Smashing Security

News and views from the world of cybersecurity, hacking, and internet threats

About the show

A helpful and hilarious take on the week's tech SNAFUs. Computer security industry veterans Graham Cluley and Carole Theriault chat with guests about cybercrime, hacking, and online privacy. It's not your typical cybersecurity podcast...

Winner of the "Best Security Podcast 2018" and "Best Security Podcast 2019", Smashing Security has had over four million downloads. Past guests include Garry Kasparov, Mikko Hyppönen, and Jamie Bartlett.

Follow the podcast on Twitter at @SmashinSecurity, and subscribe for free in your favourite podcast app. New episodes released at 7pm EST every Wednesday (midnight UK).

Smashing Security on social media

Episodes

  • 190: Twitter hack arrests, email bad behaviour, and Fawkes vs facial recognition

    August 6th, 2020  |  49 mins 3 secs
    facial recognition, fawkes, getemails, hacking, ogusers, privacy, twitter

    Special guest Geoff White can't resist using the podcast to promote his new book, "Crime Dot Com", but other than that we also discuss the creepy (and apparently legal) way websites can find out your email and postal address even if you don't give it to them, take a look at how the alleged Twitter hackers were identified, and learn about Fawkes - the technology fighting back at facial recognition.

  • 189: DNA cock-up, Garmin hack, and virtual kidnappings

    July 30th, 2020  |  49 mins 2 secs
    australia, china, cryptocurrency, dna, dridex, evil corp, garmin, genealogy, golden state killer, kidnapping, malware, ransomware, tracing

    Why are students faking their own kidnappings? What's the story behind Garmin's ransomware attack? And a genetic genealogy website suffers a hack or two.

  • 188: Dinner with Elon Musk and Kris Jenner

    July 23rd, 2020  |  1 hr 2 mins
    binance, coinbase, coronavirus, cryptocurrency, elon musk, hacking, kanye west, russia, stalkerware, twitter, vaccine

    Who stopped Twitter's hackers from stealing more money? Why are Covid-19 researchers being told to ramp up their cybersecurity? How can you find out if your smartphone is infected with stalkerware? And who does Graham think he is turning down a celebrity dinner invite?

  • 187: Huawei ban, MGM hack, and a contact-tracing cock-up

    July 16th, 2020  |  1 hr 3 mins
    contact tracing, coronavirus, data breach, huawei, mgm resorts, password, seminconductors

    Login chaos for England's contact tracing service, our drill-down on the Britain's Huawei 5G ban, MGM's blockbuster breach, and how to pronounce "Gigabyte."

  • 186: This one's for all the Karens!

    July 9th, 2020  |  49 mins 38 secs
    bec, business email compromise, clipboard, cosmic lynx, fake news, hushpuppi, ios, karen, privacy, senegal

    A high-rolling Hushpuppi gets extradited to the United States, Carole details her problems with clipboards and Disposophobia, and our guest becomes the subject of fake news during the Senegalese election.

  • 185: Bieber fever, Roblox, and ransomware

    July 2nd, 2020  |  47 mins 10 secs
    conspiracy theory, donald trump, hacking, justin bieber, netwalker, pizzagate, ransomware, roblox, tiktok

    Who's been dressing Robox players up in red baseball caps? Which ransomware victim's negotations got spied on by the media? And should Jason Bieber think twice before touching his hat? Oh, and we need to talk about squirrels...

  • 184: Vanity Bitcoin wallets, BlueLeaks, and a Coronavirus app conspiracy

    June 25th, 2020  |  51 mins 11 secs
    bitcoin, blueleaks, coronavirus, data breach, ddosecrets, elon musk, police, tracing, youtube

    A conspiracy spreads on social media about Coronavirus tracing apps, US police find decades' worth of sensitive data leaked online, and is there a Bitcoin bonanza to be had from watching Elon Musk YouTube videos?

  • 183: MAMILs, gameshows, and a surprise from eBay

    June 18th, 2020  |  46 mins 18 secs
    bahrain, coronavirus, ebay, fitness trackers, mars, noel edmonds, privacy, strava, tracing, twitter

    A TV gameshow with cash prizes if you're obeying Coronavirus lockdown rules, ex-Ebay staff charged in crazy cyberstalking case, and when the wrong cyclist was accused by the internet bearing pitchforks.

  • 182: Space Force, credit card fraud, and beep-ti-beep

    June 11th, 2020  |  1 hr 1 min
    credit card, cybersecurity awareness, data breach, devs, knots, privacy, shoelaces, space force, trademark

    Graham finds himself in hot water with a security firm after a data breach, Carole discusses credit card fraud, and we have a pleasant surprise for Thom Langford, who appears to have mostly agreed to be a guest to promote his own podcast.

  • 181: Anti-cybercrime ads, tricky tracing, and a 5G Bioshield

    June 4th, 2020  |  52 mins 22 secs
    5g, booter, coronavirus, ddos, google, nca, stresser, tracing, usb

    Police are hoping to stop kids becoming cybercriminals by bombarding them with Google Ads, phishers rub their hands in glee at the NHS track and trace service, and just how does a nano-layer of quantum holographic catalyzer technology make a USB stick cost hundreds of pounds?

  • 180: Taking care of Clare

    May 28th, 2020  |  46 mins 18 secs
    gps, ios, iphone, location tracking, passwords, privacy, sudoku, tiktok

    On this special splinter episode of the podcast, we're joined by actor and comedian Clare Blackwood in the hope of convincing her that cybersecurity is no laughing matter.

  • 179: Deepfake Jay-Z, and beer apps spilling your data

    May 21st, 2020  |  1 hr 2 mins
    beer, coronavirus, deepfake, jay z, pizza, privacy, south korea, untappd, youtube

    Apps that belch out sensitive military information, what could the world learn from South Korea's digital response to the Coronavirus pandemic, and who has been deepfaking Bill Clinton, Jay-Z, and Donald Trump... and why?

  • 178: Office pranks, meat dresses, and robocop dogs

    May 14th, 2020  |  50 mins 42 secs
    coronavirus, data breach, email storm, hacking, k2, lady gaga, microsoft, mountaineering, nuclear waste, onkalo, reply all, social distancing, sourdough

    Graham shares stories of email storms, Carole describes the steps being taken by firms as they try to coax employees back to the office, and guest Lisa Forte details a hack that has impacted Lady Gaga and other celebrities.

  • 177: Elon Musk, Roblox, and Love Bug author found

    May 7th, 2020  |  1 hr 30 secs
    elon musk, grimes, love bug, malware, onel de guzman, password, roblox, worm

    What can X Æ A-12 Musk teach us about passwords? How did our guest finally hunt down the man behind one of history's biggest virus outbreaks in Manila? And what on earth is a hacker doing breaching Roblox security?

  • 176: Hacking hacks and university attacks

    April 30th, 2020  |  45 mins 8 secs
    coronavirus, financial times, hacking, malware, remote working, surveillance, the independent, tracing, tracking, university, zoom

    Journalists spying on their rivals, the NHS rejects Apple and Google's approach to Coronavirus-tracing, and universities are hit by an old-fashioned sexy lady attack.

  • 175: Zoom deepfakes, Zardoz, and 'Rona tracing

    April 23rd, 2020  |  49 mins 45 secs
    coronavirus, deepfakes, facebook, privacy, surveillance, tracking, zardoz, zoom

    Will deepfake disguises hit a video conference near you, can Coronavirus-tracing apps be trusted, and should Facebook shut down anti-quarantine events?