In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, hosts Phil Tarrant, Liam Garman, and Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson unpack two unfolding challenges shaping Australia's strategic outlook, an Iran-linked cyber breach exposing sensitive defence data, and China's latest move to outmanoeuvre Canberra in the Pacific.

The discussion opens with the major cyber breach linked to Iran-aligned actors, exposing sensitive information from Australian defence programs through vulnerabilities in overseas contractors. Thompson warns that modern military platforms are now fully digital extensions of the network, and that the Australian Defence Force risks becoming collateral damage without stronger supply-chain defence.

The hosts then turn to the Pacific, where China has unveiled a record $86 million aid package to Vanuatu, a direct counter to the Albanese government's stalled security pact. Garman notes the diplomatic setback highlights the limits of Australia's traditional leverage, with Port Vila reluctant to jeopardise its economic ties with Beijing.

The conversation also covers China's commissioning of its first fully indigenous aircraft carrier, signalling a major step in Beijing's push for blue-water naval capability.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Contested Ground team

What does it mean to lead with honesty, show vulnerability, and embrace your authentic self – even when life feels chaotic? In this episode of The Progress Report, host Tash Taylor sits down with Rebecca Woolnough, area manager - Oceania for SMART Technologies, to unpack what true resilience and self-leadership look like beyond the polished titles and structured systems.

From navigating self-doubt and impostor moments to learning how to "be the hurricane", Bec shares a refreshingly raw and honest reflection on leadership, motherhood, and maintaining identity amid constant pressure. The conversation explores everything from women's evolving roles in Defence to the mental load of balancing career, family, and self-worth.

Through laughter, humility, and insight, Beck opens up about the moments that nearly broke her – and how those same moments built her into the leader she is today. She reminds us that progress isn't about perfection or control, but about showing up fully as yourself, even when the storm hits.

The Progress Report. New voices. Real stories. Big shifts.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Progress Report team

In this episode of the Defence Connect Spotlight podcast, special returning host Liam Garman is joined by Lockheed Martin's Josh Woodward and Wayne Harrison to discuss the transformational impact of the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System for the Australian Defence Force.

The trio discuss the range of ways HIMARS will serve as a significant transformation in Australia's approach to littoral and long-range strike warfare.

They also discuss how HIMARS, when armed with precision-guided munitions such as the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System and the longer-range Army Tactical Missile System – and soon to be integrated with the Precision Strike Missile – enables land forces to engage high-value targets at ranges exceeding 500 kilometres.

This blurs traditional boundaries between land and maritime domains, allowing the Army to contribute meaningfully to joint strike missions once reserved for the Air Force or Navy.

Finally, they discuss how HIMARS is more than an artillery platform – it represents a strategic enabler within an integrated joint fires network. When linked with persistent surveillance, space-based sensors, and command-and-control systems, HIMARS provides the ADF with a flexible, scalable, and responsive strike capability.

Enjoy the podcast, 
The Defence Connect team

In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, David Hollingworth and Daniel Croft talk about Chris Krebs' extraordinary decision to step down from SentinelOne in order to fight the Trump administration, an array of hacks both global and local, and the importance of funding the essential CVE Program. And China has made fascinating claims about US activity against the Asian Winter Games earlier this year.

• Hollingworth and Croft kick things off with Chris Krebs, who announced his resignation from SentinelOne this week following the signing of an executive order revoking his security clearance. He doesn't want to distract from SentinelOne's work, and he plans on taking this fight to the US government.
• Croft and Hollingworth then catch up on the week in cyber crime, with the 4chan message board getting hacked by a rival board, car rental giant Hertz Australia confirming it was caught up in a global Hertz data breach, and local outfit TMA Group of Companies falling victim to Sarcoma ransomware attack.
• The podcast wraps up with the pair talking about funding uncertainty involving the vital vulnerability-tracking CVE Program and how important the program is as a frontline tool against hackers and nation-state actors.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Uncut team

In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, hosts Phil Tarrant and Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson discuss how businesses can build a culture of security in the modern work environment, protecting critical business IP. 

• They begin the podcast with a short book review of Stephen Gapps' Uprising: War in the colony of New South Wales, unpacking conflict in colonial Australia – and in particular, the Second Wiradyuri War of Resistance.
• The conversation turns to information security and the regulation and legislation that guides the storing of personal data by businesses.
• The hosts then unpack how businesses can develop a culture of security through the development of systems and procedures to protect business IP. 

Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team

In this special defence aviation episode of the Defence Connect Podcast, host Robert Dougherty catches up with Honeywell Aerospace Technologies senior director Lee Davis on the sidelines of the Avalon Australian International Airshow.

The pair explore aspects of the changing regional defence landscape in Australia, including:

• Changes in the Australian defence industrial base and a big picture approach to the AUKUS trilateral defence partnership between Australia, the US and the UK.
• The continuing discussion regarding servicing and operations of Royal Australian Air Force F-35 aircraft and the broader Asia-Pacific F-35 fleet.
• Honeywell's perspectives on the current geopolitical and defence landscape, and what that might mean more practically for technology providers.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Defence Connect team

In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, David Hollingworth and Daniel Croft chat about emissions, credential stuffing attacks targeting Australian super funds, a ransomware attack on a luxury Sydney hotel, and more Donald Trump chaos.

Hollingworth and Croft kick things off with some interesting research that estimates the carbon costs of various AI platforms, with Grok AI coming out on top as the least environmentally punishing chatbot, while ChatGPT generates more than four grams of carbon per prompt.

The pair then move on to an alarming week of cyber incidents impacting Australian organisations, from the superannuation hacks that saw both data and retirement funds compromised, Western Sydney University admitting that the data of 10,000 students had been accessed by a hacker, and The Fullerton Hotel Sydney confirming it had been the victim of a ransomware attack last month.

Hollingworth and Croft wrap things with a discussion of the impact of AI-based threats that could impact the Australian election, lessons learned from last year's US election from SentinelOne's Chris Krebs, and the news that Krebs earned the ire of the US President and having his security clearance removed.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Uncut team

In this episode of the Defence Connect podcast, hosts Steve Kuper and Rob Dougherty discuss fall out from Avalon 2025, budget week and the federal election.

The pair discuss:

• The industry sentiment, rumours and scuttlebutt heard around the traps of the 2025 Avalon Airshow and Exhibition.
• The lacklustre defence spending commitment by the government announced during the federal budget.
• The tight-lipped, coy response from the opposition and its plans for the nation's defence spending.
• Priorities and focus points for defence and national security in the election campaign.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Defence Connect Team

In this episode of the Defence Connect Spotlight podcast, Dr Andreas Schwer, managing director and chief executive of Electro Optic Systems, joins host Liam Garman to discuss modern counter drone systems including high-energy laser systems and remote weapons stations.

• The pair begin the podcast with the success of EOS' Slinger weapons system, particularly in Ukraine, where it can connect with radar and automatically engage drone targets in seconds.
• Schwer then turns to high energy laser systems as a solution to drone swarms, as they can reduce the cost of an engagement to just $1 and automatically destroy up to 20 drones a minute.
• They then turn to the future of drone and counter-drone warfare, and how this rapidly evolving area is requiring a rethink to business as usual – including the need for kinetic capabilities to bolster electronic warfare as an increasing number of drones contain onboard computing and AI.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Defence Connect team

In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, David Hollingworth and Daniel Croft discuss local hacks and the rise of a whole new ransomware evolution. Clayton Utz's Brenton Steenkamp and Debevoise & Plimpton's Luke Dembosky also join in to talk about executive risk and governance.

• Hollingworth and Croft kick things off with a discussion of a fascinating example of data exposure involving a major Australian taxi company and catch up on the local threat landscape.
• The pair then talk about the continuing fallout of a very unserious Trump administration and how one of the most important officials serving the White House is using his personal email for important government business.
• Finally, Hollingworth welcomes two guests to the podcast. Luke Dembosky has been a US federal prosecutor, diplomat in Moscow, and Department of Justice deputy chief. Alongside Clayton Utz partner Brenton Steenkamp, the trio explore emerging executive risks and the challenges of the modern cyber security landscape

Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Uncut team

In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, hosts Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson and Phil Tarrant discuss the heroic actions of Australian soldiers in World War II, before turning to the big issues in the upcoming federal election.

• The pair begin the podcast discussing Joan Beaumont's book, Gull Force, and the treatment of Australian prisoners of war on the islands of Ambon and Hainan.
• They then discuss the role of Australia's Reserves in warfare, before unpacking the fundamental importance of seizing and holding ground in warfare.
• Thompson and Tarrant then turn to the upcoming federal election, unpacking some of the big issues facing Australian society, including housing policy and building forward-looking infrastructure for Australia's financial future.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Contested Ground team

In this episode of the Defence Connect Spotlight podcast, Advent Atum CEO Andy Wilson joins host Liam Garman to discuss how the company has helped the Armed Forces of Ukraine revolutionise their air defence capabilities.

The pair begin the podcast unpacking the evolution of Ukraine's air defence systems, and how Advent Atum is helping to automate the country's 60-year-old air defence capabilities.

Wilson then unpacks how the HORAS threat, detection and engagement system is automating the kill chain, including detecting, tracking and neutralising threats.

They wrap up the podcast examining how kinetic kill capabilities are increasingly important as drones can undertake onboard computation, thus mitigating the effectiveness of electronic warfare – and Advent Atum's upcoming product showcase in France.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Defence Connect team

In this episode of the Defence Connect Spotlight podcast, Dr Sanjay Mazumdar, executive director of Defence Trailblazer, joins host Liam Garman to unpack their new combat systems engineering micro-credentials.

• They begin the podcast by discussing the suite of six courses covering introductory studies to radar systems and C2 to C4ISREW, defence systems and mission engineering.
• Mazumdar then discussed why micro-credentials are fundamental for upskilling Australia's industrial base to support the Australian Defence Force and the journey to making the micro-credentials.
• The podcast wraps up by looking at the future vision for the combat systems engineering course, including developing an award-level qualification in combat systems engineering.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Defence Connect team

In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, Daniel Croft and David Hollingworth talk about the latest AI news, the week in cyber crime, an important Aussie merger, and how a Hollywood actor is reclaiming his identity.

The pair kick things off with some AI news, including Wikipedia woes, OpenAI's Atlas, and Yelp's new AI travel offering.

Hollingworth and Croft then move on to the latest in cyber crime on Australian shores, but not before exploring the merger of AUCyber and 5G Networks. Hollingworth also has an update on the Collins Aerospace hack, with the threat actor making some outrageous claims about what the company knew and when.

Finally, some good news, as actor Bryan Cranston wins a victory over OpenAI's use of his virtual likeness.

Enjoy the episode,
The Cyber Uncut team

In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, host David Hollingworth and journalist Daniel Croft talk about Apple backdoors, Facebook bans, the disastrous Signal chat that exposed the highest levels of the Trump administration as less than security-minded and how we report on exposed databases.

• Hollingworth and Croft get the ball rolling with a news wrap-up focusing on malware posing as Chinese chatbot DeepSeek, Papua New Guinea's new trial Facebook ban, and behind-closed-door deliberations on the UK's efforts to get a backdoor into Apple devices.
• After a short break, the pair get to the biggest story of the week – a leaked Signal chat between senior Trump administration officials that somehow had an American journalist added to the chat. Hollingworth and Croft talk about the security implications, the proper use of apps like Signal, and the alarming revelation that JD Vance may have been the smartest person in the room.
• To round things out for the week, Croft talks about a recent database exposure suffered by a popular Australian hardware chain, why reporting on data leaks and breaches can be a difficult thing to cover, and why not all data leaks are equal.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Uncut team.

In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, Raj Samani, senior vice president and chief scientist at Rapid 7, joins host Liam Garman to unpack how nation-state threats are actively targeting Australian organisations – and how we can proactively prepare for future attacks.

• They begin the podcast by looking at those groups that are most actively targeting Australian organisations and how their strategies are different from traditional cyber crime.
• Samani then unpacks some of the most common mistakes he sees from Australian organisations that are leaving them vulnerable to ransomware, before diving into the operating models of these threat actors, from negotiations and double extortion tactics.
• The pair then wrap up the podcast by looking at how companies can improve their post-breach response and resilience and the actionable steps they must take to stay ahead of emerging risks.

To listen to Samani's previous appearance on the Cyber Uncut podcast, click here.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Uncut team.

In this episode of the Defence Connect Spotlight podcast, James Moorhouse, director of wargaming at Atturra, joins host Liam Garman to explore the crucial role of wargaming in helping soldiers, sailors and aviators engage with the kill chain in a fail-safe environment.

Throughout the podcast, also available on YouTube, Moorhouse and Garman delve into how wargaming serves as a platform to experiment with various strategies in an educational and analytical setting.

Key discussion points include:

• The history of wargaming and how an investment during the Obama administration revolutionised military professionals' understanding of the kill chain.
• Moorhouse introduces Atturra's Battle Chess, a game designed to illustrate how capabilities can interact and influence one another in a domain-agnostic environment.
• The duo further explores how Battle Chess helps professionals understand the layering of capabilities, strategic conundrums and military dilemmas.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Defence Connect team

In this episode of the Defence Connect Spotlight podcast, Matt Martin, Senior Manager Business Development at CAE USA, joins host Liam Garman to discuss how Defence forces can drive proficiency in joint operations and how synthetic technologies underpin modern training environments.

• The podcast begins by discussing those critical skills that enable individuals, teams and units to become successful in joint operations.
• Martin then unpacks the benefits of synthetic training in mission rehearsal and operations, and the role of data and analytics in the modern training environment.
• They wrap up the podcast examining how live virtual-constructive training exercises can enhance interoperability and training for joint operations.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Defence Connect team

In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, 4walls founder and managing director Nik Devidas sat down with host Liam Garman to discuss the technological knowledge gap between company boards and strong cyber security and how 4walls is closing it.

• The podcast starts by outlining how boards can be overwhelmed with technical language and information when dealing with cyber security.
• The pair then discuss the concept of maintaining and updating an understanding of cyber security to keep up with an ever-evolving landscape.
• Speaking of a changing landscape, Devidas and Garman finish up by weighing up the impact of AI on the cyber security landscape and how organisations are adopting the technology without introducing protective controls.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Uncut team

In this episode of the Defence Connect Podcast, hosts Steve Kuper and Robert Dougherty explore the recent wave of international announcements, such as the Ukraine 30-day ceasefire, USA tariffs and Australia's future role in the global order.

The pair discuss a range of topics, including:

• The newly announced tariffs of 25 per cent on all imported steel and aluminium into the United States and Australia's absolute horror at not attaining an exemption.
• The continuing discussion regarding the US-led peace deal in Ukraine, Ukraine's acceptance of the US proposal and a look at US President Donald Trump's endgame for the negotiations and minerals remuneration.
• The global shifts in international power, the emerging "large over small country" global order and Australia's role in a new sphere of influence strategy.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Defence Connect team

In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, Aaron Bugal, field chief technology officer at Sophos, sits down with host Liam Garman to talk about the fight against ransomware, the growing threat to Australian businesses, and what can be done to tackle the problem.

The podcast opens with a discussion of ransomware trends and how cyber criminals choose their targets based on vulnerability and opportunity.

Bugal then expands on how AI is a tool both for malicious actors and cyber defenders and explains how Sophos is deploying AI to help businesses better protect themselves from an array of threats.

Garman and Bugal wrap up the podcast with some practical advice for Australian businesses and how they can prepare to face a critical cyber incident.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Uncut team

In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, hosts Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson, Phil Tarrant and Liam Garman unpack the risk of alliance abandonment in the face of moves from the White House and their implications for a changing Asia-Pacific region.

• The podcast begins with an analysis into how fears of alliance abandonment have led to renewed commitments to national security collaboration between European powers.
• They then unpack whether "deal making" is a strong enough consideration to overcome ideological and philosophical partnerships in the competition for global power.
• Dr Thompson, Tarrant and Garman wrap up the podcast looking at hedging and balancing strategies in the Indo-Pacific, and whether realpolitik will take centre stage as nations continuously manoeuvre their alliance structures.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Contested Ground team

In this episode of the Defence Connect Podcast, host Steve Kuper is joined by former secretary of home affairs, Mike Pezzullo, to unpack the precedent established by Beijing's naval taskforce circumnavigating Australia and how to deal with more in the future. 

The pair discuss a range of issues, including: 

• The government's response to, and the timeline behind the notice of the Chinese naval taskforce's live-fire training exercises in the Tasman Sea. 
• The tactical and strategic ramifications and shortfalls on display in the Australian Defence Force and government's response to the taskforce. 
• A suggested crash course program to rapidly accelerate Australia's level of tactical and strategic preparedness within the next term of Parliament. 

Enjoy the podcast,
The Defence Connect team

In this episode of the Defence Connect Spotlight podcast, host Steve Kuper is joined by Graeme Bick and Ray Bright of QinetiQ Australia and Chris White of Australian Maritime College to discuss the importance of test and evaluation in the era of autonomous systems.

The group discuss a range of timely matters, including:

• The experience and lessons gathered by QinetiQ and AMC in developing the policies, procedures and knowledge base through T&E across traditional defence platforms through to the advent and proliferation of autonomous systems.
• The history of the collaboration between QinetiQ and AMC and their history of advancing state-of-the-art T&E over a long period of time.
• The accelerating pace of technology, which has heightened Defence's emphasis on rapidly introducing new capabilities.
• The emergence of challenges and opportunities as a result of the integration of various military systems with increasingly complex AI-enabled autonomous systems.
• Balancing the need for faster testing while maintaining the same level of assurance remains a critical challenge.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Defence Connect team

In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, Daniel Croft and David Hollingworth touch on the latest in AI and how state governments are regulating its use, the Qantas leak and the 5 million people impacted, and we chat about major cyber attacks with SolarWinds CISO Tim Brown.

• Croft and Hollingworth begin by discussing the fight that CBA has ignited with the Finance Sector Union and former staff after they botched an AI rollout.
• The pair then discuss the massive Qantas hack, the 5 million people affected and the identity of the hackers behind it.
• The podcast then cuts to a chat between Hollingworth and SolarWinds' CISO, Tim Brown, who provides a deep insight as to what it's like being in the middle of a major cyber attack.
• Finally, the two discuss the social media age ban once again, with the government now having launched an education campaign.

Enjoy the episode,
The Cyber Uncut team

In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, host David Hollingworth and journalist Daniel Croft talk about AI in Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), a horrible week for Aussie healthcare organisations, and unspeakable deepfake videos.

• Hollingworth and Croft begin by catching up on a report from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute on the possible dangers posed by Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers adopting DeepSeek for in-car AI.
• The pair then run down the latest news in Australian cyber crime, with three healthcare organisations – including the fertility clinic Genea – getting targeted by hackers, and discuss the implications of medical data going public and the very real dangers it poses to patients.
• Then, to round out the week, Hollingworth and Croft try not to cry while talking about a ludicrous AI-generated video illustrating Donald Trump's holiday resort fantasy for Gaza and a horrifying deepfake of Trump and Elon Musk in an awkwardly intimate encounter.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Uncut team

In this episode of the Defence Connect Podcast, host Steve Kuper is joined by Andrew Hastie, shadow minister for defence, to discuss the government's response to the recent "gunboat" diplomacy by China.

The pair also discuss the following:

• Is the government trying to keep the Australian public calm by talking down the actions of the Chinese naval task force currently off the east coast of Australia?
• Does the Australian Defence Force have the tools and resources it needs to stand up to a great power adversary, particularly following the changes in posture and focus by the US government?
• What are the steps we need to take in order to make Australia less susceptible to coercion by a great power and build our resilience and make sure that Australia isn't compromised in the event of conflict in the region?

Enjoy the podcast,
The Defence Connect team

In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, host David Hollingworth and journalist Daniel Croft discuss the week that was with DeepSeek versus South Korea, the latest ransomware news, and two malware campaigns spreading their payloads via video games.

• Hollingworth and Croft open with what is becoming a regular chat about the trials and travails of Chinese AI DeepSeek, which this week violated South Korean data privacy laws. The pair also discuss Elon Musk's attempt to buy out OpenAI and his efforts to ban chat-up Signal on his X platform.
• Hollingworth then discusses how ransomware-as-a-service operations are driving a sharp increase in ransomware attacks. The pair then discuss some of the more alarming Australian hacks this week: the Australian National University and IVF clinic Genea.
• Finally, it's time to talk video games, with game distribution platform Steam pulling a game that was spreading an info stealer, and a seemingly Russian campaign that was installing crypto-mining malware via torrented games.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Uncut team

In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, host Liam Garman welcomes Cyber Daily's David Hollingworth, a cyber security expert and Cyber Uncut podcast host, to unpack the latest in hacking and cyber security in the new era of grey-zone warfare and nation-state cyber attacks.

They begin the podcast examining real world examples of warfare-motivated hacking, threat actors for hire, the impact of cyber threats and incidents for nations around the world.

They then discuss the differences between "smash-and-grab" ransomware attacks with persistent and embedded state-sponsored cyber attacks.

The podcast wraps up examining the increasing speed, accuracy and impact of cyber attacks on industry and government infrastructure across international lines.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Contested Ground team

In this episode of the Defence Connect Podcast, host Steve Kuper is joined by Jennifer Parker, expert associate at the National Security College - Australian National University and a former Navy officer, to discuss the future of the Royal Australian Navy's surface fleet.

The pair discuss the recent debate about the utility of small missile boats in the Australian context and their applicability for the Royal Australian Navy.

The pair also discuss:

• China's recent deployment of a surface action group, currently operating 150 nautical miles off the coast of Sydney, and the challenges the Royal Australian Navy currently faces in responding to these subtle provocations.
• The growing tensions in the Indo-Pacific and increasing competition in our region, placing mounting pressure on the RAN to secure Australia's critical sea lines of communication and maritime trade.
• What options and avenues are open for the next Australian government to rapidly increase the Navy's capability while avoiding the trap of "silver bullet" capabilities that may leave us with a lopsided force.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Defence Connect team

In this episode of the Defence Connect Spotlight podcast, James Digges, Strategy and Growth - Naval at CAE Australia, joins host Liam Garman to discuss Australia's need for operational readiness and how training is fundamental to achieving the objectives laid out in the National Defence Strategy.

• They begin the podcast unpacking how to enhance operational readiness and how training must keep pace with the demands of integrated multi-domain warfare.
• Digges then dives into the world of interoperability and interchangeability in the modern defence environment, and how to deliver consistent training standards to address compatibility issues and grow a larger force.
• The podcast wraps up looking into the integrated and networked training environment, and how improved training can overcome constraints experienced by modern defence forces.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Defence Connect Team

In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, host David Hollingworth talks about all the latest AI and cyber news with journalist Daniel Croft - more local ransomware attacks, more data breaches, and scams to watch out for.

• Hollingworth and Croft open once again with all the latest AI news, from more bans of the Chinese chatbot DeepSeek to Elon Musk and a whole bunch of venture capitalists wanting to buy OpenAI to Sam Altman's promise that AI will inevitably get cheaper over time.
• The pair then discuss the week of cyber attacks against Australian organisations. From medical imaging data of Aussies being posted to the dark web to a ransomware gang taking responsibility for hacking an Australian university, it's been a grim week in cyber crime.
• Finally, it's Valentine's Day, and scammers will be out in force, so Hollingworth runs through some common scams to watch out for. Croft then discusses a win for Australian investigators against a Russian hosting service facilitating hackers targeting local companies and individuals.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Uncut team

In this episode of the Defence Connect Podcast, hosts Steve Kuper, Robert Dougherty and Liam Garman unpack the latest developments on the global stage.

The trio discuss a range of topics including: 

• The fallout following new US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's trip to Europe and the prospects of a US shift away from Europe to focus on the Indo-Pacific. 
• Europe's declining national resilience and its dependence on the United States. 
• The likelihood of a US-led peace deal in Ukraine and revelations that both US and Russian presidents have committed to mutual visits and a de-escalation of the tensions between the two nations.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Defence Connect team

In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, host Liam Garman quizzes Cyber Daily's deputy editor, David Hollingworth, on geopolitics, cyber crime reporting, and the latest hacking news.

• Garman and Hollingworth begin with a discussion about DeepSeek and its geopolitical implications, as well as its biases and possible advantages over other GenAI products - and the fact that it probably cannot be trusted.
• Hollingworth then goes into a deep dive about cyber crime reporting: why it matters, how companies should include media response as part of their planning for attacks, and some of the ways companies can do better when handling that first phone call from a journalist planning on writing a story.
• The pair finish up by talking about North Korean hackers using LinkedIn to lure their victims into installing a swathe of malware and a general look at the state of cyber politics.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Uncut team

In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, hosts Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson, Liam Garman and Phil Tarrant unpack the latest in the AI race, and how the United States is seeking to use tariffs to regain the economic edge.

• They begin the podcast examining the DeepSeek phenomenon, why Nvidia share prices took a hit, and looking under the hood to see if the tech is as good as advertised.
• They then look at the recent threats and imposition of tariffs and how this will impact the US, and whether a strengthening US dollar is indicative of growing consumer optimism.
• The podcast wraps up examining the relationship between foreign aid and national security and moves in the US to suspend aid.

Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team

In this episode of the Defence Connect Podcast, senior journalist Robert Dougherty is joined by returning guest Heston Russell – a public speaker, author and former Australian Special Forces officer – to discuss the 2025 Veteran Games and the recent grand finals held on the Gold Coast (11 and 12 October).

Russell has previously served in 2nd Commando Regiment as a commando platoon commander, was deployed to four combat operational deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq, served in Iraq as a Special Operations joint lead planner within the Special Operations Joint Task Force and completed a year-long exchange within the United States Special Operations Command.

He holds a bachelor of arts from UNSW Sydney, majoring in history and Indonesian.

The pair discuss a range of issues, including:

• The finale of the 2025 Veteran Games Grand Finals in Queensland, course obstacles and the triumph of winning team Brisbane Veterans Rugby League Football Club.
• The newly signed defence agreement between Australia and Papua New Guinea, the possibility of up to 10,000 Papua New Guineans serving with the Australian Defence Force and the formation of the new Papua New Guinea Chiefs professional rugby team.
• The challenges in Australian Defence Force recruitment and what it takes for veterans to recommend their own journey as a career path to young people.
• Russell's thoughts about the "military fitness standards" speech delivered by US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to US generals and flag officers at Quantico in Virginia in September.
• The new era of drone warfare and Russell's personal experiences facing early drone and drone-dropped explosives during deployment in the Middle East.

They round out the podcast discussing the evolution of politics in Australia and potential for new political leadership from first responders and the veteran community.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Defence Connect team

In this episode of the Defence Connect Podcast, Steve Kuper, Robert Dougherty and Liam Garman unpack the fast moves and overall strategy being employed by the new US administration, led by returning US President, Donald Trump.

 

• The podcast commences with an analysis of the opening salvo of US tariffs on Canada, Mexico and Panama under America's new "carry a big stick" policy.
• Kuper, Dougherty and Garman then differentiate fact from fiction in the new US President's economic and international strategy.
• The podcast wraps up with a brief look on internal policies being undertaken, the border control in relation to national security and possible outcomes under Trump's reinstallation of the America first, last and always approach.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Defence Connect team

In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, hosts David Hollingworth and Daniel Croft look back on their week reporting on cyber crime in Australia and abroad.

• Croft opens the show with a round-up of the biggest story of the week - Chinese AI platform DeepSeek. From how it works, why it's trashed NVIDIA's stock, and the very real security concerns, DeepSeek is going to be a story for some time.
• Hollingworth then looks at the recent spate of ransomware posts made by the Clop gang - it promised last year that it had stolen a lot of data via vulnerabilities in Cleo's file transfer software, and over the weekend, the gang posted the details of 60 victims, including three Australian firms.
• Finally, after talking about the dangers of mistaken identity in cyber crime reporting, the pair talk about infamous hacker IntelBroker and his decision to retire from the role of admin on a popular hacking forum.

Enjoy the podcast, The Cyber Uncut team

As the global economy and political environment continue to become increasingly unpredictable, hosts Phil Tarrant, Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson and Liam Garman unpack what's in store for 2025 using diplomacy, information, military and economic (DIME) analysis. This podcast represents the second of two episodes, where the hosts provide insight into the latest military and economic events, and how they impact us at home in Australia.

• The trio begin examining the recent appointment of Pete Hegseth as the US Secretary of Defense and how the incoming administration will shape the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific.
• They then look at the global economy, and whether the US economy will undergo a resurgence with a strengthening US dollar and an ambition to reduce the government's $36 trillion debt.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Contested Ground team

In this episode of the Defence Connect Podcast, host Steve Kuper speaks with Rachel Falzon, founder and national president of the Women in Defence Association, to discuss the important role women play in boosting outcomes for defence and defence industry.

The pair also discuss: 

• Falzon's inspiration for launching the Women in Defence Association and the challenges facing women involved in boosting representation in Defence and defence industry.
• The rapid growth of the association and its ambition to engage with women across the nation who are interested in supporting national security.
• The benefits provided by boosting diversity across defence industry, in the boardroom and throughout the process regardless of the role.

Enjoy the Podcast, 
The Defence Connect team

In this episode of the Defence Connect Spotlight podcast, the team from Defence Connect travel to Victoria to sit down with Graeme Bulte, chief executive officer and founder of Aquaterro.

• They discuss developing a sovereign uniform and load carriage capability, and how Aquaterro is delivering for Defence and law enforcement.
• The podcast then turns to unpacking the latest innovations in small arms, in particular, the new innovative range of SIG Sauer weapons and how this will impact sovereign readiness and combat capability.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Defence Connect team

In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, hosts David Hollingworth and Daniel Croft look back on their week reporting on cyber crime in Australia and abroad.

• Croft and Hollingworth talk about a hack that really wasn't - the 2023 Dymocks data breach is commonly resold on hacking forums, and Croft has found another instance of an enterprising type trying to make money from a previous compromise, and it did not end well for them.
• Finally, the pair discuss how hacktivists crave publicity in return for very little actual hacking and Hewlett Packard Enterprise's (HPE) most recent investigation into another alleged data breach, before talking about the state of cyber crime reporting in the first month of 2025. Buckle in; it's going to be one heck of a year.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Uncut team

As the global economy and political environment continue to become increasingly unpredictable, hosts Phil Tarrant, Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson and Liam Garman unpack what's in store for 2025 using diplomacy, information, military and economic (DIME) analysis.

This podcast represents the first of two episodes, where the hosts provide insight into the latest diplomatic and information events, and how they impact us at home in Australia.

• The trio begin by examining the recent ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, and whether it will likely hold in the current environment.
• They then turn to the Ukraine War and Britain's 100-year pledge.
• They then look at the incoming White House's approach to TikTok, and whether information should be considered a military domain.

Stay tuned for the next episode, where the trio unpack military and economic power.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Contested Ground team

In this episode of the Defence Connect Podcast, senior journalist Robert Dougherty is joined by travellers and entrepreneurs Frank van der Linde and Kerry Leach.

The pair are the new owners of two decommissioned Royal Australian Navy minehunters - HMAS Norman and HMAS Hawkesbury.

The former military vessels have been towed more than 3,800 nautical miles from Newcastle, Australia, to Cebu, Philippines, as they prepare for a new lease on life as private superyachts.

The trio discuss:

• The origins of the two minehunter vessels, how the sale was completed and some complications along the way.
• The challenges of using former military equipment in the commercial industry and documenting their journey via the YouTube channel, Living the Oneironaut Life.
• The plans for the vessels and the construction efforts still to come.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Defence Connect team

In this episode of the Defence Connect podcast, host Steve Kuper is joined by the Honourable Matt Keogh MP, Minister for Defence Personnel and Veterans' Affairs, to discuss the latest developments shaping the Defence workforce.    Minister for Defence Personnel and Veterans' Affairs Matt Keogh MP to discuss the latest developments shaping the Defence workforce. 

The pair also discuss:

• The major milestones in the government's efforts to build the uniformed Defence workforce through 2024, including the release of the 2024 Defence Workforce Plan and Strategic Review of the Australian Defence Force Reserves.
• The key work done to overhaul Defence recruiting and ensure that the recruitment process is fit for the contemporary labour market and to the standards expected by Australian taxpayers.
• The life-long training and professional development opportunities available with a career in the Australian Defence Force, and the efforts being made to ensure that veterans have a seamless transition into the broader economy when they leave the ADF.

Enjoy the Podcast,
The Defence Connect team

In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, hosts David Hollingworth and Daniel Croft take yet another look back at a year of cyber incidents and talk about how 2024 saw incidents rise by almost half again. The pair also look at a hacktivist group targeting Australian websites, the still ongoing UnitedHealth saga, a dangerous hacking that may be on the horizon, and the latest in ransomware attacks on Australian organisations.

• Hollingworth and Croft kick off the chat with Check Point Software Technologies' look back at the year that was, with 2024 seeing 44 per cent more cyber incidents than the previous year. The pair talk about how that matches their expectations, from nation-state actors to hacktivists and, of course, ransomware and cyber crime.
• Croft then goes into his own investigations into the RipperSec hacktivist group, while Hollingworth looks into vulnerabilities impacting a popular firewall device that has been extensively exploited in the past and could well be about to be hacked en masse again.
• Finally, Croft looks at the latest chapter in the UnitedHealth hack from last year and some rather disturbing allegations that the giant insurance company is not entirely being above board with its reporting. The pair then look back at the week that just passed and the nearly half-dozen ransomware attacks targeting organisations in the ANZ region. It's been a busy start to the year.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Uncut team

In this episode of the Defence Connect Spotlight podcast, host Steve Kuper is joined by Tony Rogers, Brian Weinstein and Scott Keane of Stantec to discuss the role and importance of naval infrastructure to modern navies.

The group discuss a range of subjects including:

• The global pressures being felt by contemporary Western naval infrastructure and the growing demands placed on physical infrastructure to support increasingly capable navy surface and submarine fleets.
• The importance of not just building for the now but for the future, citing the examples of American naval infrastructure dating back to the earliest days of the republic to next-generation naval infrastructure currently under construction at Pearl Harbor.
• The lessons Australia can learn from America's shipbuilding and naval renaissance when it comes to designing and developing our own naval infrastructure requirements.
• The importance of ensuring that the nation has a reliable pipeline of trained and qualified workers, not just to build the ships and submarines of the Royal Australian Navy, but also to maintain, sustain and upgrade them well into the future.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Defence Connect team

How might the recent threat from US President-elect Donald Trump impact practitioners in this space?

In this recent crossover episode of the Contested Ground podcast, Jerome Doraisamy, editor of Lawyers Weekly, sat down with The Shipping Lawyer, Alison Cusack, to discuss the shipping law landscape in 2024 and what was learnt from that year, the recent threat from Donald Trump to take back control of the Panama Canal and the history of the canal (and lessons from the Suez Canal experience).

Cusack also discusses the frequency with which shipping lawyers have to adapt to geopolitical shifts and navigate client expectations.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Contested Ground team

In this episode of the Defence Connect Spotlight podcast, Liam Catterson, business development manager Integrated Air and Missile Defence Lead, Rotary and Mission Systems at Lockheed Martin Australia, joins host Liam Garman to lift the hood on AIR 6500.

• The two Liams begin the podcast discussing how the Joint Air Battle Management System (JABMS), AIR 6500 Phase 1, will protect Australia's shores and what's been delivered on AIR 6500 to date.
• They then unpack how Australian industry capability fits into AIR 6500 and the benefits that it will offer the Australian Defence Force.
• The pair then turn to what next-generation technologies the JABMS will utilise to provide air and missile defence to the Australian Defence Force, and what the end game looks like.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Defence Connect team

In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, hosts David Hollingworth and Daniel Croft wonder if they can fill a podcast with just four days of news in the new year, and of course, they can. From a hacker with a habit of going after big political targets to some of the big numbers of the previous year to geopolitics and terrorist data breaches, 2025 has kicked off with a bang.

• Hollingworth starts things off with notorious hacker Natohub's latest exploits – leaking the recruitment data of around 42,000 recruitment forms belonging to the United Nations' International Civil Aviation Organization. It's far from the hacker's first rodeo, so Hollingworth and Croft go over some of past exploits as well.
• Croft talks up the curious case of the hacker who managed to breach the terrorist organisation ISIS. Meanwhile, Hollingworth goes over some cyber incident statistics from 2024, including the fact that Europe was the most hacked region on the planet, mostly driven by the war in Ukraine. The pair also discuss a Ukrainian success story following the total disruption of a Russian ISP by Ukrainian hackers.
• The pair round things up with a playful look at a recent case of the European Union fining itself over a GDPR violation, and some exciting news for the Cyber Daily website.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Cyber Uncut team