Cyber Uncut

In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, Phil Tarrant, Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson and Liam Garman unpack the escalating role of information warfare in today’s conflicts.

From the mobile phone’s transformation into a weapon to the blurred lines between propaganda and “information operations”, the team dissects how truth itself has become contested ground.

The conversation explores the challenges of navigating a...

In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, David Hollingworth and Daniel Croft discuss the latest AI news, some worrying trends in cyber crime, and this year’s largest supply chain hack, impacting hundreds of companies worldwide.

Hollingworth and Croft kick things off by looking at the NSW government embracing AI and the federal government’s timely move to ban deepfake “nudify” apps that are being used to bully and harrass.

The pa...

In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, David Hollingworth and Daniel Croft discuss a pair of lawsuits targeting ChatGPT’s maker, cyber crime news, and one US politician’s novel solution to combat hackers.

Hollingworth and Croft kick things off by addressing a pair of lawsuits targeting OpenAI and the tragic case of a teenager who was allegedly aided in their suicide by ChatGPT’s advice.

The pair then catch up with the latest n...

In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, David Hollingworth and Daniel Croft discuss CommBank’s use of AI to stop scams, local hacks and international cyber news, creepy AI toys for kids, and the alarming fact that what we know about ransomware attacks is just the tip of the iceberg.

• Hollingworth and Croft begin the podcast with two Commonwealth Bank stories: CBA rolling back its job cuts after AI chatbots fail to keep up w...

In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson, Phil Tarrant and Liam Garman dissect the forces shaping Australia’s national security in an increasingly volatile world.

From the shortage of tradespeople to the sustainability of the nuclear submarine program, the team explores how domestic economic realities – including the property market – intersect with defence capability. 

The conversat...

In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, David Hollingworth and Daniel Croft continue to talk about demands that Australia loosen copyright laws protecting Aussie artists, discover a dangerous new hacking super group, and laugh at how hacking is presented in the latest adaptation of War of the Worlds.

• Hollingworth and Croft open up proceedings with more views on the Australian Productivity Commission’s suggestion that AI co...

In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson and Phil Tarrant are joined by Simon Bergman, CEO of M+C Saatchi World Services, to unpack the evolving landscape of grey zone warfare and the role of creative industries in modern conflict.

Drawing on decades of operational and commercial experience, Bergman explores how advertising expertise is being harnessed to ...

In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, David Hollingworth and Daniel Croft discuss the future of AI and copyright in Australia, ShinyHunters and their relationship to the Scattered Spider hacking collective, and a new ransomware operator targeting small businesses in the ANZ region.

• Hollingworth and Croft kick open things up with a discussion on the Australian Productivity Commission’s suggestion that AI regulations in Au...

In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson, Phil Tarrant and Liam Garman unpack the Cambodia–Thai military confrontation and Australia’s economic landscape. 

Tarrant and Thompson begin the podcast reflecting on Exercise Talisman Sabre, highlighting how the biennial drills continue to grow in scale and strategic significance with the involvement of multiple partner nations, the live-fi...

In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, David Hollingworth and Daniel Croft discuss the Commonwealth Bank and Atlassian laying off staff to make way for AI, new developments in the Qantas hack, and Ukrainian hackers targeting Aeroflot.

• Hollingworth and Croft kick things off with some worrying AI news: one of Australia’s largest banks and Atlassian announce staff layoffs as the two companies invest in artificial intelligenc...

In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, David Hollingworth and Daniel Croft discuss Donald Trump’s use and support of AI, the Genea fertility and Qantas hacks, and the United Australia Party hanging its members out to dry in the wake of a data breach.

• The pair open up with news of Trump’s posting of an AI rendition of Barack Obama being arrested in the Oval Office, and his suggestion that AI developers shouldn’t have to wo...

In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, host Liam Garman, editor of Cyber Daily, is joined by Kostas Siourthas, founder and CEO of TomorrowX; Rob Parker, partner at Deloitte; and cyber security leader Dr Marcus Thompson for an in-depth discussion on the future of data protection and innovation in the digital age.

The episode was recorded at Deloitte’s Sydney headquarters, where the panel explored how TomorrowX is reimagining cy...

In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, hosts Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson and Liam Garman unpack the latest news and events contributing to national security in Australia.

They begin the podcast discussing Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025, including how important these kinds of joint military training activities are for the interoperability between Western nations and the certainty of covert surveillance being car...

In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, hosts Phil Tarrant and Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson explore Australia’s readiness to meet its military needs and examine the country’s role amid a rapidly changing global landscape.

They kick things off with a discussion on Commonwealth funding, before exploring the AUKUS agreement and whether its long-term success is at risk, especially in the context of political volati...

In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, host Liam Garman is joined by Mike Franklin, Australian cyber security lead at Protecht, to discuss the current cyber security landscape, the importance of top-down cyber security culture, and the impact of AI on cyber security.

• Garman and Franklin begin with a discussion on the current cyber security landscape, such as the importance of risk management and the evolving techniques us...

In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, David Hollingworth and Daniel Croft are joined by Australian Aviation’s Jake Nelson to talk about the Qantas data breach before our usual suspects talk up the latest AI news, followed by some alarming local hacks.

• AI is the topic for Hollingworth and Croft as the pair start with a chat about News Corp’s new drive to integrate AI into journalists’ workflows and the media giant’s decis...

In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, David Hollingworth and Daniel Croft talk about good and bad AI use cases, dramatic hacker arrests in Australia and France, printer vulnerabilities, and why War Thunder is a national security risk.

• AI is the topic for Hollingworth and Croft as the pair start with a chat about News Corp’s new drive to integrate AI into journalists’ workflows and the media giant’s decision to train AI o...

In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, David Hollingworth and Daniel Croft discuss military AI, cyber warfare in the Middle East, the week in cyber security, and why the Pope is coming out swinging against AI.

• Hollingworth and Croft kick things off with AI news, including AI tech bros earning a military commission in the efforts to build battlefield AI and creators in the UK being told their art can, in fact, be used to t...

In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, David Hollingworth and Daniel Croft talk about furry hacking collectives, a spree of ransomware attacks targeting Australian healthcare organisations, and good news for farmers.

• Hollingworth and Croft start their chat by catching up on a defacement campaign targeting a website administered by the US Department of Health and Human Services. AI-generated images of furries suddenly appe...