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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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....
info_outline
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,...
info_outline
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_outline
Episode #22 – The Julian Assange Story, Part 1
Digital Desperados
In this episode of Digital Desperados, Jim Brangenberg, Patrick McMurphy, and Brad Hawkins (CEO of SaferNet VPN) begin to explore the fascinating and controversial life of Julian Assange. We look at the early life events that led Julian to become a self-taught computer whiz. As usual, he quickly started getting into trouble as Assange crept further and further into the world of hacking, dabbling significantly in “hacktivism.” Although he should have spent his life in jail, he was offered and accepted a plea bargain to help authorities catch criminals. In 2001, Assange...
info_outline
Episode #21 – How Some Teens Created a Cyber Atomic Bomb
Digital Desperados
Imagine an attack that takes down the internet! Three teenagers in the US created Mirai to try to get established in the cybersecurity world, but it turned into a monster. Their tool infected millions of internet devices like cameras and routers, turning them into an army. This "botnet" launched attacks that overwhelmed websites, causing huge internet crashes. The teens panicked and released the tool online, making things worse. Luckily, the FBI caught them. Instead of jail time, the trio’s skills landed them a surprising job: helping the FBI fight other online criminals. This...
info_outlineIn 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 practices, and became a blockchain entrepreneur. Today, he's a cybersecurity advocate, making Forbes’ 30 under 30 and warning the world about privacy issues.
This episode stresses that staying secure online is more important than ever—because while Mustafa turned out to be one of the good guys, the next genius hacker might not. Protect yourself with SaferNet’s VPN, virus protection, and web filters.