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Safe Mode Podcast

Safe Mode Podcast

By: Safe Mode Podcast
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Summary

 Podcast by Safe Mode PodcastAll rights reserved Politics & Government
Episodes
  • Why access brokers have stubbornly remained successful

    Why access brokers have stubbornly remained successful
    May 14 2026
    Anna Pham of Huntress joins Safe Mode to discuss the current landscape of initial access brokers and how their tactics continue to support ransomware operations. She explains that attackers are still finding success with drive-by downloads, Trojanized installers, fake browser updates, click-fix attacks, exposed RDP, VPN weaknesses, and vulnerable edge devices. The conversation also covers how access is monetized, what defenders can look for before ransomware deployment, and why limited endpoint visibility often leaves organizations exposed. Fam emphasizes that basic cyber hygiene still matters: close exposed ports, enforce MFA, use complex passwords, apply least privilege, patch systems, and maintain broad visibility across the environment. In our reporter chat, Greg talks with Matt Kapko about the security incident that impacted Canvas.
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    32 mins
  • Can you prove which agent did what?

    Can you prove which agent did what?
    May 7 2026
    In this week's episode, Greg Otto talks with Howard Ting, CEO of Opal Security, about the growing security challenges created by AI agents inside the enterprise, especially around identity governance, access control, and runtime authorization. As organizations adopt coding agents, workplace assistants, and other AI tools, traditional approaches to managing human access are being pushed beyond their limits by the speed, scale, and context required for agent-driven decisions. The conversation explores the risks of shadow AI, overprivileged agents, unintended data exposure, and the difficulty of enforcing least privilege when agents act on behalf of employees across sensitive systems. It also looks at what CISOs and security teams need to prioritize now, from gaining visibility into agent activity to building policy-aware controls that can make real-time access decisions and safely support AI adoption. In our reporter chat, Greg talks with Derek Johnson about a lawsuit where a dating app stole an influencer's TikTok videos to use in targeted ads to people she knew, all without her consent.
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    28 mins
  • How government and Industry can raise the cost of cybercrime

    How government and Industry can raise the cost of cybercrime
    Apr 30 2026
    Sophos CEO Joe Levy and Director of Government Partnerships Alex Rose join Safe Mode from Washington, D.C. to discuss what meaningful public-private cybersecurity partnership looks like right now—moving beyond “window dressing” to real operational collaboration with agencies like CISA and the FBI. They break down the shift from Secure by Design to Secure by Demand, arguing that procurement and market forces must pressure software vendors to ship safer defaults, while AI simultaneously accelerates both vulnerability discovery and attacker capability. The conversation also spotlights why small and midsize businesses are disproportionately exposed yet often underserved, and previews Sophos’s upcoming CISO Advantage concept to help close the massive cybersecurity leadership gap. Finally, they examine rising open-source software risk—including maintainers being overwhelmed by low-quality AI-generated vulnerability reports—and why addressing OSS security will require coordinated action across government and industry. In our reporter chat, Greg talks with Tim Starks about the oral arguments held at the Supreme Court in relation to a case that deals with the future of geofence warrants.
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    43 mins
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