
Cyber Uncut
Cyber Uncut brings you the key decision makers and cutting edge innovators shaping Australia's cyber revolution.
From cyber security to artificial intelligence and information systems, discover how businesses and government are navigating the transition to a digital future.
Join Momentum Media’s Phil Tarrant, defence and national security podcaster, Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson AM – former head of the ADF’s Information Warfare Division, and Liam Garman, editor of Cyber Daily, as they dive head first into the latest breaking news shaping our interconnected world.
Get in touch, get your questions answered by our experts or share your stories. Contact cyber@momentummedia.com.au
For daily news and analysis visit www.cyberdaily.au
Latest episodes

Mar 14, 2025 • 41min
Helping executives understand company cyber security, with 4walls’ Nik Devidas
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, 4walls founder and managing director Nik Devidas sat down with host Liam Garman to discuss the technological knowledge gap between company boards and strong cyber security and how 4walls is closing it. The podcast starts by outlining how boards can be overwhelmed with technical language and information when dealing with cyber security. The pair then discuss the concept of maintaining and updating an understanding of cyber security to keep up with an ever-evolving landscape. Speaking of a changing landscape, Devidas and Garman finish up by weighing up the impact of AI on the cyber security landscape and how organisations are adopting the technology without introducing protective controls. Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team

4 snips
Mar 7, 2025 • 42min
Ransomware trends, AI and the fight against cyber crime, with Sophos’ Aaron Bugal
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, Aaron Bugal, field chief technology officer at Sophos, sits down with host Liam Garman to talk about the fight against ransomware, the growing threat to Australian businesses, and what can be done to tackle the problem. The podcast opens with a discussion of ransomware trends and how cyber criminals choose their targets based on vulnerability and opportunity. Bugal then expands on how AI is a tool both for malicious actors and cyber defenders and explains how Sophos is deploying AI to help businesses better protect themselves from an array of threats. Garman and Bugal wrap up the podcast with some practical advice for Australian businesses and how they can prepare to face a critical cyber incident. Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team

Mar 6, 2025 • 27min
CONTESTED GROUND: Alliance abandonment and realpolitik in global affairs
In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, hosts Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson, Phil Tarrant and Liam Garman unpack the risk of alliance abandonment in the face of moves from the White House and their implications for a changing Asia-Pacific region. The podcast begins with an analysis into how fears of alliance abandonment have led to renewed commitments to national security collaboration between European powers. They then unpack whether "deal making" is a strong enough consideration to overcome ideological and philosophical partnerships in the competition for global power. Dr Thompson, Tarrant and Garman wrap up the podcast looking at hedging and balancing strategies in the Indo-Pacific, and whether realpolitik will take centre stage as nations continuously manoeuvre their alliance structures. Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team

Feb 28, 2025 • 44min
DeepSeek car troubles, healthcare hacks, and AI video madness
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, host David Hollingworth and journalist Daniel Croft talk about AI in Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), a horrible week for Aussie healthcare organisations, and unspeakable deepfake videos. Hollingworth and Croft begin by catching up on a report from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute on the possible dangers posed by Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers adopting DeepSeek for in-car AI. The pair then run down the latest news in Australian cyber crime, with three healthcare organisations – including the fertility clinic Genea – getting targeted by hackers, and discuss the implications of medical data going public and the very real dangers it poses to patients. Then, to round out the week, Hollingworth and Croft try not to cry while talking about a ludicrous AI-generated video illustrating Donald Trump’s holiday resort fantasy for Gaza and a horrifying deepfake of Trump and Elon Musk in an awkwardly intimate encounter. Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team

Feb 23, 2025 • 34min
More DeepSeek dramas, ransomware-as-a-service on the rise, and hacked games spread malware
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, host David Hollingworth and journalist Daniel Croft discuss the week that was with DeepSeek versus South Korea, the latest ransomware news, and two malware campaigns spreading their payloads via video games. Hollingworth and Croft open with what is becoming a regular chat about the trials and travails of Chinese AI DeepSeek, which this week violated South Korean data privacy laws. The pair also discuss Elon Musk’s attempt to buy out OpenAI and his efforts to ban chat-up Signal on his X platform. Hollingworth then discusses how ransomware-as-a-service operations are driving a sharp increase in ransomware attacks. The pair then discuss some of the more alarming Australian hacks this week: the Australian National University and IVF clinic Genea. Finally, it’s time to talk video games, with game distribution platform Steam pulling a game that was spreading an info stealer, and a seemingly Russian campaign that was installing crypto-mining malware via torrented games. Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team

Feb 20, 2025 • 39min
CONTESTED GROUND: The expanding world of state-sponsored cyber warfare
In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, host Liam Garman welcomes Cyber Daily's David Hollingworth, a cyber security expert and Cyber Uncut podcast host, to unpack the latest in hacking and cyber security in the new era of grey-zone warfare and nation-state cyber attacks. They begin the podcast examining real world examples of warfare-motivated hacking, threat actors for hire, the impact of cyber threats and incidents for nations around the world. They then discuss the differences between "smash-and-grab" ransomware attacks with persistent and embedded state-sponsored cyber attacks. The podcast wraps up examining the increasing speed, accuracy and impact of cyber attacks on industry and government infrastructure across international lines. Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team

Feb 14, 2025 • 35min
DeepSeek is still a thing, CommBank has an outage, and happy Valentine’s Day!
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, host David Hollingworth talks about all the latest AI and cyber news with journalist Daniel Croft - more local ransomware attacks, more data breaches, and scams to watch out for. Hollingworth and Croft open once again with all the latest AI news, from more bans of the Chinese chatbot DeepSeek to Elon Musk and a whole bunch of venture capitalists wanting to buy OpenAI to Sam Altman's promise that AI will inevitably get cheaper over time. The pair then discuss the week of cyber attacks against Australian organisations. From medical imaging data of Aussies being posted to the dark web to a ransomware gang taking responsibility for hacking an Australian university, it's been a grim week in cyber crime. Finally, it's Valentine's Day, and scammers will be out in force, so Hollingworth runs through some common scams to watch out for. Croft then discusses a win for Australian investigators against a Russian hosting service facilitating hackers targeting local companies and individuals. Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team

Feb 7, 2025 • 42min
More DeepSeek musings, how ransomware reporting works, and North Korea at it again
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, host Liam Garman quizzes Cyber Daily’s deputy editor, David Hollingworth, on geopolitics, cyber crime reporting, and the latest hacking news. Garman and Hollingworth begin with a discussion about DeepSeek and its geopolitical implications, as well as its biases and possible advantages over other GenAI products – and the fact that it probably cannot be trusted. Hollingworth then goes into a deep dive about cyber crime reporting: why it matters, how companies should include media response as part of their planning for attacks, and some of the ways companies can do better when handling that first phone call from a journalist planning on writing a story. The pair finish up by talking about North Korean hackers using LinkedIn to lure their victims into installing a swathe of malware and a general look at the state of cyber politics. Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team

Feb 6, 2025 • 32min
CONTESTED GROUND: Regaining the qualitative advantage
In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, hosts Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson, Liam Garman and Phil Tarrant unpack the latest in the AI race, and how the United States is seeking to use tariffs to regain the economic edge. They begin the podcast examining the DeepSeek phenomenon, why Nvidia share prices took a hit, and looking under the hood to see if the tech is as good as advertised. They then look at the recent threats and imposition of tariffs and how this will impact the US, and whether a strengthening US dollar is indicative of growing consumer optimism. The podcast wraps up examining the relationship between foreign aid and national security and moves in the US to suspend aid. Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team

Jan 31, 2025 • 39min
The meteoric rise of DeepSeek, Clop ransomware goes wild, and a hacker retires
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, hosts David Hollingworth and Daniel Croft look back on their week reporting on cyber crime in Australia and abroad. Croft opens the show with a round-up of the biggest story of the week – Chinese AI platform DeepSeek. From how it works, why it’s trashed NVIDIA’s stock, and the very real security concerns, DeepSeek is going to be a story for some time. Hollingworth then looks at the recent spate of ransomware posts made by the Clop gang – it promised last year that it had stolen a lot of data via vulnerabilities in Cleo’s file transfer software, and over the weekend, the gang posted the details of 60 victims, including three Australian firms. Finally, after talking about the dangers of mistaken identity in cyber crime reporting, the pair talk about infamous hacker IntelBroker and his decision to retire from the role of admin on a popular hacking forum. Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team