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Latest Episodes:

13. Spyware and ‘a world of Bond villains’ May 03, 2022

Show notes

Ron Deibert founded The Citizen Lab, a high-tech human rights watchdog at the University of Toronto. He's concerned the Internet could unleash our darkest angels. Now, he has an even bigger worry: spyware. It's become so normalized even democratic nations are using it as high-tech oppo research. Plus, a pause in open source mapping in Ukraine.

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12. Lapsus$: The script kiddies are alright Apr 26, 2022

Show notes

How a new cyber extortion team called LAPSUS$ managed to convince the world that it had turned low-tech hacking operations into high impact heists. And two high-schoolers who tinkered with a punch card and almost brought down the IBM computer center in Manhattan.

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11. The entrepreneur and the Jihadist Apr 19, 2022

Show notes

A Los Angeles tech entrepreneur reveals for the first time the role he played in bringing one of the world’s deadliest hackers to justice. And the founder of Craigslist talks about his effort to build a cyber civil defense force.

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10. Are America’s nuclear systems so old they’re un-hackable? Apr 12, 2022

Show notes

In its latest defense budget, the Biden Administration has asked Congress to fund the modernization of America’s nuclear weapons systems.The current system – that until recently was still using eight inch floppies – is seen as so old that it’s virtually un-hackable. So if you modernize, now what? Plus, cyber hits from Nigeria’s music scene.

SHOW NOTES:

At The Brink podcast

Herb Lin's book Cyber Threats and Nuclear Weapons

How cybercrime remixed the Nigerian Music scene

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9. The rise of high-tech despotism Apr 05, 2022

Show notes

Noura Al-Jizawi thought she’d left the repression of the Assad regime behind her when she left Syria with her sister. Instead she became the target of an online subversion campaign. Plus, we meet the founder of a retro computer museum in Mariupol, Ukraine.

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8. War, sanctions and crypto’s big moment Mar 29, 2022

Show notes

As sanctions squeeze the Russian economy, ordinary Russians are having to navigate a financial system in mid-collapse. For some, the solution has been cryptocurrencies. We talk to a small businessman in St. Petersburg who explains. Plus, the hack heard ‘round the indie music world.

SHOW NOTES:

Grimes Admits to Blackmail, Extortion, and Hacking in Vanity Fair Video Interview

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7. Fighting Russia with computers, not rifles Mar 22, 2022

Show notes

A volunteer army made up of thousands of IT professionals from around the world is seeking to fight Russia in cyberspace. We talk to some of its members and discover new limits to Russia’s hacking efforts.

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6. 'Baggage from a severely harmed relationship' Mar 15, 2022

Show notes

Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman explains how we – in a few short years – went from a controversial phone call between an American president and Ukrainian leader to the largest territorial aggression in Europe since WWII. Plus, Ukraine’s all volunteer IT Army.

SHOW NOTES:

Here, Right Matters

The Day After Russia Attacks

America Must Do More to Help Ukraine Fight Russia

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5. Conti leaks: the Panama Papers of ransomware Mar 08, 2022

Show notes

Not long after the Conti ransomware group threw its weight behind Vladimir Putin and the invasion of Ukraine someone leaked two years’ of its internal chat logs. What they’ve revealed has rocked the cyber world and made clear that running a world-class ransomware operation isn’t as easy as it used to be. Plus, a new look at information warfare with author Amy Zegart.

SHOW NOTES:

Conti ransomware gang chats leaked by pro-Ukraine member

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4. 'They are fighting like lions' Mar 01, 2022

Show notes

The most surprising thing about the Russian invasion of Ukraine – aside from the invasion itself – is how small a role cyber operations have played to this point. That’s likely to change. Plus the administration’s unusual weapon against misinformation campaigns: declassifying intelligence.

SHOW NOTES:

Russia appears to deploy digital defenses after DDoS attacks

Biden: U.S. ‘prepared to respond’ to Russian cyberattacks as invasion of Ukraine continues

Russia or Ukraine: Hacking groups take sides

NetBlocks tracking internet disruptions

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