Privacy Please

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.

Privacy Please is a news podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 280 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Unknown Host hosts Privacy Please, a news show with 280 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Privacy Please

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

  Sep 28, 202630 min

  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

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  Privacy Please

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

  Sep 11, 202611 min

  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

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  Privacy Please

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

  Jul 17, 202610 min

  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

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  Privacy Please

  S7, E274 - Your Password Is Already For Sale

  Jun 29, 202615 min

  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

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  Privacy Please

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

  Jun 4, 202624 min

  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

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