What the Hack?

At DEF CON’s Social Engineering Village, contestants have 22 minutes to charm real employees at real companies into revealing real details that could lead to a breach. We step inside the booth to see how persuasion, improv, and psychology fuel both ethical hacking and the rise of cybercrime worldwide. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kurtis Minder knows the dark web better than most—and he’s not just watching from the sidelines. As a ransomware negotiator, he’s helped victims talk their way out of seemingly impossible situations. This week, we explore how cybercriminals operate, what makes them tick, and what you need to know to avoid becoming their next target. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A not-entirely innocent moment at a concert set the internet on fire. But what if that was just a symptom of a bigger problem? New York Times journalist Kashmir Hill, author of Your Face Belongs to Us, helps us explore the chilling reality of ambient surveillance, and how facial recognition could be the end privacy as we know it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Online fraud isn't just annoying; it's a national crisis. Last year alone, it may have siphoned $158 billion from the U.S. economy. This episode features AARP's Kathy Stokes, who reveals how fraud has morphed into a sophisticated, global operation and what's being done to fight back against this evolving threat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this discussion, Amanda Gerut, West Coast editor for Fortune magazine and author of a revealing piece on North Korean operatives, dives into the chilling world of remote IT scams funding North Korea's nuclear ambitions. She uncovers the shocking operations of laptop farms and identity theft targeting Western companies. With insight into the harrowing conditions faced by coerced North Korean IT workers, the conversation highlights law enforcement's challenges and essential tips for freelancers on safeguarding against scams and identity theft.

Join Ben Winters, director of AI and Privacy at the Consumer Federation of America, for a front-row seat to the chaotic world of AI regulation where dirty data, aggressive lobbying, and public confusion drive a "winner takes all" vibe. From shady therapy bots to data-fueled discrimination, Ben reveals the urgent need to create guardrails for AI before it jumps the tracks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kristin got scammed because she didn't want to give a puppy mill her business. This classic digital scam has it all: fake breeders, phony shipping agents, and a non-existent air-conditioned crate. Kristen reveals how her scammers used trust, urgency and emotion, to close the deal. Listen to her story and what you can do to avoid getting duped yourself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you have never listened to Chris Hutchins explain how to get free travel, you’ve probably been paying too much for your vacations. Turns out, a threat actor was listening to him and stole his miles. Download this week’s episode to hear how he hacked the situation to score even more points.   (This episode originally airdropped September 26, 2022.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every part of life that comes in contact with the Internet is tracked, packed and sold to a a seemingly infinite network of data brokers. Caitlin Sarian AKA Cybersecurity Girl joined us this week to discuss why scrubbing your information is trickier than it sounds and what you can do about it.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nicole Perlroth’s book This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends is a masterpiece on the topic of cyberwar and the zero-day hacks that make it deadly. Join us as we explore with Perlroth a cyberscape where mistakes are weaponized, backdoors abound and we all have zero degrees of separation from spies and the people they spy on.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices