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The Money Laundering Machine: Inside the global crime epidemic

In this episode of the Cybersecurity & Geopolitical Discussion, our trio of hosts discuss paradoxes surrounding money laundering and the reasons it’s so popular, particularly among well-establish organised criminal gangs.

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Vote UK: 

The geopolitical, cyber and security implications of the upcoming British election…

In a year of global elections, next up on July 4 the UK decides on its next government after 14 years of rule by the right-wing Conservative Party. In this episode, our regular panel of Cijax CISO Ian Thornton Trump, Red Goat Security’s Lisa Forte and Grey Hare Media’s Philip Ingram pull apart the scenario to uncover what the impact could be on national and global security. 

Appetite for Change in a Climate of Disinformation

Looking at the current UK polls, our panel discusses whether the predictions can be trusted. Possible outcomes are examined, along with their impact on a current global stage dominated by conflict and uncertainty, and the UK’s international influence and reputation.  

A snap election called by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has left little time for political campaign planning. This has stoked sound bites and disinformation as competing parties strive to make the biggest impact by scoring points over their rivals. Our panel explains why this opens the door to external interference from those that would gain from disrupting the democratic process and drive instability in a country that has extensive geopolitical influence.

Coming Clean on Security

One of the most eye-opening UK election pledges to date is the Conservative’s sudden commitment to introducing National Service for 18-year-old Brits. Our panel dive into the detail to decide whether this is merely sound-bite sensationalism or a credible security strategy that other countries should take on board.

Could the move be a way of shoring up an underfunded UK military by stealth, and how would this policy affect the armed forces? Does this election create an opportunity to stop the serial bluffing about defense capabilities and actually pledge action to solve the problem? Or would this be far too close to the truth for the UK and other major world powers?

A Matter of Trust

As disinformation reigns and a deep fake of Labour Leader Keir Starmer causes consternation, our panel examine whether the resulting skepticism and apathy among UK voters could ultimately decide the outcome of this election. With social media growing in importance as the main political battleground, influencers weald increasing power, click bait rules and hackers look set to have a field day, further eroding trust. What will this ultimately mean for the UK and its global partners? 

Find out all this and more in our latest episode which dissects the perils of modern elections through the lens of the UK.

Thanks to threat intelligence business Cyjax for continued support and sponsorship.

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In this episode of the Cybersecurity & Geopolitical Discussion, hosts Ian Thornton-Trump CD, CISO for Cyjax, Lisa Forte, Partner at Red Goat Security and Philip Ingram MBE, CEO of Grey Hare Media debate the geopolitical and security dimensions of The real space race: Inside geopolitics and security of a $1.8T industry. Our PODCAST is sponsored by CYJAX.

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In Episode 21 of the Cybersecurity & Geopolitical Discussion, hosts Ian Thornton-Trump CD, CISO for Cyjax, Lisa Forte, Partner at Red Goat Security and Philip Ingram MBE, CEO of Grey Hare Media discuss how modern forces manifest, how much power is truly being wielded, and what effect it is likely to have on a year when some of world’s biggest and most influential powers are holding elections.

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Broken China? 

China borders 14 countries and is the 4th largest country in the world and second largest in terms of population. It's very surprising to know so little about the Chinese even though western think tanks and news articles have written volumes. It's shocking that a county which is at the very enter of the global supply chain for nearly every other country in the world is enigmatic, challenging, and difficult to understand. Perhaps it's due to China being an officially atheist state with over 40% of the population identifying as agnostic or atheist? This is remarkably different from nearly any other country in the world as is the lack of ethnic diversity 91.6% identify as ethnically Han. China is different, or is it really?

In this video podcast with Comrade Ian Thornton-Trump CD, CISO for Cyjax, Comrade Lisa Forte and Comrade Philip Ingram MBE we wave the Chinese flag passionately as we explore China. Lisa, was our woman on the ground who travelled the length and width of the region including rural Mongolia in -45 Celsius (-49 Fahrenheit) and visited Beijing as well as some rural villages - we can categorically state China has some of the best ice climbing opportunities in the world. The ice climbing opportunities aside this video podcast is supported by a new report from our sponsor Cyjax written by Comrade Nikita Cole whose draft helped structured our discussion - the paper is available here:

This short excerpt from the CIA world fact book paints the picture and rather surprisingly is unbiased in relating to China's resent ascension to the second largest economy in the world (2024).   

"MAO Zedong died in 1976. Beginning in 1978, subsequent leaders DENG Xiaoping, JIANG Zemin, and HU Jintao focused on market-oriented economic development and opening the country to foreign trade, while maintaining the rule of the CCP. Since the change, China has been among the world’s fastest growing economies, with real gross domestic product averaging over 9% growth annually through 2021, lifting an estimated 800 million people out of poverty, and dramatically improving overall living standards."

What the CIA world fact book has left out is the lifting out of poverty has created a massive middle class anxious for western consumer and luxury goods. The 2023 McKinsey China Consumer Report also found the middle class continues to rise. There is still no other country that adds as many households to the middle class each year as China does. Over the next three years, China is expected to add another 71 million upper-middle and high-income households adding to the 693.3 million identified in 2022. It's massive and a massive market opportunity for any firm. 

But all may not be as well as it seems - the panel explores some of doom and gloom associated with China and how cracks may be showing in foreign policy, international relations and its relationship with the world’s largest economy the USA - join us for a fascinating look at a country described by some as a "Frenemy" to the west but has radically transformed in less than 1/2 a lifetime - 45 years.

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Ian Thornton Trump CD, Lisa Forte and Philip Ingram MBE look at events coming in 2024 and what could influence them from a geopolitical and cyber perspective.  This episode is sponsored by CYJAX.

Ian Thornton-Trump CD, CISO for Cyjax, Lisa Forte, Partner at Red Goat Security and Philip Ingram MBE of Grayhare Media take a look at some of the more interesting world events which are set to take place in 2024. Kicking off our usual banter on this particular topic was an article in the Economist - but due to the “Great British Paywall” I’ve substituted this article https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2024/1/3/24022864/elections-democracy-2024-united-states-india-pakistan-indonesia-european-parliament-far-right-voting instead which captures the essence of the discussion.

With great analysis from Phil and Lisa we talk about the upcoming Russian election and the tone (as usual)  turns ominous as we discuss reminders of Putin’s responses to critics of his regime. https://www.newsweek.com/full-list-russians-fall-windows-putin-ukraine-war-1781790 We can expect more gravity related fatalities soon in the run up to the March 2024 Russian election.

India, the world’s largest democracy will conduct a national election April to May 2024. The growing population of India and it’s important in world affairs is fast becoming a sought after strategic partner for many powerful countries. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/31/bjp-modi-india-general-election-2024 but the massive disinformation capabilities could destabilise the process to a considerable degree. Lisa, citing the recent Brazilian election experience with disinformation across social media platforms and Phil identifying the magnitude of the problem brought to light in this research: https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2021-01-13-social-media-manipulation-political-actors-industrial-scale-problem-oxford-report place the Indian elections in the right context and identify a potential lynch pin in geopolitical relationships. This will be an election which many people will be watching the results not the least of which are the 1.4 billion Indians—and a considerable number of Indian ex-pats across the world. For additional information on this subject please see: https://news.mit.edu/2023/study-microtargeting-politics-tailored-ads-0621

The panel observes the potential impacts of recent layoffs in the big social media companies as well as AI content creation may in the words of Lisa “run amok” and the lack of safeguards or “kill switch” when it comes to viral content has every opportunity to feed a cycle of violence, anger and create the right atmosphere for successful disinformation and manipulation. The broader outcome of the election and the inevitable geopolitical forces lead to the panel to conclude that India may be open to shopping for the right defence partner in the years ahead to further its own geopolitical and national policy goals. 

It’s inevitable when looking at key events of 2024 the panel turns to the big question of Russia Ukraine confit. Phil’s podcast on the tactical situation can be found here: https://podcasts.

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Ukraine Day 645, Philip INGRAM MBE former NATO planner and senior British Military Intelligence officer, and now TV and Radio commentator for Sky News, Talk TV and more,  gives his update on the current situation.

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 In Episode 17 of the Cybersecurity & Geopolitical Discussion from Security magazine, hosts Cyjax CISO Ian Thornton-Trump and Sky News security expert Philip Ingram, MBE, of Grey Hare Media are joined by Red Goat Cyber Security's Lisa Forte to analyze current events in the Middle East as the conflict between Israel and Hamas unfolds. The trio start with an update on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war before analyzing events in the Middle East, from the proliferation of misinformation and disinformation to how cyberattacks have played a role in the Israel-Hamas conflict.

1-16 can be accessed here: https://www.securitymagazine.com/videos/6339837947112?bctid=6339837947112