Introducing Inside the Box — A New Cybersecurity Podcast

We are launching a new podcast. It is called Inside the Box, and if you care about cybersecurity — whether you run a business, manage an IT estate, or simply want to understand the threats your organisation faces — it is built for you.

Inside the Box is hosted by Peter Bassill, CEO and Head of Threat Disruption at Hedgehog Security and Cyber Defence, alongside his AI co-host Emily. Each episode runs fifteen minutes or under. One topic, covered properly. No filler, no vendor pitches, no fear-mongering — just honest, practical cybersecurity insight from someone who has spent over twenty-five years doing this work.

Listen to Episode 1: “Hello, World”

Available on Podbean, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts.

Why “Inside the Box”?

Most people talk about thinking outside the box. We have gone the other direction — because the interesting stuff happens inside it.

The box is your network. It is the server rack in your data centre. It is the firewall between you and the rest of the internet. It is the Security Operations Centre where analysts watch for threats at three in the morning. It is the attacker’s toolkit. The podcast lives where all of these things converge — where theory meets the blinking cursor on a terminal screen.

There are plenty of cybersecurity podcasts that give you the thirty-thousand-foot view. Inside the Box takes you into the machinery itself: the threats, the defences, the decisions, and the trade-offs — explained in language that makes sense whether you are a seasoned security practitioner or a business owner hearing the term “SIEM” for the first time.

Meet Your Hosts

Peter Bassill has worked in information security since 1999 and in IT since 1996. His career spans defensive operations at Microsoft, Gala Coral Group, and Eurobet Italia before founding Hedgehog Security in 2009. He holds the CISSP certification and is a Chartered Fellow of the British Computer Society. Today he runs Cyber Defence’s 24/7 Security Operations Centre, leads penetration testing engagements, and oversees threat disruption operations for clients across the legal, financial services, and maritime sectors — including deployments on ships and oil rigs. Peter brings over twenty-five years of hands-on experience to every episode.

Emily is an AI co-host. She is upfront about what she is and what she is not. She brings research, data, and the willingness to ask the blunt questions that humans are sometimes too polite to ask. She is not a replacement for human judgement — she is a complement to it. The dynamic between Peter’s real-world experience and Emily’s structured analysis is what gives the podcast its edge.

What Episode 1 Covers

This opening episode sets the scene for the entire series. Peter and Emily introduce themselves, explain what Inside the Box is about, and take a frank look at the cybersecurity threat landscape as it stands in 2026. Here is what you will hear:

The Industrialisation of Cybercrime

Cybercrime is no longer the domain of lone hackers. It has become a professional operation. Organised groups run what are effectively businesses, complete with customer support portals, affiliate programmes, and revenue-sharing models. Ransomware-as-a-Service platforms allow people with limited technical skill to deploy sophisticated attacks against targets of any size. The barrier to entry has never been lower, and the volume of attacks has never been higher.

The Quiet Devastation of Business Email Compromise

Ransomware gets the headlines because it is visible — encrypted files, a ransom note on the screen. But some of the most financially devastating attacks are far quieter. Business email compromise involves an attacker gaining access to a legitimate email account, monitoring conversations for weeks, and then sending a single carefully timed message redirecting a payment to a different bank account. No malware. No alarms. Just social engineering and patience. Peter discusses what he sees from the SOC floor and why these attacks are so effective against small and medium businesses.

Supply Chain Risk

Rather than attacking your organisation directly, modern threat actors increasingly compromise a piece of software or a service provider you already trust — and use that as their way in. This is particularly relevant for SMBs that provide services to larger organisations. If you are in the supply chain of a valuable target, you are a target yourself. Peter and Emily discuss why this trend is accelerating and what it means for businesses that assume they are too small to attract attention.

What the Data Says

Emily presents a snapshot of recent breach statistics and emerging threat trends, setting a baseline the series will build on in future episodes. Peter then challenges the data with what he sees day-to-day in the SOC — a conversation about where the numbers tell the full story and where they do not.

What Is Coming Next

Inside the Box is a weekly series. The next four episodes are already planned:

• Episode 2 — “The Kill Chain” — How attacks actually work, step by step, mapped to a real anonymised penetration test engagement.
• Episode 3 — “Watchers on the Wall” — Inside the Security Operations Centre. What SOC analysts actually do, how they handle alert fatigue, and what makes a good SOC versus a checkbox SOC.
• Episode 4 — “The Elephant in the Server Room” — AI in cybersecurity. How defenders use it, how attackers abuse it, and Emily gets put in the hot seat.
• Episode 5 — “Locks, Stocks, and Breached Barrels” — Securing the small business. Practical, affordable measures and a five-minute self-assessment audit you can run today.

Subscribe and Get Involved

Inside the Box is available on Podbean, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast platforms. Each episode is fifteen minutes or under — designed to fit into a commute, a lunch break, or a coffee.

If you have a question you would like Peter and Emily to tackle on the show, or a topic you think deserves an episode, send it to hello@cyber-defence.io with the subject line “Inside the Box” and we will do our best to include it.