Episodios

  • Lost iPhone, found trouble.

    Lost iPhone, found trouble.
    Nov 20 2025
    This week, our hosts ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Dave Bittner⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Joe Carrigan⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Maria Varmazis⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (also host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠T-Minus⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Space Daily show) are sharing the latest in social engineering scams, phishing schemes, and criminal exploits that are making headlines. We start with some follow up on China sentencing five members of a violent Kokang-based gang to death for running brutal scam compounds in Myanmar. And in related news, China has also extradited alleged scam kingpin She Zhijiang, a major figure behind one of Southeast Asia’s largest fraud hubs, as Beijing intensifies its crackdown on global cyber-fraud networks. Listener Jon reports a new twist on sextortion, where scammers used an unsolicited FaceTime call to capture an image, generate an AI-manipulated obscene photo, and then extort an employee using publicly scraped contact lists. Joe’s story is on Anthropic’s claim that attackers jailbroke its Claude model to carry out what it calls the first AI-orchestrated cyber-espionage campaign, a narrative now being challenged by researchers like Dan Goodin and Dan Tentler, who argue the attack was far less “autonomous” than advertised and comparable to long-standing hacking tools rather than a breakthrough in offensive AI. Dave’s story is on a new phishing scam where attackers use the contact info displayed on a lost iPhone’s lock screen to send fake “Find My” texts claiming the device was found, luring victims to a spoofed Apple login page to steal their Apple ID and bypass Activation Lock. Maria has the story on Zimperium’s Mobile Shopping Report, which shows that during the holiday season mobile threats surge across mishing, fake retail and payment apps, and app-level vulnerabilities—making this the peak time for scammers to exploit shoppers with spoofed texts, malicious apps, and insecure SDKs hidden inside legitimate shopping tools. Our catch of the day comes from the phishing subreddit as someone is impersonating a woman who is sick with cancer asking for the victim to take care of their money. Resources and links to stories: ⁠⁠⁠⁠China sentences 5 to death for building, running criminal gang fraud centers in Myanmar's lawless borderlands Man Accused of Running Southeast Asia Scam Compound Is Extradited to China Disrupting the first reported AI-orchestrated cyber espionage campaign Researchers question Anthropic claim that AI-assisted attack was 90% autonomous Lost iPhone? Don’t fall for phishing texts saying it was found ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Have a Catch of the Day you'd like to share? Email it to us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠hackinghumans@n2k.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
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    56 m
  • Trusted Platform Module (TPM) (noun) [Word Notes]

    Trusted Platform Module (TPM) (noun) [Word Notes]
    Nov 18 2025
    Please enjoy this encore of Word Notes. A browser configuration control that prevents accessing resources within a private network. CyberWire Glossary link: ⁠https://thecyberwire.com/glossary/trusted-platform-module⁠ Audio reference link: “⁠TPM (Trusted Platform Module) - Computerphile⁠,” Computerphile, 23 July 2021
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    7 m
  • Tap, pay…and prey.

    Tap, pay…and prey.
    Nov 13 2025
    This week, our hosts ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Dave Bittner⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Joe Carrigan⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Maria Varmazis⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (also host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠T-Minus⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Space Daily show) are sharing the latest in social engineering scams, phishing schemes, and criminal exploits that are making headlines. We start with some big chicken news from Joe! Dave’s story is on Meta’s internal documents revealing it projected up to 10% of its 2024 revenue, worth billions, would come from fraudulent or banned ads across its platforms. Maria has the story on how Howler Cell at Cyderes uncovered a systemic “Bring Your Own Updates” risk in Windows updaters, where attackers can hijack trusted, signed update clients like Advanced Installer to deliver malicious code that evades detection and could lead to large-scale supply-chain attacks. Joe has the story on a new scam called “ghost tapping,” where fraudsters use near-field communication devices to secretly charge tap-to-pay cards and mobile wallets in crowded places. Victims often don’t notice until small, unauthorized withdrawals add up, prompting the BBB to warn consumers to use RFID-blocking wallets, verify charges before tapping, and monitor accounts for suspicious activity. Our catch of the day is on an application to the Council of the Ecliptic. Resources and links to stories: ⁠Meta is earning a fortune on a deluge of fraudulent ads, documents show Ghost-tapping scam targets tap-to-pay users ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Have a Catch of the Day you'd like to share? Email it to us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠hackinghumans@n2k.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
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    53 m
  • Private Network Access (PNA) (noun) [Word Notes]

    Private Network Access (PNA) (noun) [Word Notes]
    Nov 11 2025
    Please enjoy this encore of Word Notes. A browser configuration control that prevents accessing resources within a private network. CyberWire Glossary ⁠link⁠. Audio reference link: “⁠Chrome Limits Access to Private Networks⁠,” by Daniel Lowrie, ITProTV, YouTube, 19 January 2022.
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    6 m
  • Seniors in scam crosshairs.

    Seniors in scam crosshairs.
    Nov 6 2025
    This week, our hosts ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Dave Bittner⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Joe Carrigan⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Maria Varmazis⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (also host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠T-Minus⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Space Daily show) are sharing the latest in social engineering scams, phishing schemes, and criminal exploits that are making headlines. We start with some follow-up, listener Jay shared how Robinhood tackled a $25.4 billion phone scam problem with a simple fix—a bright yellow in-call banner that warns users, “We’re not calling you. If the caller says they’re from Robinhood, they’re not—hang up.” Meanwhile, Myanmar’s military blew up a major online scam center at KK Park, forcing over 1,500 people to flee into Thailand. Listener JJ reminds us it’s “CAC cards,” not just “CAC,” and Shannon reports from Scooter’s Coffee, where customers are now bringing chickens for pup cups—proving some pets really do rule the roost. Maria’s story is on Bitdefender and NETGEAR’s 2025 IoT Security Report, which found smart homes now face triple the attacks of last year—about 29 a day. Dave’s story is on a cloud architect who exposed his AWS keys online, letting attackers hijack his account for crypto-mining and phishing. His takeaway: secure keys, limit privileges, and assume it can happen to you. Joe’s got the story of scammers posing as banks or the FTC, using fake security alerts to trick older adults into draining their savings. The FTC says losses are skyrocketing—so don’t move money or trust surprise calls or pop-ups. Our catch of the day comes from the Scams SubReddit, where a scammer got way more than what they signed up for in a text chain. Resources and links to stories: Robinhood LinkedIn post. Stragglers from Myanmar scam center raided by army cross into Thailand as buildings are blown up My AWS Account Got Hacked - Here Is What Happened False alarm, real scam: how scammers are stealing older adults’ life savings Trying to scam the scammer ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Have a Catch of the Day you'd like to share? Email it to us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠hackinghumans@n2k.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
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    50 m
  • Pass the intel, please. [OMITB]

    Pass the intel, please. [OMITB]
    Nov 4 2025
    Welcome in! You’ve entered, Only Malware in the Building. Join us each month to sip tea and solve mysteries about today’s most interesting threats. Your host is ⁠⁠⁠⁠Selena Larson⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Proofpoint⁠⁠⁠⁠ intelligence analyst and host of their podcast ⁠⁠⁠⁠DISCARDED⁠⁠⁠⁠. Inspired by the residents of a building in New York’s exclusive upper west side, Selena is joined by her co-hosts ⁠⁠⁠⁠N2K Networks⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Dave Bittner⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠Keith Mularski⁠⁠⁠, former FBI cybercrime investigator and now Chief Global Ambassador at ⁠⁠⁠Qintel⁠⁠⁠. Being a security researcher is a bit like being a detective: you gather clues, analyze the evidence, and consult the experts to solve the cyber puzzle. On this episode, we explore what makes information sharing actually work. From public-private partnerships to actionable intelligence, our guests discuss how organizations can prioritize, process, and operationalize shared cyber threat data to stay ahead of emerging risks. Plus, catch Dave, Selena, and Keith on their road trip adventure in our video on ⁠YouTube⁠ — full of laughs, unexpected detours, and plenty of sleuthing!
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    38 m
  • Web 3.0 (noun) [Word Notes]

    Web 3.0 (noun) [Word Notes]
    Nov 4 2025
    Please enjoy this encore of Word Notes. The potential next evolution of the worldwide web that decentralizes interaction between users and content away from the big silicon valley social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, and towards peer-to-peer interaction using blockchain as the underlying technology. CyberWire Glossary link: ⁠https://thecyberwire.com/glossary/web-30⁠ Audio reference link: “⁠What Elon Musk Just Said about Metaverse, Web3 and Neuralink⁠,” By Clayton Morris, Crypto News Daily, YouTube. 2 December 2021.
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    7 m
  • The Malware Mash!

    The Malware Mash!
    Oct 31 2025
    Happy Halloween from the team at N2K Networks! We hope you share in our Halloween tradition of listening to the Malware Mash. You can check out our video ⁠here⁠. Lyrics I was coding in the lab late one night when my eyes beheld an eerie sight for my malware threat score began to rise and suddenly to my surprise... It did the Mash It did the Malware Mash The Malware Mash It was a botnet smash It did the Mash It caught on 'cause of Flash The Malware Mash It did the Malware Mash From the Stuxnet worm squirming toward the near east to the dark web souqs where the script kiddies feast the APTs left their humble abodes to get installed from rootkit payloads. They did the Mash They did the Malware Mash The Malware Mash It was an adware smash They did the Mash It caught on 'cause of Flash The Malware Mash They did the Malware Mash The botnets were having fun The DDoS had just begun The viruses hit the darknet, with ransomware yet to come. The keys were logging, phishing emails abound, Snowden on chains, backed by his Russian hounds. The Shadow Brokers were about to arrive with their vocal group, "The NotPetya Five." They did the Mash They played the Malware Mash The Malware Mash It was a botnet smash They did the Mash It caught on 'cause of Flash The Malware Mash They played the Malware Mash Somewhere in Moscow Vlad's voice did ring Seems he was troubled by just one thing. He opened a shell then shook his fist and said, "Whatever happened to my Turla Trojan twist." It's now the Mash It's now the Malware Mash The Malware Mash And it's a botnet smash It's now the Mash It caught on 'cause of Flash The Malware Mash It's now the Malware Mash Now everything's cool, Vlad's a part of the band And the Malware Mash is the hit of the land. For you, defenders, this mash was meant to when you get to my door, tell them Creeper sent you. Then you can Mash Then you can Malware Mash The Malware Mash And be a botnet smash It is the Mash Don't you dare download Flash The Malware Mash Just do the Malware Mash
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    3 m