering, how scammers dupe their victims and what tech companies can do to help prevent the schemes from proliferating. Elias Groll, CyberScoop Senior Editor, also joins the episode to talk about the week’s headlines, discussing the MOVEit breach, the Cl0p ransomware gang, surveillance reform in Congress and Chinese hacking.

You've probably noticed that hackers are changing the world. Everday, data breaches are putting you at risk. Privacy invading apps are chasing your attention. Spies are treating the online world as their playground. Safe Mode is your guide to the murky, often bizarre, always fascinating world of cyberspace. Every week we break down the most pressing issues in technology, provide you the knowledge and tools to stay ahead of the latest threats and take you behind the scenes of the biggest stories in cybersecurity. Our sources are the hackers poking at your systems, the technologists working at the cutting edge, and the researchers and policy makers trying to understand this strange world. Together, we'll help you navigate what's happening in the online world and maybe figure out how to make it a bit better. This is Safe Mode, your weekly guide to everything cybersecurity and digital privacy, brought to you by CyberScoop.