Transatlantic Cable Podcast

We kick off the 170th edition of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable Podcast by looking at the so-called end of the Maze ransomware gang.

The cybercriminal enterprise recently issued a broken-English press release on their website announcing that they were exiting the game. While it would be easy to believe them at their word, they are criminals after all; and Dave and I are not buying it. From there, we jump over to Japan where the country’s nuclear agency warns of a cyber attack. While there are not many details at this time in Western or Eastern publications, this is one to keep an eye on.

We then jump into the world of Covid-19 for a pair of stories. The first discusses a change in AI that may help detect those infected with Covid via their cough. For the second tale, we head to the UK and the increase in cyberattacks that can be tied to Covid-19. We then head over to a story about update snafus for Wordpress that blog operators should be on the lookout for. To close out the podcast, we discuss the upcoming AMA with Kaspersky’s Global Research and Analysis team on November 12.

Direct download: podcast_170_mixdown.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 5:06am EDT

Today will be a special edition of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable Podcast as Dave and I put down our news hats for once and chat with an executive within the Kaspersky ranks.

Our featured guest is none other than Alex Moiseev, the Chief Business Officer for Kaspersky. During our thirty-some-odd minute chat, we discuss a wide variety of topics.

These range from the company’s recent innovation report to Alex’ passion to startups and innovation to his love of motorsport and how racing has helped his career and much more.

https://youtu.be/zIEF1pxxPDg

Perhaps the juiciest bit from the interview is our discussion on the future of the cybersecurity industry, Eugene Kaspersky and his definition of AI and why this buzzword cannot die.

Direct download: podcast_169.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 6:09am EDT

The latest episode of the Kaspersky podcast looks into recent news that Donald Trump’s website was briefly hacked to promote a crypto-currency scam – whilst it was a single page which was hacked, it comes at a critical time in the U.S election.

From there, Dave and Jeff look a story about a psychotherapy clinic that was hacked with patients now finding their details on the dark-web and are also being contacted by an elusive individual called ‘The Ransom Guy.’ Anybody affected is being urged to contact the police.

To wrap up, they look at a case of ‘fake news’ in the retail sector, when somebody decided to create (a now deleted) UK Woolworths account. Anybody familiar with the retail chain will know that the beloved stores went under in 2008 – but it seemed that did not stop somebody from creating the account, with the story even reaching the press. Turns out, it was all a hoax.

Direct download: tcp_168_final.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 10:33am EDT

Who would have thought that we would start an episode of this podcast talking about Robin Hood? Well, you don’t have to go far as that is EXACTLY where we kick off this episode of the Transatlantic Cable Podcast.

Our first story of the week takes a look at some “Robin Hood” types who steal from corporations via ransomware and then donate a small fraction of the money stolen to non-profit organizations. Sorry, but I am not going to crown these guys heroes just yet. From there, we head to the air where British Airways was hit with a record-setting GDPR fine.

From the air, we crash into the seas to take a look at the ransomware attack that hit Carnival Cruise Lines and some of its subsidiaries. To close out the podcast, we look at the measures that Sony is taking to help police their online gaming.

Direct download: podcast_167_mixdown.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 10:30am EDT

We kick off this week’s edition of the Transatlantic Cable Podcast, Dave and I kick things off looking at an active scam going off in the UK.

As if 2020 was not bad enough, now people need to be on the lookout for scams that are targeting them with travel and refunds that are more prevalent with everyone at home due to Covid – and the impact on people’s wallets is continuing to get bigger. From there, we jump across the Atlantic to Springfield, Massachusetts. Unfortunately, they saw their school system hit with ransomware. Only ones who were happy in this story were the kids with an impromptu snow day.

We stay in the US for our third story. This one takes a look at Google’s cooperation with law enforcement where they share search data related to crimes or events. This one seems to be in the current legal grey area that will probably be in some future legal proceedings. To close things out, we take a look at some leaked source code from Microsoft.

Direct download: podcast_166_mixdown.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 11:21am EDT

In the 165th episode of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable podcast, Dave and Jeff take a look at the Security Analyst Summit (SAS2020) and the upcoming research, including news about a UEFI malware strain.

From there, they also look into news about a New Jersey hospital that was hit by ransomware, but took it upon themselves to reach out to the attackers to pay them off.  

To wrap up, Dave and Jeff also take a look at a recent, concerning, vulnerability in the Grindr dating app as well as a snafu involving the U.K PHE (Public Health England) and an out-of-date excel spreadsheet file format.

Tune in! 

Direct download: podcast_165_mixdown.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 9:30am EDT

For the 164th episode of the Transatlantic Cable Podcast, Jeff and I look at a growing concern in the states: the U.S general election.

The story, from the BBC talks about what big-tech companies are doing to try to avoid a confrontation between the two sides in the upcoming election. There’s a real worry from the big tech companies that fake-news along with a growing divide amongst voters could cause real-world issues.

From there, Jeff and I take a look at yet another ransomware attack on a hospital chain in America, this time affecting 400 hospitals – many of the staff have had to use pen and paper as all hospital records are stored online. We then jump to a chat with Denis Legezo from the Kaspersky GReAT team about some upcoming SAS Online research.

To wrap up, we look at a story about Google, GDPR data privacy and children. If you liked what you heard, consider subscribing!

Direct download: podcast_164_mixdown.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 4:27am EDT

For the 163rd episode of the Transatlantic Cable Podcast, Dave and I kick things off with one of our favourite topics – Facebook.

In this tale the Silicon Valley titan is locked in a battle with Ireland’s Data Protection Commission. This battle has the location and sharing of European data with US servers. There is also a threat from Facebook to pull out of the region entirely. Let’s hope that we have enough popcorn to watch this one play out.

From there, we hop into a sad story out of Germany. Over the past week, a story has come out that a patient died after having to be redirected due to the first hospital being hit with ransomware. From there, we take a few minutes to review the new documentary The Social Dilemma. If you haven’t heard about it, the film takes a look at the negative aspects tied to social networks. Please note, if you don’t want spoilers, please fast forward at this point in the podcast. To close out the show, we look at the millions of people who are still getting DVDs via mail from Netflix.

Direct download: podcast_163_mixdown.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 5:35am EDT

For the 162nd edition of the Transatlantic Cable Podcast, Dave and I take a break from the mic to welcome in a special feature from our friends over at Tomorrow Unlocked. This episode takes a look at the digitization of schooling for parents and educators during the COVID-19 global pandemic. A full summary of the episode can be seen below:

Digitization is transforming all facets of society, not just work environments. The pandemic is driving this digitization at an astonishing speed, showing that there is still a lot more to be done: The field of education is mainly reactive, as new disruptive technologies develop in other industries and are then applied and accommodated into existing educational cultures and systems. The latest big disruption in the education sector was due to the Corona crisis. Millions of students had to learn from home from one day to another and schools had to react quickly. To understand more about the current situation, and how education has to change in the future we invited Filip Dochy, an expert on education at the KU Leuven, and two parents Daniela Alvarez De Lugo and Riccardo de Rinalidini to talk with our host David Jacoby about the future of education.

Direct download: Podcast_mixdown_v9.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 2:00pm EDT

Episode 161 of the Kaspersky podcast kicks off with something that should have been left in the past: zoom-bombing. Turns out that it’s still very much a nuisance and is now being used to attack schools and lessons.

From there, Dave and Jeff look at how “three middle-aged Dutch hackers” managed to break into Donald Trump’s Twitter account back in 2016 thanks to credential stuffing and poor password management. They’ve since handed the details over to the relevant U.S authorities. Dave and Jeff then move onto look at how Portland, Oregon is trying to take on facial recognition by banning the use of it to both private and public institutions. To wrap up, they look at an intriguing update from the U.K where Bear Grylls is asking Scouts to take a ‘fake news’ test, helping children to better understand fake news and why it spreads.

Direct download: podcast_161_mixdown.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 4:49am EDT

We will interrupt our usual programming for the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable Podcast to take a look at a new documentary about the Kuril Islands.

The documentary From Kurils with Love, is a new project from Kaspersky’s Tomorrow Unlocked that takes a look at the Kuril Islands. 

For this podcast, I sit down with my coworkers Alejandro Arango and Povel Torudd who were on the expedition and were involved in the production of the documentary. During our 35+ minute conversation, we touch on everything from where the Kurils are and why they are important to living on a boat with strangers to what’s next for Kaspersky. For more information or to see the full documentary, please click on the links below.

Direct download: kuril_160_final_edit.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 4:15am EDT

Since it is 2020, and an election year in the US, Dave and I kick off this week’s Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable Podcast by looking at Russian troll farms.

On this story, the FBI laid a tip to Facebook, who in turn took down a number of accounts tied to the Internet Research Agency. It seems that this may have stopped the accounts before the disinformation spice could flow. From there, we stay in the land of fakeness, however we jump from news to fake Amazon reviews. This deep dive from the media exposed some interesting things about product reviews on the ecommerce giant in the UK at least.

Our third story stays on the topic of things that are fake. Unlike politics and reviews, this story takes a look at AI and Deep Fakes. Microsoft has developed a technology that will help fight Deep Fakes. To close out the podcast, we look at some new legislature in the UK that should help protect the data for kids using apps.

Direct download: 159_final.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 4:30am EDT

Dave and I kick off the 158th edition of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable Podcast, by looking at some malware that – gasp – is now on Macs.

In a new post, Patrick Wardle talks about how Shlayer malware was actually approved by Apple. So much for Macs get no viruses. From there, we head to a story that is almost made for a TV or Netflix movie. The tale looks at espionage and how the FBI and Tesla halted a cyberattack.

Our third story heads to the gaming sector and the illicit marketplace for Fortnite accounts. From there, we head into a vulnerability in Slack. To close things out, we look at an advisory from the FBI where older daters are being targeted in a scam.

Direct download: podcast_158_mixdown.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 11:00am EDT

For the 157th episode of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable Podcast, Dave and I jump to both sides of the Atlantic for some fun and interesting stories.

We start off looking into charges that the former CSO of Uber is facing. According to the allegations, there was hush money paid and also some lying to investigators and suppressing evidence. From there, we stay in the States and look at the University of Utah who paid cybercriminals after a ransomware attack.

The third story jumps across the pond to a bit of a Passw0rd1 problem for Home Office. You see, this agency had a bit of a snafu when their Passw0rd1 was displayed on a flip chart in one of their office windows for the world to see. We close out the podcast by looking into a new lawsuit against Zoom. The folks arguing that the marketing of the company, especially around the word encryption, was a bit misleading.

Direct download: podcast_157_mixdown.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 4:51am EDT

Dave and I kick off the 156th edition of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable Podcast, by talking about one of our favorite types of alcohol.

You see, while Dave likes his Jack Daniel’s, we are not talking mixed drinks. Rather, we discuss how the parent company of the US Bourbon, Brown-Forman, has suffered a ransomware attack. This attack continues the trend of big companies getting hit with ransomware. Our second story dives into the new to us industry of dropshipping. This business seems to have people making money off of people looking to buy products pushed by influencers or knock off sites. To us, sounds like a pyramid scheme where the consumer is the one who will suffer. From there, we jump to high tea at the Ritz in London. This case is an interesting scam that our affluent readers will want to keep an eye on.

For our fourth story, we take a look at the potential GDPR impact of an issue of data storage. To close out the podcast, we head to the land down under and a snafu involving credentials being shared on live TV.

Direct download: 156_mixdown.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 5:10am EDT

For the 155th episode of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable Podcast, Jeff and I talk about the recent Canon ransomware attack & much more.

The first story we look at is how some US lawyers are asking the Californian DMV why (and how) they’re making $50M USD a year selling driving license data to third parties.  From there, we look at recent news that the U.S government is giving away $10M USD to information around election hacking.

Moving into the gaming world, the next story is a look at a “vigilante” in the gaming world who’s hacking the hackers (so to speak).  GamerDoc has made a name for himself exposing cheats and cheaters in the FPS shooter gaming world and it seems cheat developers are none too pleased.

Finally, we look at a story that should never have been: the alleged Twitter hacker was summoned to a virtual court summons, but things soon turned sour when zoom-bombers invaded, shouting and broadcasting pornography.  The session was quickly adjourned.

Direct download: podcast_155_mixdown.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 4:32am EDT

For the 154th episode of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable Podcast, Dave and I spend most of our time talking about ransomware and gaming.

The first story we look at is the latest with Garmin and their recent battle with Evil Corp and WastedLocker. While this story is still developing, there could be more to this in the coming weeks. From there, we stay on the topic of ransomware with a new report on LG and Xerox being hit as well. Both of these companies appear to have been hit by the Maze gang and have seen their data published by the gang online. The third story stays on the topic and looks at CWT’s recent bout with ransomware.

From there, we hop into the gaming world. We start off discussing the world record for speedrunning that was set using Kaspersky Internet Security on Doom Eternal. We then welcome back Maria Namestnikova of our GReAT team to discuss security and gaming. To close out the podcast, we discuss a refund that Google is giving out.

Direct download: tcp-154-final.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 10:29am EDT

To start episode 153 of the Transatlantic Cable podcast, Dave and Jeff look back on four years of the NoMoreRansom initiative – Kaspersky, which is one of the four founding members has helped millions from paying ransomware fees.

From there, they look at how the recent Garmin ransomware hack has affected flying thanks to flyGarmin being knocked off-line during the attack. They also look at how the US government is trying (once again) to add back-doors into encrypted messages and traffic.

To wrap up, they look at recent news around the Twitter breach showing that around 1,000 people had access to ‘high-profile’ accounts.

Direct download: podcast_153_mixdown.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 4:18am EDT

To start the 152nd episode of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable Podcast, Dave and I talk about a new threat to fast charging devices.

The BadPower attack, sees firmware of fast charging devices altered in a manner that literally fries the devices using it. From there, we head into the legal end of the hacking of Ripoff Report. This also looks at the pending legal issues that the hacker faces in the States. The third story of the pod jumps into the cyber-world where China is proposing some changes for the Internet.

We then sit down with Maria Namestnikova of our Global Research and Analysis team (GReAT) to discuss parenting in Covid times and things that families can do to stay engaged with everything remote. To close out the podcast, we stick to the family theme by taking a look at a new guide from Lego on tips for kids to stay safe online.

Direct download: podcast_152_mixdown.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 5:50am EDT

Dave and I kick off this week’s edition of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable Podcast, we look into the conviction of the LinkedIn hacker.

While we talk a lot on this podcast on data breaches and hacking, but this story was a bit of nostalgia. From there, we hit on a pair of stories on TikTok. The first story is the one that will make you go hmmm. Recently both the Republican and Democratic national committees have warned their members to delete TikTok from their devices or and to avoid using it because of “security concerns,” or, if you read between the lines, that it is from China. We then stay on the TikTok topic and how Amazon sent out an internal email to remove the app from corporate devices.

After that, we hop into the real-life James Bond moment where we look into the work done by Mitre for the US government. To close out the podcast, we look at a robot being rolled out in Siberia to help Russian citizens.

Direct download: podcast_151_mixdown.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 4:00am EDT