Libsyn Directory

Privacy is Dead

Release Date: 08/20/2025

Easy Prey

The intersection of AI and cybersecurity is changing faster than anyone expected, and that pace is creating both incredible innovation and brand-new risks we’re only beginning to understand. From deepfake ads that fool even seasoned security professionals to autonomous agents capable of acting on our behalf, the threat landscape looks very different than it did even a year ago. To explore what this evolution means for everyday people and for enterprises trying to keep up, I’m joined by Chris Kirschke, Field CISO at Tuskira and a security leader with more than two decades of experience...

You Are Traceable with OSINT

Easy Prey

Publicly available data can paint a much clearer picture of our lives than most of us realize, and this episode takes a deeper look at how those tiny digital breadcrumbs like photos, records, searches, even the background of a Zoom call can be pieced together to reveal far more than we ever intended. To help break this down, I’m joined by Cynthia Hetherington, Founder and CEO of The Hetherington Group, a longtime leader in open-source intelligence. She also founded Osmosis, the global association and conference for OSINT professionals, and she oversees OSINT Academy, where her team trains...

Anyone Could Walk In

Easy Prey

Sometimes we forget how much trust we place in the little things around us like a lock on a door or a badge on someone’s shirt. We see those symbols and assume everything behind them is safe, but it doesn’t always work that way. A person with enough confidence, or the right story, can slip through places we think are locked down tight, and most of us never notice it’s happening. My guest today is Deviant Ollam, and he’s one of the rare people who gets invited to break into buildings on purpose. He talks about how he fell into this unusual line of work, the odd moments that shaped his...

The Scam You Never See Coming

Easy Prey

Fraud today doesn’t feel anything like it used to. It’s not just about somebody skimming a credit card at a gas pump or stealing a check out of the mail. It has gotten personal, messy, emotional. Scammers are building relationships, earning trust, and studying the little details of our lives so they can strike when we’re tired, distracted, or dealing with something big. And honestly, most people have no idea how far it’s gone. My guest, Ian Mitchell, has spent more than 25 years fighting fraud around the world and leading teams in the financial sector. He’s the founder of The Knoble,...

Hacking AI

Easy Prey

AI has brought incredible new capabilities into everyday technology, but it’s also creating security challenges that most people haven’t fully wrapped their heads around yet. As these systems become more capable and more deeply connected to the tools and data we rely on, the risks become harder to predict and much more complicated to manage. My guest today is Rich Smith, who leads offensive research at MindGard and has spent more than twenty years working on the front lines of cybersecurity. Rich has held leadership roles at organizations like Crash Override, Gemini, Duo Security, Cisco,...

The Ransomware War

Easy Prey

Ransomware isn’t a lone hacker in a hoodie. It’s an entire criminal industry complete with developers, brokers, and money launderers working together like a dark tech startup. And while these groups constantly evolve, so do the tools and partnerships aimed at stopping them before they strike. My guest today is Cynthia Kaiser, former Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI’s Cyber Division and now the Head of the Ransomware Research Center at Halcyon. After two decades investigating global cyber threats and briefing top government leaders, she’s now focused on prevention and building...

Opportunistic Crimes

Easy Prey

Criminals are always adapting. Whether it’s copper wiring stripped from job sites or porch pirates grabbing deliveries in broad daylight, they keep finding new ways to take what isn’t theirs. But maybe prevention isn’t about harsher punishment or more cameras. Maybe it’s about smarter design and understanding what drives people to steal in the first place. My guest today is Dr. Ben Stickle, a professor of criminal justice at Middle Tennessee State University and one of the country’s top researchers on property crime. Before entering academia, he worked in law enforcement, which gives...

Post Scam Guidebook

Easy Prey

Fraud usually gets talked about in numbers like how much money was stolen, how many people were affected, how many cases got filed. But behind every one of those numbers is a person who’s been blindsided, manipulated, or left trying to rebuild trust in others and in themselves. This episode shifts the focus back to those human stories and the fight to protect them. My guest, Freddie Massimi, has spent more than a decade helping scam victims find both financial and emotional recovery, bringing empathy and understanding to a field that too often feels cold and procedural. As a certified...

Can You Trust Anything Online

Easy Prey

You think you’d never fall for a scam until you meet someone like Kitboga. He’s a software engineer who’s turned his curiosity about online fraud into a full-time mission to outsmart scammers and protect the people they target. His YouTube channel, The Kitboga Show, has millions of followers and nearly a billion views, thanks to his mix of humor, empathy, and clever ways of exposing how scams really work. In our conversation, Kit opens up about how this all started, what it’s really like to spend hours pretending to be a scam victim, and how organized crime has turned fraud into a...

Real Time Fraud Detection

Easy Prey

Everywhere you turn, someone’s trying to fake something like an image, a voice, or even an entire identity. With AI tools now in almost anyone’s hands, it takes minutes, not days, to create a convincing fake. That’s changed the game for both sides. The fraudsters have new weapons, and the rest of us are scrambling to keep up. The real question now isn’t just how to stop scams, but how to know who or what to trust online. My guest today, Bala Kumar, spends his days on the front lines of that battle. He’s the Chief Product and Technology Officer at Jumio, a company working to make...

More Episodes

Privacy in the digital age has grown from a background concern into one of the defining issues of our time. What began with simple questions about online safety has expanded into a complex, global conversation about how artificial intelligence, biometric data, and massive data ecosystems are reshaping daily life.

Pam Dixon has been at the center of these discussions for more than two decades. As the founder and executive director of the World Privacy Forum, she’s worked across the U.S., Europe, India, Africa, and beyond, advising governments, international organizations, and policymakers on how to create effective privacy protections.

In this episode, Pam takes us through the history of modern privacy law, the ways different regions approach the challenge, and the new frontiers like collective privacy, AI governance, and health data that demand fresh thinking. She also offers a grounded perspective on how to build systems that safeguard individuals while still allowing innovation to thrive, and why getting those guardrails right now will shape the future of trust in technology.

Show Notes:

[4:49] Pam identified privacy risks in early resume databases and produced a 50-page report on job boards, now known as job search platforms.
[8:56] Pam now chairs the civil society work at OECD in AI, contributing to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Privacy Guidelines (first adopted in 1980).
[11:17] The launch of the internet marked a major shift in privacy, transitioning from slower, isolated systems to globally connected networks.
[11:46] Early adoption of the internet was limited to academia, government, and tech enthusiasts before reaching the public.
[12:45] Privacy frameworks were built on Fair Information Practices, developed in the United States in the 1970s by the Health, Education, and Welfare Committee (later HHS).
[15:58] GDPR was developed and enforced in 2018 with extraterritorial provisions applying to companies worldwide (General Data Protection Regulation, enacted in 2016 and enforced in 2018).
[18:59] Large language models and deep machine learning advancements have created new and complex privacy challenges.
[22:06] Some countries approach privacy with more flexibility and openness, while maintaining strong guardrails.
[23:37] In June 2023, a University of Tokyo study on data privacy was presented at an OECD meeting, highlighting evolving global strategies.
[26:30] Governments are working together on “data free flow with trust” to address cross-border data concerns.
[28:09] Pam warns that AI ecosystems are still forming, and policymakers need to observe carefully before rushing into regulation.
[28:31] She emphasizes the emerging issue of collective privacy, which impacts entire groups rather than individuals.
[29:04] Privacy issues are complex and not linear; they require ongoing adaptation.
[30:24] ChatGPT’s launch did not fundamentally change machine learning, but the 2017 transformer paper did, making AI more efficient.
[31:53] Known challenges in AI include algorithmic bias related to age, gender, and skin tone.
[33:07] Legislative proposals for privacy now require practical testing rather than theoretical drafting.
[35:39] AI legislative debates often center on fears of harming innovation, but scientific data should guide regulation.
[40:29] NIH reports caution participants in certain medical AI programs to fully understand risks before joining.
[41:59] Some patients willingly share all their health data to advance medical research, while others are more cautious.
[43:50] Tools for privacy protection are developing, but the field remains in transition.
[48:56] Asia and Europe are leading in AI and privacy transitions, with strong national initiatives and regulations.
[52:42] The U.S. privacy landscape relies on sector-specific laws such as HIPAA (1996) and COPPA (1998) rather than a single national framework.
[54:48] Studies show that wealthy nations often have the least trust in their digital ecosystems, despite advanced infrastructure.
[56:19] A little-known U.S. law, A119, allows for voluntary consensus standards in specialized areas, enabling faster innovation compared to ISO processes.
[56:48] Voluntary standards can accelerate development in fields like medical AI, avoiding years-long delays from traditional approval processes.
[57:32] An FDA case study on an AI-driven heart pump showed significant performance changes between initial deployment and later use, underscoring the importance of testing and oversight.

Thanks for joining us on Easy Prey. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes and leave a nice review.

Show Notes:

Links and Resources:

TOPICS