Hacking Humans

Latest Episodes:

Barking up the wrong Facebook page. Jul 20, 2023

Show notes

Mallory Sofastaii, consumer investigative reporter from WMAR TV, is discussing animal rescue organizations on Facebook pages being taken over by hackers. Listener George writes in to share how his bank is not doing enough to protect against fraud going on. Dave's story follows scammers using new tricks, across the nation, to receive bitcoin and gift cards after threatening stores with bomb scares. Joe has the story on Chinese hackers that have targeted the Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and other State and Commerce Department officials. Our catch of the day comes from listener Steve who shares a fishy looking email stating that he is going to be the beneficiary to "Thirty Nine Nine million, eight hundred thousand dollars."

Links to stories:

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

Encore: rogue access point (noun) [Word notes] Jul 18, 2023

Show notes

1. A wireless access point installed by employees in an office or data center environment as a convenience to connectivity without the consent or the knowledge of the network manager. 2. A wireless access point, sometimes called an Evil Twin, installed by a cyber adversary in or near an office or data center environment designed to bypass security controls, gain access, and/or surveil the network traffic of the victim’s network. Both kinds, the employee installed and the adversary installed rogue access points, increase the attack surface of the organization. The employee installed device, because of its electronic footprint range, might make it easier for hackers and mischief makers outside of the organization’s network to bypass the corporate security controls and gain access without permission. The adversary installed device is designed specifically to bypass the security controls of the target network.

Encore: The rise in fraudulent online content. Jul 13, 2023

Show notes

Guest Jane Lee, Trust and Safety Architect from Sift joins Dave to discuss the rise of fraudulent online content and fake crypto platforms. Dave and Joe share some listener follow up regarding the debate over "mum" versus "mom" and who speaks which pronunciation more. Dave has two stories this week, one story follows a Twitter thread about a man who shared his story about selling a desk on Facebook and the dangers that come with that. His second story is about how hackers are using a clever new phishing technique to create email threads with multiple responses to trick potential victims into thinking bogus messages are legitimate. Joe shares the story of hackers new way to get information positioning themselves in the middle of your browser between the server and your computer. Our catch of the day has a little bit of everything from Peter who writes in about an email he received pulling out all the stops to get him to give over his information.

Links to stories:

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

Encore: NMAP (noun) [Word Notes] Jul 11, 2023

Show notes

A network mapping tool that pings IP addresses looking for a response and can discover host names, open communications ports, operating system names and versions. Written and maintained by Gordon Lyon, a.k.a. Fyodor, it is a free and open source software application used by both system admins and hackers alike and has been a staple in the security community for well over two decades.

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

Indicators to insider threats. Jul 06, 2023

Show notes

Our UK correspondent Carole Theriault is talking with London insurance market CISO Thom Langford about insider threats. Joe and Dave share some listener follow up from Waldo who writes in to share a video explaining how bad guys are able to hack users. Joe shares a report from Verizon, one of the industries leading phone companies, about social engineering. Dave's story follows a gentleman who was able to steal one million dollars from at least 700 DoorDash drivers, and now police are warning against this sophisticated phishing scam. Our catch of the day comes from listener Ami who writes in to share her victory in catching a scammer after receiving a weird voicemail from a so called police officer.

Links to stories:

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

Encore: Diamond Model (noun) [Word Notes] Jul 04, 2023

Show notes

A cyber threat intelligence analysis model that defines relationship pairs between four core components in the shape of a diamond of adversary playbook activity across the intrusion kill chain: the adversary, their capability, the infrastructure used or attacked, and the victim.

CyberWire Glossary link: https://thecyberwire.com/glossary/diamond-model

Audio reference link: “Diamond Presentation v2 0: Diamond Model for Intrusion Analysis – Applied to Star Wars’ Battles,” Andy Pendergrast and Wade Baker, ThreatConnect, YouTube, 4 February 2020.

Beware ChatGPT curious: Fleece-ware chabot apps. Jun 29, 2023

Show notes

Guest Sean Gallagher, Principal Researcher with Sophos Xops team, joins us to discuss "'FleeceGPT' mobile apps target AI-curious to rake in cash. Joe shares some listener feedback from Jon about "No Stupid Questions" podcast. Dave's story is from Reddit about a free piano scam. Joe's got a story on a woman pleading with her bank to stop a fake wire transfer, but they were too busy. Our Catch of the Day comes from Rob about a fake student loan help ticket.

Links to stories:

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

CISA (noun) [Word Notes] Jun 27, 2023

Show notes

A US Department of Homeland Security agency tasked with supporting cyber and physical security for US critical infrastructure.

CyberWire Glossary link: https://thecyberwire.com/glossary/cybersecurity-and-infrastructure-security-agency

Audio reference link: CISA, 2021. CISA Director Jen Easterly’s Keynote at Black Hat USA 2021 [Video]. YouTube. URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7bu-L-m4K4.

spam (noun) [Word Notes] Jun 27, 2023

Show notes

Unsolicited, unwanted, and sometimes malicious electronic messages indiscriminately transmitted to a large number of people.

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

Audio reference link: zumpzump, 2007. Monty Python - Spam [Video]. YouTube. URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anwy2MPT5RE.

Risky chat applications. Jun 22, 2023

Show notes

Toby Pischl, Head of Information & Email Security at Broadcom, sits down with Dave to discuss how Slack and Microsoft Teams phishing is an open door into businesses. Joe and Dave share some follow up regarding a case of a woman claiming to have cancer to receive over $37,000 from donors on GoFundMe. Joe has the terrible story out of Michigan where a high schooler committed suicide after a sextortion scam. Dave has a story on job seekers around the country and how likely they are to fall for a job scam. Our catch of the day comes from listener Albert, who writes in regarding the German phishing emails he keeps receiving.

Links to stories:

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

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