Cyber Uncut

ThreatLocker's Emile Barakat talks Essential Eight, cyber policy, and security as a human challenge

ThreatLocker's APAC director of operations, Emile Barakat, joins Cyber Daily's David Hollingworth to discuss what makes the Essential Eight so essential, the federal government's budget spend on cyber security, and the Australian outlook on cyber crime and why it happens here. This week on the Cyber Uncut podcast, Cyber Daily deputy editor David Hollingworth speaks with Emile Barakat, the head of cyber security firm ThreatLocker's operations in the Asia-Pacific region. ThreatLocker – and its boss, Danny Jenkins – is a big fan of Australia's Essential Eight cyber security standard, but what really makes that tick, and why is it so important? The pair discuss just why it's one of the gold standards of cyber protection and why other countries should take note. Then it's time to consider this year's budget and the role of government in securing businesses, economies, and consumers in a world of growing cyber threats. Finally, Hollingworth and Barakat get to grips with the local threat landscape and the human challenges of cyber security. "Typically, an organisation will run security awareness training every quarter. Some will do it less frequently, unfortunately," Barakat says. "Even with that training, you'll see compromises and, at times, the same employees make the same mistakes." Enjoy, The Cyber Uncut team

AI profitability, hacker targets Aussie organisations, and Cyber Daily gets given Shirt of Invisibility

This week's essential cyber security podcast uncovers a new threat actor targeting a raft of Australian organisations and asks the important question: Is AI profitable yet? Hint – it is not. Cyber Daily's David Hollingworth and Daniel Croft open the podcast with the good news that Anthropic's Mythos platform is, in fact, coming to Australia, and they talk to the man behind the website that asks – and illustrates – the question of our time: who is actually making money from AI? It's also been a shocker of a week for data breaches in Australia, and it looks like one threat actor is behind most of the activity. Organisations such as the ACMI, the Melbourne International Film Festival, and a corporate catering service have all been allegedly hacked. Find out what's happening in cyber crime in Australia, right here. Just another week in cyber security. Enjoy, The Cyber Uncut team

Genetec's Mathieu Chevalier on tricking AI and what Claude Mythos really means for the industry

Genetec's lead security architect joins the Cyber Uncut podcast to unpack the impact of AI on vulnerability hunting, prompt injection, and how to become invisible with one simple trick. This week on the Cyber Uncut podcast, host David Hollingworth speaks with Genetec's lead security architect, Mathieu Chevalier, about how AI is dramatically impacting both physical and cyber security, the hidden costs of Anthropic's Claude Mythos, and why AI speed must always be matched with human intelligence. But first, Chevalier shares his simple trick to appear invisible to AI with the assistance of just one page of text – or maybe just a T-shirt! The pair then dive into how AI empowers Genetec's security platforms, the rising costs of every AI prompt, and the true power of vulnerability hunting in a post-Mythos world. "I would say the best practices are not established now. It's still so new, and changing so fast," Chevalier says. "So we're kind of trying to learn all together, as a cyber security community, how to do this." Enjoy, The Cyber Uncut team

CONTESTED GROUND: Assessing the fallout and implications of the latest Trump–Xi meeting for Iran, Taiwan and Australia

When the leaders of the world's two major powers meet, the world stops to take notice and nowhere is this clearer than in the recent meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. There is no escaping the fact that the US–China relationship will be the defining factor of the 21st century, for good or for ill. Join Contested Ground hosts, Steve Kuper and Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson, as they deep dive into the real-world ramifications and fallout following the meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. The pair discuss the shared US–China interest in preventing a renewed trade war and keeping the fragile trade truce intact. Strategically, Taiwan remains the most sensitive and unresolved issue. Xi Jinping frames it as the central risk in the bilateral relationship and warns of the consequences of mismanagement, while Trump largely avoids escalation during formal engagements, later suggesting continued engagement on the issue without committing to a clear stance. Across the wider strategic agenda, the pair cover discussions on military posture, technology restrictions, sanctions and third-party conflicts such as Ukraine, Iran and the Middle East. The pair also discuss the state mutual preference to avoid escalation amid broader global instability, including energy security concerns and supply chain fragility. Finally, they discuss Xi's messaging, which emphasises long-term great-power coexistence, multipolar stability and opposition to bloc confrontation. This presents China as a steady global actor advocating managed competition alongside the traditional Trump approach of more transactional realpolitik, centred on trade, investment flows and market stability, with an emphasis on maintaining flexibility and direct leader-to-leader communication. Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team

Don't let AI control your bank account, Qilin hackers target Australia, and law enforcement strikes back!

Daniel Croft and David Hollingworth tackle the challenges of linking your finances to an AI agent, break down the Qilin ransomware group's Aussie rampage, the ransom payment dilemma, and round up a week of wins for fighting cyber crime. Australians may soon be able to link their banking details directly with platforms like OpenAI, but is that wise? Croft has recently uncovered a stellar example of why you may want to think twice before clicking "Yes". The pair have been investigating a trio of Qilin ransomware attacks this week, and the victims are all investigating the hackers' claims – but Qilin is acting very strange and not sharing any details of the hacks themselves. Hollingworth and Croft have some suspicions, making this a threat intelligence assessment not to miss. The podcast closes out with a week of law enforcement wins, with cyber criminals both abroad and at home getting their just deserts. You love to see it. Just another week in cyber security. Enjoy, The Cyber Uncut team