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 Rory Cellan-Jones.

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).

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Episodes

  • 207: Cyber biowarfare, giant ladybugs, and strippers

    December 3rd, 2020  |  1 hr 12 mins
    amazon, bioterrorism, cfaa, chess, cyber biosecurity, dna, farming, iot, ransomware, synthetic dna, the queen's gambit

    Fears are raised about cyber bioterrorists, there's a widespread blackout for IoT devices caused by a cloud cock-up, and what role do strippers play in a revamp of the United States's computer crime laws?

  • 206: Robo dogs, deepfakes and dirty deceptions with Tim Harford

    November 26th, 2020  |  1 hr 7 mins
    art, deepfake, forgery, painting, robot dog, robotics, vermeer

    Author and broadcaster Tim Harford joins us as we discuss the merits of robotic canine security guards, deepfakes, and the curious tale of an art forgery.

  • 205: Zoom password pinching and Parler problems

    November 19th, 2020  |  48 mins 8 secs
    cambridge analytica, costaricto, hangout, malware, parler, privacy, shoulder pads, skype, video call, webcam, zoom

    Watch out for a whole different type of shoulder-surfing, researchers uncover the CostaRicto hackers-for-hire gang, and we take a peek at who is behind Parler.

  • 204: Green buttons, Olympic attacks, and... an apology

    November 12th, 2020  |  1 hr 12 mins
    donald trump, election, legalese, malware, notpetya, olympics, ransomware, the armstrongs, voting machines, vulnerability, xss

    Darknet Diaries host Jack Rhysider joins us to discuss a cybersecurity goof in the wake of the US presidential elections, the US finally fingering the hackers responsible for disrupting the Winter Olympics in South Korea, and to take a long hard look at long hard legal mumbojumbo...

  • 203: Testing times, naming names, and the bald truth about AI

    November 5th, 2020  |  1 hr 10 mins
    ai, artificial intelligence, cve, doom, examinations, football, naming, privacy, proctoring, raspberry pi, students, vulnerability

    Students are being spied on as they do online exams, how did a televised football match reveal the truth about artificial intelligence, and what on earth is the Canny Lumpsucker vulnerability?

  • 202: The Wu-Tang Clan are Among Us

    October 29th, 2020  |  1 hr 12 mins
    among us, aoc, fraud, spam, voting, voting machines, wu-tang clan

    Voting machines are under the microscope, scammers are posing as rap stars, and American politician AOC isn't the only one who's been getting into the Among Us game.

  • 201: Robin Hood, Flippy, and the web ad bubble

    October 22nd, 2020  |  1 hr 12 mins
    ads, burger, charity, cryptocurrency, darkside, malware, mongoose, ransomware, robot

    The Darkside ransomware gang thinks it's a modern-day Robin Hood when it donates extorted Bitcoins to charity, the micro-targeted ad industry could pop like a bubble, and would you trust a burger-flipping robot?

  • 200: Two flipping hundred

    October 15th, 2020  |  1 hr 11 mins
    ballet, career, cyber, cybersecurity, cybersex, fatima, privacy, smart watch, women

    We're in celebratory mood as we celebrate our 200th episode, but there's still time to discuss Fatima the ballerina who the UK government wants to become a cybersecurity expert, why women are quitting the tech industry, and a smartwatch which might be putting your kids at risk.

  • 199: A few tech cock-ups, and one cock lock-up

    October 8th, 2020  |  55 mins 11 secs
    cage, cellmate, coronavirus, covid-19, interview, iot, qiui, sex toy, tengia, tracing, vulnerability

    An internet-connected adult toy could leave its users encaged, the official NHS COVID-19 contact-tracing app alarms users, and would you be happy if a robot interviewed you for a job?

  • 198: Chucky the coffee maker

    October 1st, 2020  |  1 hr 7 mins
    climate change, coffee, cryptomining, hank the cow dog, iot, privacy, ransomware, the beatles, tracking, vulnerability

    Coffee machines catching ransomware, Blacklight shines a torch on website tracking, and a woman is freaked out that a complete stranger can turn off her home's security system.

  • 197: Greedy bosses, game cheats, and virtual beheadings

    September 24th, 2020  |  52 mins 48 secs
    cheating, counter-strike: global offensive, cs:go, doctor who, facial recognition, fortnite, fraud, hacking, pubg, trees, twitter, video game, zoom

    Why are Zoom and Twitter making some people disappear? How are Counter-Strike: Global Offensive cheats getting their just desserts? And the founder of a anti cyber-fraud firm is charged with fraud.

  • 196: Smart guns, smart cars, and smart street lights - oh my!

    September 17th, 2020  |  54 mins 27 secs
    iot, paris hilton, privacy, smart gun, streetlight, tesla, vulnerability

    Kalashnikov unveils its "smart" shotgun, San Diego struggles with its street lights, and a researcher reveals how he found a way to hack every Tesla on the planet.

  • 195: Selene Delgado Lopez is not your friend

    September 10th, 2020  |  50 mins 8 secs
    cars, education, facebook, hoax, iot, patching, zoom

    The Gadget Show's Jon Bentley joins us to discuss the mystery of a Facebook friend you never requested, software updates for the Mercedes S-Class, and risks in the online classroom.

  • 194: Carry on droning

    September 3rd, 2020  |  48 mins 19 secs
    bitcoin, cryptocurrency, drones, malware, tesla, vulnerability

    A Bitcoin bungle causes one user to lose millions, hackers attempt to bribe a Tesla employee into infecting the company's network, and are we ready for a sky full of drones?

  • 193: Hacking the CIA, Bridgefy, and college lockdowns

    August 27th, 2020  |  58 mins 57 secs
    albion college, bridgefy, cia, coronavirus, crackas with attitude, cwa, kane gamble, privacy, shampoo, tracking, vulnerability

    Whatever happened to Crackas with Attitude, perfidious Albion College's approach to locking down Coronavirus, and the Bridgefy mesh messaging app falls down when it comes to security.

  • 192: Ritz and robocalls with Rory

    August 20th, 2020  |  49 mins 27 secs
    contact tracing, coronavirus, robocall, scam, the ritz

    A scam involving restaurant bookings at The Ritz is suitably sophisticated, the second wave of UK coronavirus testing apps, and we take a look at one of the biggest studies ever into the scourge of robocalls.