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 Defence Connect Podcast, host Steve Kuper is joined by John Storey, director of law and policy at the Institute of Public Affairs, to discuss the third of the IPA’s Defence of Australia report series.  The pair discuss the significant collaborative research being conducted by the Institute of Public Affairs and Strategic Analysis Australia to stimulate conversation and debate about the need to urgently accelerate the nation’s defence and defence industry capabilities.  The pair also discuss:  Core suggestions around reforming the existing Defence procurement processes and procedures that are hindering our acceleration of capability acquisition.  The urgent need to begin stockpiling critical war stocks, including ammunition, liquid fuel, pharmaceuticals and other critical resources that would otherwise leave the national economy unable to function. The creation of an Australian Industry Mobilisation and Resilience Council to plan for how Australia’s non-defence sectors can be mobilised in case of war. Enjoy the podcast, The Defence Connect team

In this episode of the Defence Connect Spotlight podcast, Andrew Balmaks, defence and national security industry lead at Atturra, joins host Liam Garman to discuss enterprise risk management for Defence. They begin the podcast discussing how Defence is managing risk at a group and enterprise level, before unpacking how Atturra leverages its unique expertise from resources and other sectors to support Defence. The pair then discuss the impediments to effective risk planning and management, and why things go wrong even when risk management systems are in place. They wrap up the podcast unpacking what “good” looks like in developing leading risk frameworks. Enjoy the podcast, The Defence Connect 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 Defence Connect Podcast, host Steve Kuper is joined by Chris Deeble AO CSC, Deputy Secretary, Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group (CASG), as they unpack the formative year that has been for Australia’s burgeoning defence industry. The pair discuss the significant work currently underway to reform Australia’s defence capability acquisition and procurement ecosystem, including: The key lessons for CASG through the engagement, development and now delivery phases of the government’s Defence Industry Development Strategy. How Australia is working with like-minded nations, in particular the United States and the United Kingdom, and their efforts to modernise their own defence industrial bases. The key priorities central to delivering the next stage of the Defence Industry Development Strategy over the next 12 months. Enjoy the podcast, The Defence Connect team

In this episode of the Defence Connect Spotlight Podcast, host Steve Kuper is joined by Andy Wilson, CEO of Advent Atum, and Vasyl Myroshnychenko, Ukrainian ambassador to Australia, where they unpack the transformation of the modern battlefield by artificial intelligence (AI) in Ukraine. The trio discuss a range of topics, including: The role Australian artificial intelligence company Advent Atum plays on the ground in Ukraine, through the integration of advanced AI capabilities into the Ukrainian air defence network. The scale and scope of AI innovation currently transforming the modern battlefield and providing Ukraine with a potent asymmetric warfare capability and levelling the playing field against the larger Russian forces. Lessons for Australia regarding the proliferation of advanced AI capabilities and the powerful role it can play in easing the manpower requirements for small militaries like Australia. Enjoy the podcast, The Defence Connect 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 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