The Cybersecurity Defenders Podcast

Latest Episodes:

#208 - Cybersecurity in space with Blake Hershey and Gabe Garrett from MORI Associates Apr 15, 2025

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On today’s episode of The Cybersecurity Defenders Podcast we are going to be speaking with a couple of team members from MORI Associates, a leading firm with over 25 years of experience in delivering comprehensive solutions across technology, communication, and space mission support.

Specializing in scalable, high-impact technologies, the company addresses current challenges while anticipating future needs, contributing to a more connected, efficient, and secure future.

MORI Associates has played pivotal roles in supporting missions to Earth orbit, the moon, and beyond, contributing to groundbreaking projects that advance both terrestrial applications and interstellar explorations.

Our first guest is Gabe Garrett, Senior Vice President of Space and Defense at MORI Associates. With nearly two decades of experience in the aerospace and defense industries, Gabe leads strategy, growth, and operations across key civil and defense accounts. Before joining MORI Associates, he served as Account Vice President at SAIC, overseeing the Human Space Exploration and Operations Solutions division. Gabe's extensive background includes leadership roles at Engility Corporation and engineering experience with spacecraft, launch vehicles, and mission systems at ARES Corporation.

Our other guest is Blake Hershey, Chief Growth Officer at MORI Associates. Blake is a visionary entrepreneur known for his passion for creating products that enhance lives and drive positive behavioral changes.

With a track record of transforming concepts into successful multi-million-dollar ventures, he brings extensive expertise in business development, including finance, operations, marketing, product innovation, and strategic planning.

His leadership has been instrumental in driving significant revenue growth at MORI Associates over the past several years. Blake has also been recognized by Forbes' Next 1000 for his entrepreneurial achievements.

#207 - Intel Chat: MirrorFace, Neptune, Sparrow door & CrushFTP Apr 11, 2025

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In this episode of The Cybersecurity Defenders Podcast, we discuss some cutting-edge intel coming out of LimaCharlie's community.

Japanese law enforcement has publicly linked a Chinese state-sponsored threat group known as MirrorFace to a series of cyberattacks that have targeted Japan over the past five years.
Researchers at Cyfirma have detailed a new campaign where attackers are using a Remote Access Trojan (RAT) dubbed Neptune to hijack Windows systems.
Researchers have discovered new variants of a previously identified Linux backdoor known as SparrowDoor, believed to be the work of a North Korean state-sponsored group known as Kimsuky.
CISA has added a recently disclosed vulnerability in CrushFTP (tracked as CVE-2024-4040) to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.

#206 - The AI Threat Landscape Report with Eoin Wickens, Director of Threat Intelligence at HiddenLayer Apr 07, 2025

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On this episode of the Cybersecurity Defenders Podcast we dive into the AI Threat Landscape report with Eoin Wickens, Director of Threat Intelligence at HiddenLayer.

Eoin specializes in AI security, threat research, and malware reverse engineering. Eoin has authored numerous articles on AI security, co-authored a book on cyber threat intelligence focusing on Cobalt Strike, and has spoken at conferences such as DEF CON AI Village, BSides San Francisco, LABScon, and 44CON. He also delivered the 2024 SCORED opening keynote.

You can get a copy of the report here: https://hiddenlayer.com/threatreport2025/

#205 - Intel Chat: OPSEC FAIL, Manifest Confusion & Github Actions Apr 01, 2025

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In this episode of The Cybersecurity Defenders Podcast, we discuss some cutting-edge intel coming out of LimaCharlie's community.

On March 24, The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg reported a significant OPSEC failure involving U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who allegedly sent him detailed U.S. military plans over Signal—an encrypted messaging app—on March 15.
A newly discovered supply chain attack on the npm ecosystem is targeting developers by backdooring local packages through a process known as “manifest confusion.”
Unit 42 researchers at Palo Alto Networks have uncovered an ongoing software supply chain attack targeting GitHub repositories via malicious GitHub Actions workflows.

#204 - Intel Chat: Wiz, Windows, SocGholish, WDAC & BLE Mar 21, 2025

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In this episode of The Cybersecurity Defenders Podcast, we discuss some cutting-edge intel coming out of LimaCharlie's community Slack channel.

Google has announced a $32 billion ALL CASH acquisition of the Israeli cybersecurity startup Wiz, making it one of the largest deals in the company’s history.
A newly discovered zero-day vulnerability in Windows allows attackers to escalate privileges, potentially granting them full control over affected systems.
Security researchers have identified new intrusion techniques used by the SocGholish malware framework, which is increasingly being leveraged to distribute ransomware.
Security researchers have uncovered a new technique that allows attackers to disable Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solutions using Windows Defender Application Control (WDAC).
Security researchers have discovered undocumented commands in a widely used Bluetooth chip, potentially exposing over a billion devices to security risks.

#203 - Breaking the stigma of addiction in cyber with Jen VanAntwerp, Founder of Sober in Cyber Mar 20, 2025

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On today's episode of the Cybersecurity Defenders Podcast, we speak with Jen VanAntwerp, the Founder of Sober in Cyber.

Jen is a cybersecurity marketing professional and the founder of Sober in Cyber, a nonprofit on a mission to provide alcohol-free events and community-building opportunities for sober and sober-curious individuals working in infosec. Jen is passionate about breaking the stigma of addiction recovery and is profoundly driven to increase the number of professional networking events that don’t revolve around alcohol. She is also the founder of JVAN Consulting, where she provides marketing consultation services to cybersecurity startups.

Sober in Cyber Discord can be found here.

#202 - Intel Chat: CISA, BianLian (not), Crafty Camel, Github malvertising & SCADA Mar 14, 2025

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In this episode of The Cybersecurity Defenders Podcast, we discuss some cutting-edge intel coming out of the LimaCharlie community.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is facing significant operational challenges as budget constraints force it to scale back key cybersecurity programs.
Scammers are taking a new approach to extortion by mailing physical ransom letters to victims, claiming to be the operators of the BianLian ransomware group.
A newly identified advanced persistent threat (APT) group, dubbed "Crafty Camel," has been targeting aviation operational technology (OT) systems using a sophisticated technique involving polyglot files.
A new malvertising campaign is leveraging deceptive online ads to distribute information-stealing malware hosted on GitHub, highlighting an ongoing evolution in cybercriminal tactics.
Security researchers have disclosed details of multiple vulnerabilities in Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems that could be exploited to facilitate attacks on industrial environments.

#201 - Scaling Managed Security Operations with Andrew Cook, CTO of Recon InfoSec Mar 12, 2025

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On this episode of The Cybersecurity Defenders Podcast we speak with Andrew Cook, CTO of Recon InfoSec, about lessons learned scaling Managed Security Operations.

#200 - Multimodal Offensive Artificial Intelligence with Philippe Humeau, CEO of CrowdSec Mar 11, 2025

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On this episode of The Cybersecurity Defenders Podcast we speak with Philippe Humeau, CEO of CrowdSec, about Multimodal Offensive Artificial Intelligence (MOAI).

Philippe is a cybersecurity expert and seasoned entrepreneur with a deep passion for enhancing global internet security. He is the founder and CEO of CrowdSec, an innovative open-source platform that harnesses the power of community-driven threat intelligence to protect systems worldwide. Philippe's work focuses on collaborative approaches to cybersecurity, ensuring that organizations can stay ahead of evolving threats by pooling collective knowledge and resources. With years of experience building solutions that address complex security challenges, Philippe has made a significant impact on the field.

Before founding CrowdSec, Philippe successfully launched and led several companies within the cybersecurity space, further cementing his reputation as a thought leader and innovator. His journey reflects a commitment to addressing the most pressing challenges in the digital age, from fostering safer internet ecosystems to empowering businesses with the tools they need to defend against cyberattacks. Philippe is also an advocate for open-source technology and community-driven solutions, underscoring his belief that collaboration is key to combating global threats.

#199 - Intel Chat: Lazarus Group, BadPilot, PAN-OS, emoji exfil, Kitty Stealer & PolarEdge Mar 07, 2025

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In this episode of The Cybersecurity Defenders Podcast, we discuss some cutting-edge intel coming out of LimaCharlie's community Slack channel.

North Korea’s state-backed Lazarus Group is believed to be responsible for the largest cryptocurrency heist ever recorded, stealing $1.5 billion from the Bybit exchange.
The "BadPilot" hacking campaign has been linked to Russia's Sandworm threat group, a unit of the GRU known for cyber espionage and disruptive attacks.
GreyNoise has observed active exploitation of CVE-2025-0108, a critical authentication bypass vulnerability in Palo Alto Networks’ PAN-OS.
Security researcher Paul Butler has demonstrated a novel technique for smuggling arbitrary data using emojis, leveraging the way modern text encoding and rendering systems handle Unicode characters.
Kitty Stealer is a newly identified malware targeting macOS systems, designed to steal sensitive user data such as credentials, browser cookies, and cryptocurrency wallets.
SEKOIA researchers have uncovered a previously unknown IoT botnet named PolarEdge, which has been operating covertly for an extended period.

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