Episode #32 – Iranian Hacking Group: the Not So “Charming Kitten”
Digital Desperados
This week, Jim Brangenberg is joined by cybersecurity expert Patrick McMurphy and SaferNet CEO Brad Hawkins to unravel the dark web world of APT42—better known as Charming Kitten. Spoiler alert: it’s not actually charming. This Iranian state-sponsored hacking group is a master of digital espionage, targeting activists, journalists, government officials, and even U.S. presidential campaigns. Active since 2015, they use tricks like spear phishing (fake, super-convincing emails) and their custom malware, NiceCurl and TameCat, to steal data, control devices, and monitor their victims. ...
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Episode #31 – Samy Kamkar: A Hacker’s Quick Pivot to CyberSecurity
Digital Desperados
This week, Digital Desperados takes a lighthearted stroll through the story of Samy Kamkar, a hacker who quickly found out that hacking isn’t a game. Remember MySpace? (Yes, it’s the “classic rock” of social media.) Back in 2005, teenage Samy created the “Samy Worm,” a harmless-yet-viral hack that declared him a hero on over a million profiles before getting him in major trouble with the Secret Service. Fast forward and Samy has become a cybersecurity trailblazer, exposing vulnerabilities in everything from RFID credit cards to IoT gadgets like drones and car systems. ...
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Episode #30 – The Cyber Redemption of Hieu PC
Digital Desperados
Uncover the riveting story of Hieu Minh Ngo—aka “Hieu PC”—a notorious hacker who (thankfully) turned his life around to fight cybercrime. Hieu’s story begins in Vietnam, where he got his first computer at 13 and quickly found the world of hacking. His skills evolved as he exploited vulnerabilities at his university in New Zealand. This escalated to ultimately selling massive amounts of stolen data online, causing $65 million in financial losses, mostly in the U.S. Hieu’s hacking career came to an end in 2013 when he was arrested in Guam. Surprisingly, Hieu chose...
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Episode #29 – The Rise and Fall of a Cyber Jihadist
Digital Desperados
Junaid Hussain, a quiet British teen with a knack for computers, morphed into a dangerous cyber jihadist. Initially drawn to hacking as a teenager, he joined groups like Team Poison, targeting perceived enemies of Islam. His skills grew, and he hacked high-profile individuals like Mark Zuckerberg and Tony Blair. A prison stint radicalized him further, and he embraced extremist ideology. Joining ISIS in 2013, he became a key figure in their hacking division, recruiting young Muslims worldwide and inciting violence. He used social media to spread propaganda and coordinated attacks on...
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Episode #28 – Online Security, More Crucial Than Ever
Digital Desperados
In this episode of Digital Desperados, you’ll learn the story of Mustafa Al-Bassam, a teenage hacker who took on the CIA and lived to tell the tale. Co-hosts Patrick, Brad, and Jim dive into Mustafa's journey from mischievous school hacker at the ripe age of 9 years old to a member of Anonymous and LulzSec as a teen, pulling off cyber-attacks against corporations and governments, including Sony and the CIA. After getting caught at just 16, Mustafa decided maybe black hat hacking wasn’t for him. He earned a PhD in computer science, helped expose shady government surveillance...
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Episode #27 – The Rise and Fall of REvil
Digital Desperados
In this gripping episode of Digital Desperados, Jim Brangenberg, Patrick McMurphy, and Brad Hawkins (CEO of ) dive into the shadowy world of REvil, one of the most notorious ransomware groups in history. You’ll walk through how REvil, born from the remnants of the GrandCrab group, transformed ransomware into a global business, threatening to compromise companies like Apple, JBS, and Acer for millions of dollars. Discover how REvil’s affiliates wreaked havoc, how they used a blog to control their victims, and how they leveraged ransomware as a service (RaaS). Learn about their...
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Episode #26 – The Accidental Hero, Marcus Hutchins
Digital Desperados
In this episode of Digital Desperados, Patrick McMurphy dives into the incredible true story of Marcus Hutchins, founder of the MalwareTech Blog. Born in a quiet English village, Marcus’s passion for computers grew from a young age, leading him down a dark path of hacking and malware development. By his mid-teens, he created a botnet and notorious rootkits, collaborating with cybercriminals. However, Marcus’s story (thankfully) took a sharp turn. In 2017, he became an unlikely hero, accidentally discovering the kill switch for the WannaCry ransomware—stopping the spread of one of the...
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Episode #25 – Pavel Durov: Russia's Digital Rebel
Digital Desperados
In this episode of Digital Desperados, Jim Brangenberg, Patrick McMurphy, and Brad Hawkins explore the fascinating story of Pavel Durov, known as the "Mark Zuckerberg of Russia." Durov created VK, Russia's largest social media platform, while still a university student. His success, however, came at a price—Durov refused to comply with Russian government censorship, leading to his eventual ousting from VK. Undeterred, Durov went on to create Telegram, a secure messaging app focused on privacy and free speech. Telegram quickly gained popularity and now has over a billion users worldwide....
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Episode #24 – Don’t Give Drinkman Your Credit Card Information
Digital Desperados
Explore the story of Vladimir Drinkman, a notorious Russian hacker. This digital desperado gained expertise in SQL injections and formed a hacking crew that executed long-term cyber-attacks, including the massive breaches of TJX Companies and Heartland Payment Systems. Drinkman and his team infiltrated databases, stole credit card information, and sold it on the dark web. Brad Hawkins explains how SaferNet's tools, such as VPNs and internet filters, can prevent such attacks by locking down devices and networks. After being arrested in 2012, Drinkman was extradited to the US,...
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Episode #23 – The Julian Assange Story, Part 2
Digital Desperados
Welcome back to Part 2 in the Julian Assange story! This episode gets into the nitty gritty, discussing key WikiLeaks leaks, ranging from the Peruvian oil scandal to hundreds of thousands of classified war logs that the public was never meant to see. Not to mention the huge impact WikiLeaks had on the 2016 elections, leaking confidential emails from the Democratic National Committee. Story guide Patrick highlights WikiLeaks' impact on global politics and security, while CEO Brad discusses the ethical dilemmas of hacking and publishing classified information. They explore Assange's role as...
info_outlineThis Digital Desperados episode explores Roman Seleznev, a hacker who amassed a fortune through stolen credit cards. Born in 1984, Roman's life took a dark turn after his parents divorced when he was young. Tragedy struck again at 17 with his mother's death, followed by his uncle seizing their belongings.
It was at a computer hardware store that Roman's criminal path began – stealing customer credit card information and selling it on the dark web. His hacking skills grew, crafting tools to exploit weak passwords on remote control PCs and pilfering financial data. Targeting Americans brought him to the US authorities' attention. A 2009 attempt to capture him through the FSB (Russian intelligence) likely resulted in a tip-off, allowing Roman to operate under aliases for years. His competitor's arrest in 2010 offered a brief window, but in 2014, US authorities apprehended Roman in the Maldives, possibly with FSB cooperation.
A record-breaking 27-year sentence followed in 2016. Hosts examine the missed chance to steer Roman towards a brighter future and emphasize online safety measures like strong passwords and, of course, a reliable VPN like SaferNet!