CISA leadership turmoil and polygraph story

In this week’s show Patrick Gray and Adam Boileau discuss the week’s cybersecurity news. They discuss:

• La France is tres sérieux about ditching US productivity software
• China’s Salt Typhoon was snooping on Downing Street
• Trump wields the mighty DISCOMBOBULATOR
• ESET says the Polish power grid wiper was Russia’s GRU Sandworm crew
• US cyber institutions CISA and NIST are struggling
• Voice phishing for MFA bypass is getting even more polished

This episode is sponsored by Sublime Security. Brian Baskin is one of the team behind Sublime’s 2026 Email Threat Research report. He joins to talk through what they see of attackers’ use of AI, as well as the other trends of the year.

This episode is also available on Youtube.

Show notes

• France to ditch US platforms Microsoft Teams, Zoom for ‘sovereign platform’ amid security concerns | Euronews
• Suite Numérique plan - Google Search
• China hacked Downing Street phones for years
• Cyberattack Targeting Poland’s Energy Grid Used a Wiper
• Trump says U.S. used secret 'discombobulator' on Venezuelan equipment during Maduro raid | PBS News
• Risky Bulletin: Cyberattack cripples cars across Russia - Risky Business Media
• Lawmakers probe CISA leader over staffing decisions | CyberScoop
• Trump’s acting cyber chief uploaded sensitive files into a public version of ChatGPT - POLITICO
• Acting CISA director failed a polygraph. Career staff are now under investigation. - POLITICO
• NIST is rethinking its role in analyzing software vulnerabilities | Cybersecurity Dive
• Federal agencies abruptly pull out of RSAC after organizer hires Easterly | Cybersecurity Dive
• Real-Time phishing kits target Okta, Microsoft, Google
• Phishing kits adapt to the script of callers
• On the Coming Industrialisation of Exploit Generation with LLMs – Sean Heelan's Blog
• GitHub - SeanHeelan/anamnesis-release: Automatic Exploit Generation with LLMs
• Overrun with AI slop, cURL scraps bug bounties to ensure "intact mental health" - Ars Technica
• Bypassing Windows Administrator Protection - Project Zero
• Task Failed Successfully - Microsoft’s “Immediate” Retirement of MDT - SpecterOps
• Kubernetes Remote Code Execution Via Nodes/Proxy GET Permission
• WhatsApp's Latest Privacy Protection: Strict Account Settings - WhatsApp Blog
• Microsoft gave FBI a set of BitLocker encryption keys to unlock suspects' laptops: Reports | TechCrunch
• He Leaked the Secrets of a Southeast Asian Scam Compound. Then He Had to Get Out Alive | WIRED
• Key findings from the 2026 Sublime Email Threat Research Report