Greed, geopolitics and exploit resale

When a top cybersecurity firm discovered it had a leak, you would expect the FBI to be called. Instead, the person put in charge of the investigation was the actual leaker... who promptly sent an innocent colleague into a career-ending ambush.

In this episode, we unravel the jaw-dropping tale of a defence contractor caught selling zero-day exploits to a Russia-linked broker.

Plus: are nation states quietly poisoning AI models to bend reality itself? We explore how “foreign information manipulation interference” could target not just social media users, but the large language models we increasingly trust for answers — and what that might mean for truth, trust, and the future of online influence.

All this, and much more, in episode 457 of the "Smashing Security" podcast with cybersecurity veteran Graham Cluley, and special guest Carl Miller.

EPISODE LINKS:

• Large-Scale Online Deanonymization with LLMs - Simon Lermen.
• Hacked Prayer App Sends ‘Surrender’ Messages to Iranians Amid Israeli and US Strikes - Wired.
• “Stay safe out there gamers”: Streamers say Amazon just made Wishlists a doxxing risk - Daily Dot.
• Apple alerts exploit developer that his iPhone was targeted with government spyware - TechCrunch.
• Former General Manager for U.S. Defense Contractor Sentenced to 87 Months for Selling Stolen Trade Secrets to Russian Broker - US Department of Justice.
• Treasury Sanctions Exploit Broker Network for Theft and Sale of U.S. Government Cyber Tools - US Department of Treasury.
• Inside the story of the US defense contractor who leaked hacking tools to Russia - TechCrunch.
• ​​Hundreds of English-language websites link to pro-Kremlin propaganda - Guardian.
• The Incredible Shrinking Man - Internet Archive.
• “The Immortalists” by Aleks Kortoski - Penguin Books.
• Smashing Security merchandise (t-shirts, mugs, stickers and stuff)

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THANKS:

Theme tune: "Vinyl Memories" by Mikael Manvelyan.

Assorted sound effects: AudioBlocks.