Hacking Humans

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**Hacking Humans**

Deception, influence, and social engineering in the world of cyber crime.

Latest Episodes:

Anti-cheat software (noun) [Word Notes] Dec 02, 2025

Show notes

Please enjoy this encore of Word Notes.

Software designed to prevent cheating in video games.

CyberWire Glossary link: ⁠https://thecyberwire.com/glossary/anti-cheat-software⁠

Audio reference link: “⁠The BIG Problem with Anti-Cheat⁠,” by Techquickie, YouTube, 5 June 2020

Nice to meet you, I'm a scammer. Nov 27, 2025

Show notes

Please enjoy this encore of Hacking Humans.

On Hacking Humans, ⁠Dave Bittner⁠, ⁠Joe Carrigan⁠, and ⁠Maria Varmazis⁠ (also host of N2K's daily space podcast, T-Minus), are once again sharing the latest in social engineering scams, phishing schemes, and criminal exploits that are making headlines to help our audience become aware of what is out there. Our hosts discuss and ponder whether or not diamonds are the original cryptocurrency, as well as diving further into Yubikeys for organizations. Maria shares the story of a 66-year-old woman who lost her $2 million retirement savings to a romance scam on Match.com, highlighting the rise in such scams and efforts to pass the Online Dating Safety Act to protect users. Joe's story is on the Madoff Victim Fund's final $131.4 million payout, bringing total recoveries to $4.3 billion for victims of Bernard Madoff's infamous Ponzi scheme, which collapsed during the 2008 financial crisis. Dave's got the story on allegations that the PayPal Honey browser extension not only fails to deliver the best deals but also hijacks affiliate revenue from influencers by replacing their links with its own, sparking backlash and controversy. Our catch of the day comes from Reddit and Dave and Maria do their best impressions yet, as a scammer chats up an unsuspecting victim.

Resources and links to stories:

You can hear more from the T-Minus space daily show ⁠here⁠.

Have a Catch of the Day you'd like to share? Email it to us at ⁠hackinghumans@n2k.com⁠.

Pseudoransomware (noun) [Word Notes] Nov 25, 2025

Show notes

Please enjoy this encore of Word Notes.

Malware, in the guise of ransomware, that destroys data rather than encrypts.

CyberWire Glossary link: ⁠https://thecyberwire.com/glossary/pseudoransomware⁠

Audio reference link: “⁠Some Men Just Want to Watch the World Burn | the Dark Knight⁠,” by YouTube, 2 November 2019.

Lost iPhone, found trouble. Nov 20, 2025

Show notes

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:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Have a Catch of the Day you'd like to share? Email it to us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠hackinghumans@n2k.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Trusted Platform Module (TPM) (noun) [Word Notes] Nov 18, 2025

Show notes

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

Tap, pay…and prey. Nov 13, 2025

Show notes

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:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Have a Catch of the Day you'd like to share? Email it to us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠hackinghumans@n2k.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Private Network Access (PNA) (noun) [Word Notes] Nov 11, 2025

Show notes

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.

Seniors in scam crosshairs. Nov 06, 2025

Show notes

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:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Have a Catch of the Day you'd like to share? Email it to us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠hackinghumans@n2k.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Pass the intel, please. [OMITB] Nov 04, 2025

Show notes

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!

Web 3.0 (noun) [Word Notes] Nov 04, 2025

Show notes

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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