Hacking Humans

Enjoy this Word Notes encore. The process of converting plain text into an unrecognizable form or secret code to hide its true meaning.

Maria Varmazis, host of N2K's daily space show T-Minus, joins Dave and Joe to share the story of a South Carolina couple, and how they were devastated to discover their vacant land in Concord, Massachusetts was fraudulently sold by thieves who posed as them, with the new owners already building a home on the property, prompting a lawsuit and an FBI investigation. Our hosts share some follow-up on...

In preparation for the US 2024 Presidential Election, Rick Howard, N2K CyberWire’s Chief Analyst and Senior Fellow, discusses recent international propaganda efforts in the form of nation state interference and influence operations as well as domestic campaigns designed to split the target country into opposing camps. Guests include Nina Jankowicz, Co-Founder and CEO of the The American Sunlight P...

Please enjoy this encore episode of Word Notes. Software or hardware that records the computer keys pressed by a user. 

Rick Howard, N2K CyberWire’s Chief Analyst and Senior Fellow, discusses personal defensive measures that an average citizen, regardless of political philosophy, can take in order to not succumb to propaganda. References: David Ehl, 2024. Why Meta is now banning Russian propaganda [News]. Deutsche Welle. Jeff Berman, Renée DiResta, 2023. Disinformation & How To Combat It [Interview]. Youtube. Niha...

Enjoy this encore of Word Notes. Digital assets that are cryptographically protected on a blockchain and contain unique identification codes and metadata that makes them one of a kind.

Welcome, witches, wizards, and cybersecurity sleuths! You’ve entered, Only Malware in the Building. Join us each month to brew potions of knowledge and crack the curses of today’s most intriguing cyber mysteries. Your host is Selena Larson, Proofpoint intelligence analyst and host of their podcast DISCARDED. Inspired by the residents of a building in New York’s exclusive upper west side, Selena is...

It's all in the details, folks. Pay attention to those and you can avoid unnecessary stress. Dave Bittner, Maria Varmazis, and Joe Carrigan swap stories on email password-stealing attacks, Google ads scams, and fake banks this week. The team shares follow up from listener Steven from the UK about the hazards of shoulder surfing when they received their new debit card with all PII on the same side...

Enjoy this special encore episode. The use of two or more verification methods to gain access to an account.

This week, Dave and Joe share some listener follow-up from Clayton about credit card fraud and the potential issues with automatic update services that some cards provide. Dave's story is on sextortion scams targeting spouses, where scammers claim a partner is cheating and provide links to fake "proof." Joe has two stories this week, the first one is on how Police in Lebanon County arrested an all...

Enjoy this special encore episode. A programming technique where the developer doesn't specify each step of the algorithm in code, but instead teaches the algorithm to learn from the experience.

Maria Varmazis, host of N2K's daily space show T-Minus, joins Dave and Joe to share the story on the "Hello pervert" sextortion scam, where scammers now use threats of Pegasus spyware and photos of victims' homes to intensify their demands. We have quite a bit of follow-up today. Scott from Australia shared how self-service checkouts now display scam warnings when purchasing gift cards to prevent...

Enjoy this special encore episode. The process of turning raw information into intelligence products that leaders use to make decisions with.

Maria Varmazis, host of N2K's daily space show T-Minus, joins Dave and Joe to share the story of how the ease of registering an LLC in Colorado has led to a surge in fraudulent businesses. She discusses how residents receiving suspicious mail addressed to fake LLCs registered at their homes are overwhelming the state's Secretary of State with thousands of complaints. Joe's story is on how scammers...

Welcome in! You’ve entered, Only Malware in the Building. Join us each month to sip tea and solve mysteries about today’s most interesting threats. Your host is Selena Larson, Proofpoint intelligence analyst and host of their podcast DISCARDED. Inspired by the residents of a building in New York’s exclusive upper west side, Selena is joined by N2K Networks Dave Bittner and Rick Howard to uncover t...

Enjoy this special edition of Word Notes: A cloud-based software distribution method where app infrastructure, performance, and security are maintained by a service provider and accessible to users, typically via subscription, from any device connected to the internet.

This week Joe and Dave share some listener follow up from Tim, who writes in to give some more information on a payment apps story in episode 302. Joe's story is on Suzy Enos, whose sister died, only for scammers to impersonate a family member and take over her phone number, leading to fraudulent charges on her accounts. Enos fought back to secure her late sister's assets and raise awareness about...

Enjoy this special encore episode. A cryptographic hack that relies on guessing all possible letter combinations of a targeted password until the correct codeword is discovered.

Maria Varmazis host of the N2K daily space show, T-Minus, joins Dave and Joe to share her story on how AI-generated scams have infiltrated the world of crochet and other crafts, selling fake patterns that often result in impossible or frustrating projects. Dave's story is on the rise of "digital arrest" scams in India, where criminals posing as law enforcement officers coerce victims into making p...

Enjoy this special encore of Word Notes. A process of converting encrypted data into something that a human or computer can understand.

Maria Varmazis host of the N2K daily space show, T-Minus, joins Dave and Joe to share her story from listener Chloe, who shared a post she found on a social media platformed called "Bluesky," where a company is asking for photos and videos of your children to help AI smarter. Our hosts share some listener follow up on how a scammer impersonated a government official to deceive a woman into convert...

Enjoy this encore episode: A cyber attack designed to impair or eliminate access to online services or data.

Maria Varmazis host of the N2K daily space show, T-Minus, joins Dave to share her story on how recent research by security firm Veriti reveals a phishing campaign targeting Trump’s 2024 supporters, soliciting cryptocurrency donations through fake WinRed-branded domains, with limited transactions and some activity traced to China. Dave and Maria share some follow-up from a listener, including sugge...

Welcome in! You’ve entered, Only Malware in the Building. Join us each month to sip tea and solve mysteries about today’s most interesting threats. Your host is Selena Larson, Proofpoint intelligence analyst and host of their podcast DISCARDED. Inspired by the residents of a building in New York’s exclusive upper west side, Selena is joined by N2K Networks Dave Bittner and Rick Howard to uncover t...

Please enjoy this special encore episode of Word Notes. A type of side channel attack in which an attacker with physical access to a computer performs a memory dump of a computer’s Random Access Memory or RAM during the reboot process in order to steal sensitive data.