Layer 8 Podcast

For this episode, we talk voice phishing, or vishing, with Curt Klump . Curt is a hacker with Social Engineer, LLC and he gets to hack people simply by calling them on the phone. We got to talk with Curt about how he went from being an actor to a social engineer, how to get started in the industry, great resources for learning, tips for particularly difficult environments and he shares stories of...

For this episode, we are joined by Lisette Abercrombie, probably better known as Technisette . She is a Dutch OSINT investigator and one of the creators of OSINT Curious . We get to talk about her OSINT methodology, some tips and tricks and she shared two stories of her investigations. One that included the value of the color of garbage barrels in an image. We also learned the Dutch term "onderdom...

For this episode, we get to talk with Maxie Reynolds about her new book, " The Art of Attack: Attacker Mindset for Security Professionals ". She talks about her four laws of attack and the skills necessary to be successful. These skills can help you as a social engineer as well as in other areas of life. Maxie is the Technical Team Lead at Social Engineer LLC where she also co-teaches the Advanced...

For this episode, we get to talk with Sinwindie . He got his start in law enforcement, learning tools of the trade in open source investigations. Eventually, Sinwindie had the idea to create the OSINT Dojo , a free online resource where people can learn the strategy and methodologies necessary to become better at OSINT investigations. Additionally, if one follows the progression through the Dojo,...

For this episode, we hear from Natalia Antonova, a journalist, a researcher and an OSINTer. She frequently posts on Substack at https://nataliaantonova.substack.com/ where she has given Geolocation challenges, tips for spotting a catfish, and using Google Lens, among other topics. She also posts on Twitter at @NataliaAntonova . Check out this episode for her tips on how to avoid online stalkers, w...

In this episode, we talk with Kate Kelley, also known as The Photo Angel. Kate connects old photos with relatives of those in the photo. She uses OSINT techniques to locate the family members, often starting with little information. Kate finds the photos in antique stores and then goes to work on finding the family members. She also runs a Facebook group where she and others share stories of succe...

In this episode, we speak with @AngusRedBlue , Charles Hein Wroth. Charles founded redherd.io and is a technical recruiter, but not your typical recruiter. Charles is a technical recruiter who understands the technical aspects of security , has given presentations at security conferences, regularly volunteers at conferences and also created Hack South , a South African infosec community. Charles a...

Micah Hoffman, known as WebBreacher on Twitter is a pioneer in the OSINT field. He created his own company, Spotlight Infosec , he created and teaches SANS 487: Open Source Intelligence Gathering and Analysis and also created OSINT Curious . We talked with Micah about how he got his start in infosec, how he started in OSINT and a little about Impostor Syndrome and feelings. Micah also gives advice...

The second annual ILFest will begin at 11 am US ET on July 10th and available on Twitch.tv. In this episode, we hear from Shane, Mandy and John about what the Innocent Lives Foundation (ILF) is, the type of work that they do to unmask predators of children online and how they work with law enforcement to take these people off the streets. We'll hear about ways they raise money at ILFest including...

We are joined by our good friend, Sam Moses, who generally goes by Moses. He tells us two stories of phishing and vishing engagements. He talks about the OSINT he performed and shows its value. He takes us through the ups and downs of calling people and how sometimes, no matter how prepared you are, there can still be an unforeseen curve thrown at you. He also tells us about a really nice conversa...

For this episode, we talk with Joe Gray, also known as @C_3PJoe on Twitter. His web site is https://www.theosintion.com , a destination for OSINT and social engineering training. Joe is an accomplished conference speaker and won the social engineering capture the flag competition at DerbyCon. Joe tells us about a couple of his favorite presentations and projects he has worked on, how to get starte...

On this episode, we talked with Jonathan Younie, aka @InfosecCanuck . Younie is a CISO for a financial services firm and a social engineer. He talks with us about his experience at the recent Human Hacking Conference , and the lessons he brought back for his own company's social engineering training. Younie has also created and is a part of social engineering and OSINT professional networking grou...

On April 3, we re-shared a photo from a friend of a building and asked "Where is this?" People from literally around the world began searching, and it wasn't until the following day when Marlena von Hoffer, aka @Polarisu used her skiptracing OSINT skills to finally locate the building in the image. In this episode, Marlena tells us about the tools, techniques and strategy she used to eventually fi...

For this episode, Crystal aka UnluckyNum7 joins us to talk about her methods and strategy for bypassing security controls to access buildings. She talks about what she did when faced with locked doors during an upstate New York winter, or when the elevator required a valid badge to get to floors and what she came up with when someone asked what she will bring to the company holiday party. All this...

For this episode, we welcome our friend Twig . Twig is a member of IBM’s X-Force Red and a social engineer. She tells us about a lock identification tool that she created and presented at Shellcon. She also takes us through a vishing engagement and the various strategies that she uses.

For this episode, we're joined by Siobhan Kelleher, also known as @Secure_Coffee . Siobhan's day job is in higher ed but she got introduced to OSINT by joining in to a Trace Labs Capture the Flag competition at the 2019 Layer 8 Conference. She has worked in sales, so she's also always had a knack for social engineering, plus it appears to run in her family. Let's hear from Siobhan about the strate...

The main organizers of the Collegiate SECTF include Temple University 's CARE Lab of Professor Aunshul Rege , Rachel Bleiman and Katorah Williams , plus Patrick Laverty from Layer 8 Conference. In this episode, the team discusses the origins of the SECTF, how it works, who can compete, as well as the impressions of the competition by graduate students Rachel and Katorah. If you are a college stude...

For this episode, we speak with Michele Stuart of JAG Investigations . Michele is a social engineer and OSINT investigator. She also offers training on her strategies and techniques. Michele tells us about the OSINT tools that she used when she first got started in the field, which was before searching on the internet became common. She also tells us how she talked her way into a Super Bowl party...

For this episode, we speak with three social engineers who are also hobbyists in the art of magic. Magic is often about deception, distraction and sleight of hand techniques. We'll talk with Lee , Richard and Chris about how they got started learning these techniques, as well as some of the psychology needed to make people believe the tricks and find the overlaps with social engineering. 

What is the dark net, the dark web, the clear web and the differences between them? For this episode, we'll hear some fun stories from Levitannin , an OSINT researcher and Innocent Lives Foundation volunteer. Are Red Rooms real? And what are some of the places to look for some of the rumored illicit information that is on these layers of the internet? Join Levi today and find out all this, plus ev...

From October 2nd to 4th, six teams competed in the first ever Collegiate Social Engineering Capture the Flag competition at Temple University. They were tested on their ability to perform OSINT, create a phishing email and even make phone calls to gain information. This episode speaks with the creator of the competition, Professor Aunshul Rege and the winner of the competition, a one-woman team fr...

For this episode, we welcome our friend Tokyo . Tokyo is a member of Team Searchlight community, and is the author of many blog posts on OSINT investigations. Today, Tokyo shows us the steps, methodology and tools that can be used to trace a single online review all the way to the person who left it. 

For this episode, we hear from Stefanie LaHart . Stefanie is an expert social media strategist and podcaster who has competed in the Defcon social engineering capture the flag competition twice! She tells us how she got into the competition as someone who was unfamiliar with the terms social engineering and OSINT, showed up to the competition without much of a strategy and figured it out on the sp...

For this episode, we welcome BOsintBlanc . He loves to use OSINT tools and loves to help others with their OSINT skills. But there's one thing that he'd love to see everyone do before using tools. That is to develop a solid methodology and mindset around the OSINT process. In this episode, he talks about how he got started in OSINT and other tips and tricks to refining your own methodology. Also,...

For this episode, we welcome Nicole Beckwith . Nicole is a Staff Cyber Intel Analyst with GE Aviation . She previously worked in law enforcement and was tasked with going undercover into the world of sex work. She played the role of a sex worker and explains all the background and research that went into it, learning the language, the acronyms, the signal words and ways to protect herself in the j...