Catching Up With Ken Munro After Infosecurity Europe 2025 — Hacking the Planet, One Car, One Plan...
0Title: "Catching Up With Ken Munro After Infosecurity Europe 2025 — Hacking the Planet, One Car, One Plane, and One System at a Time"
A Post–Infosecurity Europe 2025 Conversation with Ken Munro
Guests
Ken Munro
Security writer & speaker
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ken-munro-17899b1/
Hosts
Sean Martin, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine (https://www.itspmagazine.com/)
Website: https://www.seanmartin.com/
Marco Ciappelli, Co-Founder, CMO, and Creative Director at ITSPmagazine (https://www.itspmagazine.com/)
Website: https://www.marcociappelli.com/
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Episode Sponsors
ThreatLocker: https://itspm.ag/threatlocker-r974
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After a whirlwind week at Infosecurity Europe 2025, I had the chance to reconnect with Ken Munro from Pen Test Partners — a longtime friend, hacker, and educator who brings cybersecurity to life in the most tangible ways. From car hacking escape rooms to flight simulators in pubs, we talked about why touching tech matters, how myth-busting makes us safer, and how learning through play might just be the key to securing our increasingly complex world. Tune in, and maybe bring a cocktail.
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There’s something special about catching up with someone who’s not just an expert in cybersecurity, but also someone who reminds you why this industry can — and should — be fun. Ken Munro and I go back to the early days of DEFCON’s Aviation Village, and this post-Infosecurity Europe 2025 chat brought all that hacker spirit right back to the surface.
Ken and his crew from Pen Test Partners set up shop next to the main Infosecurity Europe venue in a traditional London pub — but this wasn’t your average afterparty. They transformed it into a hands-on hacking village, complete with a car demo, flight simulator, ICS cocktail CTF, and of course… a bar. The goal? Show that cybersecurity isn’t just theory — it’s something you can touch. Something that moves. Something that can break — and be fixed — before it breaks us.
We talked about the infamous “Otto the Autopilot” from Airplane, the Renault Clio-turned-Mario Kart console, and why knowing how TCAS (collision avoidance) works on an Airbus matters just as much as knowing your Wi-Fi password. We also dug into the real-world cybersecurity concerns of industrial systems, electronic flight bags, and why European regulation might be outpacing the U.S. in some areas — for better or worse.
One of the biggest takeaways? It’s time to stop fearing the hacker mindset and start embracing it. Curiosity isn’t a threat — it’s a superpower. And when channeled correctly, it leads to safer skies, smarter cars, and fewer surprises in the water we drink or the power we use.
There’s a lot to reflect on from our conversation, but above all: education, community, and creativity are still the most powerful tools we have in security — and Ken is out there proving that, one demo and one pint at a time.
Thanks again, Ken. See you at the next village — whichever pub, hangar, or DEFCON corner it ends up in.
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Keywords: cybersecurity, ethical hacking, pen testing, Infosecurity Europe, embedded systems, car hacking, flight simulator, ICS security, industrial control systems, aviation cybersecurity, hacker mindset, DEFCON
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Resources
Learn more and catch more stories from Infosecurity Europe 2025 London coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/infosec25
Catch all of our event coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/technology-and-cybersecurity-conference-coverage
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