Search
AI-powered search, human-powered content.
scroll to top arrow or icon

Podcast: Cyber mercenaries and the global surveillance-for-hire market

Global Stage Podcast | Patching the System | Cyber Mercenaries and the Global Surveillance-For-Hire Market

Transcript

Listen: The use of mercenaries is nothing new in kinetic warfare, but they are becoming a growing threat in cyberspace as well. The weapon of choice for cyber mercenaries is malicious spyware that undermines otherwise benign technologies and can be sold for profit. Luckily, awareness about this threat is also growing, and increasing global coordination efforts are being put forth to combat this dangerous trend.

In episode 2, season 2 of Patching the System, we're focusing on the international system of bringing peace and security online. In this episode, we look at what governments and private enterprises are doing to combat the growth of the cyber mercenary industry.


Our participants are:

  • Eric Wenger, senior Director for Technology Policy at Cisco
  • Stéphane Duguin, CEO of the CyberPeace Institute
  • Ali Wyne, Eurasia Group Senior Analyst (moderator)

GZERO’s special podcast series “Patching the System,” produced in partnership with Microsoft as part of the award-winning Global Stage series, highlights the work of the Cybersecurity Tech Accord, a public commitment from over 150 global technology companies dedicated to creating a safer cyber world for all of us.

Subscribe to the GZERO World Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published.

Next Page

More from Global Stage

Can we use AI to secure the world's digital future?

How do we ensure AI is safe, available to everyone, and enhancing productivity? It’s a big topic at this year’s UN General Assembly. That’s why GZERO’s Global Stage livestream brought together leading experts at the heart of the action for “Live from the United Nations: Securing our Digital Future,” an event produced in partnership between the Complex Risk Analytics Fund, or CRAF’d, and GZERO Media’s Global Stage series, sponsored by Microsoft.

Is the Europe-US rift leaving us all vulnerable?

As the tense and politically charged 2025 Munich Security Conference draws to a close, GZERO’s Global Stage series presents a conversation about strained relationships between the US and Europe, Ukraine's path ahead, and rising threats in cyberspace.

The convergence of geopolitics and cyberspace

“Those same geopolitical tensions that we see in physical space certainly are playing out in digital space as well,” says Anne Neuberger, former US Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technologies.

The rise of global impunity in a G-Zero world

“If the G-Zero world is winning, one of the things that's also winning is impunity,” says Ian Bremmer, president and founder of Eurasia Group and GZERO Media. Speaking at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, Bremmer highlights the rise of global impunity and the challenges of deterrence in today’s volatile geopolitical climate.

Is free speech under attack in Europe? Roberta Metsola weighs in

“There is a sort of doubt about freedom of expression here or protection of free speech in Europe,” says Roberta Metsola, president of the European Parliament.

Afghanistan’s crisis deepens: Fawzia Koofi on Taliban rule and global response

“The Taliban’s war is against women,” Fawzia Koofi, former Afghan parliamentarian, and women’s rights activist, told GZERO’s Tony Maciulis on the sidelines of the 2025 Munich Security Conference.