The Security Distillery Podcast

In the last episode of Cyberdistillery, Giuditta and Andrea talk with Dr. Marina Ayeb about her research on computational propaganda and troll farms in the Middle East, understood through the lens of labour studies as real workplaces. First, Marina takes us through the history and origins of troll farms and computational propaganda, touching on the 2016 U.S. Presidential Elections, Brexit, and Wik...

In this episode of Cyberdistillery, Giuditta and Andrea explore the human factor in cybersecurity with Erlend Andreas Gjære, co-founder and CEO of Secure Practice, and creator of SheSpeaksCyber. Erlend emphasises that security is about people and processes, not just technology. Moreover, he discusses the importance of storytelling to make abstract threats tangible, scalable training for leade...

In this second part of the third episode of Cyberdistillery, Giuditta and Andrea, joined by Maria Vittoria Zucca - a PhD candidate in the National Italian PhD program Cybersecurity, led by the IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca - continue the "cyber-medical analysis” of the (Italian) healthcare sector.  Maria Vittoria takes us through the “therapy” that needs to be carried out to strengthe...

In this first part of the third episode of Cyberdistillery, Giuditta and Andrea discuss with Maria Vittoria Zucca - a PhD candidate in the National PhD program in Cybersecurity, led by the IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca - about cybersecurity in the healthcare system, specifically the Italian one.  Treating the healthcare system as a “cyber-patient”, Maria Vittoria identifies the main s...

In the second episode of Cyberdistillery, Giuditta and Andrea discuss with Ayah Tharwat, a University of Luxembourg PhD student, about the impact of psychological distance on the disclosure of sensitive company information when using GenAI tools, specifically ChatGPT.  The conversation builds on Ayah’s academic research at the University of Luxembourg, where she has reflected on how employees...

In this first episode of the new podcast series Cyberdistillery, Andrea Bussini introduces our new co-host Giuditta Fiori , Women4Cyber Italia Youth Ambassador 2025. Giuditta describes what is like to be part of Women4Cyber the goals of the organisation and their vision for the future. Moreover, they touch upon the importance of integrating women in the development of Large Language Models (LLMs)....

One month after the Annual Cimic Foresight Conference 2025, the Security Distillery Team reflects on their experience at the CCOE. Giuditta, Andrea, and Flavio discuss about the sessions they have taken part in. Furthermore, they debate on how their understanding of CIMIC has changed after the Conference. Photo credits: liveillustration.co.uk Find out more about the Security Distillery and follow...

In this special episode of our podcast, Andrea and Alberto have the pleasure to announce that the Security Distillery will attend and cover through our social media the Annual Cimic Foresight Conference 2025, “From Foresight to Action: Evolving CIMIC Capabilities”, which is organised by the CCOE, the Civil-Military Cooperation NATO Centre of Excellence. They introduce the theme of this year’s Fore...

In the aftermath of what appears to be an intentional Russian incursion in Polish airspace with drones, Mathéo and Andrea talk about what happened and discuss the implications of this event for NATO, what the future may have in store for NATO countries and how to deal with the increasing pressure from the Russian Federation. Photo credits: a photograph posted on social media showing a damaged dron...

In this episode, Mathéo and Andrea address the latest developments of drone usage in Ukraine, amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. Mathéo describes the different typologies of drones that are currently being employed in the conflict, with a particular focus on FPVs, discussing strategic and military implications of their usage in Ukraine. On the other hand, Andrea delves into legal,...

In this Special Episode, Flavio and Oscar have the pleasure to interview Matthias Spielkamp, Founder and Executive Director of AlgorithmWatch, during the 2025 Computers, Privacy and Data Protection (CPDP) Conference held in Brussels.  In this episode, Matthias tells us about his professional journey, how he founded AlgorithmWatch and why. Moreover, our hosts discuss with Matthias about A...

In the Intelligence Espresso, the Security Distillery’s podcast team boils down key events in global affairs into a short and sharp briefing to kick-start your day. What better way to keep up with the most important stories from around the world than from the specialist - and highly caffeinated - perspectives of our hosts.  In this episode, Buster discusses a recent Chinese missile test, what...

In this Special Episode of our podcasts, The Security Distillery team members Susanna, Michele, Cecile, Chiara and Dolores discuss their experience in the 2024 edition of the CPDP.ai Conference. They talk about their favorite topics, panels, workshops and exhibitions of the event. Listen to their experiences alongside the world’s leading practitioners, lawyers and fundamental rights activists in t...

In this episode, Josefine and Angus discuss the NATO alliance in relation to its 75th anniversary and the recent summit in Washington. Josefine shares her reflections from a NATO-packed summer, and our hosts talk about how NATO makes decisions, the war in Ukraine, and how it relates to the Indo-Pacific region, and much more. Tune in!

In the Intelligence Espresso, the Security Distillery’s podcast team boils down key events in global affairs into a short and sharp briefing to kick-start your day. What better way to keep up with the most important stories from around the world than from the specialist - and highly caffeinated - perspectives of our hosts. In this episode, James discusses the recent controversial Cass Review into...

In the Intelligence Espresso, the Security Distillery’s podcast team boils down key events in global affairs into a short and sharp briefing to kick-start your day. What better way to keep up with the most important stories from around the world than from the specialist - and highly caffeinated - perspectives of our hosts.  In this episode, Buster will examine the recently held Turkish local...

In the latest episode of the Intelligence Espresso, Buster will discuss the donation of F-16s by several NATO countries to Ukraine, why the delivery of the aircraft are delayed, and how they might shape the war in Ukraine. Afterwards, Johanna will talk about the EU’s newly released European Defence Industrial Strategy, why it was created, and which potentially contentious debates might lie ahead....

In this episode of the Security Distillery Podcast, hosts James, Josefine, and Costanza analyze the events of the past two years of conflict. They compare expert predictions with the realities witnessed on the battlefield, and analyze how the war has altered Russian foreign policy to its south and east. Additionally, our hosts comment on the current status and potential future of European and Amer...

In the latest episode of the Intelligence Espresso, Angus will discuss the ongoing civil war in Myanmar in light of the military regime's recent announcement that they will enforce a conscription of civilians into the armed forces, following significant gains made by rebel militia groups. Next, Josefine shall discuss the suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of Alexei Navalny, and what th...

Check out the first episode in our new series election special podcast. In this Pakistani election special of the Security Distillery Podcast, we sit down with our colleague Fatima to discuss the upcoming election in Pakistan. Amongst others, we cover the following topics during the episode: Why the election has been postponed into 2024. How the Pakistani military has yet again influenced the elec...

In the first episode of the Intelligence Episode of 2024, the hosts will discuss the following topics: James will be discussing the latest test of the British military’s Dragonfire laser and how the development of military-grade lasers might impact the battlefield of the future. Johanna will look at the upcoming European Council meeting and how Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán might interfere...

Why does the US military track Santa? Is it even possible to track Santa? What can Santa and Saddam Hussain possibly have in common?

Check out the latest episode of our podcast series, “Intelligence Espresso”, where we strive to distil world affairs pertaining to intelligence and security into a bite-sized intelligence briefing to kick off your week. Think of it as the short sharp slap in the face a highly caffeinated espresso produces but for current affairs.  In this weeks episode we will update you on the intensified Is...