Episode 29: MIT & Safe Security's "AI Slop" Research

Welcome back to the Scinary Information Nexus! After Richard lost all his wisdom (literally, from a wisdom tooth removal) and with Joseph Hamilton out celebrating the birth of his new baby boy, the team is back to tackle corruption and controversy in the cybersecurity industry. First, the guys break down the shocking federal indictment of cybersecurity insiders—including ransomware negotiators and incident response managers from major firms—for allegedly colluding with the Black Cat (ALPHV) ransomware group. Is this an anomaly, or a sign of a much deeper problem within the cyber insurance and incident response world? We discuss the fraud triangle and the troubling incentives at play. Then, we dive headfirst into the main event: "AI Slop." Richard, Mario, Pierre, and Brazos pull apart the now-deleted research paper from MIT and vendor Safe Security that falsely claims "80% of ransomware attacks are AI-driven." Citing research from Kevin Beaumont and Marcus Hutchins, they expose how this marketing piece, disguised as academic research, uses defunct malware groups and nonsensical data to create a problem that only the vendor can solve. In this episode, we discuss: The Black Cat Indictment: When your ransomware negotiators are in on the scam. How the "Fraud Triangle" (Motive, Opportunity, Rationale) explains insider threats. Deconstructing the MIT & Safe Security "AI Slop" research paper. Why the "80% AI-driven ransomware" claim is pure nonsense. How defunct malware like Emotet ended up in a 2025 AI study. The danger of prestigious institutions lending their credibility to marketing stunts. Thoughts on a dentist who is also a certified "Whiskey Master" (thanks to our sponsor, Greg Babbitt!). Has the AI hype bubble reached the point where our most trusted institutions are selling snake oil? Let's get into it. A huge thank you to Greg Babbitt for sponsoring this week's episode with a fantastic bottle of Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit! Connect with Scinary Cybersecurity: https://www.scinary.com https://x.com/scinarycyber https://www.linkedin.com/company/scinarycyber/ Cybersecurity #Ransomware #InsiderThreat #BlackCat #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #MIT #CyberScam #InfoSec #CybersecurityPodcast