Risky Bulletin Podcast
September 03, 2026
Srsly Risky Biz: China's botnets are worth disrupting
Presented by
Technology Editor
Policy & Intelligence
Tom Uren and James Wilson talk about China’s long-term shift to getting private companies to build botnets for cyberespionage. A disruption effort from the US this week is good news, but China has been using these networks for a surprisingly long time and will rebuild.
They also discuss a hack at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). It looks like the Qilin ransomware group might have stolen data from the ATF’s CALEA, or lawful intercept system. That’s a big deal!
Finally, they discuss efforts to fix US water sector security. Sprinkling free tools on the problem will have limited impact.
This episode is also available on YouTube
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