Hacking Humans

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QR code phishing (noun) [Word Notes] May 23, 2023

Show notes

A type of phishing attack that uses QR codes as the lure.

CyberWire Glossary link: https://thecyberwire.com/glossary/qr-code-phishing

Audio reference link: KNR, 2018. Batman The Dark Knight Joker bomb blast by phone calls scene [Video]. YouTube. URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qB_fXfzB4z0.

Who says the perfect heist doesn't exist? [Hacking Humans Goes to the Movies] May 21, 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 Out of Sight
Rick's clip from the movie The Thomas Crown Affair

Data privacy in a consumers world. May 18, 2023

Show notes

Our guest, Mark Kapczynski from OneRep, joins Dave to discuss what consumers should know about data privacy. Listener Jon writes in to the show with some follow-up with some thoughts on tap interface. Another anonymous listener wrote into the show discussing ethical hacking. Dave's story is on fake QR codes and how people are getting scammed out of money after receiving a fake QR code parking ticket survey. Joe's story follows an attempted attack at Dragos and what they didn't get. Our catch of the day comes from listener Richard who writes in with a fun scam he caught from the "Marine Corps."

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.

attribution (noun) [Word Notes] May 16, 2023

Show notes

Definition one: The recognition of a set of repeatable attack patterns across the intrusion kill chain.

Definition two: Determining the responsibility for offensive cyber operations.

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

Audio reference link: Nunnikhoven, M., 2018. Cybersecurity Basics #9 - Attack Attribution [Video]. YouTube. URL www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlyMz5jN_Vs

Remedies for infectious computers. May 11, 2023

Show notes

Our guest, CW Walker, Director of Security Product Strategy at SpyCloud, joins to discuss post-infection remediation and ransomware defense. Joe compliments one of his least favorite big tech companies. Joe and Dave share quite a bit of follow-up; one from listener Clayton who writes in about “fast idiots” from a previous episode. The other is from listener Robert, who writes in about the wallet versus smart phone debate, and which is safer. Joe shares a few stories this week, all regarding ATM scams and lost or stolen credit cards including his own sons ATM nightmare. Dave's scary story is on the latest hot topic in the cyber industry: AI, and how families are being scammed by believable voice AI to sound like loved ones. Listener Michael shares this week's catch of the day on an IRS scam he came across in his email.

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.

spear phishing (noun) [Word Notes] May 09, 2023

Show notes

A type of cyber attack where an attacker sends a targeted and personalized email or other form of communication to a specific individual or a small group of individuals with the intention of tricking them into divulging sensitive information, such as a password, or convincing them to click a malicious link that will enable the attacker to take control of the victim's machine.

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

Audio reference link: Richardson, T., 2014. What is the difference between phishing and spear-phishing? [Video]. YouTube. URL www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wpx5IMduWX4.

Encore: Human errors and why they're made. May 04, 2023

Show notes

Josh Yavor, CISO at Tessian, joins Dave to discuss a new report they released on cyber mistakes and why employees make them. Joe and Dave share a listener follow-up from Jon, who writes in about mental illness, a serious epidemic taking over the nation. Jon shares interesting tidbits on social media linking to mental illness and the impact it's creating. Dave's story is on hackers trying an old trick with new mechanics: impersonating well known companies. This time, hackers are posing as Quickbooks. Joe's story describes how LinkedIn users are being targeted yet again. These fraudsters are now creating significant threats to users, according to the FBI. Finally, our catch of the day comes from listener Jennifer, who writes in and shares her story of a scammer using SMS to tell her that her Venmo account was hacked, even though she does not have one.

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

resiliency (noun) [Word Notes] May 02, 2023

Show notes

The ability to continuously deliver the intended outcome despite adverse cyber events.

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

Audio reference link: Cameron, J., 1984. The Terminator [Movie]. IMDb. URL www.imdb.com/title/tt0088247/.

Clip Nation, 2012. The Arnold Schwarzenegger “I’ll Be Back” Supercut [Video]. YouTube. URL www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YEG9DgRHhA.

Coops, C., 2013. Terminator 2 Theme [Video]. YouTube. URL www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVZ2NShfCE8.

Is the industry ready for AI? Apr 27, 2023

Show notes

This week, Carole Theriault, CW UK correspondent, sits down with Cisco Talos' Vanja Svacjer discussing if the security industry is ready for AI. Joe and Dave share some follow up regarding a new term, "yahoo boy" after reading it in an article. Joe's follows a story about a scam where five mastermind business men were able to scam ordinary investors out of a billion dollars. Dave's story is on a basic iPhone feature that is helping criminals steal your entire digital life. Our catch of the day comes from William who writes in about an email he received from "Bob William" who shares that he works at a law firm and one of his clients has an insurance policy where his client did not write a will. Bob wants to share the amount of $12,820,000 with charity and then split the rest of the funds.

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.

Security Operations Center (SOC) (noun) [Word Notes] Apr 25, 2023

Show notes

A centralized facility or team responsible for monitoring, detecting, analyzing, and responding to cybersecurity incidents within an organization.

CyberWire Glossary link: https://thecyberwire.com/glossary/security-operations-center

Audio reference link: AT&T Tech Channel, 2012. A tour of AT&T’s Network Operations Center (1979) [Video]. YouTube. URL www.youtube.com/watch?v=cigc3hvMyWw.

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