Cyber Confessions with Cybersecurity Girl

In this episode of Cyber Confessions, host Caitlin Sarian (Cybersecurity Girl) sits down with Tito Sestito, CEO and Co-Founder of HiddenLayer. Tito shares a "no sleep" story from the early days of starting the company: a high-stakes crisis where threat actors reverse-engineered AI models and sold them on the dark web.
We also explore the bizarre side of cyber history—from 2005-era hackers who forced victims to pass environmental quizzes to unlock their data , to modern risks where AI is given the authority to act as a human being.
Inside this episode:
The AI Reverse-Engineering Crisis: Tito’s account of the four-month mission to put out an AI-driven fire.

Quizzes for Ransom: The "hilarious" historical era where multi-billion dollar companies couldn't access their data until they passed a cybersecurity test.

The $1 Car Hack: How a professional red teaming engagement tricked an AI chatbot into selling a car for $1.

The "Dirty Laundry" Rule: Why you should never tell an AI anything you wouldn’t want a federal agent or the public to know.

AI and the Future of Work: Why Tito believes 9% of the US workforce, specifically drivers, face immediate risk from AI displacement.

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In this episode of Cyber Confessions, host Caitlin Sarian (Cybersecurity Girl) sits down with Andy Piazza, Senior Director of Threat Intelligence at Palo Alto Networks Unit 42. Andy reveals how the most sophisticated technical security in the world was outsmarted by a simple human "vibe check."
We dive into a shocking Business Email Compromise (BEC) story where a fraudulent banking transfer was stopped not by a firewall, but because a friend’s email tone was missing its usual "bubbly" energy and signature emojis.
Inside this episode:
The "Bubbly" Red Flag: How human intuition caught a scam that security tools missed.

North Korean Infiltration: The reality of "Wage Mold," where nation-state operators are getting hired as remote IT workers inside Western companies.

The Danger of "Vibe Coding": Why rushing to build apps with AI is creating massive security holes.

Jailbreaking LLMs: How scammers trick AI into dumping sensitive customer data.

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In this episode of Cyber Confessions, host Caitlin Sarian talks with Fergus Hay, Co-Founder and CEO of The Hacking Games. Fergus shares surprising stories about how many modern hackers are actually kids, not adults in faraway countries. He explains how gaming platforms often become the first place young people discover exploits, build skills, and sometimes cross lines they do not fully understand.

Fergus highlights real examples, from a twelve-year-old exploiting Roblox to another twelve-year-old who hacked Microsoft and ended up with a custom bug bounty program. He also explains how The Hacking Games works to guide this talent toward ethical hacking and safer futures.
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