A breach, a burnout, and a bit of Fleetwood Mac
Smashing Security
Graham Cluley
4.7 • 579 Ratings
🗓️ 15 October 2025
⏱️ 45 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
A critical infrastructure hack hits the headlines - involving default passwords, boasts on Telegram, and a finale that will make a few cyber-crooks wish the ground would swallow them whole.
Meanwhile we dig into the bit we don't talk about enough: the human cost of defending companies from hackers - stress, burnout, and how better leadership culture can help make security teams safer and saner.
Plus we say a heartfelt "la di dah" to Diane Keaton, and tune in to a freshly re-released slice of pre-Fleetwood Mac history for the music-obsessed amongst us.
All this and more is discussed in episode 439 of "Smashing Security" podcast with cybersecurity veteran Graham Cluley, and his special guest Annabel Berry.
EPISODE LINKS:
- Cyber-attacks rise by 50% in past year, UK security agency says - The Guardian.
- What does the end of free support for Windows 10 mean for its users? - The Guardian.
- Satellites found exposing unencrypted data, including phone calls and some military comms - TechCrunch.
- Anatomy of a Hacktivist Attack: Russian-Aligned Group Targets OT/ICS - Forescout.
- Caught in the act: Ransomware attack sticks to our AI-created honeypot - Forescout.
- Human Performance in Security Operations: A Survey on Burnout, Wellbeing and Flow State Among Practitioners - NDSS Symposium.
- State of the Security Profession 23/24 - Chartered Institute of Information Security.
- Leading Cyber.
- Mental Health in Cybersecurity Foundation.
- “Play it Again, Sam” - IMDB.
- “Play it Again, Sam” clip - YouTube.
- “Buckingham Nicks” - Spotify.
- Fleetwood Mac - Silver Springs (Live, 1997) - YouTube.
- Smashing Security merchandise (t-shirts, mugs, stickers and stuff)
If anything we've discussed today has resonated with you, or if you're going through a tough time, please know you are not alone. There is always someone ready to listen, without judgment. Here are a few of the available resources:
- Shout - text 85258 (24x7)
- Samaritans - tel 116123 (24x7)
- Suicide prevention - tel 0800 689 5652 (6pm - 3.30am)
- SANEline - tel 0300 304 7000 (4.30pm - 10.30pm)
SPONSORS:
- SecAlerts - SecAlerts makes your job easier by matching vulnerabilities to your software, using information as soon as it’s released. Use code SMASHING for 50% off a year subscription.
- ANON - Find, monitor and remove data about yourself online. Manage your digital footprint with ease. Use code SMASHING for a 25% discount.
- Vanta - Expand the scope of your security program with market-leading compliance automation… while saving time and money. Smashing Security listeners get $1000 off!
SUPPORT THE SHOW:
Tell your friends and colleagues about “Smashing Security”, and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Podchaser.
Become a supporter via Patreon or Apple Podcasts for ad-free episodes on our early-release feed!
FOLLOW THE SHOW:
Follow us on Bluesky or Mastodon, or on the Smashing Security subreddit, and visit our website for more episodes.
THANKS:
Theme tune: "Vinyl Memories" by Mikael Manvelyan.
Assorted sound effects: AudioBlocks.
ENJOYED THE SHOW?
Make sure to check out our sister podcast, "The AI Fix".
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | It's effectively like a knockout blow, isn't it, by some professional boxer, |
| 0:08.4 | only to find out that the opponent was a scarecrow. |
| 0:30.0 | Smashing Security, Episode 439, a breach, a burnout, and a bitter fleetwood Mac with Graham Cluley. |
| 0:34.7 | Hello, hello, and welcome to Smashing Security episode 439. |
| 0:36.0 | My name's Graham Cluley. |
| 0:37.5 | And I'm Annabel Berry'm Annabelle Berry. |
| 0:42.6 | Annabelle Berry. Welcome to Smashing Security. It's your first time here. |
| 0:45.1 | It is. And how the devil are you? |
| 0:49.9 | I am absolutely gorgeous. And I hope you're gorgeous as well. |
| 1:01.1 | Now, for our listeners who may not be aware of the Annabelle Berry experience, which makes you sound like a Jimmy Hendrix tribute act. Or a theme park, yeah. Tell us how you've arrived at Smashing Security. |
| 1:07.1 | So I'm Annabelle Berry. I run an organization called Leading Cyber, and that means I get to work with cyber leaders and teams, looking at team performance, looking at leadership development and stuff like that. |
| 1:20.8 | And I run Ladies Hacking Society in the industry, and I'm involved in lots of other stuff outside the day job, all the stuff |
| 1:29.8 | that makes this industry great to work in. |
| 1:32.3 | Fantastic. |
| 1:33.6 | Well, before we kick off, let's thank this week's wonderful sponsors, Vanta, Sekalerts, |
| 1:38.1 | and Anon will be hearing more about them later on in the podcast. |
| 1:44.0 | This week on Smashing Security. |
| 1:46.2 | We're not going to talk about how the UK's national cybersecurity center says |
| 1:50.0 | attacks in the country have surged by 50% over the past year, with it now handling a highly |
| 1:56.0 | significant incident roughly every other day. |
| 2:00.7 | You'll hear no discussion of... |
| 2:02.4 | How Microsoft has cut off support for Windows 10, even though many millions of people are |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Graham Cluley, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Graham Cluley and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.