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.

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• 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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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• 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.

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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. 

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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.

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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.

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• 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

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Episode 270 of the Transatlantic Cable kicks off with Apple taking a pot-shot at Meta, with Tim Cooke stating that “I’m really not sure the average person can tell you what the metaverse is” – fighting talk, indeed.  From there, discussion moves to a confusing story about Bruce Willis and his digital twin – apparently he’s licensed it to a third-party, but things are somewhat more confusing than they first appear.

After that, the team discuss another story, this time focusing on the Lapsus$ gang and how they’re seemingly able to run circles around enterprise security.  To wrap up, the team talk about the recent demise of Google’s Stadia experiment.

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• ‘I’m really not sure the average person can tell you what the metaverse is’
• Bruce Willis denies selling rights to his face
• The Dire Warnings in the Lapsus$ Hacker Joyride
• Stadia died because no one trusts Google

Episode 269 of the Transatlantic Cable kicks off with news that Interpol is after the CEO of the failed cryptocurrency firm, Terra. Originally cited as a potential star in the crypto-world, Terra fell in the recent crypto-crash. After that, the team move on to a more disturbing story around NFTs and terror groups – it seems these groups are looking to leverage NFTs in order to raise funding.

Moving away from the crypto/NFT space, the team look at a developing story around the recent Uber and Rockstar hacks, with news coming out of the UK that somebody has been arrested. Finally, to wrap up the team look at a news story from “down under” and the telco giant, Optus, which has recently been hacked and data breached.

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• Interpol seeks arrest of failed crypto-firm boss
• Terror groups may turn to NFTs to raise funds and spread messages
• Likely Uber Hacking Suspect, 17, Arrested By City Of London Police
• Australia phones cyber-attack exposes personal data

Episode 268 of the Transatlantic Cable kicks off with a rather bizzare (and that’s putting it lightly) story about a chess master tournament, cheating and beads that go where the sun don’t shine, so to speak.  Let’s just say if you want to learn more, check the link below. Following that bombshell, discussion returns to familiar ground, this time talking about the Grand Theft Auto VI hack and subsequent data-breach.

After all of that, David sat down with Evgenia Ponomareva from the Kaspersky Operating System team to talk about KOS and the automotive industry – specifically how KOS can integrate into the rapidly digitizing automotive market.

To wrap up, the discussed how anti-vax groups are going underground and using carrot emojis in order to evade censorship.  The final story looks at a hack of the IHG hotel chain and how the hackers ended up deploying a wiper ‘for fun.’

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• Following ‘Anal Bead Scandal,’ Chess Master Rematch Ends in Resignation
• GTA 6 source code and videos leaked after Rockstar Games hack
• Anti-vax groups use carrot emojis to hide Facebook posts
• IHG hack: 'Vindictive' couple deleted hotel chain data for fun

Episode 267 of the Transatlantic Cable kicks off with the slightly concerning news that Facebook engineers (apparently) don’t know what happens to your data inside Facebook. After that rather worrying story, the team move over to discussing an intriguing story looking at boffins from the National University of Singapore and Yonsei University, who have found a way to detect if your laptop is secretly recording you, all via electromagnetic waves.

Moving on, the team shift focus to discuss a recent spat of gym thefts in London – now, hang on, I hear you cry – what has this got to do with cybersecurity? Well, it turns out that the perpetrator is using a very unusual ‘hack’ in order to allow themselves access to victims’ bank accounts. We won’t spoil the details here, but it’s all tied to your mobile phone (hint: make sure you lock down your phone when you’re not near it).

To wrap up, the podcast closes with a story around a recent recovery of some $30M USD from the recent Axie Infinity hack. Now, whilst that’s a good thing, considering Lazarus managed to swipe nearly $600M USD, it does somewhat seem like a drop in the ocean.

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• Facebook Engineers Admit They Don’t Know What They Do With Your Data
• Boffins build microphone safety kit to detect eavesdroppers
• How is a thief taking thousands from London gym-goers?
• US Government Recovers $30M From Crypto Game Axie Infinity Hack

Episode 266 of the Transatlantic Cable kicks off with news that TikTok has had a data-breach. However, all is not as it appears, as digging into the details it appears that the breach may not be as clear cut as it first appears.  Following that, the team look at a story concerning Samsung and a confirmed data-breach – Samsung are asking affected people to secure their accounts and reset passwords.

From there, discussion moves to a story around Instagram, having just been on the receiving end of a whopping €405 million fine, due to the exposure of children’s data online.

To wrap up, the team look at a story from the Guardian looking at ‘doom scrolling’ which is defined as ‘the tendency to be glued to bad news [which] can spark a ‘vicious cycle’ that interferes with our lives.’

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• TikTok denies reports that it’s been hacked
• Samsung says a data breach revealed some customers’ names, birthdays
• Instagram fined €405m over children's data privacy
• Doomscrolling linked to poor physical and mental health, study finds

Welcome to the Transatlantic Cable - a podcast that dives into hot topics in the security news and industry each week. We start off this episode with an Ex-Twitter exec blowing the whistle, alleging reckless and negligent cybersecurity policies! Moving on to Lloyd’s of London. will require its insurer groups globally to exclude catastrophic state-backed hacks from stand-alone cyber insurance policies starting next year. From Securelist we give you Ransomware updates & 1-day exploits. And for our funny story of the week Janet Jackson song from 1989 declared a cybersecurity vulnerability for crashing hard drives! We finish off with how attackers can steal your credentials and how you can prevent it.

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Welcome to the Transatlantic Cable - a podcast that dives into hot topics in the security news and industry each week. We start off this episode with Airbnb rolling out new anti-party tech to prevent unapproved gatherings. Then, we move to asset managers on alert after the recent 'WhatsApp' crackdown on banks! We also discuss the chief executive of Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, which has warned that cybersecurity has overshadowed any other concerns about the markets in recent years. Then we finish off with Daniel Kelley, who was convicted and sent to prison for his involvement in a high-profile cyberattack on TalkTalk in 2015 trying to be a Whitehat.

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Welcome to the Transatlantic Cable - a podcast that dives into hot topics in the security news and industry each week. We start off this episode with hacking Starlink! It cost a researcher only $25 worth of parts to create a tool that allows custom code to run on the satellite dishes. Then we move on to 7-Eleven Denmark, where a ransomware attack was behind the closure of 175 stores in the country on Monday!

Then, we discuss the spyware scandal spreading through Europe. Finally, we end with the potential threat in your browser and what dangers innocent-looking extensions hold for users.

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Episode 262 of the Transatlantic Cable kicks off with news that Twitter recently suffered a data breach, with an estimated 5 million users affected, the cause is being blamed on a zero-day. From there the team stay with social media as they discuss a story around Meta and their latest invention – a chatbot. There’s a slight problem in that it has become racist.  Staying on the Meta train, the next story looks at a lawsuit being filed against Meta, saying they have been ‘harvesting’ data from hospital sites.

In between the stories and quizzes, the team this week were lucky enough to sit down with Sergey Petrukhin from Kaspersky to talk about KHCS – Kaspersky Hybrid Cloud Security, and why it’s great for protecting your business cloud endpoints.

Moving onto the final few stories, we stay with social media as the UK government makes a swift U-turn, creating, then quickly closing, their very first TikTok account.  To wrap up, discussion turns to recent news around Tornado Cash, the controversial crypto mixer, and recent sanctions from the United States government.

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• Twitter: Someone Exploited a Zero-Day to Access User Data
• Another lawsuit claims Facebook scraping data from hospital sites
• It took just one weekend for Meta's new AI Chatbot to become racist
• UK Parliament closes TikTok account after China data warning
• US sanctions crypto mixer Tornado Cash used by North Korean hackers

After a brief hiatus, the team are back together again talking all things cyber-sec.  This week’s episode kicks off with a story around the Brazilian rainforest and NFTs (yes, really). Following that, the team discuss a recent story around Seth Green and his recent hacked Bored Ape NFT – turns out it wasn’t a solitary attack and was part of a much broader attack on NFTs and crypto.

After the two NFT stories, the team dive into something more serious this week, looking at the arrest and subsequent trial of the ex-CIA hacker who famously dumped data (aka: Vault 7) onto Wiki-Leaks. Astonishingly, that story is now over 5 years old.

To wrap up, the team discuss a returning story of the bitcoin advocate who is (still) desperately trying to dig up a waste disposal site, all with the aim of recovering a hard-drive with his wallet key on. All we can say is, good luck.

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• Brazilian prosecutors probe company over Amazon forest NFT sale
• Seth Green NFT Theft Part of Multimillion-Dollar Scam Campaign
• Ex-CIA Hacker Convicted for ‘One of the Most Damaging Acts of Espionage in American History’
• Missing hard drive could fund Newport crypto hub