This week on The Awareness Angle, breaches, extortion, and quietly invasive tech all collide. From real estate firms leaking highly sensitive data to browser extensions secretly harvesting AI conversations, the theme this week is trust, and how easily it gets abused.

Luke is back from holiday, and we kick off with Breach Watch, starting with a New York and DC real estate developer exposing nearly 47,000 people after a ransomware attack. We then look at SoundCloud losing control of user data, followed by one of the most personal extortion cases we have seen, PornHub Premium viewing history stolen via a third party analytics provider. We also cover the ongoing UK government hack that ministers are playing down, despite growing concern around state linked espionage.

In What the Hack, we dig into malware hidden inside movie subtitle files on fake torrents, a new Microsoft account takeover technique that bypasses passwords, MFA, and passkeys, and a Chrome browser extension that was quietly intercepting millions of users’ AI chats while wearing a trusted Featured badge. We also revisit LG’s smart TV Copilot backlash, and how user pushback forced a rapid U turn.

The wider topics take us from WhatsApp account hijacking via Ghost Pairing, to activity tracking risks in messaging apps, the growing problem of deepfakes and trust online, crypto scams draining life savings, and how Amazon detected a North Korean infiltrator based on something as subtle as keystroke lag.

If you want cyber news explained with clarity and zero jargon, you are in the right place.

Chapters

00:00:00 Welcome, and this week’s stories

Breach Watch
00:01:36 NYC and DC real estate developer data breach
00:04:27 SoundCloud breach and VPN disruption
00:08:15 PornHub extortion and leaked viewing history
00:13:27 UK government hack investigation

What the Hack
00:16:49 Malware hidden in movie subtitle files
00:21:55 Microsoft account takeover surge and ConsentFix
00:28:47 Chrome extensions harvesting AI chats
00:34:54 LG backtracks on Copilot for smart TVs

Topics
00:38:09 WhatsApp Ghost Pairing account hijack
00:41:48 WhatsApp and Signal activity tracking risks
00:47:50 Deepfakes, content credentials, and trust online
00:49:43 Idris Elba waxwork and biometric security limits
00:53:32 Do we actually need AI
00:54:40 Crypto scam victim loses 1.8 million dollars
00:57:32 North Korean infiltrator caught via keystroke lag

More Information
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