Hot Take Predictions for Next Year – 2025-12-15

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A weekly Podcast with BHIS and Friends. We discuss notable Infosec, and infosec-adjacent news stories gathered by our community news team.
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Chapters

• (00:00) - PreShow Banter™ — testing testing
• (00:11) - Hot Take Predictions for Next Year – 2025-12-15
• (02:10) - Story # 1: Russian kids revolt as Kremlin bans Roblox, other popular apps
• (10:21) - Story # 2: Google's killing off its dark web report because users didn't know what to do with it
• (20:05) - Story # 3: Coupang data breach traced to ex-employee who retained system access
• (31:13) - Story # 4: Roomba maker iRobot bought by Chinese supplier after filing for bankruptcy
• (34:18) - Story # 5: February report from researcher found Chinese KVM had an unclearly documented microphone and communicated with China-based servers, but many of the security issues are now addressed [Updated]
• (36:48) - Story # 6: When adversaries bring their own virtual machine for persistence
• (41:57) - Story # 7: Oh no! Hackers snuck malware inside uber-popular Windows app Notepad++
• (44:20) - Hot Take Predictions for 2026

Links
Story # 1: Russian kids revolt as Kremlin bans Roblox, other popular apps
Story # 2: Google’s killing off its dark web report because users didn’t know what to do with it
Story # 3: Coupang data breach traced to ex-employee who retained system access
Story # 4: Roomba maker iRobot bought by Chinese supplier after filing for bankruptcy
Story # 5: February report from researcher found Chinese KVM had an unclearly documented microphone and communicated with China-based servers, but many of the security issues are now addressed [Updated]
Story # 6: When adversaries bring their own virtual machine for persistence
Story # 7: Oh no! Hackers snuck malware inside uber-popular Windows app Notepad++

The team looks ahead to 2026 and shares practical, sometimes blunt predictions about where cybersecurity is heading. They discuss how AI will continue reshaping both offense and defense, with attackers using automation at scale while defenders struggle to operationalize AI beyond marketing hype.

The conversation highlights growing risk from identity abuse, cloud misconfigurations, and insecure SaaS sprawl, noting that many breaches will still come down to basic failures rather than advanced exploits. They also predict continued burnout in security teams, more consolidation among security vendors, and increasing pressure to prove real ROI from security tools.

On the positive side, the hosts see improved detection engineering, better security education, and more community-driven knowledge sharing. Overall, the message is clear: fundamentals still matter, hype won’t save you, and organizations that focus on people, process, and visibility will be better positioned for 2026.

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