In this episode of Small Business Cybersecurity Guy, host Maurven McLeod and guest Dr Corinne Jefferson (former US government intelligence analyst turned London-based consultant) unpack Google Threat Intelligence’s alarming report on the Defence Industrial Base (DIB) and explain exactly why it matters to small and medium-sized businesses. They move straight from the uncomfortable headline — Chinese state-linked hackers averaging 393 days of dwell time inside victim networks — to practical implications for 50–80 person companies across manufacturing, logistics, and software supply chains. Topics covered include clear definitions (APT, UNC), the distinction between edge devices and endpoints, why firewalls and VPN appliances are attractive, under-monitored targets, and why EDR often misses the real entry points. They discuss documented campaigns (UNC-3886, UNC-5221/Brickstorm) and how multiple zero-day exploits against edge vendors have been used to gain long-term access and persistence. The episode also examines other nation-state tradecraft: Russian actors targeting messaging apps and device-linking features, North Korean operatives obtaining remote jobs inside companies, and sophisticated recruitment-themed phishing using AI-generated reconnaissance. Maurven and Dr Jefferson highlight how attackers map supply chains professionally — meaning you can be a target even if you don’t self-identify as a defence contractor — and how ransomware and dual-use manufacturing create huge blast radii that can stop production and bankrupt small firms. Most importantly, the hosts give a pragmatic, non-bankrupting 90-day plan for SMEs: an immediate “Edge Reality Check” to interrogate MSP visibility on VPNs/firewalls, a short-term segmentation win to reduce blast radius, and phased rollout of phishing-resistant MFA for key admin and finance accounts. They offer exact questions to ask your MSP, the metrics and controls procurement teams will soon demand, and how to frame the business case to your board. Listeners should expect a mix of blunt intel, real-world examples, and actionable next steps to reduce risk without breaking the bank — plus a call to assume compromise, improve edge monitoring, and stop treating VPNs as magic shields. Tune in for practical guidance, concrete conversation starters for your MSP, and the motivation to make measurable security improvements this quarter.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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