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Welcome to 2025! Ken and Mike kick off the new year with their security resolutions (or lack thereof) before diving into the bittersweet farewell to ShmooCon, one of the most beloved hacker conferences. Ken shares his experiences from the final event, including insights on hardware hacking, radio security, and the unique hacker culture that made ShmooCon special.

They also unpack one of the most practical talks from the conference: a deep dive into open source security tools versus enterprise solutions, highlighting ways security teams can cut costs without sacrificing effectiveness. Speaking of open source, the hosts discuss the controversy surrounding Semgrep’s licensing changes and the rise of OpenGrep, the latest community-driven fork in response to closed-source shifts—drawing parallels to the Terraform/OpenTofu saga.

Finally, the duo explores cyber risk from an insurance perspective, breaking down how breaches translate into real-world financial costs (hint: mailing breach notifications alone could bankrupt you). Whether you're a security pro, an open source advocate, or just here for the ShmooBall nostalgia, this episode has something for you!

PWJ: S2E11 – TGD 7 – “The Hard-bitten Ghost”