Cyber Uncut

In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, hosts David Hollingworth and Daniel Croft discuss a widespread hacking campaign by a network of hacktivist groups and an alleged data breach impacting United States Marine Corps personnel. The pair also catch up on the evolving case of the apparent assassination of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO and talk about the threat of Chinese espionage operations against telecommunications companies. Hollingworth and Croft begin by breaking down a campaign by a raft of pro-Russian and pro-Palestine hacktivist groups that recently targeted more than 60 Australian organisations, taking websites offline, defacing others, and even getting into a handful of operational technology environments. Croft then breaks down an alleged data breach that saw the personal details of thousands of US Marine Corps personnel leaked on a popular hacking forum. He also goes into some detail about the challenges of reporting and investigating data leaks. Finally, Hollingworth and Croft catch up on the latest developments in the case of the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and then share stories from a pair of recent discussions with experts from CrowdStrike and BlackBerry regarding the insidious threat of Chinese espionage efforts in the telecommunications sector. Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team

In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, special host Steve Kuper is joined by co-host Major General (Ret’d) Marcus Thompson and AMP’s chief economist, Shane Oliver, to discuss the latest economic data and what it means for the nation’s economic and national security. The trio discuss the recently released Australian gross domestic product figures and the impact of Australia’s ailing economy on national security. They also discuss: Australia’s collapsing productivity and the growth of record government spending on the national economy and the baked-in, long-term structural deficits that will characterise the future fiscal outlook for the country. The need to boost economic complexity and diversity to better prepare the nation to face the mounting geopolitical and “whole-of-nation” efforts being leveraged against Australia in this new multipolar world and how best to deliver such a monumental change. The urgent need for a serious national debate with the Australian public about the future of the country and its economic future and the intersection of national security. Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team

In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, hosts Liam Garman and Daniel Croft discuss recent changes in Australian cyber policy and recent cyber crime activity. The two debate the controversial social media ban and the use of AI in university assessments, before discussing a website defacement case that could be the start of something much bigger, as well as the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. The podcast begins with a discussion of Sydney University’s move to allow students to use AI tools for assessments, one that Croft believes could prepare students for a future AI workplace, while Garman thinks it deprives students of higher, critical thought. The two then debate the recently passed social media age ban, what it means for young people’s mental health on and offline and the way it was approached by the government. Croft then outlines a case of website defacement on an Australian disability service provider, which could be the start of a wider campaign, as the threat group has begun forming alliances with other cyber criminals, all with their sights on Australia. Finally, Garman and Croft don their tinfoil hats to speculate on theories as to why the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, which had suffered a massive ransomware attack this year, was gunned down in New York. Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team

In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, special host Steve Kuper is joined by Jennifer Parker, expert associate at the National Security College, Australian National University and a former Navy officer, to discuss the growing need for an Australian Coast Guard. The pair discuss the mounting level of hybrid and grey zone warfare in the maritime commons and economic exclusion zones across the Indo-Pacific and Southeast Asia, which has prompted a radical shift among regional nations seeking to secure their maritime interests. The pair also discuss: The impact on the naval surface fleet as it is increasingly called upon to engage in maritime border patrol and security missions across Australia’s vast maritime area of responsibility. The regional trend towards establishing a formalised Coast Guard to ease the burden on regional navies and a variety of models available for Australian consideration. The history of Australia’s push towards developing a Coast Guard and the opportunity to provide an additional contributing capability for national security in the event of conflict in the region. Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team

In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson, Liam Garman and Phil Tarrant unpack findings from the Australian Signals Directorate’s (ASD) Annual Cyber Threat Report 2023-2024 and the challenge of building a governance framework that disrupts the purveyors of disinformation.  The trio unpack findings from the ASD, in particular the ongoing risk Australia’s critical infrastructure providers face at the hand of adversarial nation-state actors, and how Australia must prepare for this growing risk.  They then discuss what governance frameworks the government can implement to disrupt the proliferation of disinformation and misinformation online, while being careful to protect liberal values such as freedom of expression.  Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team

In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, hosts David Hollingworth and Daniel Croft break down the last week in the cyber world. We talk politics, policy, and the truly terrible legislation that is the social media ban, before moving on to talk about recent ransomware attacks and data breaches impacting Australian businesses. The podcast begins with Croft unpacking the new Cyber Security Act that passed into law this week, before both joining in for a discussion with Hollingworth about the social media age ban that is being more or less rammed through Parliament. The pair lay out their objections to the legislation, the harm it might do the children it is trying to protect, and how it might be enforced. Croft then outlines a data breach that may be impacting up to 47,000 Telstra employees, while Hollingworth launches into some background on a new ransomware gang, SafePay, that has been targeting Australian businesses. Finally, the pair wrap up with a general discussion on some of the pitfalls of cyber security reporting. Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team

In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, independent cyber security executive Tony Vizza and Lumify lead cyber security trainer Louis Cremen join host Liam Garman to discuss whether boards truly understand cyber security risks – and whether they are doing enough to manage them.  They begin the podcast by unpacking how boards can have a greater understanding of the risk of cyber incidents to organisations and how they differ from other elements of risk that face businesses.  Vizza and Cremen then discuss whether board members are told the full story by management and whether they should undertake their own cyber security training. The podcast wraps up by analysing the security implications of AI and how businesses can prepare their incident response plans. Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team

In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, Genetec’s Asia-Pacific sales engineering and services manager, Lee Shelford, joins host Liam Garman to discuss the world of physical security and how Genetec’s software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution is keeping public and private organisations safe.  The podcast begins analysing the evolution of physical security, from rudimentary alarm systems to today’s SaaS-enabled physical control solutions.  Shelford then discusses how this solution keeps businesses safe: from using data analytics to streamline access control to automating endpoint cyber security.  The pair then discuss the myth of the airgap, and the company’s expansion into the Australia-New Zealand market, with Australia proving to be a world leader in this technology. They wrap up by discussing how Genetec helps businesses on their journey, whether they want cloud-enabled physical security devices or on-premises capabilities.  Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team

In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, shadow minister for communications and federal member for Banks David Coleman joins host Liam Garman to discuss the recent misinformation bill that will leave free speech and political discourse in Australia. They begin the podcast with a recap of what’s in the bill, including how the government will determine what constitutes misinformation or disinformation. Coleman and Garman then unpack some unforeseen consequences of the bill, including how it may impact religious freedoms and genuine political discourse. The podcast wraps up discussing the government’s push to remove under-16s from social media. Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team

In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, host Liam Garman is joined by Aaron Bugal, field chief technology officer at Sophos, to unpack how businesses can keep themselves safe in the face of an ever-evolving threat environment.  The pair begin the podcast by examining recent research from the company’s X-Ops division and how professionals should prioritise disrupting criminal networks with a reminder that ransomware is merely a means to an end for attackers.  They then examine how AI is being used to detect threats and the need for businesses to adopt zero-trust security modes. Bugal and Garman then wrap up by looking at the evolving characteristics of ransomware and how businesses can employ geo-blocking.  Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team