Serious discussions this week as Christina & Rory look more closely at how a combination of physical and digital threats are bringing the effects of the conflict in the Middle East home to people across a wide region. Datacenter outages, AI-powered targeting and large-scale hacktivist attacks outline the heightened vulnerability of critical infrastructure.

AWS UAE data center hit by outage following military strikes across the region

Iran war heralds era of AI-powered bombing quicker than ‘speed of thought’

Iran Cyber Front: Hacktivist Activity Rises, but State-Sponsored Attacks Stay Low

As War Continues, Pro-Iranian Actors Launch Barrage of Cyberattacks

AI NEWS

GenAI content spawns a new acronym

Microsoft gets pissed at new AI term - I wonder why?

AI Agent scans GitHub for exploitable Actions - asks for crypto

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SpeakPipe link - https://www.speakpipe.com/Cyber_Sidekicks

Or, send us an email:

• Christina Richmond – christina@richmondadvisorygroup.com
• Rory Duncan – rory@richmondadvisorygroup.com

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Technology we use

• Podcast Recording Platform – Cleanfeed.com
• Cyber Sidekicks Show Host – Podbean.com
• Edited & mastered in GarageBand

This week we discuss some of the trends, new directions and common approaches of some of this year's RSAC 2026 Innovation Sandbox Finalists! We also cover the latest M&A News: Palo Alto Networks announcing their intention to buy AI endpoint security platform Koi; the pitfalls of using an AI-generated random password (hint: they're not actually unique or necessarily secure...), and; the latest threat from LLM "distillation".....

NEWS

Palo Alto Networks to Acquire Koi in Reported $400 Million Transaction

Your AI-generated password isn't random: it just looks that way

Detecting & Preventing Distillation Attacks

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Want to leave some feedback and suggestions but would prefer not to write an email? You can leave us a voicemail (90 seconds max). We will share any that are not too spicy in the following episode.

SpeakPipe link - https://www.speakpipe.com/Cyber_Sidekicks

Or, send us an email:

• Christina Richmond – christina@richmondadvisorygroup.com
• Rory Duncan – rory@richmondadvisorygroup.com

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Technology we use

• Podcast Recording Platform – Cleanfeed.com
• Cyber Sidekicks Show Host – Podbean.com
• Edited & mastered in GarageBand

In the run-up to RSAC 2026 we have the first of a series of shows highlighting some of the new and innovative cybersecurity firms in the event's Innovation Sandbox Top 10 Final. This week, Christina & Rory chat with Hanah-Marie Darley, Chief AI Officer at Geordie.ai about how to govern AI agents by deeply understanding what they are capable of, their behaviour, and how to manage and govern them through the context that they are operating in, on a minute-by-minute basis.

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Want to leave some feedback and suggestions but would prefer not to write an email? You can leave us a voicemail (90 seconds max). We will share any that are not too spicy in the following episode.

SpeakPipe link - https://www.speakpipe.com/Cyber_Sidekicks

Or, send us an email:

• Christina Richmond – christina@richmondadvisorygroup.com
• Rory Duncan – rory@richmondadvisorygroup.com

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Technology we use

• Podcast Recording Platform – Cleanfeed.com
• Cyber Sidekicks Show Host – Podbean.com
• Edited & mastered in GarageBand

Another week, another acquisition? This time, Sophos is front-and-centre with the announcement that it intends to purchase UK-based Arco Cyber in a move that the company says will help customers by combining agentic AI, integrated platforms, and trusted human expertise delivered in partnership with managed service providers (MSPs) and managed security service providers (MSSPs).

We also have a great chat with cybersecurity community activist, semi-retired industry analyst, consultant, and board member Jon Oltsik about SOAPA - stay tuned for more content around this architecture/framework!

NEWS

Sophos to acquire Arco Cyber “to Bring CISO-Level, Agentic AI-Powered Expertise to Every Organization”

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Want to leave some feedback and suggestions but would prefer not to write an email? You can leave us a voicemail (90 seconds max). We will share any that are not too spicy in the following episode.

SpeakPipe link - https://www.speakpipe.com/Cyber_Sidekicks

Or, send us an email:

• Christina Richmond – christina@richmondadvisorygroup.com
• Rory Duncan – rory@richmondadvisorygroup.com

Subscribe to our Newsletter - "Signal, not noise" Our monthly newsletter is free to subscribers! Sign-up now at Richmond Advisory Group.

Technology we use

• Podcast Recording Platform – Cleanfeed.com
• Cyber Sidekicks Show Host – Podbean.com
• Edited & mastered in GarageBand

This week, Christina & Rory discuss Moltbook: the social network built for AI agents - but what are the security implications, and how could attackers take advantage of potential vulnerabilities? Also, more AI-fuelled attacks on AWS' S3 public buckets make credential finding much quicker, and an update on how Poland's cybersecurity police are cracking down on the increase in domestic hacking and DDoS / botnet crime!

NEWS

Security Analysis of Moltbook Agent Network: Bot-to-Bot Prompt Injection and Data Leaks

8-Minute Access: AI Accelerates Breach of AWS Environment

Polish cops bail 20-year-old bedroom botnet operator

RSAC 2026

The preparations have started! Let us know what you would like to see covered on our special Show Episode at the end of March.

We recorded a fun episode with IBM in 2025 - take a look at the video on our YouTube channel.

Leave us a message!

Want to leave some feedback and suggestions but would prefer not to write an email? You can leave us a voicemail (90 seconds max). We will share any that are not too spicy in the following episode.

SpeakPipe link - https://www.speakpipe.com/Cyber_Sidekicks

Or, send us an email:

• Christina Richmond – christina@richmondadvisorygroup.com
• Rory Duncan – rory@richmondadvisorygroup.com

Subscribe to our Newsletter - "Signal, not noise" Our monthly newsletter is free to subscribers! Sign-up now at Richmond Advisory Group.

Technology we use

• Podcast Recording Platform – Cleanfeed.com
• Cyber Sidekicks Show Host – Podbean.com
• Edited & mastered in GarageBand

Another big announcement this week as LevelBlue signs a strategic alliance with Fortra, marking a partnership that will benefit from a combined product + services play. As part of the deal, LevelBlue will acquire Fortra's managed services - including those of the former Alert Logic acquisition - covering MDR, XDR & WAF.

NEWS

LevelBlue and Fortra Launch Strategic Managed Services Partnership to Accelerate Cybersecurity Innovation

PwC and Google Cloud Ink $400 Million Deal to Scale AI-Powered Defense

Sandworm Blamed for Wiper Attack on Poland Power Grid

Ed Martin of Sophos was due to join is this week but couldn't make it. However, we hope to have him on next week!

Leave us a message!

Want to leave some feedback and suggestions but would prefer not to write an email? You can leave us a voicemail (90 seconds max). We will share any that are not too spicy in the following episode.

SpeakPipe link - https://www.speakpipe.com/Cyber_Sidekicks

Or, send us an email:

• Christina Richmond – christina@richmondadvisorygroup.com
• Rory Duncan – rory@richmondadvisorygroup.com

Subscribe to our Newsletter - "Signal, not noise" Our monthly newsletter is free to subscribers! Sign-up now at Richmond Advisory Group.

Technology we use

• Podcast Recording Platform – Cleanfeed.com
• Cyber Sidekicks Show Host – Podbean.com
• Edited & mastered in GarageBand

This week we have an extended discussion with Ryan LaSalle, CEO of Nisos on the topic of digital executive protection and "exhaust" management. Ryan also joins our chat about the announcement of ChatGPT Health and what the security implications of sharing personal, medical information might be....

NEWS

Analysis of 6 Billion Passwords Shows Stagnant User Behavior

ChatGPT Health Raises Big Security, Safety Concerns

Goldman's profit beats on record stock trading, sees robust M&A activity in 2026

Leave us a message!

Want to leave some feedback and suggestions but would prefer not to write an email? You can leave us a voicemail (90 seconds max). We will share any that are not too spicy in the following episode.

SpeakPipe link - https://www.speakpipe.com/Cyber_Sidekicks

Or, send us an email:

• Christina Richmond – christina@richmondadvisorygroup.com
• Rory Duncan – rory@richmondadvisorygroup.com

Subscribe to our Newsletter - "Signal, not noise" Our monthly newsletter is free to subscribers! Sign-up now at Richmond Advisory Group.

Technology we use

• Podcast Recording Platform – Cleanfeed.com
• Cyber Sidekicks Show Host – Podbean.com
• Edited & mastered in GarageBand

An M&A focused episode this week as CrowdStrike announces it intends to purchase identity security vendor SGNL, as well as browser runtime security vendor Seraphic Security - moves designed to beef-up it's Falcon platform, enhancing its capabilities for continuous authorization, and protecting in-session browser activity for both human and autonomous identities. Christina & Rory discuss the implications for CrowdStrike and what it means for the wider industry.

NEWS

CrowdStrike to Acquire SGNL to Secure Every Identity in the AI Era

CrowdStrike to Acquire Seraphic, Turning Any Browser into a Secure Enterprise Browser

WitnessAI Raises $58 Million for AI Security Platform

'Most Severe AI Vulnerability to Date' Hits ServiceNow

Leave us a message!

Want to leave some feedback and suggestions but would prefer not to write an email? You can leave us a voicemail (90 seconds max). We will share any that are not too spicy in the following episode.

SpeakPipe link - https://www.speakpipe.com/Cyber_Sidekicks

Or, send us an email:

• Christina Richmond – christina@richmondadvisorygroup.com
• Rory Duncan – rory@richmondadvisorygroup.com

Subscribe to our Newsletter - "Signal, not noise" Our monthly newsletter is free to subscribers! Sign-up now at Richmond Advisory Group.

Technology we use

• Podcast Recording Platform – Cleanfeed.com
• Cyber Sidekicks Show Host – Podbean.com
• Edited & mastered in GarageBand