Cyber Uncut

In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, Major General (Ret’d) Gus McLachlan, former Commander Forces Command, joins hosts Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson and Liam Garman to unpack modern asymmetrical warfare: from the Taliban in Afghanistan to Chinese Coast Guard vessels in the Philippine Sea, and even how social media is spurring political divisions. The podcast begins by analysing what grey zone warfare looks like in the modern geopolitical environment, from resource competition to militarisation of civilian capabilities to compel an adversary beneath the threshold of armed conflict. The trio then discuss lessons from the Taliban in Afghanistan, including the utilisation of information to seize control of the narrative. They then examine the need to seize freedom of manoeuvre in the online domain, and the risks of forfeiting social media. Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team

In this episode of Cyber Uncut, Shaq Johnson – ANZ bank’s head of customer protection – joins hosts David Hollingworth and Liam Garman to break down the current scam landscape in Australia, from what the scammers are doing to the real, personal impacts of falling victim to a scam. As Hollingworth says in the podcast, 164,111 scams have been reported to the National Anti-Scam Centre’s Scamwatch already this year, so while scams are slowing down, it’s still a significant challenge. Our discussion with Johnson opens with what some of the most reported scams are and how they work. Johnson then goes into the challenges that ANZ and other banks face, from tracing accounts linked to money mules and offshore organised scam organisations to whether scam victims should be reimbursed once they’ve fallen victim and sent money to a scammer. Finally, Johnson explains the unique challenges of being a first responder to scam victims and outlines the approach ANZ takes to support its employees on the coalface of the fight against scammers. Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team

In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, hosts Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson, inaugural head of the ADF’s Information Warfare Division, Phil Tarrant and Liam Garman unpack the importance of long-range strike as a deterrent and how Australia is uplifting its cyber and information warfare capabilities. MAJGEN (Ret’d) Thompson begins unpacking the benefits of establishing the ADF’s Cyber Command, drawing together the cyber capabilities of each of the services and enhancing the integrated force’s warfighting effects. They then examine Iran’s cyber operations against the Republican Party in the US, and whether Australia and the US should consider expanding ANZUS. The trio then discuss the acquisition of the B21 to provide redundancy as Australia procures nuclear-powered submarines and the need to develop clear doctrine across the electromagnetic spectrum. Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team

Welcome to the inaugural episode of the Contested Ground podcast, where hosts Major General (Ret’d) Marcus Thompson, Phil Tarrant and Liam Garman unpack how nations vie for influence below the threshold of armed conflict. In this episode, the hosts unpack how foreign actors sought to stoke tensions during the recent English riots and how social media echo chambers have caused a deep division in society. The hosts then look closer to home and how the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) recently raised Australia’s terror threat level, analysing a range of factors that have contributed to this, including how communities responded to the 7 October attacks in Israel. They wrap up the podcast debating whether the government and police should monitor speech online, and to what extent. Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team

In this episode of Cyber Uncut, James Blake, head of global cyber resiliency strategy at Cohesity, joins host Liam Garman to discuss how businesses can respond to destructive ransomware and wiper attacks – and why chief information security officers (CISOs) should perceive backups as a secret weapon in the fight against malicious actors.  The pair begin the podcast by analysing what the new-era ransomware and wiper attacks look like and how they can stop a business – even in critical industries – from delivering for their clients. Blake then unpacks the challenges behind incident containment before diving into Cohesity’s recent research, which showed alarming statistics on the number of Australian businesses that have paid ransoms. The pair wrap up the podcast by discussing how businesses must leverage backups in order to ensure business continuity, as Blake explains why backups are a CISO’s secret weapon in the war against malicious actors.  Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team

In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, Peter Maloney, CEO and managing director of AUCloud, joins host Liam Garman to examine the 71 per cent year-on-year increase in cyber attacks against healthcare systems and the risks that this will pose for regular Australians. The pair begin the podcast by unpacking key findings from the 2024 Cyber Security Healthcare Report and the key factors that contribute to this alarming trend. Maloney then provides insight into the Monash Health and MediSecure data breaches and what steps that healthcare providers must take to prevent future breaches. They wrap up the podcast by looking at the ethical implications of healthcare data breaches, while Maloney details the must-need strategies and technologies to ameliorate this risk. Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team

In this episode of the Cyber Daily podcast, Phil Tarrant, Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson, and Liam Garman unpack how society must come to terms with the growing magnitude of IT mishaps and recent changes to Australia’s cyber security leadership.  The podcast begins by analysing the CrowdStrike IT outage and how IT mishaps will increasingly threaten society as we know it – discussing alternatives, including supplier diversification for business and government redundancies.  They then discuss the appointment of Minister Tony Burke as Australia’s new cyber security minister and whether his responsibilities – including the portfolios of home affairs, immigration, arts and cyber security, will give cyber enough time around the cabinet table.  They wrap up by looking at how local government continues to be a weak link in Australia’s cyber security chain.  Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team

In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, Lesley Carhart, director of incident response for North America at Dragos, joins host Liam Garman to unpack how businesses can improve their ICS/OT cyber processes, before giving some tangible advice for business leaders on how they can build their incident response plans. The pair begin the podcast by unpacking some common and emerging threat trends being observed across ICS environments and how companies need to build a bridge between IT and OT teams to protect assets. Carhart then details why OT security is so immature relative to IT security and shares some practical steps that organisations must take to protect their ICS. The podcast wraps up with some tangible advice on how businesses can build incident response plans, ensuring that they can streamline the resumption of operations in the event of a cyber incident. Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team

In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, Phil Tarrant, Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson, and Liam Garman analyse the genesis of the Optus and Medibank hacks before debating the return of Julian Assange to Australia. The pair begin the podcast by pulling apart recent findings on the cause of the Optus and Medibank hacks, as well as the regulatory responses from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) and the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). Tarrant, MAJGEN (Ret’d) Thompson, and Garman then share their thoughts on the ongoing Assange controversy and how WikiLeaks not only sowed political discord but also put the lives of Australian soldiers at risk. The podcast wraps up by unpacking the role of artificial intelligence in prosecuting information operations. Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team

In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Cyber Security Clare O’Neil joins Cyber Daily editor Liam Garman to unpack how the Albanese government aims to make Australia the world’s most cyber secure nation by 2030 and give firsthand insight into upcoming cyber security legislation to keep us safe online.  The pair begin the podcast by going behind the curtain to see what threats keep Minister O'Neil up at night, and how the government is tackling such a broad array of online threats - from phishing attacks, to credential stuffing and insider threats.  Minister O'Neil then shares her thoughts on the recent Deloitte report on the Optus attack, and clears up some common questions on SOCI/SLACIP. The podcast wraps up by looking at some upcoming cyber security legislation and what the future of digital transformation looks like in Australia.  Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team