Transatlantic Cable Podcast

Episode 278 of the Transatlantic Cable kicks off with news that the previous Twitter hack, back in 2021 is now much larger than initially suspected. Not great news for the already troubled social media site. From there, the team discuss recent news that nightclub owners in Miami are struggling with slumping sales after the recent crypto-crash – it appears many crypto advocates moved there to spend their hard-earned coins, but are now having to tighten their belts.

Staying in the crypto-currency world, the next story looks at yet another crash with BlockFi moving into receivership. Is this the crypto bubble bursting? Time will tell, it seems.

To wrap up, a story for all the Apple fans out there, with news that Apple appears to be tracking its user's, even if those users have asked them not to. Concerning? Possibly – especially considering that they made privacy a key focal point of their recent advertising campaigns.

If you liked what you heard, please do consider subscribing.

• Hackers Release Millions of Twitter IDs and User Info for Free
• Miami nightclub owners are struggling with slumping sales after losing top-spending crypto clientele
• Crypto firm BlockFi files for bankruptcy after FTX collapse
• Apple Is Tracking You Even When Its Own Privacy Settings Say It's Not

Episode 277 of the Transatlantic Cable only really has two topics of discussion this week. The first, and probably most prominent is the sale and consequent that happened over on Twitter. Twitter threads across the globe are blanketed in a sea of #RIPTwitter and #Twitterdeath, but what is the actual real possible outcome? Following that, the team take a look at the other big story of the week, with the recent implosion of the FTX crypto-exchange – including a story (only possible in 2022, it seems) where Twitter users are being duped out of their crypto by a deepfake of Sam Bankman-Fried.

Additionally, sandwiched between the two topics of discussion is an interview with Professor Dr. Dennis-Kenji Kipker - Professor for IT Security Law at the University of Bremen, to talk about IT security predications for the coming year. To learn more about his work, head here.

If you liked what you heard, please consider subscribing.

Episode 276 of the Transatlantic Cable kicks off with the US Department of Justice that revealed it seized $3.36bn (£2.9bn) of Bitcoin last year which was stolen from an infamous darknet website.

Then, How Twitter users are using the platform's new Elon Musk era changes to impersonate official video game companies.

Moving on, we look at the advanced threat predictions for 2023. And FTX investigating possible hack hours after bankruptcy filing! We wrap up with Canadian food retail giant Sobeys hit by Black Basta ransomware!

If you liked what you heard, please consider subscribing.

Episode 275 of the Transatlantic Cable kicks off with a 26-year-old Ukrainian man awaiting extradition from the Netherlands to the United States on charges that he acted as a core developer for Raccoon malware. Then, bad news from Dropbox as it disclosed a security breach after threat actors stole 130 code repositories after gaining access to one of its GitHub accounts using employee credentials stolen in a phishing attack. Moving on, Liz Truss is on her fourth new mobile phone number since July as security services battle to protect her from being further compromised by foreign powers. We wrap up with a notorious Instagram influencer from Nigeria who has been jailed for more than 11 years in the U.S. for his role in an international fraud syndicate.

If you liked what you heard, please consider subscribing.

Episode 274 of the Transatlantic Cable kicks off with a story that has wide ramifications if it goes ahead. The EU has finalised plans for their DMA, or Digital Markets Act, which would open up things such as app stores and messenger apps to third-parties – in effect, it would enable users (eventually) to install app stores from competing services on their devices. However, how it will work in practice is anybody's guess right now.

From there, the team talk about a recent story around crypto-currency and Matt Damon – hint folks: don't take financial advice from actors. From there, the discussion moves to news around a Chinese propaganda service, allegedly being run inside USA, in an attempt to disrupt the midterms. To wrap up, the team talk about news that the Biden administration have issued new cybersecurity requirements for rail operators, in an attempt to shore up cyber-security in critical industries.

If you liked what you heard, please consider subscribing.

• New EU law could open up messaging and app buying
• Here's How Much Money You've Lost If You Took Matt Damon's Crypto Advice One Year Ago

Episode 273 of the Transatlantic Cable kicks off with 65,000+ companies' data being leaked! As Microsoft confirmed, a server misconfiguration caused the leak. Then, the discussion moved on to Netflix. The streaming service is changing its policy on password sharing – and will start charging people to share accounts. You can also now turn your crypto coins into cocktails as the first Metaverse nightclub opens in Dubai! And finally, concerns rise around TikTok as it denies the rumor that it could be used to track US citizens.

If you liked what you heard, please consider subscribing.

What are NFTs, why are they so much a topic of debate right now and why is Ivan Kwiatkowski from Kaspersky's Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT) so critical of them and blockchains?

We sat down with him recently to talk about his thoughts on this, the recent Ethereum merge (and why he thinks it ultimately won't solve the underlying problems with crypto), scaling issues inherent in blockchain and much more.

If you liked what you heard, please consider subscribing.

Episode 272 of the Transatlantic Cable kicks off with a report into gaming and gamers attituded towards everything from work / gaming balance and cheating - if you're interested in the gaming space, be sure to check it out. After that, the team discuss the recent news that Kanye West (aka: Ye) is purchasing the controversial social platform, Parler.

After those stories, discussion moves onto an interesting story around the hunt for Wikipedia's disinformation moles - a fascinating story that is well worth checking out. To wrap up, the team talk about a story from the Register looking at how crime gangs are now able to leverage nation-state malware thanks to leaks and hacks, and defenders such as banks need to shore up their defences.

If you liked what you heard, please consider subscribing.

Performance addicted: exploring gamers' priorities

Kanye West agrees to buy conservative social media platform Parler

Banks face their 'darkest hour' as malware steps up, maker of antivirus says

The Hunt for Wikipedia's Disinformation Moles

Episode 271 kicks off with talk around a recent story suggesting that a third of children have adult social media accounts, in an attempt to access the full version of social sites. From there discussion moves over to talk about TikTok and third-party tracking – something readers with long memories will remember that Facebook Meta has been doing for quite some time already.

To wrap up, the duo discusses two stories around crypto, the first around Kim Kardashian and a crypto pump and dump and a story around a married couple who were accidently sent $10M in crypto instead of $100.

If you liked what you heard, please do consider subscribing!

• A third of children have adult social media accounts
• Kim Kardashian pays $1.26m over crypto 'pump and dump'
• TikTok is tracking people on sites across the web—even if they don't use the app
• Couple mistakenly given $10.5m from Crypto.com thought they had won contest

Over the past few years, the notion of ethics has come up quite a bit within cybersecurity circles. One of the leading voices, has been my colleague, Ivan Kwiatkowski.

Earlier this year, he gave a talk called Ethics in Cyberwar Times at the Pass The Salt conference:

I sat down with him and Anastasia Kazakova of our public affairs department for a special edition of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable podcast to discuss the presentation, as well as:

• Ethics: what does this mean in the cyber context? What questions should we ask ourselves?
• The concept of attackers paying defenders
• The increasing role for inter-state competition, and how such a competition makes the work of researchers harder

If you liked what you heard, please do consider subscribing.