Today we are talking about insurance and government regulation... No! Wait! It's good stuff so bear with us.

As the US administration seems intent on dismantling government protections in cybersecutiy, we will all rely heavily on foreign governments and private industries, like insurance, to keep us safe from cybercrime. The Digital Operations Resilience Act, that the EU put into force in January, is a good example of the former, and the insurance industry is a good example of the latter.

We talk to Spencer Timmel, head of cybersecurity and technology for Safety National Insurance(our sponsor) and Arnaud Treps fromOdaseva about how insurance and cybersecurity tech companies are working hand-in-glove to fill in the gaps being left by the Musk/Trump administration.

Phishing attacks are on the rise again with the help of sophisticated generative-AI tools. But new defenses and increased wariness among potential victims are blunting the potential for widespread harm.

We talked with Greg Linares, Principle Threat Intelligence Analyst for Huntress regarding their annual Threat Intelligence report. It sounds grim, but in a new article on Cyber Protection Magazine, we also report on how defensive technology from companies like DeepTempo and personal awareness can blunt the attacks.

I am very far behind in writing stories and making podcasts. The events since January 20 have made it difficult to keep up. But today, while walking downtown I came across a brand-new independent book store That had a copy of a book dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Dream" speech.

I attended that event, with my mother, when I was 11. It was a foundational moment for me. It is when I became "woke." When I saw that book, I knew I had to buy it for my grandchildren, because being two generations separated from that moment is too far. I needed to bring it forward for them, so I bought the book for them and intend to read it to them and help them understand how important the dream is for them as well, especially today.

This isn't a political issue for me. It is how I want to model my life. It does afect my politics, but it also affects my view of family, friends, neighbors, theology, and the world. If you choose to listen to me read this speech, I thank you for taking the time. My thanks extends even to those who are offended by it, as long as they listen to it. It is important to hear, even 60+ years after the fact. Only by repeating it can we learn from it.

This week, we are talking to a lawyer. Maryam Meseha is a founding partner of Pierson Ferdinand LLC, a relatively new and large firm dedicated to digital security.

In the first few weeks of the year, the new US administration has castrated the governmental infrastructure to make sure corporation keep customer data safe, especially in the area of retail fraud. It’s law firms, like Pierson Ferdinand and insurance companies, like our sponsor Safety National that are stepping up to remind companies that maintaining g a strong security posture is a good idea. We appreciate that sentiment. Hope it works.

I've had several discussions about the nature of censorship, the freedom of speech and moderation and I came to the realization that most people have no idea what sociial media moderation is. So I did a bit of a rant.

We also are bringing back the top threat reports from Fletch for a bit of lightheartedness before the rant.

James Bore is a cybersecurity consultant, speaker and publisher based in the UK. He has a refined sense of cynicism that clicks with my own, so we've been chatting back and forth for several months on various subjects and decided it's probably time to record some of our interaction.

Today, we are looking at the preferred marketing practice (shiny objects) of sewing fear, uncertainty and doubt to get people to buy their products. It drives us both nuts. The issue is not limited to cybersecurity, but it is prevalent in the industry. I'm guessing this conversation will resonate with many of you. Our hope is that our marketing listeners will rethink some strategies,

For about two years, the team at Cyber Protection Magazine has debated whether Meta platforms (Facebook, Instagram and *shudder* WhatsApp) were valuable or even necessary for the reach of our magazine. For two years, I've been outvoted every time. Instead, I unilaterally decided to divorce from the platforms.

Providentially, Mark Zuckerberg made two announcements in as many weeks that made the decision unanimous. We are leaving Meta behind for good. Instead, we will remain on Linkedin and join Mastodon and Bluesky this year.

This podcast is the recording of the conversation my co-founder, Patrick Boch, and I had on the "momentous" decision, which also drifted into the issue of what constituted valid information.

Check it out.

We open a new year and a new season with our friend, Ian Thornton-Trump, chief information security officer at the MSSP Inversion6 and in 30 minutes we take on some pretty meaty subjects.

First we discuss how China strategically infiltrated technology systems in the US and other countries as a geopolitical message rather than attacks. He discusses the challenges of securing complex, interconnected systems and the need for proactive defense.

Next we review the rise of corporate power and influence and how the increasing wealth and influence of individuals like Elon Musk is disrupting the traditional balance of power in democracies. The ethical concerns around wealthy individuals wielding disproportionate political influence could result in something the oligarchs are not expecting.

Finally, we review potential trade wars and the possibility of Canada and Mexico joining the BRICS alliance.

2025 is going to be bumpy but very interesting.

The available guests for this last podcast of the year dried up pretty quickly so I thought I would give some closing thoughts on a big issue facing the world: Trust and the lack of it.

Also, our last threat reports courtesy of Fletch.ai

Our friends at Fletch provide a grand slam of threats for Thanksgiving week, covering Apple, Android, AWS and Microsoft vulnerabilities

No regular podcast this week but we will be back next week with a possible new way to abuse AI.