In this episode, we break down Whisper Leak, a newly disclosed side-channel issue affecting encrypted LLM communications. JBO explains how attackers can infer conversation topics using packet size and timing metadata without breaking encryption. The discussion covers how the research team discovered the issue, how vendors (including Microsoft and OpenAI) mitigated it, and what it means for the future of secure AI systems.

01:30 – What Whisper Leak Actually Is 02:30 – Understanding Side-Channel Attacks 04:00 – Why LLMs Are Uniquely Vulnerable 08:00 – Stream Ciphers vs Block Ciphers 13:30 – “Did You Break Encryption?” Clearing Up Misconceptions 16:00 – Fixes & Mitigations Across LLM Vendors 18:30 – Why Some Vendors Were More Vulnerable Than Others 20:00 – Could High-End Adversaries Still Pull This Off? 24:00 – How API Users Can Protect Themselves 25:00 – Designing LLM Systems with Side Channels in Mind

Guests: Jonathan (JBO) Bar Or, Principal Security Researcher, Microsoft Threat Intelligence, who just joined CrowdStrike

Hosts: Elliot Volkman & Neal Dennis

In this episode of Adopting Zero Trust, hosts Elliot Volkman and Neal Dennis discuss critical infrastructure security with expert guest Ian Branson, Vice President of Global Industrial Cybersecurity at Black and Veatch.

The discussion centers around the philosophical and strategic approaches to handling incidents and breaches, especially in the operational technology (OT) realm. Branson highlights the importance of understanding what needs protection, the integration of IT and OT security, and the crucial role of threat intelligence. They also explore the evolving need for converging physical and digital security data to manage risks effectively.

01:37 Starting Point for Protecting Critical Infrastructure

04:52 Funding and Resource Allocation for Cybersecurity

10:57 Threat Intelligence and Incident Response

16:25 IT and OT Convergence

23:47 Discussing Employee and Equipment Management

26:19 Integrating Physical and Cyber Security

34:39 Proactive Security Measures in New Constructions

40:46 Balancing Rapid Response and Availability

In this episode of Adoption Zero Trust (AZT), host Neal Dennis and producer Elliot Volkman sit down with Bradon Rogers, Chief Customer Officer at Island, to discuss how AI is compounding the already existing problems tied to shadow IT. The conversation explores how modern enterprises handle the growing complexities of unregulated software use, the role of enterprise browsers in mitigating risks, and the dynamic between user experience and cybersecurity.

01:16 Shadows within shadows

04:15 AI in Approved Solutions

09:14 Enterprise Browser and Security

14:25 Transition to Browser-Based Applications

16:23 Enterprise Browser Capabilities

18:45 Data Protection and Shadow IT

24:39 Shepherding Data in the Enterprise Browser

25:17 Policy Perspectives on AI and Data Flow

28:16 Exploring SBOM and AI Integration

35:39 Browser Security and Application Boundaries

41:40 BYOD and Privacy Concerns

44:48 Third-Party Scenarios and Onboarding