The Security Distillery Podcast

In this episode of Cyberdistillery, Giuditta and Andrea explore the human factor in cybersecurity with Erlend Andreas Gjære, co-founder and CEO of Secure Practice, and creator of SheSpeaksCyber. Erlend emphasises that security is about people and processes, not just technology. Moreover, he discusses the importance of storytelling to make abstract threats tangible, scalable training for leaders and coordinators, and interactive disruption exercises to familiarise employees with the effects of a cyberattack. Together, they also talk about SheSpeaksCyber, Erlend's initiative to provide a directory for female cybersecurity speakers, working as a catalogue to propose themselves as speakers for conferences and for conferences to find them.

Find out more about the Security Distillery and follow us on Social Media: https://linktr.ee/thesecuritydistillery

For enquiries and feedback, contact us at: [email protected]

Hosts: Andrea Bussini, Giuditta Fiori

Editor: Andrea Bussini

In this episode of Cyberdistillery, Giuditta and Andrea explore the human factor in cybersecurity with Erlend Andreas Gjære, co-founder and CEO of Secure Practice, and creator of SheSpeaksCyber. Erlend emphasises that security is about people and processes, not just technology. Moreover, he discusses the importance of storytelling to make abstract threats tangible, scalable training for leaders and coordinators, and interactive disruption exercises to familiarise employees with the effects of a cyberattack. Together, they also talk about SheSpeaksCyber, Erlend's initiative to provide a directory for female cybersecurity speakers, working as a catalogue to propose themselves as speakers for conferences and for conferences to find them.

Find out more about the Security Distillery and follow us on Social Media: https://linktr.ee/thesecuritydistillery

For enquiries and feedback, contact us at: [email protected]

Hosts: Andrea Bussini, Giuditta Fiori

Editor: Andrea Bussini

In this second part of the third episode of Cyberdistillery, Giuditta and Andrea, joined by Maria Vittoria Zucca - a PhD candidate in the National Italian PhD program Cybersecurity, led by the IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca - continue the "cyber-medical analysis” of the (Italian) healthcare sector. 

Maria Vittoria takes us through the “therapy” that needs to be carried out to strengthen the cybersecurity of the (Italian) healthcare sector, building readiness against threats and assessing vulnerabilities before, during, and after a cyberattack.  

Next, she provides a prognosis for the healthcare sector, looking ahead to foster a cybersecurity culture in hospitals by providing training and implementing professional cybersecurity roles, such as Data Protection Officers, in the healthcare.

Maria Vittoria’s publication referred to in this episode: ZUCCA, M.V. (2025) Cyber(in)sicurezza in sanità: un ponte comunicativo tra medicina, informatica e diritto. BioLaw Journal - Rivista di BioDiritto, 1, pp. 291–303.

Find out more about the Security Distillery and follow us on Social Media: https://linktr.ee/thesecuritydistillery

For enquiries and feedback, contact us at: [email protected]

Hosts: Andrea Bussini, Giuditta Fiori

Editor: Andrea Bussini

In this first part of the third episode of Cyberdistillery, Giuditta and Andrea discuss with Maria Vittoria Zucca - a PhD candidate in the National PhD program in Cybersecurity, led by the IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca - about cybersecurity in the healthcare system, specifically the Italian one. 

Treating the healthcare system as a “cyber-patient”, Maria Vittoria identifies the main symptoms of hospitals in the cybersecurity domain, that is to say, their principal vulnerabilities; for instance, the uncontrolled circulation of data, the technological backwardness, and the fragile cybersecurity culture in (Italian) hospitals, among many others. 

Moreover, after identifying the symptoms, Maria Vittoria provides a “cyber-diagnosis” of the most dangerous cyber threats to the healthcare sector, pinpointing the primary targets of malicious cyber actors within healthcare systems, including data, infrastructure, and medical devices. She also touches on the risks associated with AI. 

In the next episode, part 2, Giuditta, Andrea, and Maria Vittoria will address the other two crucial steps in the cyber-medical analysis of healthcare systems: treatment and prognosis. 

Maria Vittoria’s publication referred to in this episode: ZUCCA, M.V. (2025) Cyber(in)sicurezza in sanità: un ponte comunicativo tra medicina, informatica e diritto. BioLaw Journal - Rivista di BioDiritto, 1, pp. 291–303.

Find out more about the Security Distillery and follow us on Social Media: https://linktr.ee/thesecuritydistillery

For enquiries and feedback, contact us at: [email protected]

Hosts: Andrea Bussini, Giuditta Fiori

Editor: Andrea Bussini

In the second episode of Cyberdistillery, Giuditta and Andrea discuss with Ayah Tharwat, a University of Luxembourg PhD student, about the impact of psychological distance on the disclosure of sensitive company information when using GenAI tools, specifically ChatGPT. 

The conversation builds on Ayah’s academic research at the University of Luxembourg, where she has reflected on how employees are increasingly using generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools to facilitate and automate work processes, and found that four main dimensions affect GenAI disclosure of sensitive company information: social, spatial, temporal, and hypothetical dimensions.   

Giuditta, Ayah, and Andrea discuss how proximity can substantially affect threat perception, in any aspect of our life and in many different domains. 

Together, they also address how other factors could impact the willingness of employees to share sensitive information on LLMs, such as general awareness of cybersecurity risks, human factors such as emotions and stress, and the specific company practices, guidelines, and culture concerning the use of AI to carry out tasks. 

Ayah’s publication: Frank, Muriel; Tharwat, Ayah; and Pocher, Nadia, "Far Enough to Share: Impact of Psychological Distance on GenAI Disclosure" (2025). AMCIS 2025 Proceedings. 20. https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2025/sig_sec/sig_sec/20 

Find out more about the Security Distillery and follow us on Social Media: https://linktr.ee/thesecuritydistillery

For enquiries and feedback, contact us at: [email protected]

Hosts: Andrea Bussini, Giuditta Fiori

Editor: Andrea Bussini

In this first episode of the new podcast series Cyberdistillery, Andrea Bussini introduces our new co-host Giuditta Fiori , Women4Cyber Italia Youth Ambassador 2025.

Giuditta describes what is like to be part of Women4Cyber the goals of the organisation and their vision for the future. Moreover, they touch upon the importance of integrating women in the development of Large Language Models (LLMs).

Together they announce the beginning of Cyberdistillery, a new podcast series consisting of interviews to academics and practitioners in the diverse world of cybersecurity.

Find out more about the Security Distillery and follow us on Social Media: https://linktr.ee/thesecuritydistillery

For enquiries and feedback, contact us at: [email protected]

Hosts: Andrea Bussini, Giuditta Fiori

Editor: Andrea Bussini

One month after the Annual Cimic Foresight Conference 2025, the Security Distillery Team reflects on their experience at the CCOE.

Giuditta, Andrea, and Flavio discuss about the sessions they have taken part in.

Furthermore, they debate on how their understanding of CIMIC has changed after the Conference.

Photo credits: liveillustration.co.uk

Find out more about the Security Distillery and follow us on Social Media: https://linktr.ee/thesecuritydistillery

For enquiries and feedback, contact us at: [email protected]

Hosts: Andrea Bussini, Giuditta Fiori, Flavio Piemontese Cartier

Editor: Andrea Bussini

In this special episode of our podcast, Andrea and Alberto have the pleasure to announce that the Security Distillery will attend and cover through our social media the Annual Cimic Foresight Conference 2025, “From Foresight to Action: Evolving CIMIC Capabilities”, which is organised by the CCOE, the Civil-Military Cooperation NATO Centre of Excellence.

They introduce the theme of this year’s Foresight Conference, touching upon what the Security Distillery will be tasked with doing throughout the conference.

Furthermore, they talk about their recent experience at the CCOE, where they attended a Summer School, organised by the OTH Regensburg an hosted by the CCOE, on intelligence analysis.

Building on the experience, they discuss about what civil and military cooperation means to them, and their main takeaways from the experience.

Stay tuned for more updates regarding the Annual Cimic Foresight Conference 2025 on our social media!

Find out more about the Security Distillery and follow us on Social Media: https://linktr.ee/thesecuritydistillery

For enquiries and feedback, contact us at: [email protected]

Hosts: Alberto Aloni and Andrea Bussini

Editor: Andrea Bussini

In the aftermath of what appears to be an intentional Russian incursion in Polish airspace with drones, Mathéo and Andrea talk about what happened and discuss the implications of this event for NATO, what the future may have in store for NATO countries and how to deal with the increasing pressure from the Russian Federation.

Photo credits: a photograph posted on social media showing a damaged drone after falling in the eastern Polish village of Czosnowka, on Wednesday. Dariusz Stefaniuk, via Reuters

Find out more about the Security Distillery and follow us on Social Media: https://linktr.ee/thesecuritydistillery

For enquiries and feedback, contact us at: [email protected]

Hosts: Mathéo Bisiaux and Andrea Bussini

Editor: Andrea Bussini

In this episode, Mathéo and Andrea address the latest developments of drone usage in Ukraine, amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Mathéo describes the different typologies of drones that are currently being employed in the conflict, with a particular focus on FPVs, discussing strategic and military implications of their usage in Ukraine.

On the other hand, Andrea delves into legal, ethical, and psychological aspects that characterise drone warfare. 

Together, they assess the impact that drones will have on the future of war, and how future battlefields will look like.

Photo credits: Petro Zadorozhnyy / State Border Guard Service of Ukraine / the Collection of war.ukraine.ua

The views expressed in this podcast are of the authors only.

Find out more about the Security Distillery and follow us on Social Media: https://linktr.ee/thesecuritydistillery

For enquiries and feedback, contact us at: [email protected]

Hosts: Mathéo Bisiaux and Andrea Bussini

Editor: Andrea Bussini