Cyber Security Uncut: Recent Episodes
Momentum Media
In an increasingly complex and hostile climate the battlefield has been set around cyber security.
Cyber Security Uncut brings you the key influencers, their stories, and the emerging technology that’s contributing to Australia’s resilience, security and growth.
Discover how business, government and our defence force are combating the rising threat of cyber attacks as Australia drives forward in its transition to a digital future.
Join Momentum Media’s Phil Tarrant, defence and national security podcaster, and his co-host Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson AM – former head of the ADF’s information warfare division – as they deliver the hard truth on cyber attacks and how Australia, and the nation’s businesses, are combating state-sponsored and criminal malicious cyber activity.
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.cybersecurityconnect.com.au
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, David Hollingworth and Daniel Croft discuss military AI, cyber warfare in the Middle East, the week in cyber security, and why the Pope is coming out swinging against AI.
- Hollingworth and Croft kick things off with AI news, including AI tech bros earning a military commission in the efforts to build battlefield AI and creators in the UK being told their art can, in fact, be used to train AI models.
- The pair then discuss the uptick in cyber activity due to the current conflict between Israel and Iran, as hacktivists on both sides take up digital arms. The discussion then moves on to the takedown of a prominent darknet drug market, and some of the big Australian hacks of the week.
- Hollingworth and Croft wind up with some good news, including the Pope siding with workers and creatives against the rise of AI, and some good AI news as USNW researchers work to develop a chatbot for hospital emergency departments.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, David Hollingworth and Daniel Croft talk about furry hacking collectives, a spree of ransomware attacks targeting Australian healthcare organisations, and good news for farmers.
- Hollingworth and Croft start their chat by catching up on a defacement campaign targeting a website administered by the US Department of Health and Human Services. AI-generated images of furries suddenly appeared overnight on the site, with the identity of the hackers – and whether or not they’re furries themselves – currently unknown.
- The pair then get more serious as they discuss the rapid rise of a new ransomware operation and its attacks on Australian healthcare providers. Global only started operating in June but already has three Aussie victims. Hollingworth and Croft discuss who the hackers might be and what their plans are for the future.
- Finally, the pair talk about some good news, with free new cyber security education resources being made available to Aussie farmers and the ACMA’s push to make telcos more supportive of the victims of domestic violence.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, David Hollingworth and Daniel Croft are joined by special guest Robert Dougherty of Defence Connect to talk about a Ukrainian hacking operation, ransomware attacks on Australian companies surge after a quiet spot, and a popular hacking forum returns.
- Hollingworth and Croft kick things off with Dougherty as they discuss an offer from Ukraine to assist the Australian Defence Force with integrating AI into combat operations, the uses of AI on the battlefield, and a daring Ukrainian cyber operation that targeted one of Russia’s most important builders of military aircraft.
- Cyber Daily’s two journalists then catch up on a busy week for Australian companies trying – and failing – to protect themselves from ransomware attacks. As it turns out, the quiet period talked about in the last episode was just a blip. The hacks, sadly, are back, and they continue to be disruptive, as Fire Rescue Victoria is continuing to learn following a 2022 cyber attack.
- Finally, the pair wrap up the podcast with news of BreachForum’s resurrection, and a welcome move from two IT security giants to clean up the realm of threat actor attribution. Names matter!
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team
In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, hosts Phil Tarrant, Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson and Liam Garman unpack the latest from Ukraine and the ongoing conflict in India-Pakistan, and how diaspora groups are expanding conflict beyond country borders.
- They begin the podcast discussing Australian schoolteacher Oscar Jenkins, who was sentenced to 13 years in prison by Russia.
- The trio then discuss the India-Pakistan conflict, and how it has drawn in regional powers and diaspora groups.
- They wrap up unpacking a European-Australian defence pact, and whether it will be sufficient to support Australian stability in the Indo-Pacific.
Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, David Hollingworth and Daniel Croft talk about Meta moving to use user data to train its AI, cyber attacks on local legal firms and boards, and new regulations requiring mandatory reporting of ransomware payments.
- Hollingworth and Croft kick things off with the news that a German data watchdog has been unable to stop Meta from using user data to train its new AI model. As they say, if the product is free, the product is you – and your Facebook posts.
- The pair then discuss the latest cyber attacks targeting Australian organisations, with both a Queensland law firm and the Legal Practice Board of Western Australia falling victim to ransomware attacks, as well as The Salvation Army getting listed on a darknet leak site. Hollingworth and Croft also discuss how attacks seem to have slowed down in the last month. Is it a trend or just a blip?
- Finally, the two wrap up the podcast with a discussion on a new Australian law coming into effect requiring organisations to report paying a ransom and its possible impact on the ransomware economy.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, host Liam Garman is joined by Thomas Fikentscher, CyberArk’s head of ANZ operations, to explore the company’s international business, cyber security trends, the importance of privileged access, and the importance of taking cyber security seriously.
- Garman and Fikentscher begin with a discussion on CyberArk’s international operations and recent trends regarding how businesses are looking at their networks and what’s essential to keep their operations running smoothly.
- The pair then discuss the importance of understanding and implementing privileged access to data and how that can keep critical infrastructure secure. Fikentscher talks about the recent blackouts in Spain and the challenges of introducing AI agents into workflows.
- Fikentscher discusses why modern privileged access management (PAM) must extend beyond traditional admin controls as organisations scale across cloud and AI environments. He explains it now needs to secure both human and machine identities, manage ephemeral access and integrate seamlessly into DevOps workflows.
- Finally, he emphasises the importance of a ‘security by design’ approach - embedding security into the architecture of systems and processes from the start to strengthen resilience and compliance, but also to help prevent security lapses that can disrupt business operations and impact bottom lines.
Enjoy the episode, The Cyber Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, David Hollingworth and Daniel Croft have a chat about everything, from the NSW government’s new drive to use AI to solve the housing crisis to deepfake takedowns, who may or may not be behind the hacking campaign targeting big-name UK retailers (still!), security issues at the Australian Taxation Office, and the relaunch of HaveIBeenPwned.
- Hollingworth and Croft start off with positive AI-related news, starting with the Trump administration’s decision to enact new laws regarding deepfake and revenge porn, before swivelling to the NSW state government’s plan to use AI to help address a housing construction backlog and grow the workforce.
- Then it’s straight into cyber crime, with more twists and turns from the highly disruptive hacking campaign targeting UK retailers. The pair discuss why one chain is leaking money like a sieve as it tries to rebuild, and why another is getting back on its feet. It’s a lesson everyone can learn from. Hollingworth and Croft wrap up this section of the podcast with a discussion of the ATO’s issues with identity theft following revelations that hackers had compromised some individual accounts and stolen funds.
- The pair wrap things up with news of one of their favourite research tools – HaveIBeenPwned – launching a V2 of its website, and how useful it is for average consumers and researchers alike.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, host Liam Garman is joined by Lee Shelford, sales engineering manager and cloud lead at Genetec, to explore how the company uses cutting-edge technology to help law enforcement agencies combat crime and build safer communities.
- The conversation begins with Genetec’s recent success in completing its IRAP assessment – a critical milestone in demonstrating the company’s commitment to cyber security and data protection. From there, Shelford shares how Genetec is working alongside some of the world’s leading law enforcement organisations to develop next-generation security solutions.
- Shelford dives into Genetec Cloudrunner, a powerful tool that enables law enforcement to track vehicles across vast distances – significantly aiding investigations and contributing to a reduction in criminal activity.
- The discussion then shifts to the Genetec Community Connect Program, which brings together a network of CCTV systems from various partners to provide real-time, integrated surveillance feeds to police and emergency services.
- Finally, Shelford explains how Genetec ensures the security and integrity of these systems, maintaining strong protections across all connected networks.
Enjoy the episode, The Cyber Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, David Hollingworth and Daniel Croft get into a deep ethical discussion after an AI-generated deepfake of a murder victim, untangle the deeply confusing saga of the DragonForce ransomware gang’s latest evolution, the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) breaches itself, and the insane back and forth between the People’s Republic of China and the CIA.
- Hollingworth and Croft begin with a robust discussion about a new AI development – using the technology to generate a deepfake video of a murder victim to be played in a US court as a victim impact statement. It’s a complex issue, and the pair try to find common ground – but they agree it’s a complex issue.
- The pair then get into the weeds, sorting out the truth regarding the DragonForce ransomware-as-a-service operation, which may or may not be taking over the RansomHub gang. Or maybe the gang is joining DragonForce? It’s all very confusing, and Hollingworth and
- Croft do their best to get to the bottom of a very confusing situation. They also discuss more details that have emerged from behind the scenes of the LockBit gang, and an accidental data breach at the Australian Human Rights Commission.
- Things get wrapped up with the CIA’s bizarre move to recruit Chinese spies, and the rather interesting response of some very dedicated and upset Chinese netizens. It’s spycraft in the 21st century, but not as you know it.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team
In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, host Liam Garman is joined by Tim Knight, author of the recently released book Gallipoli Soup, to discuss the Gallipoli campaign and how Knight used narrative to bring to life the challenges faced by both Australian and Turkish soldiers in World War I.
- The pair begin the podcast unpacking Knight’s research methodology, and how a passion for understanding led him to write Gallipoli Soup.
- They discuss how the book was written in a narrative format, with some fictional characters based heavily on memoirs and diary entries from soldiers, to shine a light on the conditions in Gallipoli.
- Knight shares some of his key lessons of the campaign, including the geopolitical and political events that led to Gallipoli.
Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, David Hollingworth and Daniel Croft discuss Meta’s newly launched AI that will be powered by Facebook, DeepSeek is back in the news, a horror week of hacks for some massive UK retail chains, LockBit, and the wonderful day and night that was last week’s Australian Cyber Summit and Australian Cyber Awards.
- Hollingworth and Croft begin by talking about the latest in artificial intelligence news, with Meta announcing it will be building its next AI based upon information shared on the social network by its users, and China’s revelations that it will be using DeepSeek to help develop its next generation of fighter aircraft.
- The pair then run down the week in cyber crime, with ransomware gang DragonForce potentially being behind a string of disruptive attacks on some big UK retailers, including Harrods and Marks & Spencer – and maybe even behind hacking once dominant ransomware giant LockBit. Hollingworth and Croft also discuss Spectrum Medical Imaging’s continuing investigation into its January data breach.
- The pair wrap things up with a recap of the Australian Cyber Summit and Australian Cyber Awards, held last week. It was a great day and night. The two journalists talk about the importance of giving something back to Australians’ network defenders and quality of content presented during the day.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, host Liam Garman is joined by Lumify lead cyber security instructor Louis Cremen and cyber security lead Jeremy Daly. Together, they unpack the essential cyber security skill sets different organisations need – and how businesses can ensure their teams stay ahead of evolving threats.
- The discussion kicks off with the value of cyber security training and the most in-demand skills among Australian organisations.
- Cremen and Daly then explore the ongoing debate between certifications versus hands-on experience – and how to strike the right balance."
- The episode wraps up by questioning whether businesses are investing enough in their people, even as they spend heavily on tools and platforms.
Enjoy the episode, The Cyber Uncut team
In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, hosts Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson, Phil Tarrant and Liam Garman discuss the application of cyber and information in the modern threat environment, and how the White House is changing voting behaviours across the West.
They begin the podcast by unpacking Thomas Rid's Cyber War Will Not Take Place, discussing the intricacies of cyber operations and how cyber continues to adhere to the Clausewitzian principles describing the political and physical dimensions of conflict.
The conversation then moves across the cyber spectrum to information operations and how cyber is a carriage of information that can be used to destabilise populations.
MAJGEN (Ret'd) Dr Thompson and Tarrant unpack Australia’s response to global political uncertainty and the threat of tariffs, and how the White House administration is impacting elections across the globe.
The podcast wraps up looking at how democracies can use truth as a competitive advantage in the information space.
Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, Daniel Croft and Liam Garman sit down to unpack whether the federal government’s social media age restrictions really address the risks young Australians face online and how governments are looking to create backdoors into social media and tech giants.
- They begin the podcast by discussing Meta’s AI-enabled age verification on Instagram and whether it will actually keep children safe online – before examining alternative social media use cases and the risks they pose for young Aussies.
- Croft and Garman then discuss the recent cyber incident against UK retail giant M&S and its (lack of) communication strategy.
- The pair wrap up by discussing how Florida lawmakers are pushing to pass a social media backdoor bill and other examples where this has been floated around the world.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Daily team
In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, hosts Phil Tarrant and Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson discuss how businesses can build a culture of security in the modern work environment, protecting critical business IP. * They begin the podcast with a short book review of Stephen Gapps' Uprising: War in the colony of New South Wales, unpacking conflict in colonial Australia – and in particular, the Second Wiradyuri War of Resistance. * The conversation turns to information security and the regulation and legislation that guides the storing of personal data by businesses. * The hosts then unpack how businesses can develop a culture of security through the development of systems and procedures to protect business IP.
Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, David Hollingworth and Daniel Croft talk about Chris Krebs’ extraordinary decision to step down from SentinelOne in order to fight the Trump administration, an array of hacks both global and local, and the importance of funding the essential CVE Program. And China has made fascinating claims about US activity against the Asian Winter Games earlier this year.
- Hollingworth and Croft kick things off with Chris Krebs, who announced his resignation from SentinelOne this week following the signing of an executive order revoking his security clearance. He doesn’t want to distract from SentinelOne’s work, and he plans on taking this fight to the US government.
- Croft and Hollingworth then catch up on the week in cyber crime, with the 4chan message board getting hacked by a rival board, car rental giant Hertz Australia confirming it was caught up in a global Hertz data breach, and local outfit TMA Group of Companies falling victim to Sarcoma ransomware attack.
- The podcast wraps up with the pair talking about funding uncertainty involving the vital vulnerability-tracking CVE Program and how important the program is as a frontline tool against hackers and nation-state actors.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, David Hollingworth and Daniel Croft chat about emissions, credential stuffing attacks targeting Australian super funds, a ransomware attack on a luxury Sydney hotel, and more Donald Trump chaos.
Hollingworth and Croft kick things off with some interesting research that estimates the carbon costs of various AI platforms, with Grok AI coming out on top as the least environmentally punishing chatbot, while ChatGPT generates more than four grams of carbon per prompt.
The pair then move on to an alarming week of cyber incidents impacting Australian organisations, from the superannuation hacks that saw both data and retirement funds compromised, Western Sydney University admitting that the data of 10,000 students had been accessed by a hacker, and The Fullerton Hotel Sydney confirming it had been the victim of a ransomware attack last month.
Hollingworth and Croft wrap things with a discussion of the impact of AI-based threats that could impact the Australian election, lessons learned from last year’s US election from SentinelOne’s Chris Krebs, and the news that Krebs earned the ire of the US President and having his security clearance removed.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team
In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, hosts Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson and Phil Tarrant discuss the heroic actions of Australian soldiers in World War II, before turning to the big issues in the upcoming federal election.
- The pair begin the podcast discussing Joan Beaumont’s book, Gull Force, and the treatment of Australian prisoners of war on the islands of Ambon and Hainan.
- They then discuss the role of Australia’s Reserves in warfare, before unpacking the fundamental importance of seizing and holding ground in warfare.
- Thompson and Tarrant then turn to the upcoming federal election, unpacking some of the big issues facing Australian society, including housing policy and building forward-looking infrastructure for Australia’s financial future.
Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, David Hollingworth and Daniel Croft discuss local hacks and the rise of a whole new ransomware evolution. Clayton Utz’s Brenton Steenkamp and Debevoise & Plimpton’s Luke Dembosky also join in to talk about executive risk and governance.
- Hollingworth and Croft kick things off with a discussion of a fascinating example of data exposure involving a major Australian taxi company and catch up on the local threat landscape.
- The pair then talk about the continuing fallout of a very unserious Trump administration and how one of the most important officials serving the White House is using his personal email for important government business.
- Finally, Hollingworth welcomes two guests to the podcast. Luke Dembosky has been a US federal prosecutor, diplomat in Moscow, and Department of Justice deputy chief. Alongside Clayton Utz partner Brenton Steenkamp, the trio explore emerging executive risks and the challenges of the modern cyber security landscape
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, host David Hollingworth and journalist Daniel Croft talk about Apple backdoors, Facebook bans, the disastrous Signal chat that exposed the highest levels of the Trump administration as less than security-minded and how we report on exposed databases.
- Hollingworth and Croft get the ball rolling with a news wrap-up focusing on malware posing as Chinese chatbot DeepSeek, Papua New Guinea’s new trial Facebook ban, and behind-closed-door deliberations on the UK’s efforts to get a backdoor into Apple devices.
- After a short break, the pair get to the biggest story of the week – a leaked Signal chat between senior Trump administration officials that somehow had an American journalist added to the chat. Hollingworth and Croft talk about the security implications, the proper use of apps like Signal, and the alarming revelation that JD Vance may have been the smartest person in the room.
- To round things out for the week, Croft talks about a recent database exposure suffered by a popular Australian hardware chain, why reporting on data leaks and breaches can be a difficult thing to cover, and why not all data leaks are equal.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team.
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, Raj Samani, senior vice president and chief scientist at Rapid7, joins host Liam Garman to unpack how nation-state threats are actively targeting Australian organisations - and how we can proactively prepare for future attacks.
- They begin the podcast by looking at those groups that are most actively targeting Australian organisations and how their strategies are different from traditional cyber crime.
- Samani then unpacks some of the most common mistakes he sees from Australian organisations that are leaving them vulnerable to ransomware, before diving into the operating models of these threat actors, from negotiations to double extortion tactics.
- The pair then wrap up the podcast by looking at how companies can improve their post-breach response and resilience and the actionable steps they must take to stay ahead of emerging risks.
To listen to Samani’s previous appearance on the Cyber Uncut podcast, click here.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
As the global economy and political environment continue to become increasingly unpredictable, hosts Phil Tarrant, Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson and Liam Garman unpack what’s in store for 2025 using diplomacy, information, military and economic (DIME) analysis. This podcast represents the second of two episodes, where the hosts provide insight into the latest military and economic events, and how they impact us at home in Australia.
- The trio begin examining the recent appointment of Pete Hegseth as the US Secretary of Defense and how the incoming administration will shape the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific.
- They then look at the global economy, and whether the US economy will undergo a resurgence with a strengthening US dollar and an ambition to reduce the government’s $36 trillion debt.
Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team
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 and Hollingworth talk about a hack that really wasn’t – the 2023 Dymocks data breach is commonly resold on hacking forums, and Croft has found another instance of an enterprising type trying to make money from a previous compromise, and it did not end well for them.
- Finally, the pair discuss how hacktivists crave publicity in return for very little actual hacking and Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s (HPE) most recent investigation into another alleged data breach, before talking about the state of cyber crime reporting in the first month of 2025. Buckle in; it’s going to be one heck of a year.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team
As the global economy and political environment continue to become increasingly unpredictable, hosts Phil Tarrant, Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson and Liam Garman unpack what’s in store for 2025 using diplomacy, information, military and economic (DIME) analysis. This podcast represents the first of two episodes, where the hosts provide insight into the latest diplomatic and information events, and how they impact us at home in Australia.
- The trio begin by examining the recent ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, and whether it will likely hold in the current environment.
- They then turn to the Ukraine War and Britain’s 100-year pledge.
- They then look at the incoming White House’s approach to TikTok, and whether information should be considered a military domain.
Stay tuned for the next episode, where the trio unpack military and economic power.
Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, hosts David Hollingworth and Daniel Croft take yet another look back at a year of cyber incidents and talk about how 2024 saw incidents rise by almost half again. The pair also look at a hacktivist group targeting Australian websites, the still ongoing UnitedHealth saga, a dangerous hacking that may be on the horizon, and the latest in ransomware attacks on Australian organisations.
- Hollingworth and Croft kick off the chat with Check Point Software Technologies’ look back at the year that was, with 2024 seeing 44 per cent more cyber incidents than the previous year. The pair talk about how that matches their expectations, from nation-state actors to hacktivists and, of course, ransomware and cyber crime.
- Croft then goes into his own investigations into the RipperSec hacktivist group, while Hollingworth looks into vulnerabilities impacting a popular firewall device that has been extensively exploited in the past and could well be about to be hacked en masse again.
- Finally, Croft looks at the latest chapter in the UnitedHealth hack from last year and some rather disturbing allegations that the giant insurance company is not entirely being above board with its reporting. The pair then look back at the week that just passed and the nearly half-dozen ransomware attacks targeting organisations in the ANZ region. It’s been a busy start to the year.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team
How might the recent threat from US President-elect Donald Trump impact practitioners in this space?
In this recent crossover episode of the Contested Ground podcast, Jerome Doraisamy, editor of Lawyers Weekly, sat down with The Shipping Lawyer, Alison Cusack, to discuss the shipping law landscape in 2024 and what was learnt from that year, the recent threat from Donald Trump to take back control of the Panama Canal and the history of the canal (and lessons from the Suez Canal experience).
Cusack also discusses the frequency with which shipping lawyers have to adapt to geopolitical shifts and navigate client expectations. Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, hosts David Hollingworth and Daniel Croft wonder if they can fill a podcast with just four days of news in the new year, and of course, they can. From a hacker with a habit of going after big political targets to some of the big numbers of the previous year to geopolitics and terrorist data breaches, 2025 has kicked off with a bang.
- Hollingworth starts things off with notorious hacker Natohub’s latest exploits – leaking the recruitment data of around 42,000 recruitment forms belonging to the United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organization. It’s far from the hacker’s first rodeo, so Hollingworth and Croft go over some of past exploits as well.
- Croft talks up the curious case of the hacker who managed to breach the terrorist organisation ISIS. Meanwhile, Hollingworth goes over some cyber incident statistics from 2024, including the fact that Europe was the most hacked region on the planet, mostly driven by the war in Ukraine. The pair also discuss a Ukrainian success story following the total disruption of a Russian ISP by Ukrainian hackers.
- The pair round things up with a playful look at a recent case of the European Union fining itself over a GDPR violation, and some exciting news for the Cyber Daily website.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team
In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, hosts Phil Tarrant and Liam Garman are joined by Momentum Media’s senior defence and national security analyst and government relations manager, Steve Kuper, to discuss the latest geopolitical developments. The trio discuss the key developments over the Christmas and New Year period that are setting the scene for a truly transformative midway point for the 2020s. They also discuss:
- Ongoing diplomatic efforts by the incoming Trump administration to resolve the Russia–Ukraine war and the situation on the ground.
- The Boxing Day revelation of apparent sixth-generation fighter aircraft by the People’s Republic of China and Beijing’s ambitious ship commissioning schedule for 2025, which will dramatically reshape the balance of power.
- The implications of the incoming Trump administration on the global geopolitical and economic environment.
Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team
In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, Phil Tarrant, Major General (Ret’d) Marcus Thompson and Liam Garman discuss the fall of Bashar al-Assad and the ongoing Israel–Hamas war.
- They begin the podcast debating whether the unfolding Israel–Hamas conflict will have the same level of strategic significance for Israel as the Yom Kippur War or the Six-Day War.
- Tarrant, Thompson and Garman then discuss how the conflict has altered the balance of power in the Middle East, severing Iran’s crescent of influence by weakening Hamas and Hezbollah, coupled with the fall of Assad.
- They wrap up the podcast examining what nations, if any, might assume the role of a security benefactor in the Middle East with a weakened Iran, and emerging open-source intelligence (OSINT) collection vectors.
Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, hosts David Hollingworth and Daniel Croft take a look back at some of the biggest and most intriguing stories of the year, from CrowdStrike’s outage and amazing response to the takedown of ransomware giant LockBit.
- Croft kicks off with the epic story of the Change Healthcare hack, which saw the data of about a third of the population of the United States compromised. But it wasn’t just the scale of the hack; it was also the behind-the-scenes manoeuvering between greedy ransomware-as-a-service operators, hacker affiliates just wanting to get paid, and a company realising that it really does have to pay an exorbitant ransom.
- The pair then discuss the takedown of ransomware giant LockBit and the remarkably sassy response of the law enforcement agencies behind the operation, before looking back at another ransomware operation that turned out to be nothing but an extensive scam.
- Lastly, Croft and Hollingworth look back at July’s CrowdStrike outage, both its wide-ranging impact and what turned out to be an excellent and comprehensive response from CrowdStrike itself, before turning the gaze forward to wonder what they might see in 2025.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team
In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, Phil Tarrant, Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson and Liam Garman discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the future of warfighting in the information domain.
- They begin the podcast unpacking major national security developments for 2024 and how global powers have continued to exploit the grey zone, before unpacking an absence of ownership of the information domain in Australia when examining the DIME construct – diplomacy, information, military, and economic.
- The trio then discuss Ukraine’s exploitation of the information environment, and how the modern battlefield nevertheless reflects the Clauswitzian notion that the nature of war never changes.
- Tarrant, Thompson and Garman then predict how the incoming US administration will impact the conflict.
Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team
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
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, Dawn Cappelli, head of OT-CERT at Dragos, joins host Liam Garman to unpack how governments and the industry are responding to current and emerging ICS/OT threats.
- The pair begin the podcast by examining how operational technology is becoming more interconnected with the digital world and what emerging vulnerabilities providers should be aware of for the future.
- Cappelli and Garman then look into whether government regulations are keeping pace with evolving threats and whether artificial intelligence is transforming the world of operational technology.
- They wrap up the podcast by discussing some pertinent case studies, zero trust, and what the landscape of operational technology security will look like over the next decade.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team
In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, Liam Garman is joined by senator for Queensland Matthew Canavan to discuss resource and food security, international politics and Australian domestic policy.
- The pair begin the podcast discussing voting trends in Australia and the results of the recent Queensland election.
- They then examine the need for a robust policy platform that supports Australia’s resources industry, protecting national sovereignty, delivering jobs and economic growth.
- Senator Canavan and Garman then unpack the economic impact of trade embargoes on Australia’s finances, before examining the need for effective biosecurity legislation to protect Australian farmers.
- Finally, the pair discuss the intersection between resources and building a skilled workforce.
Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, Sadiq Iqbal, sales engineering lead and evangelist, office of the CTO at Check Point Software, joins host Liam Garman to discuss platformisation in cyber security and the importance of interoperability for cyber security tools.
- The pair begin the podcast by looking at recent developments in cyber security and why businesses continue to be breached despite the wide range of cyber security solutions available today.
- They then examine how to ensure that third-party tools can collaborate to provide holistic security and how Check Point’s Infinity platform can keep users safe.
- They wrap up the podcast by discussing how Infinity can ensure regulatory compliance and how Check Point has been able to leverage lessons from its reverse engineering department to support clients.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team
In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, interviewer Defence Connect senior journalist Robert Dougherty is joined by former Australian prime minister Scott Morrison. Morrison, non-executive vice chairman of American Global Strategies, has recently announced a new role as chairman of Space Centre Australia, a planned spaceport in far north Queensland. He has also recently concluded a lecture at the Yomiuri International Economic Society in Tokyo in September. The pair discuss:
- The Australian government’s priorities for space and support of domestic space industry.
- The sudden blooming of interest in space innovation and its increasingly contested environment between international players.
- The AUKUS and QUAD alliances in regard to the Indo-Pacific.
- The upcoming US presidential election on 5 November and forecasts for Australian policy under a Republican or Democratic victory.
Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team
In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, co-host Liam Garman is joined by Steve Kuper, senior analyst and government relations manager at Defence Connect, to unpack deepening social tensions in the United States ahead of the US election.
- The pair begin the podcast discussing whether modern journalism, with a focus on opinion over reporting, has worsened the political divide in the US.
- Kuper and Garman then discuss Russian interference during the 2016 election and give insight into the Senate’s findings on how protest movements were exploited to achieve Russia’s political objectives.
Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, Seamus Lennon, vice president of operations for EMEA at ThreatLocker, joins host Liam Garman to unpack why businesses need to strengthen their endpoint security and implement a zero-trust strategy in today’s security environment.
- The pair begin the podcast by looking at today’s cyber security environment, unpacking why businesses have overlooked endpoint security and the need for zero trust.
- They then examine ThreatLocker’s future innovation and how it will continue defending businesses amid increasing sophistication from threat actors, including current ransomware trends.
- They wrap up the podcast by discussing the company’s continued Australian growth, including helping local organisations implement the Essential Eight.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, Michael Mestrovich, chief information security officer at data security firm Rubrik, joins host Liam Garman to examine the nature of modern cyber security threats, how much easier it is to become a cyber criminal, and keeping up with changing regulations.
- The pair begin the podcast with a discussion on the evolution of ransomware and the intersection of state financially motivated cyber crime.
- Mestrovich and Garman then examine the role of zero trust as the backbone of cyber security and the importance of cyber resilience.
- The podcast wraps up with a deep dive into data security posture management and looks at some of the challenges the sector will to face in the coming years.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team
In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, Phil Tarrant and Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson are joined by Dr David Kilcullen, former diplomat and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency senior research scientist, to discuss the moving evolution of conflict, tactics and military technology.
- The trio begin by discussing elements of complex warfare, how predictions change over time and the differences in warfare over the last 25 years.
- They also discuss the tactics and technologies of past and current conflicts, including those in use in Europe and the Middle East.
- Finally, they discuss the nature of resilience, innovation and technological expertise in current soldiery within defence forces and greater society.
Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, hosts David Hollingworth and Daniel Croft detail multiple Australian hacks, theft of frequent flyer points, LockBit striking back, and the launch of the Australian Cyber Network.
Croft gets things started with a rundown of Australia’s first standalone cyber security legislation before outlining a recent insider threat incident that saw the passports of Qantas customers potentially exposed in a scheme to steal frequent flyer points.
Hollingworth then follows up with the LockBit claiming a new Australian victim and the rise of a new ransomware gang, Sarcoma – which has already listed three Aussie companies and one Kiwi firm.
Finally, the pair discuss the Australian Cyber Network’s launch and the importance of growing our cyber security workforce, before finishing up discussing a new Russian attempt to ban gaming chat platform Discord.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, hosts David Hollingworth and Daniel Croft detail multiple recent law enforcement operations that have made a considerable dent in criminal and cyber criminal activity around the world.
Croft opens the podcast with the most recent developments in law enforcement’s efforts to tackle the LockBit ransomware gang, with four arrests made and sanctions placed against one of the gang’s major affiliates.
Hollingworth then details the incredible story of the Australian Federal Police’s Operation Kraken, an investigation into the Ghost criminal messaging network, which it turns out was – allegedly – run by an Aussie! He’s now been arrested, and a lot of other criminals besides.
The pair wrap up with news of charges being laid by the US Department of Justice against Iranian hackers, and they offer some simple but important advice as part of Cyber Security Awareness Month. Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team
In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, Phil Tarrant, Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson and Liam Garman unpack the recent escalation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah and how state actors disrupt their non-state adversaries.
- The podcast begins with an analysis into the fragility of supply chains, examining the pager attack, and how adversaries can conduct espionage through acquisition.
- They then discuss strategies at disrupting non-state adversaries, including whether a decapitation strategy would work for Hezbollah in spite of its failure to disrupt irregular forces elsewhere.
- The podcast also examines the division that this represents in Australia, with announcements that the Australian Federal Police will go after those waving Hezbollah flags.
Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, hosts Liam Garman and Daniel Croft unpack new “safe habour” protections unveiled by the federal government, before looking into some recent hacks and controversy surrounding artificial intelligence.
- The pair begin the podcast examining the new “safe harbour” protections unveiled by Minister for Cyber Security Tony Burke, and how it will help information gathering for law enforcement agencies.
- They then examine the recent Total Tools breach, before diving into the risk of credential stuffing.
- Croft and Garman wrap up the podcast discussing poor AI implementation in business following the Melbourne mayor’s AI-generated imagery fiasco.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team
In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, hosts Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson and Liam Garman invite Major General (Ret’d) Gus McLachlan back for a follow-up podcast, unpacking irregular warfare, information operations and military modernisation.
- They begin the podcast discussing Russia’s “little green men” during the invasion of 2014, and how Russian units were able to take over swathes of Eastern Ukraine.
- MAJGEN (Ret’d) McLachlan then unpacks his priorities in uniform in modernising the Australian Defence Force.
- The podcast then examines how two Russian nations were charged with laundering money to spread disinformation ahead of the US presidential election.
Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team
In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, Joe Hockey, former Australian ambassador to the United States, joins hosts Phil Tarrant, Major General (Ret’d) Marcus Thompson and Steve Kuper to discuss the continued importance of the Australia–US relationship.
- The trio begin by discussing the fallout of the latest presidential debate between contenders, former president Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, touching on the implications for the bilateral relationship.
- They also discuss the role of grey zone warfare and information warfare efforts in the upcoming election and how they may shape the outcome.
- Finally, they discuss the importance of the partnership in helping Australia reindustrialise and build a truly sovereign defence industrial base, with a pathway forward to establishing an integrated Australian prime.
Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team
In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, Andrew Hastie MP, shadow minister for defence and shadow minister for defence industry, joins hosts Phil Tarrant and Liam Garman to discuss how Australia must develop sovereign capability amid growing geopolitical uncertainty.
- The trio begin the podcast discussing how Australia needs to support Defence SMEs to deliver sovereign capability amid rising political uncertainty before looking into additional uses of Australia’s special forces capabilities.
- The shadow minister then discusses how decision makers must clearly articulate the grey zone and kinetic risks that Australia faces, and outlines what some of his key objectives would be in government.
- The podcast wraps up discussing Ukraine’s continued fight for freedom.
Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team
In this episode of Cyber Uncut, host David Hollingworth is joined by Daniel Croft to unpack the week in cyber security. From hacks abroad and closer to home, the changing tactics of the once prolific LockBit ransomware gang, to new Australian laws introduced to protect our privacy and stop the spread of misinformation, the pair cover a lot of ground and try to find a bright spot in the Australian Federal Police (AFP) looking to mentor neurodivergent into a career in cyber security. Croft talks about a disclosure by the third-largest cyber security firm in the world, Fortinet, with the company revealing that a malicious actor accessed a third-party repository, while closer to home, the RansomHub gang posts a trove of customer data stolen from a New Zealand accounting firm.
The pair also discuss sneaky new “data duplication” tactics being used by LockBit, where it takes an old leak and threatens victims a second time.
Then Hollingworth and Croft discuss new government regulations boosting the powers of the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) and the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) while pondering the scope of coming to grips with the social media giants before closing a brighter note, praising the AFP for its neurodivergent mentoring program.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team
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
In this episode of Cyber Uncut, Liam Garman and Daniel Croft unpack the latest cyber security news, complete with some interesting lessons for business leaders from this year’s Australian Cyber Security Summit.
- The pair begin the podcast with an update on allegations of a breach at a global professional services company, before analysing how businesses need to refine post-breach communications by including receptionists, assistants and call centres in their strategies.
- They then look at the Australian Communications and Media Authority’s recent judgment on the cause of the Optus hack, and recent moves from LockBit targeting US financial institutions and the Indonesian government.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team
In this episode, the Cyber Daily team went live at the Australian Cyber Security Summit, where we caught up with AUCloud’s Peter Maloney, Mercury ISS’ Edward Farrell, and Brendan Dowling – Australia’s ambassador for cyber affairs and critical technology.
- Farrell talks about his company’s 10-year journey and how Mercury ISS has expanded its cyber security offering.
- Dowling explains exactly what his role entails and the importance of international collaboration in fighting cyber crime.
- Maloney breaks down AUCloud’s 2024 Cyber Security Healthcare Report on the threats facing the healthcare industry and how the sector can protect itself in the face of growing cyber attacks.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, Liam Garman, David Hollingworth, and Daniel Croft unpack a crazy week in cyber security – with millions of Australians caught up in attacks through to splits within the hacking community.
- The trio unpack the recent Ticketmaster breach – with millions of users impacted nationwide – and the surprising name behind the attack.
- They then discuss BreachForums coming back online – and a recent split that has happened in the hacking community in response to the forum’s re-emergence.
- Garman, Hollingworth, and Croft wrap up the podcast by looking at new reporting guidelines for businesses and some crazy tweets surrounding the government’s Digital ID laws.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, Chris Fisher, regional director of ANZ at Vectra AI, joins host Liam Garman to unpack how generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools are creating new exploits for malicious actors, and how cyber professionals can best prepare for these emerging threats.
- Fisher and Garman begin the podcast by examining how threat actors exploit generative AI tools, which are used to drive business efficiency, to expedite access to sensitive data.
- Fisher addresses some common misconceptions in cyber security about the use of AI: how effective is AI-generated script? Can it be used to identify zero-days? What does the future of AI look like in cyber security?
- The pair then address how cyber security professionals can leverage AI within their own teams to drive efficiency in prioritising and executing likely threats.
- They wrap up the podcast with some top tips for businesses to protect themselves against emerging threats emanating from AI.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, hosts Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson, Phil Tarrant and Liam Garman unpack what advertisers and business leaders can learn from military information warfare campaigns and just how many similarities these fields share.
- They begin the podcast by looking at the history of influence on the battlefield and how business leaders today seek to harness influence through social and traditional media to proliferate their messaging.
- The trio then look at core lessons from the Russian campaign during the 2016 presidential election in the US – and how Russia’s market segmentation delivers interesting lessons for modern advertisers.
- The podcast wraps up with an analysis of how branding and narrative can capture the imaginations of a target audience.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, Liam Garman and David Hollingworth unpack how the US and Australian governments are holding social media giants responsible for their content and data safety.
- The pair begin by discussing revelations that Congress is looking to force ByteDance to sell TikTok in the United States to an approved third party or face being shut down.
- They then discuss how Julie Inman Grant, Australia’s eSafety commissioner, is challenging X for hosting videos of the Wakeley stabbing attack and their rocky history.
- The podcast wraps up by analysing the recent OracleCMS hack.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, Sabeen Malik, vice-president of global government affairs and public policy at Rapid7, joins Liam Garman to discuss the changing nature of global tech policy – applauding Australia’s stringent cyber security legislation.
- The pair begin the podcast by discussing Malik’s time developing tech policy within the Obama administration and how there is a hesitancy among policymakers to acknowledge the nefarious application of popular new technologies.
- Malik then applauds Australia as a world leader in cyber security and recommends that Australia could strengthen its frameworks yet further with privacy regulations that make cyber personally relevant to all individuals and organisations.
- They then discuss the necessity of public-private partnerships for cyber security, given the expertise of the private sector.
- The podcast wraps up with some tips for businesses to get ahead of the curb and prepare for future regulations in the sector, including developing bespoke processes based on unique risk profiles.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, hosts Phil Tarrant and Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson unpack building a nexus between academia, business and our national security organisations to build a stronger domestic cyber security industry.
- MAJGEN (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson begins the podcast by discussing his experience setting up the Australian Defence Force’s initial cyber and information warfare capabilities and discusses creating a pathway into the cyber security industry to foster public-private innovation.
- The pair then unpack the challenges in creating a nexus between academia, industry and national security with the risk of foreign interference on university campuses.
- Tarrant and Thompson then discuss the Change Healthcare hack and the operating model of politically and financially motivated criminal gangs.
- The podcast wraps up by analysing the benefits of the European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act and the Australian Digital ID legislation and how governments can improve legislation yet further.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, Ben Miller, chief information security officer at Dragos, joins host Liam Garman to unpack the increasing number of ransomware attacks directed towards industrial organizations and how OT/ICS operators can better protect their assets.
- The pair begin by unpacking how threat groups have adapted their TTPs to attack modern industrial organisations and how ransomware attacks on manufacturers continue to disrupt global supply chains.
- Miller then details how OT/ICS operators can strengthen their cyber security posture and how the industry can better collaborate to enhance cyber resilience.
- The podcast wraps up by unpacking how Dragos enhances the threat detection and response strategies of industrial operators and what the future of OT cyber security looks like.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, Raj Samani, senior vice-president and chief scientist at Rapid7, joins host Liam Garman to provide intelligence direct from the cyber security battlefield.
- The pair begin the podcast by discussing the links between leading threat groups and rogue states, detailing their TTPs and operating models.
- Samani then unpacks recent findings from North Korea’s Kimsuky threat group, lifting the veil on how such threat actors target companies and how Rapid7 works with governments and businesses to keep them safe online.
- The podcast wraps up by examining emerging TTP trends and how businesses can build effective systems and processes to monitor their organisation’s attack surface.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, hosts Phil Tarrant and Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson unpack how foreign actors are targeting persons of interest on social media and how Australians are falling victim to unsophisticated credential stuffing campaigns.
- Like all news over recent months, the podcast begins talking about Taylor Swift – and how regular Australians became victims of credential stuffing campaigns on a popular ticketing website.
- The podcast continues with a look into pop culture deepfakes and how artificial intelligence (AI) poses a risk to geopolitical stability.
- The pair wrap up the podcast by looking into ASIO’s Annual Threat Assessment and how foreign actors have targeted people of interest online, before analysing some of the world’s most high-profile recent data breaches.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, Mark Goudie, senior director of professional services at CrowdStrike, joins host Liam Garman to provide insight into the most prolific threats and vulnerabilities facing Australian businesses and how they can immediately take action to defend themselves.
- The podcast begins by examining critical findings from CrowdStrike’s Global Threat Report before detailing the top things Australian businesses must do to protect their assets.
- Goudie and Garman then outline the roles and responsibilities of different departments across a business in the event of a breach – from IT to legal and investor relations.
- The pair wrap up the podcast by discussing how businesses can wargame an attack, before addressing common misconceptions in the cyber security industry.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Daily team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, Liam Garman, David Hollingworth, and Daniel Croft provide critical insights for business leaders on how to craft an investor and media relations strategy in the event of a breach.
The trio begin the podcast by discussing the latest news before diving into how cyber breaches require all hands on deck to get a company back to business as usual.
Hollingworth and Croft then provide anonymised case studies of investor and media relations strategies that have allowed companies to take control of the narrative.
The podcast wraps up with a list of top tips for businesses to get on the front foot in the event of a breach.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Daily team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, hosts Phil Tarrant and Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson discuss how malicious actors are targeting Australian courts and how Australians can keep themselves safe from the threat of credential stuffing.
- The pair begin the podcast by unpacking the Commonwealth’s sanctions on the Medibank hacker and how Australian courts have been in the crosshairs of malicious actors.
- Tarrant and Dr Thompson then unpack the recently leaked package of 26 billion documents, collated from some of the world’s top brands, and how Australians can protect themselves from credential stuffing campaigns.
- They wrap up by examining the ethics of ransomware payments – even when the clean-up cost is greater than the cost of the ransom.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Daily team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, Mercury ISS’ Edward Farrell and Niru Verma join host Steve Kuper to discuss the latest trends in cyber security and the importance of building a tailor-made security strategy for your business.
- The trio begin the podcast by unpacking how cyber security underpins all military capabilities, whether on land, at sea, or in the air, before discussing the importance of instituting threat-driven approaches to cyber.
- Farrell and Verma then unpack the latest trends in cyber security and how businesses should build bespoke cyber security strategies that address the most likely vectors for attack, as opposed to the vulnerabilities that are most in vogue.
- They then discuss the most concerning threats for businesses, before examining just how easily threat actors can use credential stuffing to break into your organisation’s network.
- The podcast wraps up by examining Mercury’s philosophy of prevention over response, before discussing what is next on their business horizon.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Daily team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, Liam Garman, David Hollingworth, and Daniel Croft unpack a recent string of cryptocurrency-related compromises on X (formerly Twitter) and how threat actors have targeted Australian consumers over the Christmas break.
- The trio begin unpacking a recent post on X by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) endorsing bitcoin-tracked exchange traded funds (ETFs) and how the post is the latest in a long string of cryptocurrency scams on the site.
- They then discuss the latest breaking news with the ALPHV site being seized by the FBI.
- The podcast wraps up looking into The Iconic’s strong response to recent consumer compromises, as well as an attack on a local travel agent.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Daily team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, Liam Garman, David Hollingworth, and Daniel Croft unpack the biggest news stories for 2023 – and dive into the recent Rhysida and ALPHV attacks.
- The trio begin the podcast by unpacking the latest hack against Insomniac Games by Rhysida, which saw over a terabyte of data leaked online, as well as recent movements within the ALPHV ransomware gang.
- They then unpack the top five news stories of the year.
- Garman, Hollingworth, and Croft then wrap up the podcast by discussing recent research on a recently uncovered Chinese disinformation campaign.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, Leon Poggioli, ANZ regional director at Claroty, and Liam Garman unpack what the 2023–2030 Australian Cyber Security Strategy means for the industry and how businesses can build XIoT policies to mitigate the risk of penetration.
• The pair begin the podcast by analysing how the 2023–2030 Australian Cyber Security Strategy will support the growth of Australia’s cyber security industry and what it will mean for businesses.
• Poggioli and Garman then analyse how threat actors can use harmless devices such as doorbells to penetrate networks.
• The podcast wraps up by discussing practical advice on how businesses can protect themselves and their assets from attack.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, hosts Phil Tarrant and Dr Marcus Thompson discuss the key recommendations and findings from the recently released Australian Cyber Security Strategy, ASD Cyber Threat Report, and ASIC cyber pulse survey.
The pair discuss:
• recent appointments at Penten and unpack breaking news in the cyber security industry;
• updates to the ASD Essential Eight Maturity Model, in particular, examining how new guidelines will help mitigate threat detection and response times; and
• the must-know findings from the ASD Cyber Threat Report and ASIC cyber pulse survey, and how the Australian Cyber Security Strategy will shape the cyber security industry.
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson, inaugural head of the Australian Defence Force’s Information Warfare Division, and Phil Tarrant unpack how information warfare is employed in the modern threat environment.
- The pair begin the podcast by analysing information operations surrounding the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict and how information is harnessed to influence one’s adversaries to their will.
- They then examine how national power can be impacted through influence and military public affairs and how the magnitude of artificially generated content online can impact democracy.
- The pair wrap up the podcast by examining the geopolitical ramifications of the conflict.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, Jaya Baloo, global chief security officer at Rapid7, joins host Liam Garman to unpack how Australia’s regulatory environment is impacting businesses trying to manage the rapid pace of change in today’s digital environment
- The pair begin by looking at how Baloo’s career developed and the challenges she’s faced keeping global organisations secure.
- Baloo and Garman then discuss the changing threat landscape and how cyber has become a hotly contested domain, especially when it comes to the conflicts in Ukraine and Israel, before looking at the reduced barrier to entry for young, patriotic hackers.
- The podcast wraps up with the pair breaking down the threats facing Australian businesses and what motivates hackers to go about their criminal enterprises.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, Drew Bagley, vice-president and counsel for privacy and cyber policy at CrowdStrike, joins host Liam Garman to unpack the emerging cyber security trends facing Australian businesses and how the Australian government can draw from success overseas to build a robust and agile policy framework to protect Australians online.
- The pair begin the podcast by unpacking findings from CrowdStrike’s 2023 Threat Hunting report, detailing the emerging and evolving threats that all Australian businesses must monitor, including fascinating insights about the proliferation of non-malware and identity-based attacks.
- Bagley and Garman then discuss the Commonwealth’s 2023 to 2030 Australian Cyber Security Strategy and what the Commonwealth can learn from best practice from overseas governments.
- The pair wrap up the podcast byanalysing how governments the world over turn to CrowdStrike to develop their cyber security strategies, and some of the global cyber security company’s top tips for businesses to improve their security online.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, Alex Wilson, director of solutions engineering (APJ) at Yubico, joins host Liam Garman to unpack the weaknesses of traditional two-factor authentication and how businesses can strengthen their security through physical two-factor keys.
- The pair begin the podcast by discussing how threat actors can manipulate digital two-factor authentication measures and the challenges of rolling out 2FA across a workforce.
- Wilson and Garman then analyse some use cases for physical 2FA, delivering a simple cyber security solution for individuals as well as large and small businesses.
- The podcast wraps up by examining how Yubico’s YubiKey can be rolled out to provide cyber security assurances to keep business data safe.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, Absolute Software chief technology officer Nicko van Someren joins host Liam Garman to unpack how artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can be used by both cyber response teams and threat actors – and AI/ML’s inherent limitations.
- The pair begin the podcast by demarcating AI and advanced ML and how the inability of individuals to grasp the full potential of AI is hampering its continued development in business applications.
- Van Someren and Garman then unpack how AI is being used by threat actors and response teams, from automated anomaly detection through to code generation.
- The pair wrap up the podcast by unpacking van Someren’s philosophy on neural networks, how businesses need to embed a culture of cyber resilience and how Absolute Software can help businesses on their cyber security journey.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, hosts Phil Tarrant and Major General (Ret’d) Marcus Thompson announce the rebranding of Cyber Security Connect into CyberDaily.au.
The pair also discuss:
- The reasoning behind the rebrand to Cyber Daily, mainly the broad-reaching impact of cyber life across government, the economy and at the individual level of daily life.
- The evolution of the cyber environment and the regulatory and legislative environments and their high-stakes implications for the nation and the individual Australian.
- The latest events from across the cyber news space, ranging from recent announcements by ASIC, the obligations that businesses and governments have to protect and further the evolution of the cyber domain.
Enjoy the podcast. The Cyber Uncut Team.
In this transformative episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, hosts Phil Tarrant and Liam Garman announce the upcoming rebrand of Cyber Security Connect to Cyber Daily and the launch of the reinvigorated Cyber Uncut podcast.
Following the success of Cyber Security Connect, Cyber Daily will unpack and analyse all areas of digital transformation – ranging from cyber security, artificial intelligence and information systems through to modern digitally enabled business solutions to help Australian organisations leverage the cyber revolution.
We hope you enjoy the podcast, and our hosts will be back next week with the newly launched Cyber Uncut podcast. Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, hosts Liam Garman and Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson unpack how businesses can implement protocols to protect their systems from third-party compromise.
- In the podcast, the pair examine the recent TissuPath and Pareto data breaches, observing that no matter how secure an organisation’s networks may be – externally hosted data is always at risk.
- Dr Thompson and Garman then discuss how businesses must develop a whole-of-company response to data breaches from IT teams through to the media and legal departments.
- They wrap up the podcast by examining reputational risk and how only 27 per cent of Australian companies revealed their cyber incidents to the relevant authorities.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, Christiaan Beek, senior director of threat analytics at Rapid7, joins host Liam Garman to discuss Rapid7’s 2023 Mid-Year Threat Review, unpacking the latest cyber security trends facing businesses and detailing need-to-know intelligence to keep Australian businesses safe.
- The pair begin the podcast analysing the most common threat vectors that are being exploited by cyber criminals, including unpatched software and old hardware systems, before discussing how businesses can implement strategies to minimise these threats.
- Beek and Garman then dive into the world of ransomware, examining the operating model of cyber gangs and how the dark web serves as a marketplace for threat actors.
- They then analyse how businesses can be breached through downstream attacks and insider threats before wrapping up with some practical security guidance for businesses.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, Leon Poggioli, ANZ regional director at Claroty, joins host Liam Garman to discuss new cyber security requirements for Australian businesses, and how organisations can leverage cyber as a competitive advantage.
- The podcast begins analysing recent findings from Claroty’s research arm, Team82, that has discovered 95 IoT CVEs this calendar year alone, before unpacking the new and emerging regulatory requirements for Australian businesses under SLACIP.
- Poggioli then details common threat vectors impacting businesses including unpatched software and overlooked hardware such as CCTV cameras, and how businesses can create remediation programs to protect their networks.
- The pair then discuss the risks of failing to meet new SLACIP obligations including loss of business and potential liabilities for directors, and how businesses should view cyber security as a competitive advantage to attract talent and enhance business continuity.
- The podcast wraps up with some top tips to keep your business safe, and how Claroty can help protect your organisation.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, Peter Maloney, managing director and chief executive officer of cyber security and sovereign cloud services provider AUCloud, joins host Liam Garman to unpack why Australia has become one of the world’s most attractive targets for cyber criminals and how Australian businesses can protect themselves.
The pair begin the podcast unpacking the factors that make Australia such a tempting target for cyber criminals, and some of the latest tactics and strategies employed by those malicious actors to target businesses and families.
Maloney and Garman then examine how these methods are becoming more sophisticated over time, and just who is committing the attacks.
The podcast wraps up discussing how managed security operations centre (SOC) service providers can support businesses, and what businesses must learn from the recent large-scale attacks to build a more robust cyber security framework.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Security Uncut team
About AUCloud:
AUCloud is a leading Australian cloud services and cyber security solutions provider, specialising in providing critical national the latest sovereign cloud infrastructure, backup and cyber security threat defence and response services. Listed on the ASX, AUCloud is Australia’s trusted sovereign cloud provider, accredited and certified in accordance with the highest standards to ensure best practice in security, data protection and management.
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, hosts Phil Tarrant and Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson discuss how the industry can leverage recommendations put forward by the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to build a stronger cyber security industry and how cyber can be used as a tool for diplomacy.
- The pair begin the podcast by discussing breaking news in the cyber security industry with the acquisition of ParaFlare by Deloitte Australia.
- Dr Thompson and Tarrant then discuss the lack of confidence in Australia’s cyber security industry and examine how recommendations within the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s three-year strategic plan can be leveraged to keep Australian businesses safe.
- The pair wrap up the podcast discussing identity reform and how the Commonwealth can leverage cyber security as a tool of diplomacy.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, Liam Garman and Daniel Croft unpack the social paradigm of post-truth and how Russia’s Internet Research Agency has exploited this to prosecute online disinformation campaigns.
- The pair begin defining post-truth and how individuals are increasingly using emotion and affiliative sensemaking to cut through information on the internet.
- They then look into case studies of how Russia’s Internet Research Agency prosecutes online information campaigns.
- Garman and Croft wrap up the podcast by examining how artificial intelligence will be used in future information environments.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, Liam Garman and Daniel Croft discuss the impact of the major HWL Ebsworth attack and the response given by Australia’s first cyber security coordinator, Air Marshal Darren Goldie, while diving into the latest news in cyber security.
- The podcast begins with a discussion of ANZ bank CEO’s decision not to sign up to a voluntary anti-scam code that would see banks required to reimburse those who fall victim to scams.
- Garman and Croft then discuss the impact of the HWL Ebsworth breach and the statement that cyber security coordinator Air Marshal Darren Goldie released regarding his response to the attack.
- They then wrap up the podcast by outlining the current status of artificial intelligence (AI) regulation and the concerns raised by both governments and the private sector regarding the risks of AI development with disinformation and more.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, Phil Tarrant and Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson unpack the hostile cyber threat environment facing Australia’s financial institutions.
- The pair begin the podcast by unpacking workforce challenges in Australia’s cyber security sector, with professionals tempted overseas with compelling salary packages.
- Dr Thompson and Tarrant continue the podcast by analysing the recent findings from APRA on the common cyber shortfalls among regulated entities, detailing six core areas of concern.
- The podcast continues by analysing recent breaches among Australian financial institutions and how upstream and downstream attacks can impact businesses of all sizes.
- The pair wrap up the podcast by looking at the changing regulatory nature of cyber security in the financial services market.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson and Liam Garman unpack the MOVEit file transfer breach and discuss proposals to label AI-generated content.
- The pair begin the podcast by discussing the recent MOVEit data breach and steps that businesses must take to improve their cyber resilience in the face of zero-day exploits.
- Dr Thompson and Garman then look into the recent HWL Ebsworth hack before diving into whether the Commonwealth should institute regulations governing ransomware payments.
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The pair wrap up the podcast by discussing recent proposals to place labels on AI-generated content and how AI-generated content can be used in information operations.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson and Phil Tarrant unpack the recent Volt Typhoon malware targeting critical infrastructure, and the motivations behind cyber security attacks.
- Dr Thompson and Tarrant begin the podcast by unpacking the financial and reputational ramifications of a cyber security breach, examining how the Latitude hack has resulted in forecast losses of $95 million to $105 million.
- The pair then discuss the recent Volt Typhoon malware that has targeted US critical infrastructure in Guam, which could disturb US military communications.
- The podcast wraps up by analysing recent comments from the AFP Commissioner on state-based hackers attacking Australian infrastructure, and how the military and law enforcement agencies can be better used to keep Australians safe.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, Phil Tarrant and Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson unpack the latest in cyber security, from national security IP theft to the ethics of artificial intelligence (AI).
- The pair begin the podcast by unpacking recent US defence technology data theft cases and recent concerns from the FBI on the US’ cyber workforce, diving into how law enforcement agencies can collaborate with militaries to build a stronger cyber posture.
- Dr Thompson and Tarrant then unpack the ethics of AI, discussing recent comments from the chief executive of ChatGPT creator OpenAI calling for greater regulation of AI.
- The podcast wraps up by looking into the government’s recently announced National Anti-Scam Centre and how cyber resilience is a job for everybody — not just big business.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Security Uncut podcast
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, Edward Farrell, director and principal consultant at Mercury Information Security Services joins hosts Phil Tarrant and Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson to discuss the world of cyber assurance testing.
- The trio begin the podcast by defining whether “ethical hacking” is an appropriate blanket term for advisers engaged in cyber assurance testing, before assessing the relationship between ethics and ideology in penetration testing.
- The podcast then continues unpacking the importance of grappling with multiple points of view to understand the motivations behind threat actors, before Farrell unpacks his day-to-day work in penetration testing.
- The podcast wraps up by looking into how one might pursue a career in penetration testing, before examining the difference between external and internal pen testers and how they can help businesses.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, Absolute Software cyber security evangelist Dr Torsten George joins host Liam Garman to unpack why organisations need to prioritise cyber resilience over cyber security and how a culture of resilience will enable stronger defence and recovery in the event of a breach.
- The pair begin the podcast by recapping Dr George’s recent world tour, providing much-needed insight into how international organisations are refining their approaches to cyber security.
- Dr George then defines a framework of cyber resilience compared to that of cyber security and how this enables businesses to enhance their defences and resume business operations.
- The podcast wraps up by unpacking how the era of remote work is creating endpoint risks for businesses and those emerging threats that businesses must maintain awareness of.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this special episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, Phil Tarrant and Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson unpack how the Commonwealth’s recently unveiled Defence Strategic Review will influence Australia’s cyber security industry.
- The pair begin the podcast by unpacking how the DSR was fundamental to give certainty to industry and how it is encouraging that cyber is acknowledged among the traditional warfighting domains of land, air and sea.
- Tarrant and MAJGEN (Ret’d) Dr Thompson then examine how the space domain is expected to play a bigger role in the ADF — and how this can apply to the continuing growth of cyber in Defence.
- The podcast wraps up by analysing the future of information and cyber warfare in Australia.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, Tony Howell, global chief architect, defence and intelligence at archTIS, joins host Liam Garman to unpack the Security Legislation Amendment (Critical Infrastructure Protection) Act 2022 and how the new government obligations will impact Australian businesses.
- The pair commence the podcast by discussing what obligations the SLACIP Act will place on businesses and which businesses will have to meet higher cyber security standards.
- Howell and Garman then discuss what happens to businesses that fail to meet their cyber obligations and what constitutes requirements to identify threats “as far as reasonably practicable”.
- The podcast wraps up by unpacking how archTIS can help businesses meet their cyber security requirements in an era of new and emerging legislative frameworks.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, host Liam Garman joins Cyber Security Connect journalist Daniel Croft to unpack whether the Commonwealth should ban ransomware payments, before turning to discuss the future of artificial intelligence (AI) in cyber security.
- The pair begin the podcast by assessing whether legislation to ban ransoms would, in fact, hurt the victims yet further and whether it will create additional illicit markets for threat actors.
- Garman and Croft then unpack how AI and advanced machine learning can be used to improve business practices, and how these new systems can be exploited by threat actors.
- They wrap up the podcast by examining the ethical and security risks of data aggregation in the era of information operations.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, Matt Wilcox, founder and chief executive of FifthDomain, joins host Liam Garman to unveil the company’s new Cyber National Assessment Program for Skills and Employment (CYNAPSE).
- The pair begin the podcast unpacking how the CYNAPSE program will advance Australia’s cyber security industry and how pre-employment testing will support cyber security companies in growing their talent base.
- Wilcox and Garman then continue to unpack early insights into the program’s success and how they’ve enabled partner companies to hire a diverse talent pool of cyber security professionals.
- The podcast wraps up by unpacking what steps Australians can take to improve their cyber security posture and how FifthDomain has proactively supported the cyber security industry.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson and Phil Tarrant cover the latest breaking news in cyber security and question whether Australia needs more stringent data retention regulations.
- The pair begin the podcast unpacking the fallout from the war in Ukraine and how conflict prompts actors to rethink the application of technology in conflict.
- Dr Thompson and Tarrant then analyse the breadth of the recent Latitude Financial hack and how it only takes a short window prior to detection and response for threat actors to steal or encrypt critical data.
- The podcast wraps up with a discussion surrounding data retention and whether companies should retain identification documentation, prompting Dr Thompson to suggest a rethink in how companies retain sensitive data.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Security Uncut team
Cyber Security Uncut presents a new quarterly podcast series with Claroty. In this first episode, the company’s vice-president of cyber safety strategy, Joshua Corman, talks to host Liam Garman to shed light on how cyber criminals can remotely access medical devices and healthcare infrastructure — threatening human safety.
- The pair begin the podcast discussing Corman’s experience as a white hat hacker, before analysing the extent to which medical devices can be accessed by cyber criminals.
- Corman and Garman then discuss how attacks against healthcare providers can be a simple task for some hackers, and those fundamental steps that hospitals and infrastructure providers must take to reduce their threat surface and keep people safe.
- The podcast wraps up by unpacking the must-need tools for businesses to protect their operations, including Claroty’s asset discovery and proprietary protocol offerings to build a resilient OT network.
Future quarterly episodes will feature Claroty subject matter experts providing insight into how businesses can secure cyber physical assets across different industries. Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, Tim Jones, managing director of Hyprfire, joins hosts Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson and Phil Tarrant to discuss the importance of an active defence system and the nexus between academia and the cyber security industry.
- The podcast begins unpacking why businesses are not sufficiently protected if they rely solely on passive protection frameworks, as well as the growing endpoint risk posed by increased interconnectivity.
- The trio then unpack some fundamental lessons for cyber start-ups, and discuss the transference of knowledge between academia and the cyber industry.
- The podcast wraps up with a discussion around how sales teams and product development teams can best work together to grow their cyber security businesses.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, Annie Haggar, principal at Cyber GC, joins hosts Phil Tarrant and Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson to discuss the emerging legislative and regulatory frameworks surrounding business cyber security requirements.
- The podcast begins by unpacking the federal government’s recently introduced cyber security strategies and the potential benefits of introducing a Cyber Security Act to simplify cyber legislation.
- Haggar then provides case studies to detail the legal implications of substandard cyber security practices for businesses that have been breached.
- The podcast wraps up with a discussion surrounding how to build greater awareness of cyber security requirements in the business world and the evolving domain of cyber law.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, Robert Lee, chief executive officer and co-founder of ICS/OT technology provider Dragos, joins Phil Tarrant and Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson to analyse the threat of cyber breaches on national infrastructure.
- The podcast begins unpacking Lee’s passion for defending critical civilian infrastructure, before assessing whether Australian companies are prepared to defend their systems from sophisticated state-based attackers.
- Lee then unpacks the corporate, economic, and physical risks of a cyber attack on Australian infrastructure — from board members being held liable for breaches through to the physical destruction of energy sources.
- Lee, Thompson, and Tarrant then discuss the myth of isolated systems, observing that industrial systems are almost always connected to a broader network and not immune from penetration.
- Wrapping up the podcast, Lee provides fundamental lessons to business leaders and discusses how Dragos helps keep businesses safe.
To learn more about Dragos and recent ICS/OT trends, you can visit the Dragos Year in Review 2022 here. Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, Momentum Media director of defence Phil Tarrant and Major General (Ret'd) Marcus Thompson unpack the latest current affairs in cyber security.
- The podcast begins by unpacking the news cycle over the holiday break and how Australia has earned the unfortunate mantle of the most hacked nation on the planet. The year 2022 saw Australia go through a raft of cyber security disasters, from Medibank to Optus, and the pair explore how this has impacted the cyber security policy debate.
- The pair then discuss the ramifications of the recent LastPass data breach, and how much of the data we see get lost in a breach is available elsewhere.
- The podcast wraps up with an analysis of a new zero-trust agreement between the Five Eyes nations, and how important it is for Australia’s national security, and the security of its allies.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, Cyber Security Connect’s David Hollingworth and Liam Garman investigate the cyber fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. * The podcast begins by unpacking Russia’s attacks on news networks, and how Russian disinformation operations have gained traction in the West. * The pair then unpack recent operations within Russia targeting young men concerned about Putin’s conscription campaign. * Hollingworth and Garman wrap up the podcast examining some of the malware campaigns emerging from Russia, including democratised state-sanctioned hacking groups that are offering free hacking tools for download.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, Cyber Security Connect’s David Hollingworth and Liam Garman unpack the latest news from the United States to manage the risks of TikTok.
- The pair begin the podcast by discussing recent moves by US states to ban the use of TikTok on government phones.
- They continue by assessing recent legislation from the US Senate to oversee the platform.
- Hollingworth and Garman then continue with looking at the impact of TikTok in Australia.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, shadow minister for cyber security and shadow minister for countering foreign interference, Senator James Paterson joins hosts Phil Tarrant and MAJGEN (retired) Dr Marcus Thompson to discuss the regulatory impediments preventing Australia from becoming a leader in cyber security. The group begins the podcast discussing the cyber security threats facing Australia and the role of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO). Senator Paterson then details how foreign interference and espionage have overtaken terrorism as the primary security concern for Australia. The team wraps up the podcast in outlining the importance of attracting the right talent with the right skills to power Australian cyber security businesses. Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, Corey Thomas, chief executive officer of Rapid7, joins host Liam Garman to analyse the cyber security posture of Australia’s leading companies — and what they can learn from around the globe.
- The pair begin the podcast discussing the changing cyber security landscape and Rapid7’s recent analysis into the attack surface of the ASX 200.
- The podcast continues by unpacking current victimology trends impacting top Australian companies, and what these companies can learn from their US counterparts.
- The pair wrap up the podcast analysing Rapid7’s threat detection capabilities and why customer data, rather than financial information, is the target of large-scale attacks.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Security Uncut Team
This special episode of Cyber Security Uncut comes from an exclusive livestream, Hunting for hackers, which featured on cybersecurityconnect.com.au in partnership with ParaFlare. Regular hosts Phil Tarrant and MAJGEN (retired) Dr Marcus Thompson were joined by Deloitte’s cyber partner Rob Parker to discuss the latest breaches and offer their advice to cyber decision makers.
The trio discussed:
- Lessons available from recent data breaches
- What comprehensive cyber security looks like
- How to find and fill the gaps in your cyber security
- The specialist skills needed to hunt for hackers inside a network
- How to build a cyber capability to hunt and find threats in minutes.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, Lani Refiti, regional director – Australia/New Zealand at Claroty, joins host Liam Garman to unpack the relationship between cyber security, critical infrastructure and national security — and how this evolving sector impacts every Australian.
The pair begin the podcast discussing how IT security incidents relate to critical infrastructure, and Claroty’s expertise in protecting the nation’s essential assets.
Refiti then details some of the emerging cyber trends impacting Australian industry, civilian infrastructure and national security.
The pair wrap up the podcast discussing those emerging cyber and geopolitical risks that threaten Australia over the short and medium term.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, Matthew Kluken, vice president and general manager at global information security provider archTIS, joins host Liam Garman to discuss the importance of data-centric security frameworks to protect organisational and business information. * The pair begin the podcast assessing how current cyber security practices are insufficient, examining case studies in which network-wide cyber architectures have nevertheless allowed hackers to access critical data. * The podcast then unpacks the importance of attribute-based access control to keep information secure, ensuring that only relevant stakeholders can access specific datasets. * Kluken then provides essential advice to small and medium-sized businesses that are starting to navigate their cyber security journeys in light of recent large-scale hacks. * The pair wrap up the podcast analysing how archTIS keeps Australian enterprises and defence organisations safe amid an increasingly challenging cyber industry.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, hosts Phil Tarrant and Major General (Ret’d) Marcus Thompson unpack the latest in the cyber security industry, providing the fundamental tips and tricks for businesses to maintain their cyber resilience.
- The podcast begins with a reflection on the recent challenges within the cyber security industry, discussing the swathe of cyber breaches confirmed over the past few weeks.
- The pair then discuss matching cyber risk profiles with investment, and how to utilise Australian cyber security providers to provide frontline defence to protect businesses.
- The podcast wraps up discussing how businesses can build a cyber security framework to inform business practices.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, Aaron Pollard — managing consultant, protective security at CyberCX — and Andrew Robinson — founder and chief information security officer at 6clicks — unpack supply chain risk management amid an evolving threat environment.
Topics discussed include:
- The fundamentals of supply chain risk management.
- Learnings from the SolarWinds hack.
- Securing defence industry supply chains.
- The importance of investigating the security posture of third-party suppliers before onboarding.
- Educating the workforce to ensure they’re equipped to identify threats and employ
cyber-safe practices. - The changing critical infrastructure environment.
- The next steps for CyberCX and 6clicks.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, David Connors, chief technology officer/chief information security officer (CTO/CISO) at Australian Defence Apparel (ADA) joins co-hosts Major General (Ret’d) Marcus Thompson, inaugural head of the Australian Defence Force’s Information Warfare Division, and Phil Tarrant, director – defence and security at Momentum Media, to discuss the importance of shoring up cyber defences in the aftermath of the Optus breach. Topics discussed include: * Learnings from the recent Optus breach and ADA’s cyber response. * ADA’s cyber resilience strategy and the importance of protecting critical data in the defence space. * The benefits of democratising a company’s cyber security posture. * The evolving threat landscape and subsequent changes to regulatory frameworks. * Challenges Connors has faced during his career in the cyber security industry. * ADA’s cyber security testing regime.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, Andrew Hastie, shadow minister for defence, joins co-hosts Major General (Ret’d) Marcus Thompson, inaugural head of the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF) Information Warfare Division and Phil Tarrant, director – defence and security at Momentum Media, to discuss Australia’s broader defence strategy.
• The trio begin by discussing the rapidly evolving geostrategic environment against the backdrop of an ongoing conflict in eastern Europe and growing instability in the Indo-Pacific region.
• Hastie, a veteran of the ADF, then stresses the importance of strengthening Australia’s defence and security posture, making particular reference to enhancing cyber readiness.
• He goes on to explain why the Commonwealth government must continue investing in Australia’s sovereign industrial capability to reduce dependence on foreign networks.
• The shadow minister for defence concludes by outlining his top three priorities over the next three years.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this special episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, Major General (Ret'd) Marcus Thompson, inaugural head of the ADF's Information Warfare Division and Phil Tarrant, director – defence and security at Momentum Media, unpack the extent of the Optus hack, and how the data breach could impact regular Australians.
- Looking back at similar large-scale hacks that have shocked the industry, the pair observe how the normalisation of mass data breaches demands continued collaboration in the industry as hackers can target any business, at any time.
- The pair continue the podcast discussing the difficulty of attributing the attack to either state-based actors or criminal gangs, and recent trends in cyber victimology.
- The podcast wraps up with recommendations for Optus customers, including the use of new passwords, app-based two-factor authentication and monitoring for financial intrusion.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut Podcast, Dr Torsten George, vice president, corporate and product marketing at Absolute, joins Liam Garman to discuss the dynamic threat of endpoint risk — and how businesses can build a cyber security offering that expedites recovery in the event of a breach.
- The pair begin the podcast establishing how endpoint risk threatens small, medium and large businesses, and assess the cyber security practises that allowed some businesses to thrive or dive in the era of remote work.
- The podcast continues with an analysis into the current threat trends within the endpoint risk environment, and how businesses can address such risks.
- Dr George explains Absolute’s recommendation for businesses to develop a “go bag” in the event of a cyber breach, noting that it is not enough to just have preventative security — but also frameworks to expedite recovery.
- The pair wrap up the podcast by discussing the emergence of cyber security insurance, andwhether it is sufficient in the modern threat environment.
To read the Absolute Endpoint Risk Report, click here. Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, hosts Major General (Ret’d) Marcus Thompson and Phil Tarrant unpack the latest trends in the cyber security industry, from victimology through to corporate active defence capabilities.
- The pair begin the podcast discussing current trends in the cyber security industry, with Dr Thompson unpacking the concerns from leading chief information security officers (CISOs) across Australia.
- The podcast then continues with a deep dive into the industry’s most important news stories, including the role of cyber attacks in modern warfare, business-led offensive cyber operations, and attacks on university infrastructure.
- The pair wrap up the podcast with an analysis into current victimology trends arising due to global political volatility.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, Dr Tom Winston, director of intelligence content at Dragos joins host Liam Garman to discuss the latest ransomware trends in the ICS/OT market and how companies can better build risk assessments to protect their businesses. * The podcast begins with a discussion regarding Dr Winston’s risk assessment white paper, and how to enhance communication between IT and OT systems to improve resilience against ransomware. * The pair then discuss the Dragos platform and how it helps protect OT from ransomware groups. * The podcast then continues with an analysis into recent victimology trends within the cyber security industry, including new and emerging threat actors.
Dragos’ latest insight into ransomware as part of the Cyber Security Connect Ransomware Week can be found here, and Dr Winston’s analysis risk assessment white paper can be found here. The recent Cyber Security Uncut episode with Conor McLaren, senior threat intelligence analyst at Dragos, can be found here. Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, hosts Major General (Ret’d) Marcus Thomspon and Phil Tarrant are joined by Adam McCarthy, CEO of ParaFlare.
- The podcast unpacks the genesis of ParaFlare, and how McCarthy’s lessons as a signaller in the military helped build the foundations of the company.
- The trio discuss the core offerings of the company including active cyber defence – or more simply, “catching hackers”!
- McCarthy then outlines the importance of active cyber defence and passive preventative controls, and ParaFlare’s proven success in identifying and responding to threats.
- McCarthy then provides a vulnerability assessment of Australian businesses, from ASX-listed companies to SMEs.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, hosts Phil Tarrant and MAJGEN (Ret’d) Marcus Thompson unpack the latest events in cyber security within Australia and beyond.
- The podcast begins with an analysis of the impact of recent Commonwealth cyber security legislation and regulation on small businesses;
- It continues with an examination into the nexus between business and security, assessing Microsoft’s recent report on cyber operations since the invasion of Ukraine;
- The pair then continue discussing the latest news from the cyber world, including the confirmation that Chinese employees can access TikTok user’s data as well as the recent Deakin University attack;
- The podcast wraps up with a discussion of the ACCC’s plan to stop malicious actors targeting Australians, as well as the recent investment boosts to national security projects.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, Rob Parker, partner at Deloitte Australia, joins hosts Major General (Ret’d) Marcus Thompson and Phil Tarrant to discuss how Deloitte Australia is helping service Australia’s cyber needs.
- The podcast begins with a discussion on the growing consideration for cyber security within the federal government, including through the recent appointment of Clare O’Neil as Minister for Cyber Security.
- Parker then outlines how Deloitte Australia is strengthening Australia’s cyber resilience including providing managed services, before outlining the gaps in Australia’s cyber market.
- The podcast wraps up with a discussion of how SMEs can improve their cyber capabilities.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, Cameron Whittfield, partner at Herbert Smith Freehills joins hosts Phil Tarrant and Major General (Ret’d) Marcus Thompson to discuss:
- The nexus between law and cyber operations, and the increasingly complex regulatory landscape surrounding cyber security.
- Developing assessments of a company’s internal cyber risk profile, and steps toward building an effective crisis management team.
- The changing risk environment, including an analysis into ransomware threats and specific legal considerations that pose risks to companies transferring funds to ransomware actors.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, Reece Corbett-Wilkins and Avryl Lattin, partners at global law firm Clyde & Co, join hosts Phil Tarrant and Major General (Ret’d) Marcus Thompson to discuss how cyber security is becoming a legal obligation for firms.
The podcast begins with an analysis into the proceedings of the Federal Court against RI Advice, in which ASIC argued that cyber security controls within businesses were fundamental to minimise the threat of data misuse.
The guests continue with an analysis of the requirements of financial services reporting in the event of cyber security breaches.
Finally, the podcast wraps up with an examination of how businesses can ensure that they are meeting their obligations for data protection.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, Major General (Ret’d) Mick Ryan joins hosts Major General (Ret’d) Marcus Thompson and Phil Tarrant to discuss the recent conflict in Ukraine, modern security and the worsening geopolitical situation.
Ryan begins the podcast by providing an analysis into the ongoing War in Ukraine, drawing two conclusions that the recent conflict has reaffirmed: the importance of realistic strategy, and that strategies must be based on tested assumptions. He then explains that Russia cannot win the conflict, meaning that their best outcome is to bring the war to an end in the medium term.
Both Ryan and Thompson then analyse the marriage between information and warfare, and how the Ukrainians have seemingly implemented Gerasimov’s notion of hybrid warfare better than the Russian military.
The conversation continues, with Ryan outlining the essential takeaways for Western governments from the recent conflict, including the importance of the integration of military and national power and the reaffirmed importance of joint domain capabilities including cyber.
The trio wraps up the podcast by analysing the recent geopolitical vicissitudes in the Asia-Pacific – including an analysis on China’s Taiwan ambitions and the impact of China’s arrangements with the Solomon Islands.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this special Cyber Resilience Week episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, senior threat intelligence analyst at Dragos, Conor McLaren, joins host Liam Garman to unpack emerging cyber threats in the industrial control systems and operational technology sector.
The podcast begins by discussing Dragos’ recent expansion into Australia and how building robust ICS/OT cyber security practices is essential for defending civilisation against malicious actors.
The pair continues by analysing the newly discovered ICS malware framework dubbed PIPEDREAM, a highly flexible toolset that is capable of causing disruption, degradation, and possibly even destruction depending on the associated targets and environment. McLaren then provides an assessment of the theoretical applications of PIPEDREAM to potentially threaten ICS/OT functions across multiple industries and geographies.
The podcast wraps up by discussing future threats to ICS/OT, with McLaren providing key recommendations to organisations to protect their business operations.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Security Uncut team
Hosts MAJGEN (Ret'd) Marcus Thompson and Phil Tarrant highlight the need for cyber security awareness across the banking and finance sector.
The pair begin by issuing a warning over the spike in malicious cyber activity from Russian actors following the Commonwealth government’s decision to impose sanctions on the country in response to its invasion of Ukraine.
MAJGEN Thompson and Tarrant go on to discuss their contributions to strengthening cyber security awareness across the country, with the pair touring Australia to help inform the banking and finance community at The Adviser’s Better Business Summit 2022.
The hosts stress the importance of building cyber resilience in the sector, which they agree should be treated as critical infrastructure.
Finally, the pair explain how public policy and government-backed institutions can better equip organisations with the tools to combat cyber threats.
Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Security Uncut team.
Hosts Major General (Ret’d) Marcus Thompson and Phil Tarrant unpack the latest in cyber security policy, and how cyber is shaping up to become an election issue.
The pair begins by analysing the impact of the recent Solomon Islands-China agreement on Australian security, assessing the government and opposition’s policies around cyber security including Project REDSPICE.
The podcast continues with an analysis into whether these policies are achievable in their stated time frame, casting doubt on whether there is a sufficient flow of cyber security graduates to fill a large-scale expansion in the cyber security industry.
The pair wraps up by discussing the latest cyber security news, including recent data showing a fourfold increase in phishing attacks while Phil Tarrant shares insight on how his team seeks to continuously improve their cyber security protocols.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, managing director and chief executive officer of TrustedImpact Tom Crampton joins host Liam Garman to discuss how cyber security is becoming a whole of company challenge – from HR, through to finance, operations and senior management.
Founded in 2006, the boutique cyber security consulting firm has successfully conducted thousands of projects for over 300 commercial and government clients.
The podcast begins with a discussion around the meteoric rise of cyber security as a business risk, and how businesses have been forced to alter and change their operations to meet emerging threats.
The pair continues by analysing TrustedImpact’s awareness training, and the risk that untrained employees or maverick individuals could have on an organisation.
The podcast wraps up with a discussion around the future of Australia’s cyber security industry, including whether the current demand for cyber expertise will outstrip supply.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Security Uncut Team
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, hosts Phil Tarrant and Major General (Ret’d) Marcus Thompson, inaugural head of information warfare for the ADF, discuss the rapidly evolving domestic and global cyber security landscape.
The pair begins by flagging risks associated with the rise in polarisation, alarmism and sensationalism in the cyber space.
Tarrant and MAJGEN Thompson then discuss the importance of democratisation of information and openness in the industry, drawing on the Australian Signals Directorate’s recent engagement strategy.
The hosts go on to reflect on the Russia-Ukraine crisis – the potential outcome of the ongoing conflict, and Australia’s contribution to Ukraine’s resistance.
The pair concludes by discussing opportunities to address skills and workforce shortages in the cyber space, drawing on MAJGEN Thompson’s appearance on a panel discussion hosted by ParaFlare and Deloitte.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this special Cyber Resilience Week edition of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, host Liam Garman is joined by Linda Cavanagh, chief operating officer at Cybermerc to discuss how Australian companies have risen to the challenge to build a robust and innovative cyber security industry.
The pair begins by discussing the profile of the modern cyber criminal, and the emerging tools and vectors they use to conduct cyber crime.
The podcast then continues by discussing Cybermerc’s AUSHIELD offering, how their Protect, Defence and Detect solutions are game changers for protecting businesses.
The pair wraps up the podcast by looking at the future of cyber security, including what threats lurk on the horizon and how Cybermerc aims to overcome them.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this special cross over podcast, MAJ GEN (Ret'd) Marcus Thompson joins Clare Pales, director of The Secure Board, as a guest on the Secure Board podcast.
The pair begin by analysing how recent legislative changes will impact Australia's cyber security environment, and the flow on effects that policy changes will have on local business.
Thompson and Pales continue the podcast discussing the importance of having cyber security expertise at senior management levels in companies to ensure that businesses have a cyber security culture.
The pair wrap up the podcast by discussing strategies on how businesses can maintain cyber safe practices.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, hosts Phil Tarrant and MAJGEN (Ret’d) Marcus Thompson, inaugural head of information warfare for the ADF, discuss Russia's history of cyber war and how this vector will continue to shape peace and conflict in the future.
The pair begin by discussing MAJGEN (Ret’d) Thompson’s recent opinion piece in The Australian Financial Review, which dives into Russia’s history of cyber and information warfare.
In his piece, he argues that Australia must better prepare itself for cyber attacks which will be weaponised in reprisal against Australia for supporting Ukraine during the recent conflict.
Both hosts continue by discussing the impact of cyber warfare on Australian businesses, and how many malicious actors work in concert with state-sponsored groups to exploit the cyber domain.
The pair wraps up the podcast by analysing how cyber remains an integral part in both hybrid and greyzone warfare, and that foreign actors will continue to use cyber as an essential attack vector in future conflicts.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this episode of Cyber Security Uncut, Paula Oliver, manager at AustCyber South Australia Node, joins host Phil Tarrant to discuss the upcoming event “How to give your business champagne level security on a beer budget”.
Hosted virtually on the 23rd of February, the free event is designed to help businesses build their cyber security resilience on a budget and features keynote speakers from across the industry, including Paula.
Throughout the podcast, the pair discusses how cyber security is impacting businesses both big and small, the impact of sustained cyber attacks on the economy and analyses recent trends such as invoice threats and email compromise.
The podcast wraps up with an analysis of the digital workplace, including the need to view cyber security as a business risk and discussing Australia’s future cyber workforce.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Security Uncut podcast
In this episode of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast, hosts Phil Tarrant and MAJGEN (Ret’d) Marcus Thompson analyse the effects of cyber manipulation on the world as we know it.
The pair begin by discussing the impact of information warfare on politics, and how emerging cyber tools such as deepfakes could be used by threat actors to foment political and international conflict.
The podcast continues by diving into the applications of cyber warfare in the modern conflict space and how threat actors use cyber vectors to achieve non-kinetic advantages over their adversaries.
The pair wraps up the podcast by discussing the impact of cyber surveillance on individuals and businesses, encouraging companies to implement cyber security protocols when employees travel overseas.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Security Uncut team
Hosts Phil Tarrant and MAJ GEN (Ret'd) Marcus Thompson join the studio to discuss the latest breaking news and updates from the cyber security industry.
The pair begin by analysing the impact that malicious cyber security operations have on regular companies, especially those outside of the cyber security industry, and that many firms have been slow to understand the true implications of poor cyber protocols.
The podcast then analyses the growing market around cyber security insurance, and the apprehension among some insurers to cover cyber risk.
The pair wrap up the podcast by analysing the role of intelligence and law enforcement agencies in combating cyber crime, and the difficulties they face in bringing cyber criminals to justice.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Security Uncut team
Liam Garman, editor of Cyber Security Connect, joins host Phil Tarrant to discuss the biggest cyber security news stories from 2021.
From reclassifying critical infrastructure to breaking commercial investments in the industry, join our hosts as we look back on an amazing year of achievements and announcements in Defence and defence industry.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this episode of Cyber Security Uncut, Alex Tilley, head of intelligence and research, APAC at Secureworks, joins our hosts MAJGEN (Ret’d) Marcus Thompson and Phil Tarrant to discuss the evolving cyber threat landscape.
The podcast begins with a wrap up from MAJGEN Marcus Thompson on the latest in the cyber security industry, including discussing findings from the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the release of the exposure draft for the second critical infrastructure bill.
Tilley then gives a snapshot of the threat landscape including his insights into the emerging and evolving Log4j vulnerability.
The trio then analyses how the industry uses critical scenarios, such as widely exploited vulnerabilities, as learning opportunities to inform the next generation of threat response mechanisms in the cyber domain.
The podcast wraps up by analysing the changing character of cyber crime, with criminals moving from targeting large corporations to targeting individuals and small businesses.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Security Uncut team
On this episode of Cyber Security Uncut, Bex Nitert, managing consultant digital forensics and incident response at ParaFlare joins hosts Major General (Ret’d) Marcus Thompson and Phil Tarrant to discuss Australia’s cyber threat response industry.
The podcast begins with a discussion between the hosts about recently passed legislation, dubbed the Magnitsky Act, which seeks to ban human rights abusers, cyber criminals and corrupt officials from entering Australia and giving the commonwealth the opportunity to seize assets.
The trio then discuss digital forensics and threat response operations, and how businesses need to be proactive about cyber security to ensure that business functions don’t suffer breaches.
The podcast then analyses the skills and requirements for future cyber professionals, including the “art versus science” of intelligence.
The trio wraps up by examining how professionals in the cyber industry are able to help build a more secure Australia by collaborating with law enforcement agencies, and discuss profiles of cyber crime actors.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Security Uncut team
In this week’s podcast, Narelle Devine CSM, chief information security officer, Asia Pacific at Telstra, joins hosts MAJ GEN (Ret’d) Marcus Thompson and Phil Tarrant, director defence and security at Momentum media, to discuss cyber security challenges from the perspective of one of the country’s largest telecommunications companies.
Devine begins by discussing her transition from decades of service with the Royal Australian Navy to a successful career in the civilian space, supporting cyber security integration across both the public and private sector.
Telstra’s CISO then discusses the cyber security challenges facing the globe, noting the spike in malicious activity, particularly the targeting of consumers through mobile communications scams.
Devine outlines the strategies employed by stakeholders to counter cyber threats, including direct efforts to curtail criminal actors and broader efforts to bolster resilience across the community.
The discussion continues with an analysis of the range of threat vectors, with Devine explaining while ransomware in particular is top of mind for CISOs.
The trio then delve into the ongoing challenges associated with building Australia’s cyber workforce, with Devine outlining strategies to retain and attract highly-skilled talent.
Finally, Devine explains how Telstra is shaping their strategy to prepare for the future threat environment.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Security Connect team
In this week’s podcast, Lani Refiti, regional director, ANZ at Claroty, joins hosts MAJ GEN (Ret’d) Marcus Thompson and Phil Tarrant, director – defence and security at Momentum Media, to discuss securing Australia’s critical infrastructure amid an evolving cyber threat landscape.
The podcast begins by analysing the latest news and updates from the cyber security industry, including balancing workforce demands for privacy despite remote work, as well as the latest in a long string of cyber attacks overseas.
The trio then dives into analysing Claroty’s core business offering as an industrial cyber security company, focusing on two crucial areas: critical infrastructure and defence industries.
The podcast then analyses Claroty’s efforts in protecting Australia’s critical infrastructure from threat actors, and whether the government’s new critical infrastructure bill was sufficient to address the current cyber security threat landscape.
Lani then discusses how “black swan” cyber incidents aren’t far-fetched concepts – but growing realities in an increasingly cyber world.
The podcast wraps up by analysing Claroty’s ambitious plans in the region including optimising their current service offerings, and how the industry can amplify awareness of the cyber threat environment.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Security Connect team
In this episode of Cyber Security Uncut, Daniel Lai, chief executive officer of archTIS joins hosts MAJGEN (Ret’d) Marcus Thompson, chair of the Penten board and Phil Tarrant, director – defence and security at Momentum Media to unpack the latest in the cyber security industry.
To begin, the trio discusses the latest news and updates from the market, including how the pandemic has created new loopholes for threat actors to exploit – and how secure information sharing services, such as archTIS, have addressed those challenges.
The podcast then examines the changing trust environment, including security classifications and protecting information in an increasingly complex ecosystem, before examining the nexus between industry and government to build a resilient sovereign cyber industry.
The trio wraps up the podcast by discussing how archTIS and Penten navigate the business environment, while Lai explains how his business growth has been rooted in developing quality products.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Security Connect team
In this episode of Cyber Security Uncut, Matthew Wilson, CEO of cyber technology firm Penten, joins hosts, Major General (Ret’d) Marcus Thompson and Phil Tarrant, director – defence and security at Momentum Media, to discuss the company’s growth strategy in the cyber security space.
The trio begin by announcing the appointment of MAJGEN (Ret’d) Thompson as the new chair of the Penten board, explaining how the company plans to leverage his experience to realise its ambitions.
Wilson then discusses the company’s recent capital raise, which aims to strengthen the company’s financial position in an effort to bolster investment.
The Penten CEO also explains how the company and other SMEs can support the nation’s broader push to enhance digital sovereignty, making particular reference to the importance of emerging encryption technology.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Security Connect Team
In this episode of Cyber Security Uncut, Aiden Tudehope, co-founder and managing director, government and hosting group at Macquarie Telecom Group, joins hosts Major General (Ret’d) Marcus Thompson and Phil Tarrant, director – defence and security at Momentum Media, to discuss the company’s recent expansion in the data security space.
The trio beginning by weighing in on the trilateral AUKUS agreement between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, discussing what it might mean for technological development in the cyber domain.
Tudehope, MAJGEN (Ret’d) Thompson, and Tarrant go on to note the importance of digital sovereignty in ensuring the nation retains control of sensitive data, minimising national security vulnerabilities.
Tudehope then discusses the evolution of Macquarie Telecom Group, explaining how the company reimagined its purpose to support Australia’s changing data security needs.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Security Connect Team
Cyber Security Uncut is back with the second episode of the podcast, hosted by Major General (Ret'd) Marcus Thompson, inaugural head of the Department of Defence’s Information Warfare Division and Phil Tarrant, director – defence and security at Momentum Media.
The podcast begins by analysing the impact that organisational budget cuts within the cyber and IT portfolios have had on the ability for businesses to manage the growing financial risk of cyber penetration.
The pair continue by analysing where cyber security risk management teams and chief information security officers (CISOs) should sit in organisational structures, and what the Australian government’s cyber security watchdogs are doing to combat this growing threat.
The podcast wraps up by discussing how businesses can better prepare themselves for cyber penetrations by investigating recent phishing and ransomware operations.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Security Connect Team
Welcome the first edition of the Cyber Security Uncut podcast with our hosts Major General (Ret'd) Marcus Thompson, former head of the Department of Defence's Information Warfare Division, and Phil Tarrant, director — defence and security at Momentum Media.
The Cyber Security Uncut podcast is a fortnightly podcast unpacking Australia's innovative and vibrant cyber security sector, from the latest business trends facing the industry through to breaking global news.
The pair begin by analysing the emerging trends within cyber warfare and the growing use of information operations as an exploitable domain. They also examine how cyber security is an ever growing financial risk to Australian companies, discussing the importance of cyber security protocols within businesses.
The podcast wraps up by analysing the importance of a sovereign cyber security industry in Australia to service the nation's growing cyber security needs.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Security Connect Team