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