Smashing Security

A developer at an AI startup wanted to cheat at Roblox. They downloaded a dodgy script on their work laptop. That one decision triggered a cascade of failures that ended with a $2 million data breach affecting hundreds of thousands of organisations. All for some free in-game currency.
Meanwhile, there's a 1980s phone protocol called SS7 that lets shadowy surveillance companies track anyone, anywhere, via their mobile phone. Governments know about it. Telecoms know about it. Nobody's fixing it.
All this and more in episode 465 of the "Smashing Security" podcast with cybersecurity keynote speaker and industry veteran Graham Cluley, joined this week by special guest James Ball.
Plus! Don't miss our featured interview with Rob Edmondson of CoreView, discussing how to lock down Microsoft 365 before it's too late.

EPISODE LINKS:

Burglar alarm biz gets burgled, ShinyHunters pursues ransom - The Register.
Ransomware negotiator pleads guilty after leaking victims' insurance details to 'BlackCat' hackers - Tom’s Hardware.
Grok tells researchers pretending to be delusional ‘drive an iron nail through the mirror while reciting Psalm 91 backwards’ - The Guardian.
Vercel April 2026 security incident - Vercel.
App host Vercel says it was hacked and customer data stolen - TechCrunch.
Vercel Breach Tied to Context AI Hack Exposes Limited Customer Credentials - Hacker News.
Sorry for the Nazi spam from my Twitter account - Graham Cluley.
Bad Connection: Uncovering Global Telecom Exploitation by Covert Surveillance Actors - Citizen Lab.
Surveillance vendors caught abusing access to telcos to track people's phone locations, researchers say - TechCrunch.
The rapid rise of phone surveillance firms - The Bureau of Investigative Journalism.
Please shut up about your Spotify Wrapped - The New World.
Think For Yourself - Beatles Song Identification Game.
Nodes: Free Connection Puzzle & Vertex Game Alternative.
Smashing Security merchandise (t-shirts, mugs, stickers and stuff)

SPONSORS:

Elastic – AI is transforming security operations, but security is still a data problem. Learn how context-rich data drives faster, more reliable defence.
Vanta - Expand the scope of your security program with market-leading compliance automation… while saving time and money. Smashing Security listeners get $1000 off!
Coreview - Download "Total Tenant Takeover", a white paper about the Microsoft 365 Disaster No One Is Ready For.

SUPPORT THE SHOW:
Tell your friends and colleagues about “Smashing Security”, and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Podchaser.
Become a supporter! Join Smashing Security PLUS via Patreon or Apple Podcasts for ad-free episodes on our early-release feed!

FOLLOW THE SHOW:
Follow us on Bluesky or Mastodon, or on the Smashing Security subreddit, and visit our website for more episodes.

THANKS:
Theme tune: "Vinyl Memories" by Mikael Manvelyan.
Assorted sound effects: AudioBlocks.

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

A company that ran anonymous tip lines for 35,000 American schools - handling reports of bullying, weapons, and self-harm - boasted on its website that it had suffered zero security breaches in over 20 years. A hacker called Internet Yiff Machine thought that sounded like a challenge, with predictable results...
Meanwhile, Rockstar Games gets hacked again - and the stolen data turns out to be less embarrassing than the financial secrets it accidentally revealed. GTA Online is still making half a billion dollars a year. Red Dead Redemption is not.
All this and more in episode 464 of the "Smashing Security" podcast with cybersecurity keynote speaker and industry veteran Graham Cluley, joined this week by special guest BBC cybersecurity correspondent Joe Tidy.
Plus! Don't miss our featured interview with Ryan Benson of Meter.

EPISODE LINKS:
Grinex exchange blames "Western intelligence" for $13.7M crypto hack - Bleeping Computer.
Are Former Black Basta Affiliates Automating Executive Targeting? - Reliaquest.
Apple is working on passcode bug locking out iPhone users - The Register.
Hackers who stole crime tip records offering data cache for $10k - San.
P3 Advertised 20+ Years and 0 Security Breaches. You Can Guess What Happened Next - Databreaches.net.
Portland police urge residents to avoid Crime Stoppers following hack - San.
GTA-maker Rockstar Games hacked again but downplays impact - BBC News.
Rockstar hackers release their stolen data, reveal that Rockstar was right to not pay them anything for it - PC Gamer.
XCancel.
”We Are Anonymous” by Parmy Olson - Penguin.
Smashing Security merchandise (t-shirts, mugs, stickers and stuff)

SPONSORS:
Elastic – AI is transforming security operations, but security is still a data problem. Learn how context-rich data drives faster, more reliable defence.
Meter – Network infrastructure for the enterprise. Get a free personalised demo.
Vanta – Expand the scope of your security program with market-leading compliance automation… while saving time and money. Smashing Security listeners get $1000 off!

SUPPORT THE SHOW:
Tell your friends and colleagues about “Smashing Security”, and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Podchaser.
Become a supporter! Join Smashing Security PLUS via Patreon or Apple Podcasts for ad-free episodes on our early-release feed!

FOLLOW THE SHOW:
Follow us on Bluesky or Mastodon, or on the Smashing Security subreddit, and visit our website for more episodes.

THANKS:
Theme tune: "Vinyl Memories" by Mikael Manvelyan.
Assorted sound effects: AudioBlocks.

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

A hacking group claims to have broken into the flood defence system protecting Venice's Piazza San Marco - and is offering to sell access to whoever wants it. The asking price? A frankly insulting $600.
Meanwhile, Anthropic accidentally leaked the source code for Claude Code via a basic packaging mistake. Oh, and by the way, they've also just revealed they've built an AI model called Mythos that can find and chain together software vulnerabilities faster than any human. Sleep well.
All this and more in episode 463 of the “Smashing Security” podcast with cybersecurity expert and keynote speaker Graham Cluley, joined this week by special guest Tanya Janca.

EPISODE LINKS:

Booking.com warns customers of hack that exposed their data - The Guardian.
GTA-maker Rockstar Games hacked again but downplays impact - BBC News.
Meta removes ads for social media addiction litigation - Axios.
Hackers claim control over Venice San Marco anti-flood pumps - Security Affairs.
Venezia, attacco hacker al sistema di pompe che difende piazza San Marco dall'acqua: «Abbiamo i codici, possiamo disattivarlo» - Corriere del Veneto. 
Digging into the Claude Code source - Dave Schumaker’s write-up of Anthropic leaking data in February 2025.
Anthropic goes nude, exposes Claude Code source by accident - The Register.
Assessing Claude Mythos Preview’s cybersecurity capabilities - Anthropic.
Smashing Security transcripts!
Shrinking - Apple TV. 
Smashing Security merchandise (t-shirts, mugs, stickers and stuff)

SPONSORS:
Meter - Network infrastructure for the enterprise. Get a free personalised demo.
Vanta - Expand the scope of your security program with market-leading compliance automation… while saving time and money. Smashing Security listeners get $1000 off!
Coreview - Download "Total Tenant Takeover", a white paper about the Microsoft 365 Disaster No One Is Ready For.

SUPPORT THE SHOW:
Tell your friends and colleagues about “Smashing Security”, and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Podchaser.
Become a supporter! Join Smashing Security PLUS via Patreon or Apple Podcasts for ad-free episodes on our early-release feed!

FOLLOW THE SHOW:
Follow us on Bluesky or Mastodon, or on the Smashing Security subreddit, and visit our website for more episodes.

THANKS:
Theme tune: "Vinyl Memories" by Mikael Manvelyan.
Assorted sound effects: AudioBlocks.

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

LinkedIn has been secretly scanning your browser for over 6,000 installed extensions — on every single click you make. It can tell if you're job hunting, what religion you are, and whether you have ADHD. And none of this is mentioned anywhere in their privacy policy.
Meanwhile, California's crypto millionaires are learning that no amount of encryption can protect you from someone who knocks on your door pretending to deliver a pizza.
All this and more in episode 462 of the “Smashing Security” podcast with cybersecurity expert and keynote speaker Graham Cluley, joined this week by special guest Dave Bittner.
EPISODE LINKS:

Russian government hackers broke into thousands of home routers to steal passwords - TechCrunch.
Refusal to Give the Government Passwords to Personal Mobile Device Criminalized in Hong Kong - US Consulate in Hong Kong.
"I didn't think millions would see this..." Russians are calling each other through a cat feeder - GUBDaily.
BrowserGate.
Scanned extensions database - BrowserGate.
LinkedIn secretly scans for 6,000+ Chrome extensions, collects data - Bleeping Computer.
Translate into LinkedIn speak - Kagi.
Security - xkcd.
Wealthy California crypto holders targeted in violent ‘wrench attacks’ - KTLA 5.
Lost Doctor Who episodes to be released this week - BBC News.
Doctor Who: The Daleks’ Master Plan - The Nightmare Begins - BBC iPlayer.
Doctor Who: The Daleks’ Master Plan - Devil’s Planet - BBC iPlayer.
Milton Bradley Grandmaster Robotic Chess Computer - YouTube.
Robot Chess - One-armed gambit - Techmoan on YouTube.
Smashing Security merchandise (t-shirts, mugs, stickers and stuff)

SPONSORS:
ESET - 30 years of threat research behind unique global telemetry, AI-native technology, and human expertise working together to keep your business protected.
Meter - Network infrastructure for the enterprise. Get a free personalised demo.
Vanta - Expand the scope of your security program with market-leading compliance automation… while saving time and money. Smashing Security listeners get $1000 off!

SUPPORT THE SHOW:
Tell your friends and colleagues about “Smashing Security”, and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Podchaser.
Become a supporter! Join Smashing Security PLUS via Patreon or Apple Podcasts for ad-free episodes on our early-release feed!

FOLLOW THE SHOW:
Follow us on Bluesky or Mastodon, or on the Smashing Security subreddit, and visit our website for more episodes.

THANKS:
Theme tune: "Vinyl Memories" by Mikael Manvelyan.
Assorted sound effects: AudioBlocks.

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

A cannabis-growing, beekeeping, gyrocopter-flying Irishman invested his drug money in Bitcoin back in 2011 - and now sits on a fortune worth $400 million. There's just one small problem: the access codes were tucked inside his fishing rod case, which has mysteriously vanished. Or has it? Because this week, one of his frozen wallets suddenly woke up and moved $35 million - and someone had to identify themselves to do it.
Meanwhile, Ajax Football Club scores a spectacular cyber own-goal, as a data breach that the club claimed affected "a few hundred" fans turns out to may have exposed the personal details of 300,000 supporters - along with the ability to steal match tickets and quietly remove people from the stadium ban list.
All this and much more in episode 461 of the "Smashing Security" podcast with cybersecurity expert and keynote speaker Graham Cluley, joined this week by special guest journalist Danny Palmer.

EPISODE LINKS:

Iran-linked hackers breach FBI director's personal email, publish photos and documents - Reuters.
Windows PCs crash three times as often as Macs, report says - TechSpot.
Wife used CCTV to steal $176M of husband’s crypto, UK court told - Coin Telegraph.
Gardaí open €30m bitcoin virtual wallet, first of 12 accessed since seizure in 2019 - Irish Times.
Irish Drug Dealer’s Lost BTC Stack Worth $400m Has Woken Up - Arkham.
Ajax FC data breach exposes 300,000 fans, hacker steals tickets an stadium ban details - Cybernews.
Small Prophets - BBC iPlayer.
RPG Taverns - Dungeons and Dragons tavern in London.
Smashing Security merchandise (t-shirts, mugs, stickers and stuff)

SPONSORS:
Action1 - Keep your systems safe (and your sanity intact) with the patch management platform that just works. The best part? Your first 200 endpoints are free, forever, with no functional limits.
Meter - Network infrastructure for the enterprise. Get a free personalised demo.
Vanta - Expand the scope of your security program with market-leading compliance automation… while saving time and money. Smashing Security listeners get $1000 off!

SUPPORT THE SHOW:
Tell your friends and colleagues about “Smashing Security”, and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Podchaser.
Become a supporter! Join Smashing Security PLUS via Patreon or Apple Podcasts for ad-free episodes on our early-release feed!

FOLLOW THE SHOW:
Follow us on Bluesky or Mastodon, or on the Smashing Security subreddit, and visit our website for more episodes.

THANKS:
Theme tune: "Vinyl Memories" by Mikael Manvelyan.
Assorted sound effects: AudioBlocks.

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy