Hacking Humans

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Encore: business email compromise or BEC (noun) [Word Notes] Nov 28, 2023

Show notes

A social engineering scam where fraudsters spoof an email message from a trusted company officer that directs a staff member to transfer funds to an account controlled by the criminal.

Cops in the catfish game. Nov 23, 2023

Show notes

Thanks for joining us again for another episode of fun project brought to you by the team of Hacking Humans, the CyberWire's social engineering podcast. Hacking Humans co-host Dave Bittner is joined by Rick Howard in this series where they view clips from their favorite movies and television shows with examples of the social engineering scams and schemes you hear Dave and co-host Joe Carrigan talk about on Hacking Humans. In this episode, Dave and Rick watch each of the selected scenes, describe the on-screen action for you, and then they deconstruct what they saw. Grab your bowl of popcorn and join us for some fantastic scams and frauds.

Links to this episode's clips if you'd like to watch along:

Dave's clip from the movie: Chicago P.D.
Rick's clip from the movie: The Imitation Game

HIPAA (noun) [Word Notes] Nov 21, 2023

Show notes

A U.S. law designed to improve the portability and accountability of health insurance coverage.

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

Audio reference link: Dr. Dana Brems, 2021. Doctor reacts to “HIPAA violations” [Video]. YouTube. URL https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Ksk00s8a_IU

Unmasking the deceptive. Nov 16, 2023

Show notes

John Wilson, Senior Fellow, Threat Research at Fortra, joins to discuss email impersonation attacks which found that nearly 99% of these threats can be classified as business email compromise. Dave and Joe share some listener follow up from Terry, who writes in with some comments on episode 262 regarding cybersecurity jargon used. Joe's story comes from a listener this week, this individual writes in sharing the horror story he had to deal with when him and his wife ended up on a target list for scammers. Dave's story follows Elon Musk and Joanna Gaines, co-host of the HGTV show "Fixer Upper," and how they are selling a scam device that claims to lower your electricity bills. Our catch of the day comes from listener William, who writes in sharing an email he received from the"Tampa International Airport Police Department Florida," saying they want to release his fund with the service of DHL Courier Company.

Links to the stories:

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

Encore: man trap (noun) [Word Notes] Nov 14, 2023

Show notes

A physical security access control device consisting of an enclosed hallway with interlocking doors on each end where both doors can’t be open at the same time. A person presents credentials to the entry doorway. If authorized, the entry door opens and the person walks into the mantrap. The man trap exit door will not open until the entry door closes. The person presents credentials to the exit door. If authorized, the exit door will open. If not, the person is captured in the man trap until security arrives to handle the situation. Physical security leadership installs man traps to separate unrestricted areas from restricted areas, to prevent tailgating by uncleared personnel, and to impede access by unauthorized persons.

Leaving a trail of digital breadcrumbs. Nov 09, 2023

Show notes

This week we are joined by Harry Maugans from Privacy Bee who sits down to discuss how our digital breadcrumbs, old and new, are coming back to haunt us. Joe and Dave discuss some follow up from listener Phil, who writes in with a question about the safety of IoT and consumer devices. Dave's story follows the ever so popular YouTube, and its implemented measures to prevent users with ad blockers from watching videos. Joe shares a personal story from a friend regarding a scam he had fallen for, where the scammer got personal information and threatened him, asking for $500. Our catch of the day comes from listener John who found a hilarious text conversation on reddit that he just had to share.

Links to the stories:

YouTube's ‘War’ on Adblockers Shows How Google Controls the Internet

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

Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) (noun) [Word Notes] Nov 07, 2023

Show notes

A qualitative public framework for rating the severity of security vulnerabilities in software.

CyberWire Glossary link: https://thecyberwire.com/glossary/common-vulnerability-scoring-system

Audio reference link: Peter Silva, 2020. What is Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) [Video]. YouTube. URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rR63F_lfKf0

Weaponizing your out-of-office replies. Nov 02, 2023

Show notes

James Dyer and Jack Chapman of Egress join to discuss "Cybercriminals don’t take holidays: How bad actors use this two-step phishing campaign to weaponize out-of-office replies." Dave and Joe share some listener follow up from Ron, who has a suggestion about registration specific email accounts. Joe has two stories this week, one where he shares some good news on a scammer who received some justice after taking part in a $66K romance scam. His second story is on social media and how it is a breeding ground for scammers. Dave's story this week follows how Google-hosted malvertising leads to a fake keepass site that looks genuine. Our catch of the day comes from our very own editorial staff who share an interesting email they received from the infamous National Security Department.

Links to the stories:

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

Encore: anagram (noun) [Word Notes] Oct 31, 2023

Show notes

A word, phrase, or sentence formed from another by rearranging its letters. For example, cracking a columnar transposition cipher by hand involves looking for anagrams.

Spooky, scary, skeletons at the movies. [Hacking humans goes to the movies] Oct 29, 2023

Show notes

Thanks for joining us again for a very special and scary episode brought to you by the team of Hacking Humans, the CyberWire's social engineering podcast. Hacking Humans co-host Dave Bittner is joined by Rick Howard in this series where they view clips from their favorite movies and television shows with examples of the social engineering, scams, and schemes you hear Dave and co-host Joe Carrigan talk about on Hacking Humans. In this episode, Dave and Rick watch each of the selected scenes, describe the on-screen action for you, and then they deconstruct what they saw. Grab your bowl of popcorn and join us for some frightfully fantastic scams and frauds.

Links to this episode's clips if you'd like to watch along:

Dave's clip from the movie: Halloween III
Rick's clip from the movie: Get Out

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