S8:E4 - A Surge In Hacks Against Russia, Privacy Concerns With Mental Health Apps, and Lego’s Big Move Into the Digital Space

In this episode, we talk about Lego expanding its online ambitions and its plans to triple the number of software engineers on staff. Then we’ll speak with Joseph Menn, author of the book, Cult of the Dead Cow, and technology reporter at The Washington Post, about a piece he wrote titled, “Hacking Russia was off-limits. The Ukraine war made it a free-for-all.” Finally, we’ll speak with Jen Caltrider, who leads Mozilla’s Privacy Not Included guide, about their research which found that the vast majority of mental health and prayer apps are severely lacking in privacy protections.

Show Notes

• DevDiscuss (sponsor)
• CodeNewbie (sponsor)
• Avalanche (sponsor)
• Lego to expand online ambitions by tripling total of software engineers
• Hacking Russia was off-limits. The Ukraine war made it a free-for-all.
• Cult of the Dead Cow: How the Original Hacking Supergroup Might Just Save the World
• *Privacy Not Included: Mental Health Apps

Joseph Menn

Joseph Menn is a security journalist for more than two decades, Joseph Menn is the author of the bestseller "Cult of the Dead Cow: How the Original Hacking Supergroup Might Just Save the World," named one of the 10 best nonfiction works of the year by Hudson Booksellers as well as one of the five cybersecurity books everyone should read by the Wall Street Journal. His previous book “Fatal System Error” was the first journalism tying Russian intelligence to organized criminal hacking groups.

Jen Caltrider

Jen Caltrider is just your average do-gooder privacy nerd. She lives on a mountain in Colorado with her wife, four dogs, and one cat. When she's not reading privacy policies she's probably reading something much more interesting like fantasy or crime thrillers. She loves technology even if she dreams daily of owning a farm and never logging onto a computer ever again.