The Black Hat Files

The Identity Illusion: Deepfakes, Superfans & the Battle for Authenticity with Dan Meacham

In the second episode of The Black Hat Files, host Phillip Wylie sits down with Dan Meacham, VP, Information & Content Security at Legendary Entertainment. The conversation goes straight to one of the most complex challenges facing security teams today: identity. * How do you protect what’s real when anything can be replicated? * What happens when superfans, insiders, or bad actors blur the line between engagement and exploitation? * And how do organisations respond when deepfakes and synthetic media start to scale? Drawing on his experience protecting one of the world’s leading entertainment companies, Meacham breaks down the risks surrounding digital identity, content security and the growing sophistication of social engineering tactics. From deepfakes to fandom-driven threats, this episode explores what it takes to defend authenticity in a landscape where trust can be manufactured. Because when identity can be copied, protecting what’s real becomes the priority.

Thinking in the Age of Intelligent Systems with Dr. Rumman Chowdhury

Artificial intelligence can write code, analyse data and simulate human reasoning. But what happens to security when machines start thinking alongside us? In the first episode of The Black Hat Files, host Phillip Wylie sits down with Dr. Rumman Chowdhury, Founder & CEO of Humane Intelligence and one of the leading voices in responsible AI. The conversation goes straight to the questions security leaders are now facing. * How do you test systems that learn on their own? * What does red teaming look like when the target is an AI model? * And how do organisations stay accountable as AI moves from research labs into real-world deployment? Drawing on her work leading global AI safety initiatives and adversarial testing programmes, Dr. Chowdhury breaks down how intelligent systems fail, how they can be manipulated and what defenders need to understand now. From algorithmic bias to AI red teaming, this episode explores what it takes to secure systems in an era where machines are starting to make decisions. Because in the age of intelligent machines, critical thinking is still the most powerful defence.