This week on Hacker And The Fed former FBI agent Chris Tarbell and ex-black hat hacker Hector Monsegur dive into a massive hacking scandal targeting Italian political elites, revealing insider threats and international intrigue. They break down NSA mobile device security best practices and share their own successes (and failures) in following them. Plus, updates on their personal lives, community work, and how ethical hacking can prevent breaches like this. Send HATF your questions...

Hacker And The Fed is back. Finally rebooting after a temporary hiatus. Former FBI Special Agent, Chris Tarbell, and ex-Anonymous/LulzSec blackhat hacker turned network penetration tester, Hector Monsegur (aka Sabu), once faced off as adversaries in cyberspace before becoming close friends and now podcast co-hosts. Whether you are a legal professional, cybersecurity practitioner, or forensic investigator, Chris and Hector will bring you their unique perspectives on the latest developments in...

On this episode of Hacker And The Fed we interview Special Agent Aron Mann with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Cyber Crime Center about their cyber role and career opportunities. We break down the Colonial Pipeline hack, how the dark web is intensifying the insider threat, and dig into the mother of all breaches. And finally, the SEC's X account was hacked. Links from the...

This week on Hacker And The Fed we interview Greg Van Houten of Haynes Boone and policyholderplaybook.com, a seasoned civil litigator who focuses on insurance recovery. We talk to Greg about the SEC's new cybersecurity disclosure rules, which went into effect this month. We also discuss a massive hack that went unreported, a train hack due to a vendor’s geofencing feature, indictments in an 80-million-dollar pig butchering scheme, and a MongoDB security breach. Links from the episode:  Greg...

This week on Hacker And The Fed we speak with Lance Taubin of Alston & Bird about being a cyber lawyer, the FBI shares the tactics of the ransomware gang Scattered Spider, a company pays a ransom and their data is exposed anyway, Alpha BlackCat uses government regulations to further pressure a victim to pay, and the FCC is trying to make SIM swapping more difficult. Links from the episode:  FBI Shares Tactics of Notorious Scattered Spider Hacker...

This week on Hacker And The Fed we break down the SolarWinds hack, there are 8 new vulnerabilities found in SolarWinds, thousands of remote IT workers have been working for North Korea, hackers are targeting a company that handles data requests for law enforcement, and we answer listener questions about VPN services, password managers and patch management. Links from the episode:  Critical SolarWinds RCE Bugs Enable Unauthorized Network...

This week on Hacker And The Fed we offer updates on the MOVEit and MGM Resorts hacks, the US State Department has no idea if its IT security actually works, the Senate's email system melts down in the face of a security test, Cisco can't stop using static passwords, and we answer listener questions about Single Sign-on, circumventing company IT rules, and LinkedIn profiles. Links from the episode: MOVEit Maker Announces New Critical Vulnerability Affecting a Different File Transfer...

This week on Hacker And The Fed Microsoft releases their 2023 digital defense report, are paying ransoms illegal in the United States? The NSA and CISA red and blue teams share top 10 cyber security misconfigurations, a 158 year old company shuts down because of a ransomware attack, and we answer listener questions about fido2 security keys and "hacktivist" rules. Links from the episode: Microsoft Releases Its Yearly Digital Defense...

This week on Hacker And The Fed the end of privacy with AI being used to dox people in viral videos, billions of usernames and passwords are exposed, nationstate hackers are hiding in router firmware updates, we answer listener questions about working with the FBI, setting up a cyber security business, and safely using data sent to you be others. Finally, we announce Hacker And The Fed's first contest for cyber security awareness month. Links from the episode: The End of Privacy is a Taylor...

This week on Hacker And The Fed we break down how Equifax was breached, is Google Authenticator MFA Cloud Sync feature responsible for a hack into 27 crypto companies? Google’s Threat Analysis Group announces an in-the-wild 0-day exploit chain for iPhones, the year of the insider threat continues with the arrest of a Department of State IT Contractor on espionage charges. Links from the episode: How Equifax Was Breached in...

This week on Hacker And The Fed we answer listener questions about finding out our relative is a hacker, applying for a cyber security job as a chemical engineer, preparing you for a technical interview, the FBI being a great place to work, is MFA once every 24 hours too much, and much more. Get your Hacker and the Fed merchandise at hackerandthefed.com Send HATF your questions at [email protected]

This week on Hacker And The Fed your car may know all the details about your sex life, the Swiss fined an insurer 3 million dollars for horrible cyber security practices, the US Departments of State and Commerce were compromised because of a two-year-old Windows crash report, Iran and New Korea hacking crews have active campaigns against security researchers, and two victories over Russian hackers for the US government. Links from the episode: Insurer Fined $3M for Exposing Data of 650k...

This week on Hacker And The Fed the FBI's Operation "Duck Hunt" takes down a ransomware botnet, we disclose the secret weapon hackers use for doxing, the New York City subway system allows its users to be tracked online, and we answer listener questions about leaving the FBI, getting jobs in cyber security, and Hector's detailed description of a red teamer. Links from the episode: How the FBI Took Down the Notorious Qakbot...

This week on Hacker And The Fed a Danish cloud provider loses all of their customer's data, a hacker in custody continues hacking through a fire stick, there are two great write ups about a zero day vulnerability and HTML smuggling, cyber security entry jobs should be just that, entry into the industry, and we answer listener questions that include an ongoing dialogue with an active hacker about becoming a white hat. Links from the episode: Criminals Go Full Viking on CloudNordic, Wipe All...

This week on Hacker And The Fed we have Andrew Morris, CEO and founder of GreyNoise on the show. GreyNoise is a cybersecurity company that collects and analyzes mass internet data to remove pointless security alerts, find compromised devices, or identify emerging threats. We talk internet honeypots, how to get into the cyber security industry and much more. Links from the episode: Andrew Morris, CEO & Founder of...

This week on Hacker And The Fed Zoom wanted to use your calls to train artificial intelligence, the NSA and DARPA are presenting challenges to the cyber security community, and we answer listener questions from a US military chaplain about justice, a former black hat about a career in cyber security, and even a hacker who used a compromised email account to ask us how to stop hacking. Links from the episode: Zoom walks back controversial privacy...

This week on Hacker And The Fed the US hunts Chinese malware that could disrupt American Military operations, a year in review of zero-day exploits, a study finds no evidence that ransomware victims with cyber insurance pay up more often, there's fighting words between Tenable CEO and Microsoft, and we answer listener questions from a listener in Greece, Holland, and a new minted NSA hacker. Links from the episode: U.S. Hunts Chinese Malware That Could Disrupt American Military...

This week on Hacker And The Fed what authentication attacks might look like in a phishing resistant future, the SEC now requires companies to disclose cyber attacks, there are many more US government domains in the .com world than you might think, and other news stories from this week in cyber security. Links from the episode: What might authentication attacks look like in a phishing-resistant...

This week on Hacker And The Fed new cyber security labels proposed by the US government could help us buy our new devices, an employee exposes thousands of intelligence and defense employees, Google may be restricting internet access to some employees to reduce their cyber attack risk, a hacker infects his own computer, and Google says an Apple employee found a zero-day but didn't report it, and we answer listener questions about our phones getting searched and email encryption. Links from...

This week on Hacker And The Fed you can't always count on Google for the right telephone number for an airline, an American cloud based directory as a service platform announces that they were hacked by a state sponsored threat actor, millions of US military emails may be ending up in the wrong hands, a new ransomware looks like a windows update, we answer listener questions, and Hector tells a fascinating story about a hacking methodology. Links from the episode: Airline Fake Contact Number...

This week on Hacker And The Fed your lightbulbs may be giving away the location of your house, could Microsoft end ransomware right now? Also, voice authentication may be broken, the latest ransomware attack shows us the important of logistics security, convenience has once again jeopardized Google authenticator security, and a listener shares a wild car theft story. Links from the episode: Your lightbulbs may be giving out your exact...

This week on Hacker And The Fed your car may be collecting up to 25 GB per hour of data about you and a new malware payload vector is using DNS, what is “encryptionless ransomware”. We also answer listener questions about a variety of topics, including how to prepare for a cybersecurity career in the US government, banking security, and hack-backs. Links from the episode: How Your New Car Tracks You https://www.wired.com/story/car-data-privacy-toyota-honda-ford/   DNS TXT Records Can Be Used...

This week on Hacker And The Fed a CEO did a hack back and was sentenced to prison, Reddit hackers demanded a price roll back, repo jacking and fake Github repositories, and we answer listener questions about Hector's old hacks and VPNs. Links from the episode: I Was Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for Hacking Back - My Story twitter.com/silascutler/status/1671144482769608705 -> https://hackernoon.com/i-was-sentenced-to-18-months-in-prison-for-hacking-back-my-story   Reddit hackers demand...

This week on Hacker And The Fed a ransomware group hacked a widely used file transfer software and began leaking stolen data, Google claims it caught Chinese government hackers red-handed breaking into hundreds of networks, the Feds arrest a ransomware perpetrator in Arizona, and we nerd out on security researchers taking over various countries domains. Links from the episode: MOVEit Cyber Attack: Personal Data Of Millions Stolen From Oregon, Louisiana, U.S....