This week's episode hits close to home—literally. We dive into a ransomware attack on the Eastern Cape Department of Human Settlements by the international NightSpire gang, who claim to have stolen 20GB of sensitive data, including personal information of housing applicants. Despite official statements calling it a "minor breach," the incident exposes critical vulnerabilities in South African public sector cybersecurity.

In a twist of supreme irony, we explore how Entrust—a global leader in digital security—fell victim to the Clop ransomware gang. When the security experts get breached, it serves as a sobering reminder: no one is immune to sophisticated cyberattacks.

We also examine Microsoft Teams' controversial "Chat with Anyone" feature, rolling out by January 2026. While convenient, this default-enabled functionality opens massive attack surfaces for phishing and credential theft—a classic case of convenience versus security.

On the AI front, groundbreaking research reveals that large language models can be compromised with as few as 250 malicious documents. We discuss the implications for AI security and why Africa's diversity must be represented in AI training data to prevent perpetuating harmful biases.

Finally, John takes us on a poignant journey through Armistice Day, exploring how World War I birthed modern information security—from cryptography and traffic analysis to authentication protocols. The lessons from those trenches still echo in our digital battlefields today.

Key Takeaways:

✅ Monitor your accounts if you've dealt with affected institutions

✅ Disable risky default features in collaboration tools

✅ Remember: even security companies get hacked

✅ AI security and representation matter

🎧 Listen now on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or iHeartRadio!

#Cybersecurity #InfoSec #Ransomware #AIEthics #DataPrivacy #SouthAfrica #PrivisoLive