Myth or mythos: Is the AI cyber threat real?
Tech Life
BBC
4.3 • 227 Ratings
🗓️ 19 May 2026
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
From fears that a powerful new AI could supercharge hacking, to the ransomware gangs holding our data hostage, we talk to a former FBI expert about the latest cyber threats.
Also in Tech Life this week: we hear from a listener who is using dermatology tech to educate schoolchildren on the importance of staying safe in the sun. Presenter: Chris Vallance Producer: Tom Quinn
(Photo: Numerous computer screens are displaying green-coloured code and a finger pointing at a smartphone screen. Credit: Getty Images)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, music radio podcasts. |
| 0:07.3 | On BBC Sounds, there are podcasts to help you look after your body and your mind. |
| 0:12.7 | From increasing your immunity to feeling more confident. |
| 0:16.6 | Or tips on how to focus. |
| 0:18.5 | Sorry, what will you say? |
| 0:19.7 | If it matters to you, it matters to us. |
| 0:22.6 | Feel good inside of it. |
| 0:24.3 | With WhatsApp Docs. |
| 0:25.9 | And Complex with Kimberly Wilson. |
| 0:27.9 | Listen on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:30.5 | Hello, I'm Chris Valence and welcome to TechLife on the BBC World Service, the program that's all about technology and how it affects all our lives. |
| 0:39.0 | This week, we're looking at the latest cyber security threats that governments and big companies are |
| 0:44.2 | facing. A former FBI cyber crime fighter gives us the inside scoop. And later on, a tech life |
| 0:51.7 | listener is using dermatology tech to educate teenagers in Australia about the dangers of the sun's UV rays. |
| 1:00.1 | This is making a difference with kids. |
| 1:02.0 | It's changing attitude. |
| 1:03.7 | And it's really, for the first time ever, giving us an insight underneath the skin, which is quite incredible. |
| 1:31.1 | Music and inside underneath the skin, which is quite incredible. Now have you had money or data taken by hackers? |
| 1:32.4 | Lots of us have. |
| 1:38.9 | In the UK, major retailers, hospitals and car manufacturers have all been disrupted by cyber attacks. |
| 1:43.1 | It's worrying, and there's a new threat to chew your fingernails over. The possibility that a powerful new AI system could fall into the wrong hands and supercharge hacking. |
| 1:51.5 | Anthropics says its newest AI model named Claude Mythos preview is too powerful and dangerous to be released to public. |
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