Hacking Humans

N2K Networks
  • 4.6 (292)
  • TECH NEWS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
Hacking Humans

Deception, influence, and social engineering in the world of cyber crime.

  1. 27 MIN. AGO

    encryption (noun) [Word Notes]

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

    7 min

  2. 5 DAYS AGO

    The e-commerce scam you didn’t see coming!

    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 two intriguing listener contributions. John blocks Google ads using NextDNS, which catches ad wrappers unless manually disabled. Georgi from Japan describes a new Visa card with no visible number or CVV. Dave's story is on triangulation fraud, a scam on e-commerce platforms like Amazon, where a fraudster lures buyers with fake listings for popular products at enticingly low prices, then uses stolen payment information to purchase the legitimate product from a seller, ultimately leaving the buyer unaware until debt collection notices arrive. Meanwhile, Joe has two stories this week. Police arrested five individuals in connection with a fake Brad Pitt scam that defrauded two women of $362,000. He also explores insights from the 2024 Global State of Authentication survey in a Q&A with Yubico VP Derek Hanson, who discusses the future of passkeys. Our catch of the day shares some royal secrets you won't want to miss. Links to the stories: Valuable land in Concord, Massachusetts stolen from couple. Now a home is being built there The Amazon triangle scam: What it is, how it works, and what to do Police arrest five people over fake Brad Pitt scam after two women lost $362,000 2024 Global State of Authentication survey: Q&A with Yubico VP Derek Hanson on a passkey future You can hear more from the T-Minus space daily show here. Have a Catch of the Day you'd like to share? Email it to us at hackinghumans@n2k.com.

    46 min

  3. 6 DAYS AGO

    Election Propaganda: Part 2: Modern propaganda efforts. [CSO Perspectives]

    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 Project and Scott Small, Director of Cyber Threat Intelligence at Tidal Cyber. References: Scott Small, 2024. Election Cyber Interference Threats & Defenses: A Data-Driven Study [White Paper]. Tidal Cyber. Renee DiResta, 2024. Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies into Reality [Book]. Goodreads. Nina Jankowicz, 2020. How to Lose the Information War: Russia, Fake News and the Future of Conflict [Book]. Goodreads.

    51 min

  4. OCT 8

    keylogger (noun) [Word Notes]

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

    6 min

  5. OCT 3

    Election Propaganda Part 1: How does election propaganda work? [CSO Perspectives]

    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 Masih, 2024. Meta bans Russian state media outlet RT for acts of ‘foreign interference’ [News]. The Washington Post. Quentin Hardy, Renée DiResta, 2024. The Invisible Rulers Turning Lies Into Reality [Interview]. YouTube. Rob Tracinski, Renée DiResta, 2024. The Internet Rumor Mill [Interview]. YouTube. Robin Stern, Marc Brackett, 2024. 5 Ways to Recognize and Avoid Political Gaslighting [Explainer]. The Washington Post. Sarah Ellison, Amy Gardner, Clara Ence Morse, 2024. Elon Musk’s misleading election claims reach millions and alarm election officials [News]. The Washington Post. Scott Small, 2024. Election Cyber Interference Threats & Defenses: A Data-Driven Study [White Paper]. Tidal Cyber. Staff, 2021. Foreign Threats to the 2020 US Federal Elections [Intelligence Community Assessment]. DNI. Staff, 2024. Election Cyber Interference Threats & Defenses: A Data-Driven Study [White Paper]. Tidal. Stuart A. Thompson, Tiffany Hsu, 2024. Left-Wing Misinformation Is Having a Moment [Analysis. The New York Times. Stuart A. Thompson, 2024. Elon Musk’s Week on X: Deepfakes, Falsehoods and Lots of Memes [News]. The New York Times. Will Oremus, 2024. Zuckerberg expresses regrets over covid misinformation crackdown [News]. The Washington Post. Yascha Mounk, Renée DiResta, 2022. How (Not) to Fix Social Media [Interview]. YouTube. Renee DiResta, 2024. Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies into Reality [Book]. Goodreads. Nina Jankowicz, 2020. How to Lose the Information War: Russia, Fake News and the Future of Conflict [Book]. Goodreads.

    34 min

  6. OCT 1

    non-fungible tokens (NFT) (noun) [Word Notes]

    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.

    6 min

  7. OCT 1

    The Dark Arts of cyber.The Dark Arts of cyber. [Only Malware in the Building]

    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 joined by N2K Networks Dave Bittner and Rick Howard to uncover the stories behind notable cyberattacks.  Being a security researcher is a bit like being a detective: you gather clues, analyze the evidence, and consult the experts to solve the cyber puzzle. On this episode, we dive into how Proofpoint researchers uncovered an espionage campaign casting custom malware known as "Voldemort" in August 2024. The Dark Arts practitioner behind this campaign targeted global organizations, disguising themselves as mundane tax authorities and weaving clever enchantments like using Google Sheets for command and control (C2). While their ultimate motive remains as shadowy as a cursed Horcrux, this malware is built for intelligence gathering and is primed to unleash additional attacks — likely summoning something even darker, like Cobalt Strike. Prepare your wands, and let’s dive into this tale of digital sorcery!

    33 min

  8. SEP 26

    The devil IS in the details.

    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 of the card. A friend of the show JJ shared a story and a warning about fake checks. Never accept a check from a stranger. Dave's story covers Action Fraud, the UK’s national fraud and cyber reporting center, warning iPhone users of a new Apple ID phishing campaign. Maria talks about new research that uncovers a new scam that takes advantage of public wishlists on ecommerce websites, which in this case is Walmart, but is similar to those found on Amazon and other sites. Joe's story is about a firm in Singapore with an email from a supplier requesting that a pending payment be sent to a new bank account based in East Timor.  Our Catch of the Day is from Reddit on the /scambait subreddit "THE Dolly Parton is going to let ME in her VIP club." Links to the stories: iPhone Users Warned As New Email Password-Stealing Attacks Reported Walmart customers scammed via fake shopping lists, threatened with arrest Police recover over USD 40 million from international email scam THE Dolly Parton is going to let ME in her VIP club. You can hear more from the T-Minus space daily show here. Have a Catch of the Day you'd like to share? Email it to us at hackinghumans@n2k.com.

    47 min
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4.6
out of 5
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About

Deception, influence, and social engineering in the world of cyber crime.

Information

  • Creator
    N2K Networks
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2024
  • Episodes
    589
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2024 N2K Networks, Inc. 706761
  • Show Website
    Hacking Humans

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