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Privacy is Dead

Release Date: 08/20/2025

Easy Prey

Trying to erase yourself from the internet sounds simple until you start counting up old accounts, scattered social media posts, and the hundreds of data brokers quietly collecting and selling your information. The reality is messy, and for most people, the idea of fully disappearing online is more myth than possibility. But there are practical steps you can take to cut down what’s out there and regain some control. My guest, Max Eddy, is a senior staff writer at Wirecutter who covers privacy, security, and software platforms. For one of his projects, he set out to see how much of his own...

Hackers Are Winning

Easy Prey

Cyberattacks aren’t just about hackers in hoodies anymore. Today, we’re up against professionalized, well-funded organizations that run like businesses. They use AI to crack defenses, run labs that simulate the tools we rely on, and rake in trillions while defenders struggle to keep pace. The scary part? Even the strongest companies and governments can fall behind when the threat landscape moves this fast. My guest, Evan Powell, has spent nearly 30 years in the cybersecurity world. He’s the founder and CEO of Deep Tempo, and a serial entrepreneur who’s helped industries from cloud data...

Before the Fraud Tsunami Hits with Ritesh Kotak

Easy Prey

Scams aren’t what they used to be. These days, AI can write perfect emails, mimic voices, and even fake a video call so well you’d swear you were talking to the real person. The problem is, the timing of a scam can be just right when you’re distracted, busy, or looking for exactly what they’re offering. That’s when even the most careful person can get caught. My guest, Ritesh Kotak, knows this world inside and out. He’s a cybersecurity analyst, an Ontario lawyer, and a tech innovator who’s worked with Fortune 500 companies and served in policing, where he helped start one of...

Privacy is Dead

Easy Prey

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...

America’s Scam Crisis

Easy Prey

Most of us think of scams as random or isolated or something that just happens to unlucky people. But what if the truth is far more organized, far more disturbing? Behind many of today’s scams is a global web of criminal enterprises, structured like corporations and fueled by technology, data, and billions of stolen dollars. In this episode, we sit down with Ken Westbrook. Ken spent over three decades in the CIA before retiring, only to return to the fight after his own mother was targeted and lost most of her life savings to a tech support scam. That moment changed everything. He founded...

How Fraudsters Choose Targets

Easy Prey

It’s easy to think of fraud prevention as a technical problem with a software solution. But according to Brian Davis, effective fraud defense is just as much about people, trust, and communication as it is about tools and data. With over a decade of experience, Brian has built fraud teams from scratch, shaped company-wide strategy, and helped growing startups shift from reactive to proactive risk management. Brian is the Head of Fraud at Dodgeball, where he’s helping bring their orchestration platform to market, and the founder of House of Fraud, an invite-only community where top fraud...

Hidden Dangers of AI in Cybersecurity

Easy Prey

Everyone’s talking about AI these days, especially in cybersecurity. Sure, artificial intelligence can boost your defenses, but cybercriminals have noticed too. Now they're crafting phishing emails so believable it’s scary and finding clever paths around spam filters while zeroing in on vulnerabilities you didn’t even realize were there. Today, Aviad Hasnis joins the show. He's the CTO of Cynet Security and spent years running cybersecurity missions for the Israeli Defense Forces. Aviad’s here to help us figure out what the changing threat landscape really means, whether...

Author Scams Exposed

Easy Prey

Writers pour their hearts into their work, but unfortunately, that passion can make them prime targets for scams. From fake agents and vanity publishers to slick marketing schemes and social media impersonators, the tactics have only gotten more sophisticated over time. In this episode, we dig into the murky world of publishing scams and how they work and who they target. Along with why even experienced authors can get caught off guard. Today’s guest is Victoria Strauss. Victoria is the author of nine fantasy and historical novels for adults and teens, and she’s also the co-founder of...

Tricked by Followers and Badges

Easy Prey

What if your social media success was built on deception, and it was working? In today’s episode, we hear from someone who knows exactly how that happens. Tim O’Hearn is a former software engineer and the author of Framed: A Villain’s Perspective on Social Media, a book that pulls back the curtain on how follower factories, automation, and persuasive technologies have shaped the online world we now take for granted. Tim doesn’t just theorize, he built these systems himself. Tim walks us through how his small side gig growing Instagram accounts evolved into a lucrative business, one...

Only 10 Seconds to Expose a Scam

Easy Prey

What if you could stop a scam in real-time before the damage is done? In this episode, I’m joined by Nick Stapleton, an investigative journalist and the face behind Scam Interceptors, the BAFTA award-winning BBC series that exposes online fraud and steps in to protect victims as scams unfold. Nick brings a decade of undercover documentary experience to his current mission: fighting digital deception and empowering everyday people to stay safe. He shares jaw-dropping stories from the front lines, including the near miss that almost caught him off guard, and breaks down the complex...

More Episodes

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.

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