If you think maximum Apple security settings make you untouchable, think again.

This week on the podcast dig into a genuinely unsettling account takeover attempt against WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg - MFA fatigue, real Apple alerts, a convincing impersonation call, and a phishing page polished enough to fool almost anyone. If it nearly got him, none of us should be complacent.

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🎙️ A new episode of "Smashing Security" podcast is out - and it's a good one. This week:

🐦 A Wikipedia security engineer accidentally woke a dormant JavaScript worm that had been sitting silently since 2024 - and for 23 minutes, giant woodpecker images were plastered across the entire Wikimedia ecosystem. Yes, really.

Plus...

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A cybersecurity firm discovered it had a leak - so naturally they put the leaker himself in charge of the investigation, leading to an innocent worker being framed and ambushed on a London “team-building” trip.

Plus: could nation states be quietly poisoning AI models to reshape reality and influence what we believe?

Find "Smashing Security" in all good podcast apps or at https://pod.link/1195001633/episode/MmUxMzVhZjQtYjYxMS00ZTAxLTg5NDItZGFkNTA3NzUyY2Zi

When an internet archiving service turns its own CAPTCHA page into a weapon... you know it’s going to be one of /those/ episodes.

In the latest "Smashing Security" podcast, special guest Paul Ducklin and I dig into claims that the operator of a well-known archive site tried to silence a Finnish blogger - not just with angry emails, but with an alleged DDoS via their own infrastructure, threats of AI-generated smears, and archive tampering that raises serious questions about trust...

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Terrific to have James Ball join the "Smashing Security" podcast as we explore the threat of America cutting Europe off from the internet, and Meta's creepy and cynical plans to introduce facial recognition to its smart glasses.

Listen now in your favourite podcast app: https://pod.link/1195001633/episode/OWY2MzBlN2YtNjQ4Ny00M2RjLWI1ODMtZmEyN2NkOGRiZmY1

🧠 AI-only social networks.
🕳 “Vibe-coded” apps with gaping security holes.
🇷🇺 And pro-Russian hackers poking at the Winter Olympics infrastructure.

In the latest "Smashing Security" podcast, we dig into MoltBook - the AI social platform that briefly convinced the internet the bots were forming a religion - and why the real story is less about the singularity and more about humans, hype, and some eye-watering security flaws.

https://pod.link/1195001633/episode/M2QzZWJlMTYtYmRjYS00OTgxLTljZjItNjg2NzNkYjM4NmZk

Fab to have Tricia Howard join me on the latest "Smashing Security" podcast, where we discussed how supposedly-redacted Epstein files can still reveal exactly who they’re talking about - especially when AI, LinkedIn, and a few biographical breadcrumbs do the heavy lifting.

PLUS, we chat about how a senior US cybersecurity official uploaded sensitive government material into the public version of ChatGPT. Oops.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5hCrkGJSnLVdyNeFVEAB6q?si=eec58e03430d41e2

Great to have Monica Verma join me on episode 450 of the "Smashing Security" podcast, where we explored the spiral of confusion caused by claims 17.5 million Instagram accounts were up for sale, and reports of unrequested password reset emails.

PLUS, we looked at Grok, after it generated sexualised images of women and children – raising uncomfortable questions about guardrails, accountability, and why playing the censorship card doesn’t make the problem go away.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6k95BSEiww2xhnfPLud4vY?si=5c185d37294f41fc

📚Think your Kindle is harmless? Think again! @dannyjpalmer and I unpack a Black Hat Europe talk revealing how a boobytrapped audiobook could exploit the Amazon eBook reader - potentially letting an attacker break into your account - in the latest episode of the "Smashing Security" podcast.

Plus a blast from 2021's "summer of ransomware" returns to haunt Ireland's Health Service Executive, as victims are offered €750 each.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3JQ4Ul21LNU2W9kzxQN4xp?si=ae7d2c3bb6ff444c