Transatlantic Cable Podcast (technology)

Our streak of a two-man booth for the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable podcast, with Ahmed and Jeff kicking things off in the cryptocurrency world.

More specific, we discuss some proposed legislation in the EU that would remove a level of anonymity for all transactions. While we have some fun with the topic, this is something that has been brewing and will be an interesting topic to follow. From there, we discuss Borat – unfortunately not the Sacha Baron Cohen flick – a new RAT making the rounds in criminal circles.

For our third stories, we put on our tinfoil hats and talk about some new patents from the US Navy that, well let’s face it, sound a lot like alien technology. To close out the podcast, we discuss the metaverse and a newish system that seems a lot like a

If you liked what you heard, please consider subscribing and sharing with your friends. For more information on the stories we covered, see the links below:

Direct download: KL_Podcast_245.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 8:06am EDT

Episode 244 of the Transatlantic Cable, Dave and Ahmed look at some of the more unusual infosec stories doing the rounds.  Starting out, the team look at one of the more well read stories of the week, which focuses on the arrest of the alleged mastermind of the Lapsus$ gang.  Following that, Dave and Ahmed move to a story that might have Honda owners concerned, as a PoC hack shows how hackers are able to break into their cars.

The final stories focus on the NFT / metaverse world, with the first looking at a recent purchase from Snap (yes, the company that owns SnapChat) which involves augmented reality and mind-control (yes, really).  The second story focuses on recent news that Yuga Labs (the company behind BAYC or the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs) has teased news around a new game their working on, which will, no doubt, lean heavily on NFTs and apes.  Time will tell if it’s a success or not.

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

Direct download: KL_Podcast_244.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 9:30am EDT

Episode 243 of the Transatlantic Cable kicks off with the teams (current) favourite topic: NFTs.  The first story focuses the news that WinAmp (remember them?) is auctioning off their original skin as an NFT, with the majority of the proceeds going to charity.  The second story looks at Heineken’s response to the NFT craze.  The final story talks about the recent news that NFTs are now trending down 80% of their current price – has the bubble burst?

Following on from that, the look at news coming out of Australia that will force ‘finfluencers’ (financial influencer) to become accredited, or risk a fine or even a jail term for offering financial advice.

To wrap up, the team look at news of a dangerous new ransomware, LokiLocker, which threatens to delete your master boot record if you don’t cough up the dough.

If you liked what you heard, please consider subscribing.  PS - please accept our apologies for the poor audio quality this week! 

Direct download: KL_Podcast_243.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 7:22am EDT

Welcome to the Transatlantic Cable - a podcast that dives into hot topics in the security news and industry each week. Episode 242 of the Transatlantic Cable starts with Conti ransomware gang’s internal chat logs, day-to-day operations leaked. Then we jump to a REvil ransomware gang update as a member was extradited to U.S. to stand trial for Kaseya attack!

And then a surprising return of Limewire! But now it's selling NFTs! And the NFT frenzy continues when a $1 million clipart rock NFT accidentally sold for less than a cent.

To finish today's episode we talk about Roblox, where apparently players are mining cryptocurrency and then automatically exchanging that for Robux, Roblox's in-game currency. And finally how cybercriminals are stealing from children on Roblox, the gaming platform worth $68 billion!

Direct download: KL_Podcast_242.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 10:23am EDT

Episode 241 of the Transatlantic Cable kicks off with two ransomware stories.  The first looks at what happened when two ransomware gangs attacked the same victim, at the same time.  The second looks at the recent news around Samsung and Nvidia, allegedly hacked by the Lapsus$ gang.


From there, the team talk about NFTs and the metaverse, with the first story sure to raise the frustrations of petrol-heads as an artist blew up a $250,000 Lamborghini to create NFTs to sell digitally – yes, we’re scratching our heads on that one as well. 

The other NFT / metaverse stories look at an NFT vending machine in New York and WingStop filing a multi-class trademark to enter the metaverse and sell virtual chicken wings.

To wrap up, the team look at a story around Second-Life and plans to add tax to most in-game items. 

Direct download: KL_Podcast_241.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 8:53am EDT

Episode 240 of the Transatlantic Cable crash lands with 3 stories on NFTs. The first looks at a recent attack on NFT site OpenSea, which was the target of a phishing scam – the total damage is reported to be close to $2 million. The second story is around the EU and its drive to ‘de-anominize’ crypto payments. The final NFT/crypto-related story looks at how a university in South Korea is exploring how to turn faeces into cold hard crypto.   

To wrap up, the closing story is around the U.S.’s drive to tackle spyware in and around its shores, with recent arrests in Mexico. If you liked what you heard, please consider subscribing!

Direct download: KL_Podcast_240.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 7:40am EDT

When you think you have seen it all, the Internet comes back and proves you wrong. That is also the case when it comes to this week’s episode of the Transatlantic Cable.

To start off the podcast, Ahmed, Dave and I discuss a new problem that Roblox is facing. Now, we aren’t talking bugs or trivial threats, but rather some adult conversations and content happening on the platform for kids. While the company notes that there are problems that they are going to address, it still begs to the question as to <b>HOW</b> and <b>WHY</b> this is happening. From there, we stay on the question of <b>WHY</b> as another platform has some seedy happenings. In this case, we discuss a sexual assault on the Metaverse.

https://youtu.be/-H_zeJ2c3Eg

From there, we revisit the topic of Apple’s Air Tags that we discussed two episodes back. It seems they are adding more safety measures in place for users to protect themselves from unauthorized tracking. Our final story of the episode looks into the hackers who are helping users who’ve forgotten their digital wallet passwords access their “missing” cryptocurrency.

If you liked what you heard, please consider subscribing and sharing with your friends. For more information on the stories we covered, see the links below:

Direct download: KL_Podcast_239.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 8:56am EDT

For the 238th episode of the Transatlantic Cable, Dave, Jeff and Ahmed peruse some of the more interesting cyber-related stories of the week. They start by looking at a light-hearted story around Facebook’s metaverse, weddings and Covid.

From there, they focus on two cryptocurrency stories. The first one looks at a notorious influencer who allegedly scammed his followers out of $500,000 via a rug-pull, and now won’t return the funds. The second story is perhaps a little more light-hearted as it looks at recent research that suggests having ‘crypto’ or ‘NFT’ in your dating profile gives you the edge in the dating scene – call me sceptical on this one.

The last two stories look at North Korea. The first is an interview with an alleged hacker who says they took down North Korea’s internet (all of it); and the second, from the BBC, looks at a UN report suggesting the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is using stolen crypto to fund their nuclear missile program.

Read all the stories below 👇

➡️ My big fat digital wedding: Couple plan India's 'first metaverse marriage'

➡️ Notorious YouTube Streamer Stole $500,000 From Fans In Crypto Scheme

➡️ Owning cryptocurrency may make you more desirable on the dating scene

➡️ One American Hacker Suddenly Took Down North Korea’s Internet

➡️ North Korea: Missile programme funded through stolen crypto

Direct download: KL_Podcast_238.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 4:49am EDT

For the 237th episode of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable podcast, Ahmed and I ask Dave to dive back into the NFT sea for a pair of stories, both of which center around OpenSea.

The first story comes to us from Vice where Joseph Cox looks into an issue where NFTs may be running third party code without the user’s awareness – in some instances obtaining a IP address for people viewing an NFT. The second story discusses a bug in OpenSea where hackers are able to buy NFTs for previous prices and then flip them for more – all without the current owner’s knowledge.

We then shift focus to Apple to discuss the company’s new response to Air Tags being used for stalking purposes. The question is though, why wasn’t this safety guide already around?

https://youtu.be/jjt9Qx9MBPk

We then jump into the metaverse and debate whether or not this is something that the world really needs to happen. To close out the podcast, we discuss Signal’s new move to incorporate anonymous payments into their future products. 

If you liked what you heard, please consider subscribing and sharing with your friends. For more information on the stories we covered, see the links below:

Direct download: 237.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 11:12am EDT

To kick off the latest edition of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable podcast, Ahmed and I ask Dave the status of his Covid-19 NFT. Unfortunately, he was too busy recovering from the actual virus to create his own NFT.

However, we stay on the topic of NFTs for a pair of articles. The first is with our friends on Twitter and how users can now have their profile picture be of an NFT that they have purchased. If that wasn’t enough, we then head to Britain where Julian Lennon is selling off some Beatles historical relics, well at least a digital version of them. While we debate the merits of the auction, we head into another story that is not really up for debate. Instead, we discuss a move from the Russian Federation to ban cryptocurrencies.

From Russia, we head back to the UK where lawmakers are taking the battle to weaken encryption to a new level. In a new campaign, those attacking encryption are using the guise of weakening encryption to protect the children. To close out the podcast, we discuss a report of rising fear within the ransomware community following the REvil arrests.

Direct download: KL_Podcast_236.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 6:54am EDT

To start off this week’s episode of the Transatlantic Cable podcast, Ahmed, Dave, and I talk cryptocurrency. Unlike most of our chats on the digital currency, we focus on the criminal aspect of it.

More accurately, our conversation centers on a new report of the nearly $400 million North Korea is alleged to have stolen in the past year. We have some fun going through the report, but we also discuss its implications.

Staying in the world of cybercrime, we then discuss the further-ranging implications of an FBI honeypot operation that involved rather more “anonymous” phones than initially reported.

Our third story heads over to Eastern Europe, where Russia’s FSB has arrested members of the REvil gang after getting good intel from the FBI. This story has been a long-time coming but is also somehow surprising.

We then head to a weird story that might as well have come from The Quibbler. A lawsuit claims that Facebook, being free, is a monopoly. Of all the things to sue Facebook over! Ahmed and I have a bit of fun at David’s expense with this story. We close out the podcast with a pair of stories discussing some more bad news for the world of NFTs.

Direct download: KL_Podcast_235.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 5:23am EDT

With the New Year firmly behind us, Dave, Jeff and Ahmed start to look at some of the more quirky stories of the last few days in the latest episode of the Transatlantic Cable.

To kick things off, we look at the roller-coaster that is the price of bitcoin (and to a larger extent, crypto prices in general) and wonder how much further things can slide, from there we discuss the recent news that SEGA isn’t going to pursue NFTs (for now) due to the negative feedback from gamers. Following that, we look at a story that beggar’s belief: it involves passing wind, NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) and thousands of dollars – no, I’m not making this up – go check it out yourself with the link below.

From there we look at a story that hackers are trying to penetrate U.S government institutions by posting USBs loaded with malware in the hopes that employees will insert them into computers to find out what’s inside.

Also on this week’s episode is an exclusive interview with Fabio Assolini and Santiago Pontiroli from Kaspersky GReAT to talk about financial predictions in 2022.

Don't forget you can follow us on Twitter @Kaspersky

Direct download: KL_Podcast_234.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 4:55am EDT

Happy New Year and welcome to the first Transatlantic Cable podcast of 2022. With Dave still out, Ahmed and I take on this episode as a two-man show.

To kick things off, we reflect on the Christmas holiday and this year’s “it” toy, the Chatter Bluetooth Telephone from Fisher-Price. This toy is pretty cool, and it lets users actually talk with it over Bluetooth. Unfortunately, the connection is not as secure as one would hope.

From there, we head to the world of mobile chat apps for a story about a malicious downloader tied to Telegram and people downloading from unofficial sources.

The third story we talk about has to do with Spiderman No Way Home — no spoilers here, just the predictable malware, this time of the crypto-mining variety.

To close out the podcast, we discuss a new vulnerability affecting some people who connect to Apple HomeKit.

Direct download: KL_Podcast_233.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 5:18am EDT

This week on the Transatlantic Cable podcast, our good friend Ahmed is a bit under the weather, so we return temporarily to our original podcast line-up.

We jump right in with the story everyone’s been talking about: Log4J. We start out with an overview of what is going on there and then hop into a second story about botnets leveraging the vulnerability. After that, we discuss a case of fat fingers causing an NFT to be sold for $3,000 — sounds like no big deal, but it was valued at $300,000. Once that cheap sales went through, the item was flipped for a whole lot more money. Talk about a whoopsie.

From there, our discussion shifts to Instagram. Prior to its grilling by the US Congress, the social network announced some changes to the platform. The changes aim to improve users’ experiences and avoid some of the associated harms such as bullying, damage to self-image, and more. Dave and I debate a bit whether it’s just a PR stunt or something that will really benefit society.

Our fourth story has us diving into a lawsuit Google filed against some hackers. The problem is that it appears largely symbolic.

For our final story, we head to China, where a man stole more than $20,000 from an ex-girlfriend by unlocking her phone and bank account while she was sleeping — creepy! And to close out the podcast for the year, we offer some tips for anyone who gets new electronics over the holidays.

Direct download: KL_Podcast_232.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 6:51am EDT

After a brief hiatus in old Constantinople, Ahmed and I rejoin David just in time for the 131st edition of the Transatlantic Cable podcast.

To kick things off, we dive into The Sandbox metaverse and a sale of land to be the neighbor of Snoop Dogg – yes the dogfather. Believe it or not, one of the NFTs purchased for this digital version sold for a whopping $450K – so yes, you read that right, the cost of a home in many US markets for a plot in the Snoopverse; what a time to be alive.

 

From there, we head into a look into Facebook’s removal of their self-imposed ban on cryptocurrency ads on their platforms. After a brief quiz break, we jump into a pair of stories that discuss disinformation and what the platforms of Facebook and Twitter are doing to battle it. Spoiler – not enough.

 

To close out the podcast, we head to the UK, where scammers are using the Omicron variant of Covid-19 to lure people into a phishing scheme.

Direct download: KL_Podcast_231_1.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 4:35am EDT

Welcome to the 230th episode of the Transatlantic Cable podcast. Due to travel commitments, Ahmed and Jeff are unable to attend this week’s episode. Filling in is the ever dependable Jag.

To start, we look at an interesting story look at the Australian government’s impending policy, which will force social media companies to ‘unmask’ online trolls. From there, we look at a story around facial recognition for goats in China (yes, really.)

After that, rather unique story, David sits down with David Emm to talk about the recent Kaspersky GReAT APT review. After that, we look at two stories from the BBC, the first around a crypto currency called JRR Token (no relation to JRR Tolkien, according to the creators) and the final story around a proposed government legislation in the U.K which will ban default passwords on smart devices. Smart thinking.

Direct download: KL_Podcast_230.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 6:20am EDT

Welcome to the 229th episode of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable podcast. Ahmed, Dave and I start by looking into the world of NFTs.

In this tale, it seems that a pirate site will allow users to download any NFT that has been bought and sold. Please tell me again, how a NFT site can be fooled by CTL-Right Click? From there, we dive into the Metaverse, where Facebook is rolling out their clone of the Oasis.

Now, while they say that the haptic gloves will help make digital handshakes and eliminate business travel, we all know what they are really about… data. For our third story, we discuss how a glitch at Tesla locked some folks out of their autos.

After the Tesla snafu, we jump to an odd story in the US. While there is a lot of weird in the US going on at any given day, this story takes a look at a woman who tried to buy a hitman to kill her ex-husband. Fortunately for him, and unfortunately for her, she used a fake site that then shared her info with the authorities. Now, for a PSA, please check out the site, it is quite comical and anyone who would think that it is legitimate, you have to wonder a bit. We close out the pod looking at a warning from the FBI on potential ransomware attacks tied to the US-Thanksgiving holiday as well as some tips to stay safe online shopping.

Direct download: KL_Podcast_229.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 6:54am EDT

Episode 228 of the Transatlantic Cable take a look at some more serious stories this week, including news of REvil arrests.

To begin with, Dave, Jeff and Ahmed jump on news that Twitter “vigilantes” are trying to be good cop, by hunting down crypto-scammers in the DeFi (decentralized finance) world, but not all is as it appears.  From there discussion moves onto how, briefly, a scammer was able to hit number one spot in Google for ‘OpenSea’ – which is a legitimate site for the trading of NFTs – be wary of clicking without checking as ever!

Finally, to wrap up the team look at two stories around ransomware, the first around the return of Emotet and the second looking at the recent arrest of an affiliate related to the REvil ransomware gang.

Direct download: KL_Podcast_228.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 6:16am EDT

In this week’s jam-packed episode of the Transatlantic Cable podcast, Jeff, Ahmed, and I tackle some prickly topics. To begin, we look at how the FBI is making some serious noise about DarkSide, offering $10 million for the capture of gang members.

From there we have a look at Facebook shutting down its controversial facial recognition system.

After that, it’s two stories about crypto: the first a scam having to do with Squid Games cryptocurrency and the second looking at how the mayor-elect of New York, Eric Adams, has requested his first three paychecks be payable in Bitcoin.

Direct download: KL_Podcast_227_1.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 11:09am EDT

To open episode 226, we hit the road running, discussing a $10 billion hit on social media channels, caused by Apple. In this story, we take a look at the business impact Apple’s app-tracking policy has had on major social networks including Facebook, Snapchat, and more. From there, we discuss Facebook’s change to Meta.

Our third story takes us back to school, with a trip to Harvard, where there is a bit of tomfoolery and black hat SEO going on with the university’s self-publishing system.

After that, we talk about German authorities’ exposing one of the REvil group’s major players. To close out the podcast, we have a weird story involving an Instagram hacker using hostage-style videos for scams.

Direct download: KL_Podcast_226.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 8:57am EDT

Welcome back to the Community Podcasts, a mini-series on the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable podcast. Joining me again as our co-host for this series is Anastasiya Kazakova, a Senior Public Affairs Manager who coordinates global cyber diplomacy projects at Kaspersky.

As a reminder, the Community Podcasts is a short series of podcasts featuring frank cyber diplomacy conversations with cyber-heroes who unite people despite everything – growing fragmentation, confrontation, and cyber threats – there are people who build communities and unite people to work together for the common good. Why are they doing this? And are their efforts working?

For our 4th episode, by Allison Pytlak, the Program Manager for Reaching Critical Will. Reaching Critical Will is the disarmament program of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), the oldest women’s peace organization in the world. Reaching Critical Will works for disarmament and arms control of many different weapon systems, the reduction of global military spending and militarism, and the investigation of gendered aspects of the impact of weapons. Allison contributes to the organization’s monitoring and analysis of disarmament processes and its research and other publications, as well as liaises with UN, government, and civil society colleagues.

Over the course of our conversation, we discuss the importance of gender in the international cybersecurity landscape, working with the UN, what the future holds for her and WILPF and more.

Direct download: KL_Mini_4___2021-09-15.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 8:43am EDT

With Dave on vacation, our APAC head of social media joins Ahmed and me for this week’s edition of the Kaspersky <em>Transatlantic Cable</em> podcast. A warm welcome to Jag Sharma.

To kick off the conversation, we revisit the topic of REvil — again. This week, we look at the FBI’s infiltration of the ransomware gang and how the new approach differs from the usual. Although of course we discuss the news, we also debate the merits of the live-blogging the gang has been doing as well. From there, Jag gets his indoctrination by fire in one of Ahmed’s famous quizzes.

Moving along, we discuss the need to secure space’s infrastructure. If everyone’s heading that way anyway, best to make it safe. Our third story takes a look at the Squid Game phenomenon and the rise of Joker-infested unofficial apps on the Play Store.

The podcast closes with a story of how AI and a T-shirt led to a man getting a ticket for his automobile. No, you didn’t read that wrong – the AI really thought a woman’s T-shirt was a license plate. But hey, AI is the future, right?

If you liked what you heard, please consider subscribing and sharing with your friends. For more information on the stories we covered, see the links below:

Direct download: KL_Podcast_225.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 8:50am EDT

To open the 224th episode of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable podcast, Ahmed, Dave, and Jeff discuss the targeting of researchers by some state-backed hackers.

We first mentioned this story a few months back, but this week we’re rekindling the debate on researchers being targeted after Twitter banned some phishing accounts. From there, we head into our first quiz — spoiler alert, Dave and I fall victim to Ahmed’s trickery.

We then welcome Maria Namestnikova, head of GReAT Russia, to discuss how parents can educate their kids on using social media securely.

From there, we move on to some REvil weirdness. The gang has seen the keys for its Tor sites stolen and some signs of instability. It’s since gone offline — again!

For our third story, we stay with ransomware, for which US financial institutions report having paid about $600 million in the first six months of 2020.

Then, it’s on to another quiz. We just can’t get enough.

The next item on the docket is a teaser to a podcast coming this weekend with Allison Pytlak of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) to discuss the need for more gender diversity in infosec. To close out our podcast, we discuss a Wales school system that is enabling facial recognition for kids buying lunch.

Direct download: KL_Podcast_224.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 6:08am EDT

We kick off the Transatlantic Cable podcast this week with the recent Twitch data breach. Details are still scarce, but the topic is on the collective lips of the infosec community.

From there, Jeff, Ahmed, and Dave move on to Facebook’s decision to crack down on its marketplace sales of Amazonian rainforest plots. How that will work in practice remains to be seen. Moving on, we talk about Google’s recent decision to send out authenticator keys to more than 10,000 people it identified as hacking risks. Our final story involves the FBI, submarine plans, and cryptocurrency.

Direct download: KL_Podcast_223.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 7:34am EDT

We kick off episode 222 of the Transatlantic Cable podcast with a discussion of the recent Facebook outage, including possible causes. Sticking with Facebook, we delve into the whistle-blower story and details being leaked about the social media behemoth.

From there, we move on to concerning news about a recent CoinBase hack involving some 6,000 accounts. Details are scarce, but if you use CoinBase for your crypto, it might be wise to check your account.

Following that, we look at a story about leveraging iCloud to spy on Britney Spears, and a troubling one about hackers hitting a hospital with ransomware and the death of a baby.

Direct download: KL_Podcast_222.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 8:00am EDT

Welcome back to the Community Podcasts, a mini-series on the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable podcast. As always, my co-host for this series is Anastasiya Kazakova, a Senior Public Affairs Manager who coordinates global cyber diplomacy projects at Kaspersky.

As a reminder, the Community Podcasts is a short series of podcasts featuring frank cyber diplomacy conversations with cyber-heroes who unite people despite everything – growing fragmentation, confrontation, and cyber threats – there are people who build communities and unite people to work together for the common good. Why are they doing this? And are their efforts working?

Our third episode includes a chat with Kate Stewart - co-chair of one of the working groups within of National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s cyber-security multi-stakeholder process for Software Component Transparency.

NTIA has years of experience in conducting open, multi-stakeholder processes to help make progress on issues such as finding common ground on cyber-security vulnerability disclosure, developing clear policy guidance on the secure update of IoT devices, and providing more transparency about data collected by mobile apps. But today we will focus on this multi-stakeholder process for Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) or software component transparency.

During our extended conversation, we discuss a wide array of topics from the need for collaboration between the public/private sector, what working with governments has been like, what the future holds for FIRST and incident respondent in general, how to make sure that they remain neutral in cyber ‘firefighting’, and more.

Direct download: KL_Podcast_Mini_2021-08-13_mini_2.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 9:08am EDT

This week on podcast, Jeff, Ahmed and I start off by looking at how Facebook have apparently shelved the idea of an Instagram for children, after mounting pressure from privacy advocates.

From there we look at a bizarre story about involving a hamster and crypto-currency, quickly followed by news from China that crypto is effectively banned in the country.

Moving from there we take a look at two stories from the Washington Post, the first talking, quite concerning story about office workers being put under increased surveillance on their work laptops due to the pandemic, and the second takes a look at why the FBI held back a decryptor key to the recent REvil ransomware attacks.

Also included in this week’s episode is two interviews with GReAT, the first looking at the Story of a Modern Day Rootkit with the research team Mark Lechtik, Aseel Kayal, Paul Rascagneres, Vasily Berdnikov and the second about a possible connection between DarkHalo APT and Kazuar.

Direct download: KL_Podcast_221.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 7:44am EDT

This week on the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable podcast, Ahmed, Dave, and I kick things off with some ransomware. No, it is not another company getting hit, but rather some good news.

In this post from Graham Cluely, victims of REvil ransomware attacks may find some relief — in the form of a universal decryptor for the ransomware. Some victims can breathe a sigh of relief. From there, we jump to a tale involving unlocking AT&T cellular phones. It might seem like a weird news item, but this isn’t a story about unlocking a phone for use on any network; it’s about defrauding a company of more than $200 million.

After a brief quiz that leaves Dave and me stumped, we jump into a conversation about Amazon and the controversial AI in its delivery vehicles.

To close things out, we revisit our discussion of El Salvador’s move to roll out Bitcoin as an official currency. Sadly, a lot of our trollish predictions did come true.

Direct download: KL_Podcast_220.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 5:59am EDT

To kick off the 219th edition of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable podcast, Ahmed, Dave and I head to Australia.

You see, the app that our friends down under have in place for their Covid Passports is able to be spoofed and the researcher who found it has been ghosted by government officials he reached out to. From there, we jump into the world of gangs and how they are using Instagram for a variety of illicit activities – spoiler many involve guns that would make a Warzone player envious.

After a brief quiz intermission, we get back to the stories and one that involves an interesting mix of crypto and a press release. In this segment, we look at how a press release noting that Walmart would accept Litecoin as a payment method. This news set the price soaring, unfortunately this surge was caused by fake news. Seems that the press release company will need to enlist Mystery Inc as to how it got onto their wires. Our fourth story heads back to Texas for the second week in a row. In this story, it seems that the Texas Right to Life website has inadvertently leaked the resumes of job applicants.

Sticking with the theme of leaking info, we jump into the world of fast food in the UK. You see, McDonald’s seems to have accidentally exposed the password to their VIP winners of the Monopoly contest. Surprisingly, no interns were hurt in their statement on what went wrong. We then close out the podcast debating the toys in Happy Meals

Direct download: KL_Podcast_219.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 8:25am EDT

With David on holiday, Ahmed and I are holding down the fort for this week’s Kaspersky <em>Transatlantic Cable</em> podcast.

 

We open the show with a pair of stories about Apple. In the first, the company is holding off on the rollout of its controversial CSAM — for now. Then, we look at the aftermarket for iPhone chargers, which includes the OMG Cable, a charger with a built in hotspot that steals credentials, and Ahmed continues his habit of making me look dumb with his obscure trivia.

 

Getting back to our slate of stories, we discuss a new vulnerability in Confluence that further bolsters our “updates are important” stance. (Despite the patch being available, criminals are exploiting this PoC for those who have yet to update their servers.)

 

From there we head to the infosec drama story of the week, with the ransomware-as-a-service gang. In this story, a former member of the group has leaked the source code for Babuk Locker on a criminal forum. The note attached to the leak is one for the ages, including terminal cancer and the phrase “I will have time to live like a human.”

 

From there, it’s over to Latin America, where El Salvador has become the first country to embrace Bitcoin, including issuing $30 in the cryptocurrency to users who install the government-backed wallet.

 

To close out the podcast, we discuss NFTs and a fraudulent Banksy NFT that sold for more than $330,000. In a happy turn of events, the buyer was refunded most of the money.

Direct download: KL_Podcast_218.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 10:28am EDT

If you scroll through the headlines in cybersecurity, you will often see topics that grab the readers’ attention. Correct me if I am wrong, but you’ve probably read a lot about State-sponsored APT attacks, ransomware, bug bounty programs, disclosure of 0Days, zero day usage, what color hat a hacker is. While I could go on with topics, I think that we are on the same page.

One of the things that we often don’t discuss when it comes to this topic is what is and what is NOT ethical. Subscribers to the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable podcast may remember that this was a topic that David and I tapped into with Ivan Kwiatkowski discussed on a podcast a few weeks ago. Over the past few months, Ivan and I have been discussing this quite regularly and decided to hop into the topic in some more depth.

After crossing all the T’s and dotting the I’s with our internal stakeholders, we were able to pull together a crew to discuss and debate some of the topics that play into this space. Our guests included my usual co-host David Buxton, Aseel Kayal and Runa Sandvik – make sure to follow these folks on the Twitter.
During our near 2-hour conversation, we discuss a wide ranging of topics, including:


• Competetive collaboration between infosec vendors
• Disclosure
• Role of government and private companies for user security
• Attribution
• Does threat intelligence help adversaries?
• Governments hoarding 0days

There is much more in there and will definitely help pique the interest of anyone working within the space.

Direct download: KL_Podcast_Mini_series_3.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 8:48am EDT

This week on the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable podcast, Ahmed, Dave, and I start out in the Far East with a look at South Korea’s investigation of the fees Google and Apple charge vendors for in-app purchases.

The article spurs some debate; we three have pretty distinct opinions about the platform-versus-developer situation.

From there, we head to California, where a man has been arrested for hacking into iCloud accounts for profit.

Our third story takes us to the United Kingdom, where David’s people are looking to remove themselves from the GDPR. Is that a good thing?

A pair of stories with a similar theme — adult entertainment — closes out the podcast. The first story examines TikTok users battling a Texas “whistleblowing” website where people can anonymously report abortion patients and anyone who helps them. Users who object to the site have been flooding the submission system with videos, including some, ahem, questionable Shrek content. The second considers OnlyFans’ course corrections on allowable content.

Direct download: KL_Podcast_217.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 5:30am EDT

This week on the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable podcast, Ahmed, Dave, and I discuss a number of topics that really run the gamut — from spy ships to the robot apocalypse, Bitcoin, and more.

Kicking things off is a story from Tom Spring on Threatpost about how Microsoft Power App configurations have led to the leak of more than 38 million sensitive records. We also debate why private is not the default option and actually invites user error.

From there, we jump into some cell-phone-battery myth-busting. (For the record, we all get angry at one time or another.)

Then, a Russian spy ship is hovering around the transatlantic cables. Comrades, we are flattered, but you can download the podcast on your favorite platforms, no need to launch a ship — it is 2021, after all.

Following that tongue-in-cheek story, we head to the UK for a look at PayPal and its new embrace of cryptocurrencies.

To close things out, we discuss the new robots Elon Musk and Tesla are pondering.

Direct download: KL_Podcast_216.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 8:42am EDT

This week on the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable podcast, Ahmed, Dave, and I discuss John Oliver’s recent monologue on ransomware and why it’s a good PSA to share with friends and family.

We then take a look at the world of malicious social media influencers — in this case from the United Kingdom, where an investigative reporter identified an “influencer” who was selling phishing texts through his social networking accounts.

From there, we jump into the world of crypto and a hacker stealing a boat-ton of coins … and then giving most of them back. The individual says it was to help with security. We debate the level of BS in that statement.

Next, it’s back to the United Kingdom, where a commission has said people should not have to give up all of their personal data just to buy a beer at a pub. Ahmed and I had some trouble grasping that issue, so Dave filled us in on this UK peculiarity.

In our next story, T-Mobile investigates an alleged data breach affecting more than 100 million users.

Finally, we discuss a city in Louisiana that is using garbage trucks and Raspberry Pi units to help determine which areas are current dark spots for high-speed Internet connectivity.

Direct download: KL_Podcast_215.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 7:40am EDT

Welcome back to the Community Podcasts, a mini-series on the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable podcast. Joining me again as our co-host for this series is Anastasiya Kazakova, a Senior Public Affairs Manager who coordinates global cyber diplomacy projects at Kaspersky.

As a reminder, the Community Podcasts is a short series of podcasts featuring frank cyber diplomacy conversations with cyber-heroes who unite people despite everything – growing fragmentation, confrontation, and cyber threats – there are people who build communities and unite people to work together for the common good. Why are they doing this? And are their efforts working?

For our second episode, we are joined by Serge Droz, Member of the FIRST Board and a senior security engineer at Pronton Technologies. FIRST is a global Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams, the premier organization and recognized global leader in incident response.

During our extended conversation, we discuss a wide array of topics from the need for collaboration between the public/private sector, what working with governments has been like, what the future holds for FIRST and incident respondent in general, how to make sure that they remain neutral in cyber ‘firefighting’, and more.

Direct download: KL_Podcast_2021-07-28_Mini.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 10:47am EDT

This week on the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable podcast, Ahmed, Dave, and I confirm once more how bad I am at trivia and then also cover a handful of some serious security related stuff.

To kick off the podcast, we discuss Apple’s new photo scanning practice meant to battle child pornography with AI. We stay in the realm of photography to look at Instagram shutting down a like farm.

For our third story, we discuss the dark market for COVID-19 vaccination cards. We have some strong feelings on the topic, so this story gets a bit heated.

Moving along, our fourth story takes a dive into the criminal world for some good ol’ crook-on-crook crime. In this story, a shortchanged affiliate of the Conti ransomware-for-hire syndicate retaliates by leaking the group’s playbook. We then take a break to offer a teaser to the second episode of our Community Conversations podcasts with Serge Droz of FIRST. The full episode will run over the weekend. We close out the podcast throwing some mud at the Internet of Things.

Direct download: KL_Podcast_214.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 8:22am EDT

In this week’s episode of the Transatlantic Cable podcast Jeff, Ahmed, and I look at some of the more interesting stories to come out of the cybersecurity space this week.

We start on a sombre note, with a story of a woman who found a video of herself on Pornhub. After getting the content taken down, she began working with a team to create an app that uses AI to help women find content that includes their faces. Following that, we discuss some recent news about Instagram, which is defaulting all teen accounts to private, and an upcoming Android update that privacy advocates should appreciate.

From there, we have two additional stories: the first about an Instagram influencer convicted of money laundering and BEC (business e-mail compromise) scams, and finally, what an art teacher did with a dead cat (yes, really).

Direct download: KL_Podcast_213.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 8:04am EDT

On this week’s edition of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable podcast, Ahmed, Dave, and I discuss a variety of topics. We kick off the program with a story from the EU and a new look at making Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies more trackable.

The proposed changes in the EU could take up to two years to enact, and we have a lot of questions.

From there, we jump to a story about a ransomware hit on ransomware group Babuk. After that, it’s Dave’s interview about the dangers of image-based sexual abuse and how we can stop it.

Then, it’s off to a round of our recurring quiz, where I continue to suck. Then, following a break for our second interview —a look at a new children’s book featuring Midori Kuma — it’s the latest in REvil-v-Kaseya saga. In this latest wrinkle, Kaseya obtained a universal decryptor.

Finally, it’s back to the UK, where a leak of gun forum users has gun owners on edge, and a brief discussion of Amazon shutting down NSO activity on its servers.

Direct download: KL_212.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 10:09am EDT

Earlier in the week, we teased a miniseries called the Community Podcasts, which you’ll find right alongside the Transatlantic Cable podcast. I will remain your faithful host, and Anastasiya Kazakova of our Government Affairs office will join me.

This series of podcasts features frank conversations with cyberheroes who unite people despite everything — growing fragmentation, confrontation, and ever-changing cyberthreats — people are still building communities and uniting folks to work together for the common good. Why are they doing that? And is it working?

For our first episode, we focus on the Geneva Dialogue, launched in 2018 by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) in cooperation with the Geneva Internet Platform (GIP), the UN Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), ETH Zurich, and the University of Lausanne. The flourishing initiative is uniting even more stakeholders across the globe; however, its initial goals seemed much broader than today’s, and the list of organizers has changed.

Today’s guests:

• Jonas Grätz, political affairs officer for cyberdiplomacy at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, International Security Division;
• Vladimir Radunovic, director of cybersecurity and e-diplomacy programs at DiploFoundation.

Direct download: kl_podcast_212.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 4:15am EDT

With Ahmed on vacation, the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable podcast returns this week to its original lineup.

Dave and I kick off this week’s episode with a look at the latest from REvil and its victims. (Spoiler alert: Despite the quiet, things are not great.) From there, we head to Southeast Asia, where LuminousMoth has been targeting government organizations. Instead of giving you our hot takes and thoughts on the APT action, we discuss the research and actor with senior Kaspersky security researcher Mark Lechtik.

Following that, we discuss Amazon’s potential Alexa tracking device for kids.

That calls for a change of topic, to a sneak peek of our new miniseries, Community Conversations. We will be interviewing members of organizations in the infosec community that are collaborating across borders to make a positive impact in the space. We will launch the series over the coming weekend.

Following the preview, we discuss Twitter’s curious account verification practices: specifically, the case of a verified cat. Next, facial recognition in retail stores may be more prevalent than you think.

To close out the episode, Dave and I discuss the pros and cons of buying a Cold War bunker — just ~$700K.

Direct download: KL_Podcast_211.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 5:53am EDT

In this week’s episode of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable podcast, Ahmed, Jeff and I are back around the virtual round table to talk all things cyber.

We kick this week’s episode off with the news that Interpol are urging countries to unite against the ransomware pandemic. From there, we look at how a hacker going by the alias ‘integra’ is offering 26.99 bitcoins (nearly $1 million USD at the time of writing) for zero-days and undetectable RATs (remote access Trojans).

From there, we look at a recently patched SolarWinds vulnerability and news that Tencent (a Chinese gaming behemoth) is looking to use facial recognition software to stop children playing past a certain time. To close, we discuss the recent news around the Right to Repair movement in America and Europe.

Direct download: KL_Podcast_210.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 7:19am EDT

This week on the podcast, Jeff’s on vacation, so Ahmed and I tackle some thorny cybersec issues on our own.

We start with news that EA’s billion dollar franchise, Apex Legends, faced hacking concerns from gamers about the state of TitanFall, Respawn’s first foray into the FPS genre. From there, we move on to news that Google has taken the ban-hammer to some developers who placed Trojans inside their apps to scrape Facebook credentials.

Other stories this week include discussion about APT28, aka Fancy Bear, targeting governments around the world, plus an exclusive chat with Kaspersky security researcher David Emm about the recent REvil attacks.

Direct download: KL_Podcast_209.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 5:31am EDT

 

For the 208th episode of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable podcast, Dave’s gone missing, and Ahmed and I debate whether it is leisure or if something more nefarious is going on. We don’t quite get to the bottom of it, but we do cover a wide array of topics, from a political sex tape leaked on OnlyFans to PS3 leaks and ransomware in US schools.

 

We start with the electoral scene in New York state, where a user on Onlyfans and Twitter leaked a BDSM video of politician Zack Weiner and a partner. Both platforms took down the video and banned the user, but the reply from Weiner is what caught our attention as a standup response to a truly personal doxing.

 

From there, we have to mention Ahmed’s complete quiz game dominance. Sadly, I am not able to overtake David’s massive lead, and we move on to a story of PS3 hacking for online gaming.

 

In the next segment, I sit down with Kurt Baumgartner to discuss the latest on school ransomware in the United States, the government reclaiming funds from ransomware crooks, and more. We continue with news of a potentially new scraping of data from 700 million LinkedIn users before closing out with a new government joining Have I Been Pwned.  

 

 

If you liked what you heard, please consider subscribing and sharing with your friends.

Direct download: KL_Podcast_208.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 10:45am EDT

Welcome to the 207th edition of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable podcast! This week, Dave, Ahmed, and I chat about a number of topics — and we also have some changes to our big board of quiz points.

We kick things off with a pair of stories about AI and surveillance. The first is from the UK, where AI can now tell authorities if people were adhering to social distancing guidelines. The next is about a Chinese company using smile recognition for employees entering the office. Smile for the camera.

After a short break for a tip from Ahmed, we’re on to the first round of the week’s quiz game. I won’t spoil it here, but let’s just say there is a bit of a shocker. Following the fun, we get back to business, discussing recent APT activity from the Persian-speaking Ferocious Kitten group with researchers Mark Lechtik and Aseel Kayal.

After the interview, we look at the insecurity of America’s water facilities before wrapping up with a discussion of consent and the COVID-19 app in Massachusetts.

Direct download: KL_Podcast_207.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 6:29am EDT

This week, Jeff, Ahmed, and I kick off episode 206 of the Transatlantic Cable podcast with a discussion about Ireland’s change in stop and search law, including a new law allowing police to force people to unlock digital devices such as phones and tablets.

From there, we move on to further discussion of ransomware and the recent G7 talks, with US President Biden seeking tougher stances on ransomware gangs. We also touch on the JBS meat processing company’s recent decision to pay ransom to REvil.

To wrap up, we talk about the recent EA hack and Facebook’s singing about WhatsApp privacy cred in a new advertisement.

Direct download: KL_Podcast_206_320.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 5:36am EDT

This week on the Transatlantic Cable podcast, Jeff, Ahmed, and I look at how the DarkSide gang was able to use an old VPN account to breach the Colonial pipeline network. Moving on, we also chat about two related stories, including one in which lawmakers try to force companies to disclose attacks and one about the FBI reclaiming some of the $4.4 million ransom DarkSide has collected.

We also discuss a story about Apple AirTags, which the company is planning to update based on fears that stalkers could use them to track victims. Finally, we have an interesting discussion about daters adding COVID vaccine stickers to their dating app profiles.

Direct download: KL_Podcast-205_128.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 6:58am EDT

We open the show with a hidden gem of a crime. British authorities thought they were pursuing a cannabis operation only to find a mining operation. The next story is a look at the FBI integration with Have I Been Pwned and some new site features worth looking into.

After that, I sit down with Rainer Bock of our team at Tomorrow Unlocked to learn about their latest — some cool videos are on the way, including an interactive one on Carbanak. Unfortunately, we also have to discuss the latest from SolarWinds and why the problem may not be going away as soon as we’d all like.

Direct download: KL_Podcast-204-128.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 10:59am EDT

Dave and I cover a lot of ground this week on the Transatlantic Cable podcast, from how obscure movies are holding up to surviving COVID-19, plus SolarWinds and more.

We kick off the show with the latest on SolarWinds — not media speculation but straight from the horse’s mouth. In this article, our old colleague Dennis Fisher recaps a talk given by Sudhakhar Ramakrishna, SolarWinds CEO, on the attack and what they have learned. Then, heading across the pond, we reflect on three years of GDPR and the biggest fines levied to date.

For our third story, we take a look at Conti ransomware’s recent attacks on first responder and healthcare institutions. After that, Robby Cataldo, the managing director of Kaspersky North America, joins us to discuss RSA 2021, Cataldo’s bout with COVID-19, and how businesses have had to adapt to the pandemic. To close things out, we look at the fallout from a breach at Air India.

Direct download: KL_Podcast_203_20210526.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 5:50am EDT

Welcome to episode 202 of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable podcast. While much of the cyberworld will be juggling sales pitches and panels at RSA, we’re focusing on stories that will have more of an immediate impact on your security needs.

We open the episode discussing the latest with DarkSide. Are they dead? Did they hit Toshiba?

Moving along, we discuss the reemergence of Fin7 and its posing as a legitimate cybersecurity research firm. Staying on the topic of crime, but in sunny Brazil, the LatAm arm of our Global Research and Analysis team (GReAT) takes a look at an emergent financial Trojan called Bizarro. I chat with Fabio Assolini from the team to see why people should care and why the region is such a hotbed of financial crime.

Then it’s the latest in the DC Police vs. Babuk. It seems police tried to negotiate a ransom, but the crooks were not too interested. We then take a look at the need for patching at home and the office with Maria Namestnikova of GReAT Russia.

To close out the podcast we discuss a new texting scam involving deliveries in the UK and a lot of money lost.

Direct download: KL-Podcast_202.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 10:48am EDT

Episode 201 of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable podcast is the extended podcast we teased last week. More changes will come, but this will be a recurring theme and length.

For our first story, Dave and I take a look at yet another cryptoscam involving Elon Musk, whose hosting of Saturday Night Live netted scammers nearly $100K. Come on, Internet friends, we can do better. These scams are just a 2021 version of your cousin the Nigerian prince.

From there, we jump over to a ransomware hit on an entire city: Tulsa, Oklahoma. Staying on the topic of ransomware, Ivan Kwiatkowski joins us from the European arm of GReAT to dive a bit deeper into the interconnected ecosystem of ransomware. One could be forgiven for thinking it’s simply one big attack, but there’s a bit more here than meets the eye.

For our next story, we head to the world of 2FA, where Google is pushing another, more secure, form of the authentication to select users with the goal of eventually reaching all users.

Closing out the news portion of the podcast, we take a look at the latest in the saga of ransomware hitting the Colonial Pipeline in the USA. It’s clear a lot has yet to emerge. To close out the podcast, we chat with Dmitry Galov about the darknet component of ransomware.

Direct download: tcp_201_-_Copy.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 5:55am EDT

It’s here — episode 200 of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable has landed! This week, Dave and Jeff chat about a new ransomware taskforce whose purpose is to stem the surge of ransomware attacks. From there, they look at issues surrounding Google’s ad network and scams — and why Google just can’t seem to get control over them. Following that, they briefly touch on doxing and how everybody can protect themselves from attack.

To wrap up, it’s a uniquely Canadian story: Beavers managed to chew through fiber optic cables for a small village in Western Canada.

Direct download: 20210506_KL_Podcast_200.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 5:06am EDT

Dave and I start episode 199 of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable podcast with some good news in the infosec space: a researcher and his friend hunting bugs to help a family member pay for surgery. It’s not often we get a chance to talk about positive news, so this one is a bit of a breath of fresh air.

From there, we head back to the world of law enforcement and surveillance. In this story, a Florida law enforcement team was caught flying a surveillance drone over a protest/press conference reacting to a police shooting.

Our third story is about the latest from the REvil ransomware gang and its attempted extortion of Apple. Staying on the topic of ransomware, we talk about how that malicious action affected the world in 2020, and a new report from Kaspersky.

Closing out the podcast, we take a look at the news that an enterprise-level password manager has asked users to reset all passwords.

Direct download: 20210428_KL_Podcast199.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 6:02am EDT

For this week’s episode of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable podcast, Dave and Jeff snagged some time with Adam Dodge, CEO of EndTab, and Vladislav Tushkanov, a privacy expert here at Kaspersky, to talk about doxing. During our wide-ranging discussion, we talked about issues around doxing and why it’s a growing problem.

Direct download: 20210421_KL_Podcast_198.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 5:49am EDT

This week, Jeff and I chat with Ivan Kwiatkowski from Kaspersky’s GReAT to talk about the recent controversy surrounding Google’s decision to “burn” a zero-day exploit in use by US spies. We also talk briefly about another zero-day discovery: Kaspersky found it, and it requires IT teams’ immediate attention.

Moving on, we discuss data breaches in Facebook, LinkedIn, and Clubhouse that could affect users’ privacy for years to come. From there we turn our attention to a story looking at the “average” UK hacker and how one person wanted to take out 70% of the Internet by destroying three Amazon server centers.

If all that floats your boat, be sure to subscribe. For more information on the stories we covered, see the links below:

Direct download: 197_final.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 12:39pm EDT

With Easter holidays in the UK, we gave David the day off for recording the 196th episode of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable podcast. Instead, I am joined by two of my colleages from our Global Research and Analyst Team (GReAT).

Last week, Dmitry Bestuzhev and Fabio Assolini hosted a webinar on the threat landscape in the financial sector. During our conversation, we touch on the state of financial threats, how Covid impacted the online threats and more.

Direct download: 196_final.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 5:04am EDT

For the 195th edition of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable podcast, Dave and I focus on crime. Now this ranges from everything from dumb criminals to statistics and ransomware.

The first story we look at travels from Italy to the Dominican Republic and back again. In this case we have a mafia member who was on the run from Italian law enforcement and living in the Caribbean. The problem was that this fugitive had a love for cooking. So much so that he broadcast his cooking on YouTube. The problem for him was that despite hiding his face, he left his tattoos exposed. I guess they were memorable as it led to his arrest and extradition.

From there, we look at a recent report from Canalys that outlines the sheer volume of leaked and stolen data that is circulating across the web due to data breaches. The third story is ransomware turned extortion after a criminal gang finds a slew of pornography on an IT worker’s computer. To close things out, we discuss the latest school to fall victim to ransomware.

Direct download: podcast_195_mixdown_1.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 5:06am EDT

We are slowly chipping away towards the second century mark for the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable podcast. During our conversation, Dave and I go everywhere from the courtroom to the streets to the home.

To kick off the 194th edition, we move to the intersect of military and automotive. In this story from Joseph Cox, we look at a contractor looking to sell the location data of billions of cars to the US military. This one has a lot of question marks and what ifs when it comes to what could go wrong. From there, we head to the courtroom where Zoom calls are making compelling theater for the world of reddit. The question here though is what really should we be watching.

For our third story, we head to an emerging story of people renting out unused bandwidth for profit to anyone in the world. Is this a VPN? Is it a DDoS for hire? They say it will NOT be used for illicit activities, but I for one am not convinced. We close out the podcast by looking at the case of a hacked NHS employee account that turned into a PS5 scam.

Direct download: 194_final.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 6:07am EDT

We kick off the 193rd edition of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable podcast with a bit of a PSA from Facebook. The social giant is rolling out tools to help people get the Covid-19 vaccine.

While Dave and I have some misgivings about the “public” service here from Facebook, we both agree that you should get a vaccine. From there, we sit down and talk with Vladimir Kuskov, Head of Advanced Threat Research and Software Classification at Kaspersky, on what the latest is with the Microsoft Exchange zero days and their exploitation. We then head to the world of deepfakes for a pair of stories. The first takes a look at some machine vs. machine battle. A new software is able to identify whether a video is a deepfake or real McCoy based upon reflections in the eyes. The second story of the deepfakes takes a look at woman in Pennsylvania who created pictures and videos of rivals to her daughter on the cheerleading team.

We then cross the pond to discuss a hoovering campaign by the Home Office. Sure it was an “experiment,” but is it really? To close out the show, we look at Nvidia’s battle against cryptomining.

Direct download: 193_final.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 6:46am EDT

In episode 193 of the Transatlantic Cable, Dave and Jeff look at news around a new ransomware attack that hit a bank in the US, which also included a doxing angle few expected.


From there they look at a story over on Threatpost about Google’s decision to begin the process of removing third-party tracking cookies from its browser.  However, the technology they’re looking to replace it with, FLoC (Federated Learning of Cohorts) is not without its critics.

From there, there’s discussion on DeepFakes and the business opportunities they may hold, along with the concerns that people still have with them.  To wrap up, They briefly touch on a breaking news story around the European Banking Authority being hit by a Microsoft Exchange attack.

Direct download: Podcast_192new.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 5:37am EDT

Welcome to the 191st iteration of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable Podcast. On this week’s episode, Dave and I discuss fines, privacy, doxing and more.

To kick things off, we look at a pair of stories that discuss fines levied on social networking sites. The first pertains to TikTok and minors, while the second one discusses Illinois ruling against Facebook in a class action suit. From there, we stay on the social media train and discuss a recent move from Twitter to flag false information pertaining to Covid-19 vaccines.

From there, we hop into an interview that David did with our HR team about the future of work, state of HR and more. We close out the podcast talking about a doxing that comes for users of Gab from a hacktivist group.

Direct download: podcast_191_2.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 5:49am EDT

For the 190th episode of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable Podcast, Dave and I focus on two main topics: Facebook vs. Australia (and EU) & Clubhouse.

We kick things off in the spot the cool kids are raving about on the Internets: Clubhouse. The invite-only, audio-focused iOS App has taken Silicone Valley and the social network conversation by storm, not for all the right reasons though. In these two stories, we look at a developer who created an android app to use Clubhouse and also a short-lived site that scraped content of the site and published it for anyone to see. So needless to say, privacy is a wee bit of a concern. From there, we jump into a recent announcement from Nvidia looking to alter some graphic cards to dissuade cyrpto-mining.

To close out the podcast, we take a look at the current showdown between Australia and Facebook. We discuss the current situation, the history as well as how this could impact other countries or Unions (See, Europe). I also give my take which is not overly a popular one, but maybe some of you agree with it.

Direct download: 190_final.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 4:35am EDT

In episode 189 of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable, Jeff and myself talk a look at some stories you might have missed this week. We start by taking a look at a recent story from Threatpost, which looks at recent research that health apps are vulnerable to different forms of attack. From there, we take a dive into a story looking at iMessage, drug-deals and the police – hint: the story doesn’t end well for the bad-guys.

We then move onto a concerning story around a former employee of a firm, who’s accused of lacing the company network with ransomware after being let go. Talk about holding a grudge.

We end on a fun note with the recent “I’m not a cat” zoom call blunder. Remember, on the internet nobody knows you’re a cat.

Direct download: podcast_189_mixdown.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 4:31am EDT

We’ve got a jumbo version of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable Podcast for you all this week – complete with the usual array of stories, but also an interview to help shed some light on some recent financial news.

To kick off Episode 188, we dive into the world of cryptocurrency. First, we look to the purchase of $1.5B in Bitcoin by Tesla and then hop over into the surge of Dogecoin as of late. Since both of these tie nicely with the recent hullabaloo with RobinHood and WallStreetBets (WSB), Dave sat down with Alexey Pupyshev, Waves Technologies evangelist, co-founder of Neutrino protocol and Gravity protocol to discuss crypto and what was really happening the last couple of weeks.

From there, we head to the state of Florida where a water treatment system was accessed not once, but TWICE, by an unidentified hacker who altered the water composition. Our fourth story of the day takes a look at the group behind Ziggy ransomware shutting up shop and posting the decryption keys online. To close things out, we take a look at a really weird story from the BBC on a photographer’s pictures of cows that were deemed too racy for Facebook ads.

Direct download: podcast_188_mixdown.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 9:43am EDT

In a special episode of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable podcast, Jeff and I were lucky enough to chat with Tara Seals and Lindsey O’Donnel from Threatpost. During the podcast, we talk about the recent Capitol Hill attacks and what they mean for digital privacy, data security and even free speech.

Whilst talking about that, we also move onto other topics of discussion including looking at recent discussion around the balkanization (or splintering) of the internet into smaller, less open versions of the internet, or even cutting whole countries off from the World Wide Web.

Direct download: podcast_187.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 9:23am EDT

To open up the 186th edition of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable Podcast, Dave and I return to one of our favorite punching bags – Facebook. Unlike many of our talks that center around privacy, data sharing or things like that, we dive into ads a bit.

How does this fit the podcast? Well let’s just say that it includes an article penned by someone who worked on the new Borat movie and ads about guns, tactical gear and what “Trump followers” see. From there, we stay in the bubble of influence and discuss the still-missing laptop that was stolen during the Capitol insurrection from Nancy Pelosi’s office. This tale is one that is turning stranger and stranger as the days go on.

Following that story, we stay in the world of law & order to give virtual high-fives and claps for the joint law enforcement effort that took down the Emotet network. To close things out, we head back to the realm of Facebook to discuss a new study that takes a look at the emotional and mental stresses that the social network has on teenagers.

Direct download: 20210203_Podcast_186.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 5:06am EDT

For the 185th edition of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable Podcast, Jeff and I sat down with our good friend, Marco Preuss from the Kaspersky Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT) to talk about the work he’s done looking at second hand devices and the data that was found on them.

The research is the culmination of weeks’ worth of trawling through these devices (hard-drives, mobile phones, laptops, etc.) in order to see what was left on them after they were sold. During the podcast, Marco talks about how much data is actually left on the devices – ranging from innocent documents right through to nude photos and other explicit or illegal information. The worrying thing is that many people believe they’ve deleted the data, but in actual fact it remains on the devices after deletion. Marco, Dave and Jeff also discuss what people can do to safely and securely wipe the data off their devices if they intend to sell them on.

Direct download: 2021-01-27_Podcast_2nd_hand_device.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 5:31am EDT

For the 184th edition of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable Podcast, Jeff and I sat down with Claire Hatcher - head of business development for Kaspersky Fraud Prevention.

During the call, we discuss the wide-ranging issues surrounding fraud and how it affects its victims – something that’s often forgotten about as it’s sometimes portrayed as a “victimless crime.” We also chat about how people can best defend against fraud and scams, especially email and phone scams, and also briefly look at an upcoming webinar that Claire is hosting.

Direct download: 2021-01-21_KL_Podcast.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 5:34am EDT

For the 183rd edition of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable Podcast, Jeff and I look at some of the big news stories doing the rounds in the cyber-security field.

This week, we dive back into the recent Capitol hill attacks with a news story suggesting that the house speaker, Nancy Pelosi’s, had one of her laptops stolen. The story goes on to suggest that it’s possible the thief was planning to sell it to Russia, but details are thing on the ground. Following that, we look at how the controversial app, Parler could soon see a return to Apple’s App store after Tim Cook recently said it could return, as long as it committed to better moderating the content published on the social network.

Moving away from the recent Capitol Hill attacks, we look at how fraudsters are *still* using verified Twitter accounts to scam people out of bitcoin, with recent estimates showing that over half a million has been stolen so far.

Finally, to wrap up we look at a Windows 10 flaw as well as a recent study showing how macaques (yes, monkeys) have learned to steal items of high-value as people are more likely to offer food in order to get their items back. Madness.

Direct download: podcast_183_mixdown.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 8:45am EDT

For the 182nd edition of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable Podcast, Dave and I tackle the biggest story of 2021 so far – the cyber ramifications of the insurrection at the US Capitol along with Twitter bans and more.

We kick the podcast by looking into an op-ed on ZDNet about the cybersecurity fallout of last week’s storming of the Capitol. Now, while I am pretty sure that everyone has seen it, but if you are living under a rock, please check out more here. Now what is not covered in the main news is the cyber impact of things. The rioters had physical access to, and even stole a few, computers during the occupation. Now while the article goes into some deep conspiracy levels, there are some things that really need to be considered. Following that, we talk about Parler, from it’s ban to takedown. Somewhere during that timeline, hackers have downloaded all of the public data from the platform – even things believed to be deleted. This will be an interesting story to keep an eye on as well as the doxing that is sure to come. We stay on this topic and look at Twitter’s ban of many accounts including the President of the USA as well as 70K Qanon members. This not only looks at the why, but also as to what the future may hold for privacy and censorship of the web. To close things out, we look at Angela Merkel’s take on the banning of Donald Trump and what it means.

Direct download: podcast_182_mixdown.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 11:03am EDT

Welcome to the first episode of the the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable Podcast (number 181 overall) of 2021. Unfortunately Covid is still here, but so are we (take that how you will).

To kick things off, we pour one out for Adobe Flash. The much maligned program has been put out to pasture by Adobe – please hold your joy as we take a moment of silence </sarcasm>. From there, we dive into the music world with a case of corporate espionage. In this case, Dave and I who is to blame MORE in this hacking and theft story involving Ticketmaster and an unnamed competitor. Now, we don’t do victim shaming here, but also point out some bad security operations.

Our third story heads back to another weird intersection – this time crime and IoT. In this tale, “hackers,” more likely script kiddies, are reusing leaked credentials to hack into IoT doorbells in their swatting efforts. To close things out, we stay in the IoT realm and look at an advisory from the NCSC on how to clean your devices before selling them on a secondary market or what you should do if you buy one used.

Direct download: tcp-181-final.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 5:11am EDT

With Covid continuing to halt holidays, events and even work-place parties, trying to get everybody together is proving tough.  To that end, Dave and Jeff sat down with Alexander Ilin, senior internal communications manager here at Kaspersky to ask him about his time managing internal events.  From tools and apps needed, right through to what to do to keep your guests entertained – if you’re looking to host a family Christmas party or even a last minute business party, be sure to tune in.

Like what you hear?  Be sure to subscribe!

Direct download: illin_180.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 8:18am EDT

For this episode of the Transatlantic Cable Podcast, Dave and I welcome back both Maria Namestnikova and Marco Pruess from the company’s Global Research and Analysis Team.

During this 30+ minute conversation, we discuss how the fallout from Covid-19 will impact the world in 2021. Now we are not just talking hopping in planes again, but what is at stakes for the research leading up to that day. Also, we examine the concept of global citizens and transparent travellers.

Direct download: predictions_178.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 6:41am EDT

In a very special episode of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable, Dave and Jeff sat down with Hamda Al Qubaisi, Formula 4 race-driver.  Hamda, originally from Abu Dhabi, talks with the Kaspersky team about her passion for driving and racing, travelling and what are some of her proudest achievements. 

Hamda also speaks about equality on the racetrack and why she thinks there’s a lack of women race-drivers on the tracks today.

Direct download: Podcast_Hamda.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 11:42am EDT

In this very special episode of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable, Dave and Jeff leave the world of cyber-security to talk to GT-driver and Kaspersky ambassador, Antonio Fuoco.  Antonio started racing from a young age and is currently working in the simulator team. 

In this episode, Dave and Jeff spoke to him about his passion for racing, gaming as well as how he handles himself on and off the track.

Direct download: Podcast_Fuoco.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 11:39am EDT

In a very special episode of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable, Dave and Jeff put down their usual cyber-security hats and replace them with racing hats as they chat with Giuliano Alesi.  Giuliano, son of Jean Alesi, has a real passion for racing, with some of his earliest memories being of racing around tracks.  However, despite his love for racing Giuliano also has another love: music. 

During the 30 minutes, Dave and Jeff talk to Giuliano about these loves, plus what he hopes the future holds for him and racing.

Direct download: Podcast_Alesi.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 11:37am EDT

There is no question that the Netflix show, The Queen’s Gambit has taken the world by storm. In a year when the world is upside down and everything is crazy with Covid-19, it is kind of fitting that a show based upon a cerebral game garnering all the attention.

At Kaspersky, we have a long history with chess and are the official cybersecurity partner of the FIDE World Chess Championship series. My wife had watched the show and a member of our PR team pitched me the idea of watching the show as part of a podcast. While I was skeptical of the fit for the weekly chats that Dave and I have, my friend Oksana noted that she had some angles that my amateur chess mind did not have in mind.

You see, my dear Russian friend had a good opportunity that, was in fact, too good to pass up. Instead of our usual format for the Transatlantic Cable Podcast, Dave and I welcomed on Costin Raiu – who you may know from his research work at Kaspersky – a noted chess lover and Dinara Saduakassova an International Master and Womens Grandmaster, 4-times World Chess Champion and Asian Women Champion.

During our 30+ minute chat, we discuss everything from Beth Harmon to international chess tournaments, getting kids involved with the games, stopping cheating and how computers have impacted the game.

Direct download: QueensGambit_Edit_p02.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 5:38am EDT

In an odd turn of events, the 174th iteration of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable Podcast takes Dave and I back to slew of topics that were hot in 2018 – ransomware, Bitcoin prices and more.

To start things off, we hop into a story about the skyrocketing price of Bitcoin. Dave and I share some of our theories on the rise - We are NOT financial analysts so do not use our talk as investing advice. From there, we move into some new patents filed by Microsoft that may leave you scratching your head, especially if you use Teams.

Our third story takes a bit of a sad turn as Facebook’s crackdown on “political” ads seems to have negatively impacted small business owners, AKA the groups that Facebook has claimed that they want to be helping the most in this pandemic. From there, we jump to the 2020 version of snow days for school students. Instead of snow, ransomware is the culprit for kids in the Baltimore school system – the 25th largest system in the USA. To close out the podcast, we look at the twisting tale of Phantom Secure that is just a TV movie waiting to happen – thank you for writing this Joseph Cox.

Direct download: podcast_174_mixdown.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 10:10am EDT

In episode 173 of the Kaspersky podcast, Dave and Jeff look into several interesting stories, including a follow up on a previous week's story.  Included this week: 

Capcom's recent ransomware attack goes from bad to worse after full release schedule is leaked by attackers,

"Smart" doorbells are a privacy and security nightmare, according to a new study by consumer group Which?

Spotify hit with huge data-stuffing attack, with the use of over 300,000 accounts

Minecraft and PUBG dangers - parents and gamers be on the lookout! 

Direct download: 173_final.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 5:30am EDT

Unfortunately we cannot take a hiatus from Covid-19 for the 172nd edition of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable Podcast. We kick off this episode looking at how Microsoft has fingered two nation states targeting Covid researchers for some cyber espionage.

Now, while it is unfortunate to see this, I would be lying if I said that it was in the bit surprising to me. Maybe I am cynical, or maybe it is just that deeds of crooks never seem to be opportunistic of high-stakes situations.

After the talk on the Covid-attacks, we jump over to another hot topic – ransomware. In this instance, we look at Capcom who has been hit with an attack that has seen PII like passport info, signatures and more siphoned off by criminals. The third story of the pod looks at how Amazon is going after influencers for hawking bootleg goods.

We end on a happier note with a look at how companies are helping other companies plan virtual holiday parties to keep their staff engaged.

Direct download: podcast_172_mixdown.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 9:35am EDT

To open up the 171st episode of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable Podcast we dive into the world of the Silk Road.

No, Dave and I aren’t talking drugs, weapons or murder for hire, but rather Bitcoins. You see, the US government recently seized roughly $1 Billion in the currency that appears to be tied to the now-defunct ecosystem. From there, we dive into the aftermath of the 2020 US elections.

Now, we don’t discuss who won or who lost, but rather the insecurities in a site built to challenge some of the results by the GOP and the Trump team. From there, we head to Asia where there is a an apparent ransomware infection for Compal, the second-largest laptop manufacturer in the world.

We close out the podcast looking at a sad romantic story. In this tale from the UK, we are exposed to a widow who is one of many who fall into the world of fraud and cat-fishing. Unfortunately for the woman who is the focus of the story, not only did she lose a boat-ton of money, but she also helped launder money.

Direct download: podcast_171_mixdown.mp3
Category:technology -- posted at: 6:26am EDT

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