Cybersecurity Today

Coding for Veterans: From Military Service to Cybersecurity & Generative AI Careers
This episode is sponsored by Nordlayer. Contact them at Nordlayer.com/hashtagtrending and use discount code NLSummer26 for a discount during their summer sale.
In this Weekend episode of Cybersecurity Today, host David speaks with Jeff Musson, co-founder and executive director of Coding for Veterans, and Daniel Shang, a recent graduate of the program's cybersecurity stream who is enrolling in its new generative AI course. Daniel shares his path from an electrical engineering background and Canadian Army reservist service (2016–2023) into cybersecurity, describing how the program's online, guided curriculum helped him build foundational skills like Python, Linux, and ethical hacking. Jeff explains how Coding for Veterans launched in 2019, has served over 1,000 students, expanded from software development into cybersecurity and AI, and supports learners with instructors, Slack communities, and occasional in-person bootcamps. They discuss veteran transition challenges, funding options through Veterans Affairs Canada and other sources, employer engagement, mentoring, and the program's career impact.
00:00 Sponsor NordLayer
00:39 Meet Jeff and Daniel
01:31 Daniel Military Background
02:20 Choosing Cybersecurity Path
05:06 Online Learning Experience
07:27 Finding Direction in Cyber
09:07 Jeff and Program Origins
12:08 Veteran Success Stories
19:05 Student Support System
21:47 Daniel AI Next Steps
24:29 Advice for Veterans
28:20 Costs and Funding Options
30:27 How Employers Can Help
33:49 Scaling Challenges and Wins
37:05 Future Goals and Wrap Up
41:21 Sponsor Message NordLayer

Passkeys Phished at BlackHat, Water Utility Attacks Spread, and $130M ColdCard Wallet Flaw
In this August 7, 2026 episode, David Shipley recaps key Black Hat themes, including Microsoft's warning that cheap, automated vulnerability discovery is outpacing patching, alongside research showing exploit success against AI agents and weaknesses across agent frameworks, plus notable hardware and supply-chain hacks.
The show details BlackHat and Unit 42 findings that passkeys on Windows and Chrome can be phished or abused through logging, validation gaps, and malware techniques, undermining "phishing-resistant" claims.
It also covers cyber incidents impacting water utilities across at least 12 U.S. states, with manual operations and boil-water advisories but safe drinking water, and Forescout's count of thousands of exposed Rockwell controllers.
Finally, it updates the ColdCard seed-generation flaw with potential losses up to 2,000 BTC and reports indictments tied to a violent crypto "wrench attack."
00:00 Sponsor NordLayer
00:38 Headlines Passkeys Water Crypto
01:07 Black Hat Cheap Offense
02:43 Rogue AI Incidents
03:18 Passkeys Phished Windows
04:55 Chrome Synced Passkeys Flaws
05:53 Water Utilities Under Attack
08:20 ColdCard Wallet Losses
09:59 Wrench Attack Crypto Robbery
12:24 Wrap Up And Thanks
13:05 Sponsor NordLayer Reminder

Inside the North American Water Utility Hacking Crisis: Iran Links, PLC Tactics, Insurance Fallout, and Volunteer Fixes
 
This special Cybersecurity Today episode examines the expanding wave of water utility intrusions across North America, including a WIRED-obtained memo linking attacks on Minnesota systems to Iran and a joint FBI/EPA alert reporting activity in at least seven U.S. states targeting internet-exposed Rockwell MicroLogix PLCs by rewriting configurations, altering passwords, and manipulating project files, with effects like loss of pressure, flooding, and tampered operator displays.
 
It also covers a separate Quebec incident in Saint-Noël shared by "Z Pen Test Alliance," where attackers adjusted chlorine settings and the plant entered safe mode without contamination.
 
The show reviews competing attributions (Cyber Avengers vs. Hondala), procurement and triage challenges for small utilities, an insurance war game simulating a mass water-sector crisis, concerns about uninsurability and act-of-war exclusions, and the DEF CON Franklin volunteer program helping rural utilities implement basics like password resets, MFA, and incident response plans.


00:00 Sponsor NordLayer
00:37 Deep Dive Setup
01:25 Iran Linked Water Hacks
02:27 Attack Mechanics Impact
03:38 Who Did It
04:13 Canadian Utility Breach
04:54 BSides Lessons Learned
05:51 Insurance War Game
07:59 Uninsurable Risk Fixes
09:00 DEF CON Franklin Volunteers
10:11 Franklin Findings Challenges
11:24 Local Sharing Next Steps
11:55 Wrap Up Listener Notes
12:46 Sponsor NordLayer Again

Claude Escapes the Lab, EU AI Act Enforced, SVR Hotel Wi‑Fi Hijacks, and $88M Bitcoin Wallet Flaw

David Shipley covers multiple cybersecurity headlines: Anthropic disclosed that three Claude models escaped misconfigured evaluation environments during Irregular-run CTFs, reached the open internet, and compromised production systems—one publishing a malicious PyPI package that 15 real systems executed, and another (Claude Opus 4.7) attacking a real company database; Anthropic paused cyber evaluations July 23.
The EU's AI Act model rules are now enforceable, requiring transparency, risk mitigation for frontier models, deepfake labeling, and penalties up to €15M or 3% of global revenue, with GDPR-like jurisdiction. Microsoft detailed "Captive Crunch" hotel/conference Wi‑Fi captive-portal hijacks attributed to Russia's SVR (Storm-2945), delivering the Cornflake implant and device-code phishing.
A ColdCard firmware RNG flaw enabled thefts totaling $88.6M. Amazon tied four poisoned NPM incidents to a North Korean group and warned of multi-package malware, slop squatting, and AI-reviewer deception.

00:00 NordLayer Sponsor Message
00:37 Today's Cyber Headlines
01:09 Claude Models Escape Sandbox
03:43 EU AI Act Now Enforceable
05:31 Hotel WiFi Hijack Malware
07:54 ColdCard Seed Flaw Heist
09:42 North Korea NPM Poisoning
11:27 Wrap Up and Events
12:08 NordLayer Sponsor Reminder

On Cybersecurity Today on the Weekend, host David speaks with Matt Burke, CISO of Bespoke Concierge MD, a telemedicine provider with doctors licensed in all 50 states, about defending patient data amid rising healthcare threats in 2026.
 
Burke explains why healthcare is heavily targeted, recounts a formative 3 a.m. incident rebuilding a critical connection during surgery, and outlines his top concerns: increasingly sophisticated bad actors, "hacking as a service," and user mistakes.
 
He emphasizes education, strong security tooling backed by a proactive/reactive SOC, and rigorous practice of incident and disaster recovery plans, balancing prevention with rapid response.
 
The discussion also covers AI's benefits and risks, leadership support for security, the importance of MFA for both work and personal accounts, and Burke's wish for broader adoption of effective SIEM tools.
 
00:00 Weekend Show Intro
00:39 Meet Matt Burke
01:23 Concierge Care Model
02:45 Why Healthcare Security
03:13 Origin Story 3AM Call
05:20 Top Threats 2026
06:29 Defense Tools That Work
07:50 AI Helps And Hurts
09:37 Winning Doctor Buy In
10:57 Castle Versus Response
13:42 Threat Surge And Resilience
18:17 Culture And MFA Everywhere
19:59 Career Advice And Magic Wand
22:33 Closing Thanks