🍿 Waiting for Joe Rogan? Watch John Kiriakou Talk to Sean O’Brien in the Meantime
AI Robots, TikTok, crypto & the cyber war you don’t see coming.
John Kiriakou just taped a conversation on the Joe Rogan Experience. Can’t wait for the JRE podcast and still want your dose of John’s wisdom? You’re in luck!
Scroll down to watch John interview Sean O’Brien on Deep Focus — their latest conversation covers everything from TikTok to robot dogs.
📢 A Quick Catch-Up with the Ivy Cyber Crew!
It’s been a wild few weeks at Ivy Cyber. Between new launches, podcasts, and live events, our team has been working hard to bring privacy and security to the forefront. Your early support, feedback, and encouragement have fueled our journey and we’re kicking it into high gear.
TLDR;
🕵️ Enroll Now in John Kiriakou and Sean O’Brien’s new course.
📸 Four Ivy Cyber staff presented at Hackers on Planet Earth (HOPE) in New York.
💻 The first Launchpad Pro tablets shipped in September
🔆 PrivacySafe subscriptions are now available for Early Access customers.
🍰 Cake Wallet runs by default on our hardware and inside PrivacySafe apps
🤖 Deep Focus: The AI / Robot Override
In this new episode of Deep Focus, John and Sean unpack how artificial intelligence and surveillance technologies are reshaping daily life. The conversation ranges from TikTok and robot dogs to crypto, Cisco, and self-driving cars, connecting the dots between corporate power, state surveillance, and our personal privacy. The video and our text recap of the conversation is below.
🤳 TikTok & The Illusion of Security
Sean describes the long campaign in the U.S. against TikTok as “a data tariff,” not a genuine privacy measure. Both U.S. and Chinese companies harvest vast amounts of user data and monetize it through advertising. The real issue is not who owns the app but the surveillance economy itself.
He reminds listeners that banning one app does not protect privacy. U.S. platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Google collect just as much data. What matters is transparency and control. Sean points to StickTock.com, a tool that strips TikTok videos of their surveillance issues, that was built by the Ivy Cyber team under the PrivacySafe banner.
⚙️ Robots, Deregulation & Everyday Risk
John recalls attending a Los Angeles tech expo and seeing humanoid and quadruped robots up close: lifelike, affordable, and already being deployed. Sean explains that these devices often use weak encryption and insecure wireless protocols such as Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). Once connected to the internet, they can be hacked, repurposed, or even weaponized.
Sean warns that the U.S. is deep in a deregulatory cycle, allowing powerful technologies to enter daily life with almost no guardrails. Many new robots now include Large Language Models (LLM) and take action without human oversight. As prices fall, they will spread quickly into workplaces and homes. Without strong rules and public awareness, their convenience may come at a dangerous cost.
✈️ The Cisco Breach & Global Cyber Conflict
When John raises recent reports of major Cisco vulnerabilities, Sean explains how fragile our digital infrastructure really is. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued rare public alerts about the scale of the breach, which exposed millions of devices that help move internet traffic worldwide.
Sean compares Cisco’s secrecy to the aviation industry, where manufacturers sometimes hide defects to protect revenue. He argues that the solution is open hardware and Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) that can be independently audited. Transparency, not secrecy, is what prevents catastrophic failures. Without it, the same profit-driven shortcuts that lead to airline disasters will continue to endanger digital networks around the world.
💰 Crypto, Privacy, and Control
John mentions the endless phishing emails that claim his Coinbase account has been hacked. Sean uses that as a teaching moment: centralized exchanges like Coinbase and PayPal have turned cryptocurrency into a managed service rather than a true peer-to-peer (P2P) system.
He urges people to take control of their funds by using cold wallets and privacy-focused currencies such as Monero. Ivy Cyber partners with Cake Wallet to train users in how to safeguard their assets offline. The message is clear — if you do not hold your own keys, you do not really own your crypto.
🚕 Robotaxis & the Limits of Machine Judgment
The conversation closes with the subject of self-driving cars. John recounts seeing Waymo vehicles in Los Angeles that froze in traffic or stalled in puddles. Sean explains that these incidents stem from “misalignment,” the gap between what humans intend and what machines actually interpret.
AI systems generate probabilistic responses, not fixed rules, so even small misunderstandings of a command can cause unexpected outcomes. Sean also raises privacy concerns about LIDAR mapping, which allows cars to record their surroundings in incredible detail. That data can be stored, replayed, and analyzed later: a form of automated surveillance hidden beneath the promise of convenience.
Sean’s conclusion is not anti-technology. He calls for democratic control, transparency, and slower deployment of AI systems until the public can understand and govern them responsibly.
💭 Closing Thoughts
Throughout the discussion, John and Sean return to one theme: the technologies that make modern life efficient are also those that make it vulnerable. From social media to AI, every system that collects data can be exploited. Awareness, accountability, and open design are the best defenses against invisible risks.
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🕵️ Defend Yourself From Spies
Join John Kiriakou and Sean O’Brien for an eight-week online course by Ivy Cyber.
This Surveillance Defense Course teaches how to detect real-world surveillance, safeguard your digital life, and build the awareness to protect yourself in both cyberspace and your neighborhood.
Dates: November 3 – December 28, 2025
Format: 3 Live Sessions and “Learn At Your Pace” Course Materials
Price: $895 USD (discounts available for paid Bits On Tape subscribers)
What you’ll learn:
Field techniques for recognizing and countering hostile surveillance
Tools for encrypted communication and private browsing
Practical exercises in operational security and cyber defense
Included:
12-month PrivacySafe Personal subscription
Discounts on Ivy Cyber products and future courses
Verified blockchain certificate of completion
🛡️ Learn from experience. Defend with knowledge.
🙏 Thank You For Reading!
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Bits On Tape™ is a newsletter that replays science & tech stories with commentary from the experts at Ivy Cyber. We deliver dispatches on cybersecurity and the frontlines of digital freedom, including the latest updates on the PrivacySafe software and hardware ecosystem. These bits are put to screen by Sean O’Brien, cybersecurity scholar at Yale Law School and founder of Yale Privacy Lab, and are cross-posted at Whistle Post, the independent media platform led by award-winning political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou.
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