The Security Distillery Podcast

The Security Distillery

The Security Distillery is an initiative from students for students. We aim to turn complex issues into simple matters in order to provide quality, accessible information for students and researchers. Find here the podcasts produced by the student-ran think tank around different thematic series: The Intelligence Espresso, Drone Warfare, Cyberdistillery..and so on! More information and content at: https://thesecuritydistillery.org Contact us at: information@thesecuritydistillery.org Want to contribute to a podcast, an article or organise an event with The Security Distillery Reach out to us on social media (@thesecuritydistillery) or via email (information@thesecuritydistillery.org).

  1. Mar 2

    Cyberdistillery - Episode 5: Troll Farms in the MENA region with Dr. Marina Ayeb

    In the last episode of Cyberdistillery, Giuditta and Andrea talk with Dr. Marina Ayeb about her research on computational propaganda and troll farms in the Middle East, understood through the lens of labour studies as real workplaces. First, Marina takes us through the history and origins of troll farms and computational propaganda, touching on the 2016 U.S. Presidential Elections, Brexit, and WikiLeaks. Then she tells us how she and Tiziano Bonini managed to access Middle Eastern troll farms to conduct research on these “black boxes,” which were revealed to be highly organised, hierarchical places. Troll farm worker profiles differed across her research: trolls in Tunisia, Egypt, and Iraq were motivated by economic reasons and faced high psychological and moral costs in their jobs, while Iranian trolls were driven by ideology and patriotism. She concludes that the most unexpected and interesting finding of her research was how human the work of computational propaganda in the Middle East is: what emerged from their interviews was that behind a cyber troll, there were real humans with ambitions, doubts, and daily ethical struggles for being responsible for influencing the opinion of millions of people. At the end of the episode, we discuss the gender aspect of Middle Eastern troll farms, and Marina shares insights into her future research. Marina’s publication: Ayeb, M., & Bonini, T. (2024). “It Was Very Hard for Me to Keep Doing That Job”: Understanding Troll Farm’s Working in the Arab World. Social Media + Society, 10(1). Find out more about the Security Distillery and follow us on Social Media: https://linktr.ee/thesecuritydistillery For enquiries and feedback, contact us at: information@thesecuritydistillery.org Hosts: Andrea Bussini, Giuditta Fiori Editor: Andrea Bussini

    Cyberdistillery - Episode 5: Troll Farms in the MENA region with Dr. Marina Ayeb
  2. 11/20/2025

    Cyberdistillery - Episode 3, Part 1: Cybersecurity of the Healthcare Sector with Maria Vittoria Zucca

    In this first part of the third episode of Cyberdistillery, Giuditta and Andrea discuss with Maria Vittoria Zucca - a PhD candidate in the National PhD program in Cybersecurity, led by the IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca - about cybersecurity in the healthcare system, specifically the Italian one.  Treating the healthcare system as a “cyber-patient”, Maria Vittoria identifies the main symptoms of hospitals in the cybersecurity domain, that is to say, their principal vulnerabilities; for instance, the uncontrolled circulation of data, the technological backwardness, and the fragile cybersecurity culture in (Italian) hospitals, among many others.  Moreover, after identifying the symptoms, Maria Vittoria provides a “cyber-diagnosis” of the most dangerous cyber threats to the healthcare sector, pinpointing the primary targets of malicious cyber actors within healthcare systems, including data, infrastructure, and medical devices. She also touches on the risks associated with AI.  In the next episode, part 2, Giuditta, Andrea, and Maria Vittoria will address the other two crucial steps in the cyber-medical analysis of healthcare systems: treatment and prognosis.  Maria Vittoria’s publication referred to in this episode: ZUCCA, M.V. (2025) Cyber(in)sicurezza in sanità: un ponte comunicativo tra medicina, informatica e diritto. BioLaw Journal - Rivista di BioDiritto, 1, pp. 291–303. Find out more about the Security Distillery and follow us on Social Media: https://linktr.ee/thesecuritydistillery For enquiries and feedback, contact us at: information@thesecuritydistillery.org Hosts: Andrea Bussini, Giuditta Fiori Editor: Andrea Bussini

    Cyberdistillery - Episode 3, Part 1: Cybersecurity of the Healthcare Sector with Maria Vittoria Zucca

About

The Security Distillery is an initiative from students for students. We aim to turn complex issues into simple matters in order to provide quality, accessible information for students and researchers. Find here the podcasts produced by the student-ran think tank around different thematic series: The Intelligence Espresso, Drone Warfare, Cyberdistillery..and so on! More information and content at: https://thesecuritydistillery.org Contact us at: information@thesecuritydistillery.org Want to contribute to a podcast, an article or organise an event with The Security Distillery Reach out to us on social media (@thesecuritydistillery) or via email (information@thesecuritydistillery.org).