Smashing Security

A ransomware negotiator attended a cybersecurity conference, only to be arrested by the FBI in connection with its investigation into the ShinyHunters gang.

Meanwhile, hackers get the keys to ASOS's app and the chance to message every single customer. What did they say? And how did the company respond? We have thoughts.

All this and more is discussed in episode 488 of the "Smashing Security" podcast with cybersecurity expert and keynote speaker Graham Cluley, and special guest Paul Ducklin.

EPISODE LINKS:

• ”123456” password used in massive Danish CPR data breach - The Copenhagen Post.
• ‘You have a meeting’: the calendar phishing scam growing exponentially - The Guardian.
• Anthropic AI model submitted false tip about unsolved murder, Philadelphia police say - 6abc Philadelphia.
• FBI Arrests Executive at Ransomware Negotiation Firm - Krebs on Security.
• ASOS hack: If you could message every customer, what would YOU tell them? - SolCyber.
• Rooftops, penthouses, and urban living - Mike Tomlin on YouTube.
• I built ChatGPT with Minecraft redstone! - YouTube.
• &udm=14 - the disenshittification Konami code - Udm14.
• Smashing Security merchandise (t-shirts, mugs, stickers and stuff)

SPONSORS:

• Origin - Endpoint AI observability. Put your AI agent on the record, and request a demo.
• Vanta - Expand the scope of your security program with market-leading compliance automation… while saving time and money. Smashing Security listeners get $1000 off!
• Hack The Box - Develop, exercise and measure the capabilities of your human operators and AI agents.

SUPPORT THE SHOW:

Tell your friends and colleagues about “Smashing Security”, and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Podchaser.

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Follow us on Bluesky or Mastodon, or on the Smashing Security subreddit, and visit our website for more episodes.

THANKS:

Theme tune: "Vinyl Memories" by Mikael Manvelyan.

Assorted sound effects: AudioBlocks.

Microsoft's Twitter account, with its 13 million followers, was hijacked by a paperclip. There was no ransomware or data theft, just Clippy, a dodgy crypto coin, and a corporate apology that wasn't from Microsoft either.

Meanwhile, UK losses from hacked email and social media accounts have rocketed by 417%, as scammers pose as your friends to flog you tickets to gigs that don't exist.

Plus, Hack The Box's Christine Bartlett joins us for a featured interview to ask what happens when AI agents join your security team, and whether anyone has thought to give them a performance review.

All this and more in episode 487 of the "Smashing Security" podcast with cybersecurity expert and keynote speaker Graham Cluley, and special guest Danny Palmer.

EPISODE LINKS:

• South Korean officials believe AI agents were used to hack several banks - The Record.
• Asos warns customer data may be compromised after ‘unauthorised’ app access - The Guardian.
• PixelLeak AI exposure of private developer data - Glow.
• Crypto Scammers Hijack Microsoft's Official X Account - SecurityWeek.
• Is everything ok Microsoft? - The Verge.
• Switch to passkeys: Report Fraud warning as email and social media account hacking sums stolen rise by more than 400 per cent - City of London police.
• Swiss railway clock - Wikipedia.
• The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered Trailer - YouTube.
• Smashing Security merchandise (t-shirts, mugs, stickers and stuff)

SPONSORS:

• Hack The Box - Develop, exercise and measure the capabilities of your human operators and AI agents.
• Vanta - Expand the scope of your security program with market-leading compliance automation… while saving time and money. Smashing Security listeners get $1000 off!
• Origin - Endpoint AI observability. Put your AI agent on the record, and request a demo.

SUPPORT THE SHOW:

Tell your friends and colleagues about “Smashing Security”, and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Podchaser.

Become a supporter! Join Smashing Security PLUS via Patreon or Apple Podcasts for ad-free episodes on our early-release feed!

FOLLOW THE SHOW:

Follow us on Bluesky or Mastodon, or on the Smashing Security subreddit, and visit our website for more episodes.

THANKS:

Theme tune: "Vinyl Memories" by Mikael Manvelyan.

Assorted sound effects: AudioBlocks.

A store in Auckland vibe-coded itself a new website. Within hours, its inventory had somehow expanded to include a pair of crusty socks, an $850 banana, and all of New Zealand's national parks. What could possibly have gone wrong?

Meanwhile, a hacker collective backed a truck into one of the license-plate-reading Flock safety cameras popping up on American street corners, and took a very close look inside.

All this and more in episode 486 of the "Smashing Security" podcast with cybersecurity expert and keynote speaker Graham Cluley, and special guest Dave Bittner.

EPISODE LINKS:

• Claude Opus 5 Helped Researchers Take Over OpenAI Staff Accounts via Chained Flaws - The Hacker News.
• Odido hackers mock police, threaten another Netherlands hack - Cybernews.
• North Korea's fake job interviews infected 30,000 devices - The Register.
• Ridiculous deals as store leaves website open for the public to edit - Stuff.
• Critical Vulnerability in AI Vibe Coding platform Base44 - Wiz.
• Beautiful People: The dating site that FAKED getting hacked by a virus called Shrek - Graham Cluley on YouTube.
• Flock Camera Locations - Live Map of 150,000+ Flock Safety Cameras & ALPRs.
• Flock cameras are riddled with security vulnerabilities and hard-coded credentials - Micah Flee.
• Creve Coeur police in 'state of chaos' as former chief investigated for misconduct - WCBU Peoria.
• La La Land Filming Locations - Seeing Stars.
• Mrs Mills - Wikipedia.
• Let's Have a Party - The Piano Genius of Mrs. Mills - YouTube.
• Introducing the Originals Mrs Mills Piano from Abbey Road Studios & Spitfire Audio - Abbey Road.
• Smashing Security merchandise (t-shirts, mugs, stickers and stuff)

SPONSORS:

• Vanta - Expand the scope of your security program with market-leading compliance automation… while saving time and money. Smashing Security listeners get $1000 off!
• Origin - Endpoint AI observability. Put your AI agent on the record, and request a demo.
• ThreatLocker - Book a demo today and start securing your organisation.

SUPPORT THE SHOW:

Tell your friends and colleagues about “Smashing Security”, and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Podchaser.

Become a supporter! Join Smashing Security PLUS via Patreon or Apple Podcasts for ad-free episodes on our early-release feed!

FOLLOW THE SHOW:

Follow us on Bluesky or Mastodon, or on the Smashing Security subreddit, and visit our website for more episodes.

THANKS:

Theme tune: "Vinyl Memories" by Mikael Manvelyan.

Assorted sound effects: AudioBlocks.

Researchers wanted to test if LG's smart TVs come with any security risks - but their lawyers noticed a snag: the terms and conditions would forbid it. So they came up with a solution. They got plastered before setting up the TV, on the reasoning that you can't be legally bound to a contract you agreed to while drunk. What they discovered will make you look at your TV rather differently...

Meanwhile, awful Android malware with the audacious name "Awesome" (in Indonesian) is doing the rounds, stealing your data, demanding a ransom, and then giving you a "jump scare"...

Plus, in our featured interview, Andy Hornegold of Intruder explains why the mid-market is where cybercriminals are having the most fun right now - and how AI is helping attackers get from "first foot in the door" to "full ransomware disaster" in less than a working day.

All this and more in episode 485 of the "Smashing Security" podcast with cybersecurity expert and keynote speaker Graham Cluley, and special guest Lianne Potter.

EPISODE LINKS:

• Revolut handed customer data to fraudsters using government email account - The Record.
• HBO Max Reddit account compromised to serve ClickFix attacks - The Register.
• U.S. and UK Launch First-of-Its-Kind Joint Alliance to Dismantle Global Scam Centers - US Dept of Justice.
• 216,000,000 Spy TVs - The LG Smart TV Problem - YouTube.
• LG TVs Are Capable of Listening to More Than Your Screen, Report Claims - Gizmodo.
• New Android malware encrypts files, steals data, and harasses victims - Bleeping Computer.
• Search flags based on colors and attributes - FlagLookup.
• Killer In The Code podcast.
• Smashing Security merchandise (t-shirts, mugs, stickers and stuff)

SPONSORS:

• ThreatLocker - Book a demo today and start securing your organisation.
• Vanta - Expand the scope of your security program with market-leading compliance automation… while saving time and money. Smashing Security listeners get $1000 off!
• Intruder - The depth of a manual pentest, on-demand. Start an AI pentest in minutes - 25% off your first pentest for Smashing Security listeners.

SUPPORT THE SHOW:

Tell your friends and colleagues about “Smashing Security”, and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Podchaser.

Become a supporter! Join Smashing Security PLUS via Patreon or Apple Podcasts for ad-free episodes on our early-release feed!

FOLLOW THE SHOW:

Follow us on Bluesky or Mastodon, or on the Smashing Security subreddit, and visit our website for more episodes.

THANKS:

Theme tune: "Vinyl Memories" by Mikael Manvelyan.

Assorted sound effects: AudioBlocks.

When a chap called Matt noticed his Bluetooth headphones wouldn't switch to his phone, he was surprised to realise the reason was a single AliExpress webpage sitting open in his browser - playing nothing at all, at zero volume. And yet somehow his hardware could hear it. Audio fingerprinting is one of the sneakiest tracking tricks on the web.

Meanwhile, the intelligence agencies of the "Five Eyes" (not Five Guys) have got together and published advice on how companies should communicate after a cyber attack. The summary? For the love of God, stop calling every breach "sophisticated."

All this and more in episode 484 of the "Smashing Security" podcast with cybersecurity expert and keynote speaker Graham Cluley, and special guest Danny Palmer.

EPISODE LINKS:

• Hackers demand $2.3M in ransom after breaching Berlin government network - Anadolu.
• Deux suspects interpellés dans le cadre des enquêtes ouvertes après le piratage du fisc - France Info.
• Hackers are stealing Claude tokens from subscribers - TechCrunch.
• AliExpress accused of fingerprinting shoppers with silent audio trick that also muted a dev's headphones - The Register.
• AliExpress webpage keeping multipoint Bluetooth headphones active with WebAudio fingerprinting - Matt Callaghan’s blog.
• Audio Fingerprinting: What It Is + How It Works with Web API - Fingerprint.
• Communicating Under Pressure: Best Practices for Service Providers - CISA.
• World Stone Skimming Championships.
• Mind games and a ‘toss master’: world stone skimming contest returns to Scotland after cheating scandal - The Guardian.
• World Stone Skimming Championships - Every Toss 2025 - YouTube.
• ”The Pirates’ Code: Laws and Life Aboard Ship”  by Rebecca Simon - Waterstones.
• Smashing Security merchandise (t-shirts, mugs, stickers and stuff)

SPONSORS:

• ThreatLocker - Book a demo today and start securing your organisation.
• Vanta - Expand the scope of your security program with market-leading compliance automation… while saving time and money. Smashing Security listeners get $1000 off!
• Intruder - The depth of a manual pentest, on-demand. Start an AI pentest in minutes - 25% off your first pentest for Smashing Security listeners.

SUPPORT THE SHOW:

Tell your friends and colleagues about “Smashing Security”, and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Podchaser.

Become a supporter! Join Smashing Security PLUS via Patreon or Apple Podcasts for ad-free episodes on our early-release feed!

FOLLOW THE SHOW:

Follow us on Bluesky or Mastodon, or on the Smashing Security subreddit, and visit our website for more episodes.

THANKS:

Theme tune: "Vinyl Memories" by Mikael Manvelyan.

Assorted sound effects: AudioBlocks.

You've had your iPhone stolen. A day later, you get a text from Apple saying they've found it, and a very helpful woman called Alice from Apple Support calls to walk you through recovering it. She's polite. She's professional. But she is not from Apple. She's not even human. And she's about to break into your iPhone.

Meanwhile, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta have all announced - with varying degrees of drama - that their AI agents have "broken out of the sandbox" and gone hacking. James takes a step back and asks the awkward question: is this really an emergent AI apocalypse, or did they just leave the door open?

All this and more in episode 483 of the "Smashing Security" podcast with cybersecurity expert and keynote speaker Graham Cluley, and special guest James Ball.

EPISODE LINKS:

• Hacker leaks GTA VI footage to push a crypto token before pulling off a $270,000 cash-out - Coindesk.
• ValleyRAT Backdoor Hides in Signed Adware That Users Add to Antivirus Exclusions - The Hacker News.
• FulcrumSec claims Manchester Airports hack, theft of 86 GB of data - Bleeping Computer.
• Mugged for my phone, then locked out of my life - The Times.
• Exposing AnonyMousKIT: AI-Powered PhaaS Supply Chain - SOCRadar.
• AnonyMousKIT PhaaS uses voice AI agents to phish iPhone passcodes - Bleeping Computer.
• Investigating three real-world incidents in our cybersecurity evaluations - Anthropic.
• The Hugging Face incident and the road ahead - OpenAI.
• Irregular says ‘human oversight’ responsible for AI sandbox escape incidents - CyberScoop.
• Control. Ownership. Perspective - Ciaran Martin.
• Steno: Highly-Secure AI Notetaker for Government & Defence - Steno.
• Inside the Factory - BBC.
• Smashing Security merchandise (t-shirts, mugs, stickers and stuff)

SPONSORS:

• ThreatLocker - Book a demo today and start securing your organisation.
• Vanta - Expand the scope of your security program with market-leading compliance automation… while saving time and money. Smashing Security listeners get $1000 off!
• Intruder - The depth of a manual pentest, on-demand. Start an AI pentest in minutes - 25% off your first pentest for Smashing Security listeners.

SUPPORT THE SHOW:

Tell your friends and colleagues about “Smashing Security”, and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Podchaser.

Become a supporter! Join Smashing Security PLUS via Patreon or Apple Podcasts for ad-free episodes on our early-release feed!

FOLLOW THE SHOW:

Follow us on Bluesky or Mastodon, or on the Smashing Security subreddit, and visit our website for more episodes.

THANKS:

Theme tune: "Vinyl Memories" by Mikael Manvelyan.

Assorted sound effects: AudioBlocks.

A hacker calling themselves "CYBERLEEK" has been leaking gameplay footage from GTA 6 ahead of its official reveal this week - but they're not asking Rockstar Games for a ransom. Instead, they've launched their own cryptocurrency, promising to release ever more juicy clips from a virtual strip club...

Meanwhile, your smart TV might be doing more than binge-watching Netflix while you sleep. We explore the shadowy world of "residential proxies" - how they end up inside home routers, smart TVs, and IoT devices, and why an entire criminal economy is quietly running through your internet connection.

All this and more in episode 482 of the "Smashing Security" podcast with cybersecurity expert and keynote speaker Graham Cluley, and special guest Paul Ducklin.

EPISODE LINKS:

• Iranian hackers shut down UK power plant - The Telegraph.
• Ransomware crook poses as recovery firm to steal payments from fellow extortionists - The Register.
• The ToxicPanda Never Sleeps: ToxicPanda 2.0 Prepares its Next Strike on Mobile - Zimperium.
• Technical forensic research and provenance breakdown of the latest August 2026 GTA 6 gameplay leaks and map files. - GitHub.
• Everything we know about Cyberleek and his GTA VI build - Reddit.
• Who needs a laptop to hack when you have a Firestick? - Smashing Security.
• Evading Residential Proxy Networks: Protecting Your Devices from Becoming a Tool for Criminals - FBI.
• Busted! Rogue VPN provider who co-opted millions into cybercrime - Paul Ducklin.
• Disrupting the World's Largest Residential Proxy Network - Google Cloud Blog.
• Google’s Continued Disruption of Malicious Residential Proxy Networks - Google Cloud Blog.
• TimeGuessr.
• Scientific Curiosity by Cyril Aydon - Waterstones.
• Smashing Security merchandise (t-shirts, mugs, stickers and stuff)

SPONSORS:

• ThreatLocker - Book a demo today and start securing your organisation.
• Vanta - Expand the scope of your security program with market-leading compliance automation… while saving time and money. Smashing Security listeners get $1000 off!
• Black Kite - Read Black Kite's 2026 European Cyber Risk Report to explore the latest ransomware trends, top threat actors, and how supplier breaches are reshaping cyber risk across Europe.

SUPPORT THE SHOW:

Tell your friends and colleagues about “Smashing Security”, and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Podchaser.

Become a supporter! Join Smashing Security PLUS via Patreon or Apple Podcasts for ad-free episodes on our early-release feed!

FOLLOW THE SHOW:

Follow us on Bluesky or Mastodon, or on the Smashing Security subreddit, and visit our website for more episodes.

THANKS:

Theme tune: "Vinyl Memories" by Mikael Manvelyan.

Assorted sound effects: AudioBlocks.

At Black Hat this month, a group of security researchers took a $9,000 robot dog, plugged Google's AI into its brain, and jailbroke it by telling it - with a completely straight face - that it was a Pokemon. What followed involved a wall, a blue ice chest, and anyone in the room wearing white shoes. Oh, and did we mention you can buy a flamethrower attachment?

Meanwhile, in Salzburg, 280 gold statuettes of Mozart have vanished from the streets. This has happened to the same artist before. Organised crime, or a publicity stunt? Jenny has thoughts - and some parallels for the world of cybersecurity.

All this and more in episode 481 of the "Smashing Security" podcast with cybersecurity expert and keynote speaker Graham Cluley, and special guest Jenny Radcliffe.

EPISODE LINKS:

• Burnham exchanged messages with person posing as Trump's chief of staff - BBC News.
• New Microsoft Defender 'ShieldBreak' zero-day grants SYSTEM privileges - Bleeping Computer.
• SafePal Hardware Wallet Maker Says Flaw Exposed Data of Nearly 40,000 Customers - The Hacker News.
• macOS ‘Screen Sharing’ flaw exploited for crypto-mining - Hot for Security.
• Kinetic Prompt Injection: Agent Compromise With a Physical Blast - Greptalks.
• Kinetic Prompt Injection: Agent Compromise With a Physical Blast Radius - YouTube.
• More Than 200 Golden Mozart Statuettes Stolen From Salzburg Months After Famed Composer’s 270th Birthday - Smithsonian Magazine.
• An Art Installation of More Than 100 Wagner Figurines Outside a German Theater Has Mysteriously Disappeared - Artnet News.
• Ray Alan - Wikipedia.
• Ray Alan with "Lord Charles" - World's Greatest Ventriloquist - YouTube.
• Educating Archie - YouTube.
• Peter Brough - Wikipedia.
• No. 10: Full Confidence - A Game of Political Survival.
• Smashing Security merchandise (t-shirts, mugs, stickers and stuff)

SPONSORS:

• ThreatLocker - Book a demo today and start securing your organisation.
• Vanta - Expand the scope of your security program with market-leading compliance automation… while saving time and money. Smashing Security listeners get $1000 off!
• Black Kite - Read Black Kite's 2026 European Cyber Risk Report to explore the latest ransomware trends, top threat actors, and how supplier breaches are reshaping cyber risk across Europe.

SUPPORT THE SHOW:

Tell your friends and colleagues about “Smashing Security”, and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Podchaser.

Become a supporter! Join Smashing Security PLUS via Patreon or Apple Podcasts for ad-free episodes on our early-release feed!

FOLLOW THE SHOW:

Follow us on Bluesky or Mastodon, or on the Smashing Security subreddit, and visit our website for more episodes.

THANKS:

Theme tune: "Vinyl Memories" by Mikael Manvelyan.

Assorted sound effects: AudioBlocks.

Would you like access to Anthropic's Claude at 90% off the normal price? All you have to do is redirect your traffic to a mysterious service called "Poison Claude". Only problem is that it's run by fraudsters...

Meanwhile, a phishing-as-a-service platform called "Greatness" has come up with something rather nasty: a phishing attack that doesn't need a fake website, a suspicious URL, or your password. Just a real Microsoft login page and a moment of misplaced trust - and the attackers walk off with full access to your emails, your files, and your entire organisation.

All this and more in episode 480 of the "Smashing Security" podcast with cybersecurity expert and keynote speaker Graham Cluley, and special guest Lianne Potter.

EPISODE LINKS:

• US cloud 'kill switch' is as dangerous as ransomware, European businesses fear - IT Pro.
• Hardware Wallet Firms Warn of Phishing Surge as Coldcard Losses Near $130M - Decrypt.
• Belarusian leader of international ransomware scheme known as “Ransom Cartel” sentenced to 16 years in prison - US Department of Justice.
• Poison Claude Sells Discounted Claude Access While Its Operator Sees Every Customer Prompt - The Hacker News.
• Free tokens for sale: How fake signups drive AI fraud - Okta.
• Post by Rory Cellan-Jones - Bluesky.
• Inside Greatness: Telegram-Distributed M365 AiTM PhaaS - ZeroBEC.
• Tailscale.
• RustDesk.
• League of the Lexicon - Two Brothers Games.
• Smashing Security merchandise (t-shirts, mugs, stickers and stuff)

SPONSORS:

• NordLayer - the network security platform for modern teams across different work environments. Use code NLSUMMER26 for up to 20% off annual plans.
• Arctic Wolf - See why 1 in 3 IT assets is missing a critical security control. Download the 2026 State of the Cybersecurity Attack Surface report.
• Vanta - Expand the scope of your security program with market-leading compliance automation… while saving time and money. Smashing Security listeners get $1000 off!

SUPPORT THE SHOW:

Tell your friends and colleagues about “Smashing Security”, and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Podchaser.

Become a supporter! Join Smashing Security PLUS via Patreon or Apple Podcasts for ad-free episodes on our early-release feed!

FOLLOW THE SHOW:

Follow us on Bluesky or Mastodon, or on the Smashing Security subreddit, and visit our website for more episodes.

THANKS:

Theme tune: "Vinyl Memories" by Mikael Manvelyan.

Assorted sound effects: AudioBlocks.

Graham gets a phone call from the police. Well, someone who sounds convincingly like the police. There's just one small problem: what they really want is the 24-word seed key to Graham's cryptocurrency wallet.

Meanwhile, if you've stayed in a hotel recently, the free Wi-Fi you connected to might have come with an unexpected extra: an all-you-can-eat buffet of "Captive Crunch" for a Russian intelligence-linked hacking group.

And a group calling itself the "ExFilSquad" has walked off with 600,000 records of the UK's teachers and head teachers from the Department for Education - sending an unusually polite ransom demand.

All this and more in episode 479 of the "Smashing Security" podcast with cybersecurity expert and keynote speaker Graham Cluley, and special guest Danny Palmer.

EPISODE LINKS:

• Cryptocurrency mailing list compromised - Tweet by Trezor.
• Users’ seemingly private conversations with Anthropic’s Claude showed up in Google search results - Fortune.
• Sweeping cyberattack on water systems in multiple states has US officials on edge  - CNN.
• Minnesota not Iran to blame for state's water issues, says Trump - BBC News.
• Google pauses AI satellite images, after fears of deepfakes in the sky - NPR.
• CaptiveCrunch: Midnight Blizzard targets travelers worldwide for malware delivery and credential theft - Microsoft Security Blog.
• DNS Poisoning Tactics Expand to Hospitality Wi-Fi - ReliaQuest.
• Hackers steal sensitive data from UK Department for Education and police - The Guardian.
• University of Arts London on Securing Creativity Against Cyber Threats - Infosecurity Magazine.
• 7 Things About Doctor Who I Learned From “When I Say Run, Run” - The Doctor Who Companion.
• What Stanley didn't say - The Guardian.
• Adrian Rigelsford - Wikipedia.
• Black Mesa: Re-visit the world that started the Half-Life continuum - Crowbar Collective.
• Smashing Security merchandise (t-shirts, mugs, stickers and stuff)

SPONSORS:

• NordLayer - the network security platform for modern teams across different work environments. Use code NLSUMMER26 for up to 20% off annual plans.
• Arctic Wolf - See why 1 in 3 IT assets is missing a critical security control. Download the 2026 State of the Cybersecurity Attack Surface report.
• Vanta - Expand the scope of your security program with market-leading compliance automation… while saving time and money. Smashing Security listeners get $1000 off!

SUPPORT THE SHOW:

Tell your friends and colleagues about “Smashing Security”, and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Podchaser.

Become a supporter! Join Smashing Security PLUS via Patreon or Apple Podcasts for ad-free episodes on our early-release feed!

FOLLOW THE SHOW:

Follow us on Bluesky or Mastodon, or on the Smashing Security subreddit, and visit our website for more episodes.

THANKS:

Theme tune: "Vinyl Memories" by Mikael Manvelyan.

Assorted sound effects: AudioBlocks.