Cyberattacks have played a significant role in the war in Ukraine. Officials in Washington and Kyiv have blamed Russian hackers for targeting satellite systems and using digital assaults to execute disinformation and psychological warfare campaigns. Victor Zhora, the deputy chairman of the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine, is actively involved in defending against those attacks and talks to Safe Mode about the evolution of cyberwar in Ukraine. CyberScoop reporter AJ Vicens also joins the show to talk about his reporting on the cybercrime underworld and hacker forums such as BreachForums.

Victor Zhora on the frontlines of digital war between Ukraine and Russia

A growing industry exists today that provides governments with highly advanced tools to surveil their opponents. While this industry has become personified by Israel’s NSO Group, it in fact goes far beyond this one firm. The commercial spyware industry is growing rapidly, posing major human rights concerns and exposing dissidents, journalists and members of civil society to highly intrusive surveillance. Rasha Abdul Rahim leads Amnesty Tech, an organization that is on the front lines of documenting how spyware is being abused, and sits down with host Elias Groll to discuss her work. FedScoop reporter Rebecca Heilweil also joins the show to discuss how the U.S. government hopes its supercomputers can be put to work in the AI revolution.

Supercomputers for AI and the proliferation of commercial spyware

Safe Mode Podcast

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