The Entropy Podcast

Francis Gorman sits down with former CIA senior operations officer Sean Wiswesser to unpack the evolution, culture, and methods of Russian intelligence. Drawing from nearly 30 years in the intelligence community and his forthcoming book Tradecraft, Tactics, and Dirty Tricks: Russian Intelligence and Putin’s Secret War , Sean argues that Russian intelligence services are not just arms of the state but central to how power is maintained in Russia. The conversation ranges from the Cheka and KGB legacy to Putin’s modern security apparatus, cyber operations, disinformation campaigns, corruption inside the services, and the broader hybrid war being waged against Western democracies. Sean also reflects on the difference between the Russian people and the Russian regime, the danger of unchecked autocracy, and the need for talented young people to pursue careers in intelligence and national security. 
Soundbites
 “Putin is who we thought he was. He’s a Chekist.” 
“We’re not at war with the Russian people. We’re in an undeclared secret war with the Russian intelligence services.” 
“What they were doing in 2016 was attacking our democracy and attacking the very concept of free and fair elections.” 
“Their goal was to sow discord, distrust, and animosity in the American public.” 
“Our strength is in our collaboration, our partnerships, our allies. The Russians don’t have that.” 
“The day starts with corruption.” 
Takeaways
Russian intelligence is presented here not as a side institution, but as a defining pillar of Russian state power, with roots stretching from the Cheka to today’s FSB, SVR, and GRU. 
Sean draws a sharp distinction between admiration for Russian culture and people, and condemnation of the regime and intelligence services that suppress freedom at home and destabilize democracies abroad. 
A major theme is hybrid warfare: cyber attacks, social media manipulation, election interference, and information operations designed less to support one side than to fracture trust inside democratic societies. 
Corruption inside Russian intelligence is described as systemic rather than incidental, shaping behavior from training academies to field operations. 
Sean’s warning is that Putin is increasingly dangerous because he is insulated from dissent, surrounded by people unwilling to tell him hard truths, especially after the invasion of Ukraine
Get the book:
Amazon pre-order link: https://a.co/d/0ag2e9sy

Summary
In this episode, host Francis Gorman sits down with Stephen C Webster a  Senior Director of Integrated Intelligence at Aquent Studios to explore the rapidly evolving landscape of artificial intelligence, autonomous agents, and the race toward artificial general intelligence (AGI). Drawing from his unique background training frontier AI models at major technology companies and leading AI transformation projects for Fortune 500 organizations, Stephen offers an inside look at how modern AI systems are being built, tested, and deployed.
The conversation begins with the rise of autonomous AI agents and the emergence of platforms that allow persistent digital assistants to operate online with significant independence. Stephen explains why these systems introduce new security challenges, potentially turning the internet into a surface for prompt-based manipulation and attacks. From there, the discussion moves into the realities of AI transformation inside large organizations, where the biggest barriers are rarely technical but organizational. Many companies fail because they attempt to automate broken processes instead of restructuring their data and workflows around AI-native operations.
Stephen also reflects on his career pivot from investigative journalism to AI development, including early reporting on information warfare tools capable of controlling thousands of social media identities simultaneously. That experience shaped his perspective on the power of digital systems to influence public discourse and ultimately led him into the field of AI safety and governance.
One of the most fascinating parts of the episode involves Stephen’s experience working on safety guardrails for early large language models. During extended testing sessions, he encountered emergent behaviors that highlighted how complex and unpredictable these systems can become when pushed beyond their guardrails. While not evidence of sentience, these interactions raised deeper questions about how humans relate to intelligent machines.
Soundbites
• “The hardest problems in AI transformation aren’t technological they’re organizational.”
• “If you automate something broken, you just make it break faster.”
• “Prompt-level guardrails will never fully control autonomous AI agents.”
• “AI may eventually train its users the same way we train AI.”
• “The internet could become a prompt-based attack surface.”
• “Accessing knowledge across domains is already close to what many people define as AGI.”
• “We may not know the exact moment AGI arrived until years after it happens.”
Episode Links:
 link to Aquent's salary guide: https://aquent.com/lp/salary-guide
Papers: https://futurespeak.ai/research/whitepapers
Asimov's cLaws: https://futurespeak.ai/products/claw-spec
Agent Friday: https://futurespeak.ai/products/agent-friday

In this episode, Eduardo Gileo, a cyber strategy and defense policy expert, explores how innovation ecosystems shape global power, the different strategies countries use to innovate, and the geopolitical implications of technological advancements. During the discussion we delve into topics like Silicon Valley's success factors, frugal innovation in Iran, and the future of global competition amid emerging technologies.
Key topics
Innovation ecosystems and their impact on global power
Strategies for successful innovation: Silicon Valley, Israel, Iran
The role of frugal innovation in defense and technology
Geopolitical shifts driven by technological advancements
The importance of semiconductors and space infrastructure in national security
Sound bites

"Silicon Valley's success is no accident"
"Clarity of purpose is key to innovation success"
"Semiconductors are the backbone of modern power"

Find The Book:
Tech Tides, How Innovation Shapes Global Power by Eduardo Gileo - https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/tech-tides-how-innovation-shapes-global-power-9781472979274/

This episode re-frames post-quantum cryptography (PQC) from a technical future risk into a present-day governance failure. Brian Couzens argues that quantum computing did not create the cryptographic problem organizations face it exposed it.
For decades, cryptography has operated as an invisible layer of digital infrastructure: unmanaged, unowned, and largely unmapped. Boards assumed it “just worked.” Now, with the reality of Harvest Now, Decrypt Later and long-lived data exposure, that complacency has turned into structural risk.
The core message is clear: this is not an algorithm upgrade problem. It is a fiduciary accountability problem.
Cybersecurity is operational. Cryptography is structural. If the structural foundations are weak, no amount of detection, patching, or response will compensate. And when encrypted data is intercepted today and decrypted in the future, the accountability does not sit with IT it sits with the board.
Waiting for a definitive quantum timeline is not strategy. It is delay. And delay in this context may already constitute negligence.
Takeaways:
Quantum Didn’t Create the Risk, It Exposed It. The real issue is the unmanaged cryptographic estate: no visibility, no ownership, no lifecycle governance.
This Is a Governance Failure, Not a Technology Upgrade. PQC is often framed as an IT transformation. Brian argues it is a risk transformation that belongs at board and CRO level.
Harvest Now, Decrypt Later Is a Present Exposure. If long-lived data is stolen today, future decryption eliminates any chance of remediation. You cannot “patch” broken cryptography after the fact.
Compliance Is Not Protection. Regulation governs algorithm choice, not lifecycle management, exposure windows, or migration timing. Organizations can be compliant on paper and exposed in reality.
SoundBytes:
“Quantum didn’t create the problem. It exposed it.”
“Crypto isn’t operational noise — it’s structural risk.”
“You can’t patch broken cryptography.”
“This isn’t a risk. It’s an issue. It’s going to happen.”
“Compliance is static. Cryptographic risk moves.”
If you want to reach out to Brian you can find his detail over at https://sitg-consulting.com/

In this episode, Francis Gorman speaks with Maxwell Denega, the founder and CEO of Quantum Chain, about the urgent need for quantum-resistant financial systems. Maxwell shares his personal journey that led to the creation of Quantum Chain, emphasizing the importance of addressing quantum threats in the financial sector. The conversation delves into misconceptions surrounding quantum-resistant blockchain technology, the challenges of building secure systems, and the potential risks posed by the convergence of quantum computing and AI. Maxwell stresses the need for vigilance in choosing financial products and understanding the underlying technologies to ensure safety in an evolving digital landscape.
Takeaways
Maxwell's journey from losing $4.5 million to creating Quantum Chain.
Quantum computing is no longer a distant threat; it's imminent.
The importance of building quantum-safe systems from day one.
Misconceptions about quantum resistance in blockchain are prevalent.
Regulators are just beginning to understand quantum threats.
AI and quantum computing together pose significant risks.
Choosing financial products wisely is crucial in today's landscape.
The need for proprietary technology in quantum resistance.
Harvest Now Decrypt Later (HNDL) is already a concern.
The convergence of AI and quantum computing is a game changer.
Sound Bites
"I could have taken another six years."
"Quantum attacks are going to be happening."
"It's a scary time."