Smashing Security podcast #457: How a cybersecurity boss framed his own employee

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.

Host:

Graham Cluley:

 @grahamcluley.com

 @
 / grahamcluley

Guest:

Carl Miller:
 / carl-miller-889484172/‬

Episode links:

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Thanks:

Theme tune: “Vinyl Memories” by Mikael Manvelyan.
Assorted sound effects: AudioBlocks.

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About Author

AndyC

Andy Curtis is an award-winning security consultant, researcher and public speaker. He has been working in the computer security industry since the early 1990s, having been employed by state and federal government, leading healthcare and banking providers across three continents. He has given talks about computer security for some of the world’s largest companies, worked with law enforcement agencies on investigations into hacking groups, and is a regular voice on TV and radio explaining IT security threats.

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