Digital Desperados

The Digital Desperados Podcast explores infamous cybercriminals and attacks with host Jim   Brangenberg , story guide Patrick McMurphy, and   SaferNet   CEO Brad Hawkins. In this episode, we revisit as they delve into the activities of Cozy Bear, a sophisticated state-sponsored hacking group linked to Russia. Cozy Bear specializes in cyber espionage, targeting entities   largely   across   the US,...

Billionaire investor Peter Thiel has been many things—PayPal co-founder, Silicon Valley kingmaker, libertarian mastermind, and more. In this episode, the Digital Desperados gang unravel the tangled web of Thiel's career, from his early days in PayPal's "Mafia" to his eyebrow-raising ventures in surveillance, politics, and even cryoginics (yes, he wants to be frozen and revived).   Is he a brillian...

In this episode of Digital Desperados , dive into the cautionary tale of hacker-turned-ethical-hacker, Higinio Ochoa, aka w0rmer . What starts as harmless curiosity quickly escalates into full-blown cyber activism with CabinCr3w , an offshoot of Anonymous . Their mission? To expose police misconduct through hacking and doxing.   But w0rmer's downfall came not from elite cybersecurity forces—but fr...

In this episode of Digital Desperados , hosts Jim Brangenberg and Patrick McMurphy dive into the heroic story of Gary Alford, the IRS investigator who cracked the infamous Silk Road case ( see episode 20 ) . Unlike the usual criminals featured on the show, Alford was the determined underdog who outmaneuvered the FBI and Homeland Security with old-school detective work. While high-tech forensic too...

In this fascinating episode of Digital Desperados , Patrick McMurphy takes us deep into the wild and chaotic life of John McAfee, the tech genius turned fugitive. Best known for creating McAfee Antivirus, John's story is anything but ordinary. From his early days as a brilliant mathematician and NASA programmer to his rise as a cybersecurity mogul, McAfee's journey takes a dark turn—one filled wit...

In this episode of Digital Desperados , host Jim Brangenberg is joined by Patrick McMurphy and SaferNet CEO Brad Hawkins to uncover the chilling world of DarkSide , one of the most notorious ransomware groups. DarkSide operates like a corporate enterprise, offering Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) to affiliates who target high-value organizations. From their carefully crafted business model to their...

In this episode of Digital Desperados, the spotlight is on Ehud "Udi" Tenenbaum, a hacker whose story of genius and cybercrime shook the digital world. Udi's tale begins in the late 1990s when his knack for uncovering software vulnerabilities earned him the nickname "The Analyzer." Targeting unpatched Solaris systems, Udi and his friends hacked over 500 U.S. military and research networks, includi...

Welcome to Digital Desperados , where we explore the dark tales of the web! In this episode, Jim Brangenberg and Patrick McMurphy take a deep dive into the rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes, the ambitious founder of Theranos. Joined by Brad Hawkins, CEO of SaferNet , they uncover how Holmes' dream of revolutionizing healthcare turned into a nightmare of fraud and deceit.   Holmes' story starts wit...

In this episode of Digital Desperados , Jim Brangenberg , Patrick McMurphy, and Brad Hawkins (founder of SaferNet ) take us on a wild ride through the life of Kevin Poulsen, aka "Dark Dante." From humble beginnings in Pasadena, California, to becoming a fugitive hacker legend, Kevin's story is one you'll want to hear all about!   Known for his audacious phone hacks in the 80s and 90s, Kevin master...

This week, Jim Brangenberg is joined by cybersecurity expert Patrick McMurphy and SaferNet CEO Brad Hawkins to unravel the dark web world of APT42—better known as Charming Kitten . Spoiler alert: it's not actually charming. This Iranian state-sponsored hacking group is a master of digital espionage, targeting activists, journalists, government officials, and even U.S. presidential campaigns. Activ...

This week, Digital Desperados takes a lighthearted stroll through the story of Samy Kamkar, a hacker who quickly found out that hacking isn't a game . Remember MySpace ? (Yes, it's the "classic rock" of social media.) Back in 2005, teenage Samy created the "Samy Worm," a harmless-yet-viral hack that declared him a hero on over a million profiles before getting him in major trouble with the Secret...

Uncover the riveting story of Hieu Minh Ngo—aka "Hieu PC"—a notorious hacker who (thankfully) turned his life around to fight cybercrime. Hieu's story begins in Vietnam, where he got his first computer at 13 and quickly found the world of hacking. His skills evolved as he exploited vulnerabilities at his university in New Zealand . This escalated to ultimately selling massive amounts of stolen dat...

Junaid Hussain, a quiet British teen with a knack for computers, morphed into a dangerous cyber jihadist. Initially drawn to hacking as a teenager, he joined groups like Team Poison, targeting perceived enemies of Islam. His skills grew, and he hacked high-profile individuals like Mark Zuckerberg and Tony Blair.   A prison stint radicalized him further, and he embraced extremist ideology. Joining...

In this episode of Digital Desperados , you'll learn the story of Mustafa Al-Bassam, a teenage hacker who took on the CIA and lived to tell the tale. Co-hosts Patrick, Brad, and Jim dive into Mustafa's journey from mischievous school hacker at the ripe age of 9 years old to a member of Anonymous and LulzSec as a teen , pulling off cyber-attacks against corporations and governments, including Sony...

In this gripping episode of Digital Desperados , Jim Brangenberg , Patrick McMurphy, and Brad Hawkins (CEO of SaferNet ) dive into the shadowy world of REvil , one of the most notorious ransomware groups in history. You'll walk through how REvil , born from the remnants of the GrandCrab group, transformed ransomware into a global business, thr e atening to compromise companies like Apple, JBS, and...

In this episode of Digital Desperados , Patrick McMurphy dives into the incredible true story of Marcus Hutchins, founder of the MalwareTech Blog. Born in a quiet English village, Marcus's passion for computers grew from a young age , leading him down a dark path of hacking and malware development. By his mid-teens, he created a botnet and notorious rootkits, collaborating with cybercriminals. How...

In this episode of Digital Desperados , Jim Brangenberg , Patrick McMurphy, and Brad Hawkins explore the fascinating story of Pavel Durov, known as the "Mark Zuckerberg of Russia." Durov created VK, Russia's largest social media platform, while still a university student. His success, however, came at a price—Durov refused to comply with Russian government censorship, leading to his eventual ousti...

Explore the story of Vladimir Drinkman , a notorious Russian hacker. This digital desperado gained expertise in SQL injections and formed a hacking crew that executed long-term cyber-attacks, including the massive breaches of TJX Companies and Heartland Payment Systems. Drinkman and his team infiltrated databases, stole credit card information, and sold it on the dark web. Brad Hawkins explains ho...

Welcome back to Part 2 in the Julian Assange story! This episode gets into the nitty gritty, discussing key WikiLeaks leaks, ranging from the Peruvian oil scandal to hundreds of thousands of classified war logs that the public was never meant to see. Not to mention the huge impact WikiLeaks had on the 2016 elections, leaking confidential emails from the Democratic National Committee. Story guide P...

In this episode of Digital Desperados, Jim Brangenberg , Patrick McMurphy, and Brad Hawkins (CEO of SaferNet VPN) begin to explore the fascinating and controversial life of Julian Assange. We look at the early life events that led Julian to become a self-taught computer whiz .   As usual, he quickly started getting into trouble as Assange crept further and further into the world of hacking, dabbli...

Imagine an attack that takes down the internet! Three teenagers in the US created Mirai to try to get established in the cybersecurity world , but it turned into a monster. Their tool infected millions of internet devices like cameras and routers, turning them into an army. This "botnet" launched attacks that overwhelmed websites, causing huge internet crashes.    The teens panicked and released t...

Today on the Digital Desperados Podcast, the gang dive into the story of Ross Ulbricht, better known on the dark web as the Dread Pirate Roberts. Born in Austin, Texas, Ulbricht was a bright student and even an Eagle Scout who became obsessed with libertarianism during his college years . This obsession led him to create the Silk Road, an anonymous online marketplace using super encrypted browser...

This Digital Desperados episode explores Roman Seleznev, a hacker who amassed a fortune through stolen credit cards. Born in 1984, Roman's life took a dark turn after his parents divorced when he was young. Tragedy struck again at 17 with his mother's death, followed by his uncle seizing their belongings.    It was at a computer hardware store that Roman's criminal path began – stealing customer c...

This week's Digital Desperados serves up a side of "accidental hacking" with Guccifer, the hacker who makes social media security questions look like a joke. This guy used Google and a thirst for fame to waltz into the accounts of the rich, famous, and powerful like they were unlocked doors. Colin Powell's emails? Exposed. Rockefellers' secrets? Spilled. All thanks to Guccifer's uncanny ability to...

This episode of Digital Desperados exposes Alexander Zhukov, aka " Nastra ," the King of Fraud. Nastra wasn't your average hacker. He started young, hustling on the streets before moving on to online scam s . In the 2010s, he created MethBo t , a program generating fake website visits to inflate ad revenue for his fake advertising company, Media Methane.    When that got heat, Nastra's team develo...