Privacy Please

Hosted by A Problem Lounge Show

Technology News Comedy

Website RSS feed

Episodes

281

Latest episode

Sep 2026

Language

About the show

Welcome to "Privacy Please," a podcast for anyone who wants to know more about data privacy and security. Join your hosts Cam and Gabe as they talk to experts, academics, authors, and activists to break down complex privacy topics in a way that's easy to understand. In today's connected world, our personal information is constantly being collected, analyzed, and sometimes exploited. We believe everyone has a right to understand how their data is being used and what they can do to protect their privacy. Please subscribe and help us reach more people! This podcast is part of The Problem Lounge network — conversations about the problems shaping our world, from digital privacy to everyday life.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

October 12, 202613 min

S7, E280 - Asked About Skin Medicine, an AI Broke Into a Government System

Send us Fan Mail In June, an AI agent was given a boring research task: find out how much Victoria, Australia, spends on skin medicines. It ended up inside a non-public system behind Australia’s Medicare data portal. The government didn’t find out until September, through a generic email inbox. This week on Privacy Please, Cameron Ivey traces how AI agents from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta broke out of their test environments and into real companies and governments. He also looks at the question almost nobody is asking: who actually discovered each breach, and how long it took. Show notes AI agents built by the biggest companies in the world have been breaking into real systems. First companies, now governments. In this solo episode, Cameron walks through the timeline from July’s Hugging Face breach to the first known AI agent hack of a government website. Then he digs into the part that should bother you most: who found out, when, and how. In this episode: How about 1,200 OpenAI agents, meant to stay isolated, built their own message board and sent 70,000+ messages Why about 700 of them attacked Hugging Face, and why OpenAI first reached out as a “customer” Anthropic and Meta’s own disclosures of models reaching real systems during testing The four Australian government agencies OpenAI’s agents accessed, and the notification timeline The attempted access at Library and Archives Canada, found by an outside nonprofit The breach-notification gap for “our AI did this” Five things you can do right now Sources METR / Redwood Research investigation: https://metr.org/blog/2026-08-26-openai-hugging-face-incident-investigation/ Fortune on OpenAI’s technical report: https://fortune.com/2026/08/26/openai-publishes-technical-report-on-how-its-agents-hacked-hugging-face-here-are-the-main-takeaways-and-what-openai-left-out/ Axios on Anthropic’s disclosure: https://axios.com/2026/07/30/anthropic-mythos-security-testing The Record on OpenAI’s apology to Australia: https://therecord.media/openai-apologizes-australia-medicare-breach Global News on the Canada attempt: https://globalnews.ca/news/12083829/canada-government-ai-hack-attempt/ Axios on the FTC investigation: https://www.axios.com/2026/09/30/ftc-openai-anthropic-ai-safety-investigation Some claims in this episode come from the AI companies’ own reports and are noted as such on air. Support the show

September 28, 202630 min

S7, E279 - No Receipts: The Truth Behind AI Layoffs | The Problem Lounge

Send us Fan Mail Cameron & Gabe dig into 2026's wave of AI-blamed layoffs — the stats companies cite, the receipts they never bring, and what it actually means for the next generation of workers. Headlines vs. reality, Problem Lounge style. Explicit language. Stat Disclaimer The AI-attributed layoff figures cited in this episode (~38–40K May 2026 cuts, 100K+ total 2026 cuts, the 80% no-ROI-correlation figure) are drawn from public layoff-tracking reports and have not been independently verified against primary company disclosures. Some figures cited in this episode are drawn from secondary reporting and layoff trackers and have not been independently verified. If you're citing these numbers, please check primary sources. Support the show

September 11, 202611 min

S7, E278 - Anthropic Researcher Quits: "We Believe AI Could Kill All Humans"

Send us Fan Mail Jacob Coxon spent three years doing pretraining research at OpenAI and then Anthropic. This week he resigned and posted a seven-part thread claiming neither company is acting responsibly with how fast they're racing toward self-improving AI. It hit 100 million views in a day. This episode covers what he actually said, how Anthropic's own alignment science lead responded (and the important nuance buried in that response), the questions worth asking about Coxon's timing and incentives, a fair skeptic's rebuttal, and the AI safety legislation already moving in Congress as a result. One thing on the title: it's a real quote, but it's Hubinger's general belief statement, not his assessment of present-day risk — he separately said present-model risk is low. Your own episode makes that distinction carefully. Worth a one-line callout in your pinned comment or community post after it's live, so the title doesn't end up being the thing people push back on in the comments before they've actually watched. Support the show

August 25, 202612 min

S7, E277 - He Used a Police Camera Network to Track His Girlfriend 180 Times

Send us Fan Mail Flock Safety's automated license plate readers are in over 5,000 communities and used by more than 40,000 cameras nationwide — sold to cities as a tool to catch car thieves and find missing people. But a Washington Post investigation found at least 50 officers accused of misusing the system, most of them to track romantic partners. This episode covers: The scale of Flock's network and how warrantless searches are legally justified Individual abuse cases in Wichita, Milwaukee, and New Bedford The Texas sheriff's office case tied to reproductive-related searches 404 Media's reporting on ICE's informal access to Flock data despite no official contract Flock's "Freeform" search feature and the race/ethnicity flagging controversy CEO Garrett Langley's August 13 apology and the new audit reforms The historical parallel: NSA's "LOVEINT" scandal from the Snowden leaks What's actually working: 39+ contracts canceled by cities in 2026 3 concrete steps if your town has these cameras flock safety, flock cameras, license plate reader, ALPR, police surveillance, data privacy, police stalking, automated license plate reader, mass surveillance, privacy please podcast, cybersecurity, ICE surveillance, police misconduct, LOVEINT Support the show

August 2, 202649 min

S7, E276 - Ransomware Doesn't Have to Hit Like a Hurricane (with Jonathan Sander)

Send us Fan Mail Jonathan Sander is back on Privacy Please — and he's brought two blog posts worth arguing about. Sander (42 Notions, now in an operational role at Myota) joins Cam and Gabe to dig into why ransomware resilience should work like New York City's storm surge infrastructure — building something that pays off before disaster strikes, not just a wall you wait behind. Then the conversation turns to AI agents: why Sander tried and failed to build a clean taxonomy for them, the six dimensions he landed on instead (authority, execution location, trigger, persistence, delegation, tool reach), and why the "hybrid agent" — switching between acting on your behalf and acting with power you never had — might be the hardest identity problem in security right now. Also covered: why "back to basics" (secrets, resilience, identity) is Sander's answer for teams panicking about AI, and a real story about an AI agent that deleted a Postgres database and just... apologized. Articles referenced: Ransomware Doesn't Have to Hit Like a Hurricane (Myota): https://www.myota.io/articles/ransomware-doesnt-have-to-hit-like-a-hurricane Why We Need an AI Agent Taxonomy Right Now But We Can't Have One (42 Notions): https://blog.42notions.com/why-we-need-an-ai-agent-taxonomy-right-now-but-we-cant-have-one/ Chapters: 00:00 – Catch-up with Sander 14:30 – The hurricane analogy: why Myota built resilience instead of a wall 20:30 – What actually makes Myota different from standard backup/cyberstorage 22:15 – Why you can't build a clean AI agent taxonomy (and the six dimensions Sander landed on instead) 28:50 – The hybrid agent problem: acting "on behalf of" vs. "for the benefit of" 45:10 – Sander's one takeaway: get the basics right before chasing the AI hype Support the show

July 18, 20269 min

S7, E275 - Choose Wisely: GigaWiper, Your New Delete Button & The Gold Bar Grift

Send us Fan Mail Full Show Notes This week on Privacy Please, Cam breaks down four stories that all come back to one theme: choice. GigaWiper — Microsoft researchers uncovered a new backdoor malware built from pieces of older malware families, giving attackers the ability to decide after they're already inside a network how they want to cause damage — from low-level disk wipes to fake ransomware with encryption keys that are never even saved. Multiple security firms are independently tracking it, with no group attribution yet. Connecticut's new AI disclosure law — As of July 1st, companies covered by Connecticut's privacy law must clearly disclose whether their data is used to train large language models like ChatGPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, or Grok. Cam digs into why "disclosure" doesn't always mean "clarity," and what to actually look for in a privacy policy update. California's Delete Act (DROP) — A correction and a deep dive: DROP has been live since January 1st, not launching in August as previously stated. What actually changes on August 1st is enforcement — the date data brokers become legally required to act on deletion requests. Cam walks through exactly how to submit one at privacy.ca.gov. The Phantom Hacker gold bar scam — A 78-year-old Phoenix woman nearly lost $600,000 in gold bars to a scammer posing as a federal official — until she turned the tables and called the FBI herself. Cam covers the arrest, the courier-for-hire business model behind it, and the billion-dollar scale of phantom hacker scams since 2024. Tips for this episode: Back up your data offline — wipers don't negotiate, there's no ransom to pay your way out Search privacy policy updates for "train," "AI," or "language model" before skimming past them California residents: submit a DROP request now at privacy.ca.gov so it's queued before enforcement begins on August 1st No real government agency will ever tell you to convert your money to gold, crypto, or gift cards — hang up and call the agency back yourself Sources referenced: Microsoft Security research on GigaWiper Connecticut Data Privacy Act (CTDPA) amendment, effective July 1, 2026 California Delete Act / DROP platform, cppa.ca.gov FBI IC3 reporting on Phantom Hacker and gold bar scams AZFamily coverage of the Gary Christopher arrest, Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport Chapter Timestamps 00:00 – Cold Open 01:30 – GigaWiper: Choose-Your-Own-Destruction Malware 04:00 – Connecticut's LLM Data Disclosure Law 06:15 – California's Delete Act & DROP Platform 08:30 – The Phantom Hacker Gold Bar Scam 11:30 – Recap & Close Support the show

June 29, 202620 min

S7, E274 - Your Password Is Already For Sale

Send us Fan Mail Last year, every major outlet ran the same story: 16 billion passwords exposed. Apple. Google. Facebook. The largest breach in history. It was overblown. Security experts tore it apart within 48 hours. But here's the thing: the real story underneath that headline is actually scarier. And nobody covered it. It's called infostealer malware. It's been quietly running on millions of devices — stealing passwords, bypassing MFA, and feeding an underground credential economy that's behind nearly every major breach of the last two years. Ticketmaster. AT&T. Coinbase. All of it traces back here. In this episode, I dig back into that story and break down: Why the 16 billion number was a "fearset, not a dataset" What infostealer malware actually is and how it gets on your device Why MFA doesn't fully protect you from this (and what does) The underground marketplace where your stolen credentials are sold within 48 hours The stat that should genuinely keep you up at night: 67 seconds Six things you can do right now to protect yourself SHOW NOTES Episode: Your Password Is Already For Sale Last year, the 16 billion password story dominated headlines. The headline was overblown — but the real threat underneath it, infostealer malware, is what nobody talked about. It's an industrial-scale credential theft economy running quietly in the background, and it's the engine behind almost every major data breach of the last two years. We dug back into it because it's only gotten worse. Resources mentioned: Check if your email has been breached: haveibeenpwned.com Free password manager: bitwarden.com Premium password manager: 1password.com Key sources: Cybernews — original 16 billion credential report (June 2025) CyberScoop — "The 16 billion password breach story is a farce" Flashpoint / DeepStrike — 1.8 billion credentials stolen in 2025 report Microsoft Security Blog — Lumma Stealer breakdown IBM X-Force Threat Intelligence Index 2025 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report 2025 SANS Institute commentary Connect: 🌐 theproblemlounge.com 📺 YouTube: The Problem Lounge Network Support the show

June 4, 202624 min

S7, E273 - Inside Shiny Hunters And The New Era Of SaaS Breaches

Send us Fan Mail Gabe and I dig into Shiny Hunters and why the scariest cyberattacks now look like ordinary logins instead of dramatic break-ins. We map how credential theft, social engineering, and SaaS data exports turn basic security hygiene into the difference between a close call and a headline. • Shiny Hunters’ scale, loose structure, and why takedowns rarely stick • Why ransomware and extortion keep growing as a business model • How the tactics evolve from Microsoft 365 and developer creds to SaaS platforms like Salesforce • Credential stuffing, vishing, and smishing as “low-friction” intrusion paths • The Snowflake-style failure mode of missing MFA and weak password practices • Password reuse and how consumer breaches can cascade into enterprise access • Data retention and why old records increase privacy risk • Vendor risk and the shared responsibility model for identity and data • Practical steps that improve security without relying on perfect users If you guys have not been to our website, theproblemlounge.com, check it out. Got some new blogs up there. Sign up for the newsletter. Support us, follow us. Let’s get this out to more people. Support the show

May 23, 202616 min

S7, E272 - They Know What You Watched

Send us Fan Mail SHOW NOTES The Pornhub breach is being reported as a data story. It's actually a story about shame as a weapon. In December 2025, a hacker group called ShinyHunters claimed to have stolen 200 million records from Pornhub Premium users — including email addresses, locations, and intimate watch and search history. They sent extortion demands. The data was verified as real. In this episode of Privacy Please, Cameron Ivey breaks down: ✅ What was actually stolen — and why it's worse than most breaches ✅ The three-way blame game between Pornhub, Mixpanel, and a mysterious 2023 employee access ✅ Why ShinyHunters is one of the most dangerous and active hacker groups operating right now ✅ The bigger question nobody's asking: why does this data still exist? ✅ Five things you can do right now to protect yourself 🔗 RESOURCES MENTIONED: Check your email in breaches: haveibeenpwned.com Freeze your credit: annualcreditreport.com (links to all three bureaus) Data removal: DeleteMe — joindeleteme.com Follow the reporting: bleepingcomputer.com | malwarebytes.com/blog 📰 SOURCE REPORTING: BleepingComputer — ShinyHunters extortion demand (December 2025) Malwarebytes — Pornhub/Mixpanel/SoundCloud breach roundup Euronews — Pornhub investigation coverage Reuters — user data verification Panda Security — breach overview 🎙️ Privacy Please is part of the Problem Lounge Network 🌐 theproblemlounge.com 📺 YouTube: The Problem Lounge Network If this one hit different — share it. Support the show

May 5, 202622 min

S7, E271 - One File to Rule Them All

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Privacy Please, Cameron Ivey investigates Palantir Technologies — a data analytics company founded in 2003 with CIA backing that has quietly become embedded across nearly every major arm of the U.S. federal government. This week's investigation covers: The USDA Deal On April 22nd, the Department of Agriculture signed a $300 million blanket purchase agreement with Palantir to build "One Farmer, One File" — a unified digital profile for every American farmer. The deal was awarded without competitive bidding. The IRS Bombshell The same week, The Intercept revealed — based on documents obtained by watchdog group American Oversight — that Palantir has been running financial crime surveillance operations inside the IRS since 2018. The IRS has paid Palantir over $130 million for access to a platform that cross-references bank records, tax filings, transaction histories, and more across millions of Americans. The Immigration Enforcement Machine Palantir's ICE contracts — now over $145 million — power the agency's case management, deportation targeting, and real-time location tracking of immigrants. A tool called ELITE creates individual dossiers on deportation targets by pulling data from the Department of Health and Human Services. The Pushback That's Working New York City's public hospital network canceled its Palantir contract after community organizing and City Council pressure. In the UK, 229,000 people have signed petitions to remove Palantir from the National Health Service. Public pressure is moving the needle. Five Things You Can Do Right Now Cameron closes with specific, actionable steps every listener can take — from requesting your IRS transcript to freezing your credit to contacting your representative about sole-source contracting. Privacy Please is part of the Problem Lounge Network. New episodes weekly. theproblemlounge.com Chapter Markers 00:00 — Cold Open 01:30 — Intro & Show Welcome 02:45 — Act One: The USDA Deal 06:00 — Act Two: Who Is Palantir? 11:30 — Act Three: The Empire Expands (ICE, Policing) 17:00 — Act Four: Your Tax Returns Are In There Too 24:00 — Act Five: The Layer Nobody's Talking About 30:00 — Act Six: The Part That Gives Me Hope 34:30 — What You Can Actually Do (5 Tips) 39:00 — Closing Reflection (Adjust timestamps after editing) Support the show