Join hosts Lyn, Stephen, and Kayla as they tackle the pressing security challenges heading into the festive season, plus the year's most significant developments in AI and cloud security.

This Episode Covers:

The Security Budget Crisis: Nearly half of organizations face flat or reduced security budgets despite rising threats. The sobering reality? Teams are stretched thin, with only a third believing they have adequate skills to protect cloud and AI ecosystems. As one report puts it: "Organizations say they want to be secure, but not enough to actually fund security."

Cloud Teams Drowning in Complexity: 85% report increased cloud complexity in 2025, while 82% suffer from alert fatigue. The shocking truth? Only 11% believe their cloud security posture is mature, meaning 89% are quietly winging it.

TIME's AI Architects: For the sixth time, TIME's Person of the Year isn't a person but a collective: the small group of humans and systems shaping artificial intelligence. It's a recognition that AI governance has become as critical as cybersecurity itself, with "the world's future being negotiated by a few dozen labs."

ChatGPT's Adult Mode: OpenAI introduces age-restricted capabilities with smarter verification, responding to regulatory pressure for stricter controls on how minors interact with AI.

McDonald's AI Disaster: When McDonald's Christmas ad featuring distorted faces and haunted children went viral for all the wrong reasons, it became a masterclass in why you can't just press "generate" and call it marketing.

Plus: Your Essential Holiday Security Checklist: Ten critical steps to protect your organization while cybercriminals work overtime during skeleton-crew season.