The Ransomware War
Easy Prey
Ransomware isn’t a lone hacker in a hoodie. It’s an entire criminal industry complete with developers, brokers, and money launderers working together like a dark tech startup. And while these groups constantly evolve, so do the tools and partnerships aimed at stopping them before they strike. My guest today is Cynthia Kaiser, former Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI’s Cyber Division and now the Head of the Ransomware Research Center at Halcyon. After two decades investigating global cyber threats and briefing top government leaders, she’s now focused on prevention and building...
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Opportunistic Crimes
Easy Prey
Criminals are always adapting. Whether it’s copper wiring stripped from job sites or porch pirates grabbing deliveries in broad daylight, they keep finding new ways to take what isn’t theirs. But maybe prevention isn’t about harsher punishment or more cameras. Maybe it’s about smarter design and understanding what drives people to steal in the first place. My guest today is Dr. Ben Stickle, a professor of criminal justice at Middle Tennessee State University and one of the country’s top researchers on property crime. Before entering academia, he worked in law enforcement, which gives...
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Post Scam Guidebook
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Fraud usually gets talked about in numbers like how much money was stolen, how many people were affected, how many cases got filed. But behind every one of those numbers is a person who’s been blindsided, manipulated, or left trying to rebuild trust in others and in themselves. This episode shifts the focus back to those human stories and the fight to protect them. My guest, Freddie Massimi, has spent more than a decade helping scam victims find both financial and emotional recovery, bringing empathy and understanding to a field that too often feels cold and procedural. As a certified...
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Can You Trust Anything Online
Easy Prey
You think you’d never fall for a scam until you meet someone like Kitboga. He’s a software engineer who’s turned his curiosity about online fraud into a full-time mission to outsmart scammers and protect the people they target. His YouTube channel, The Kitboga Show, has millions of followers and nearly a billion views, thanks to his mix of humor, empathy, and clever ways of exposing how scams really work. In our conversation, Kit opens up about how this all started, what it’s really like to spend hours pretending to be a scam victim, and how organized crime has turned fraud into a...
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Real Time Fraud Detection
Easy Prey
Everywhere you turn, someone’s trying to fake something like an image, a voice, or even an entire identity. With AI tools now in almost anyone’s hands, it takes minutes, not days, to create a convincing fake. That’s changed the game for both sides. The fraudsters have new weapons, and the rest of us are scrambling to keep up. The real question now isn’t just how to stop scams, but how to know who or what to trust online. My guest today, Bala Kumar, spends his days on the front lines of that battle. He’s the Chief Product and Technology Officer at Jumio, a company working to make...
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Child Predator Tactics
Easy Prey
Kids spend more time online than ever, and for the most part it feels normal. They’re gaming, watching videos, and chatting with friends. But hidden in those same spaces are adults who know how to pose as kids, build trust, and push conversations into dangerous territory. Parents might think it couldn’t happen to their child, yet detectives see how quickly an “innocent” interaction can turn into grooming or extortion. That’s the world Detective Seth Cockerham works in every day. He’s been in law enforcement in Texas for close to a decade, and the last few years have been dedicated...
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Identity Trafficking
Easy Prey
Some people are willing to hand over their identities for cash, while organized fraudsters are lining up to buy them. What used to be a matter of stolen credit cards has turned into a global marketplace where personal details fuel large-scale fraud. Now with AI, automation, and deepfakes making impersonation easier than ever, it’s becoming much more difficult to protect identities. To understand how we got here and what can be done, I spoke with Ofer Friedman, Chief Business Development Officer at AU10TIX. Ofer has spent more than 15 years in the identity verification and compliance...
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Technology, Trust & Time
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Technology is moving faster than our ability to process its impact, forcing us to question trust, motivation, and the value of our time. Few people have had a closer view of those shifts than Esther Dyson. With a background in economics from Harvard, Esther built a career as a journalist, author, commentator, investor, and philanthropist, with a unique ability to spot patterns across industries and challenge assumptions before they become mainstream. She is the executive founder of Wellville, a ten-year nonprofit project dedicated to improving equitable well-being in communities across the...
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The Global Scam Battle
Easy Prey
Cybercrime continues to evolve in sophistication and scale, with attackers running their operations much like businesses. From ransomware gangs with customer support desks to AI-generated phishing campaigns that erase traditional red flags, scams are becoming harder to detect and stop. In this episode, David Bittner, host of the CyberWire Daily Podcast, shares his perspective on the changing landscape of fraud and cyberattacks. Drawing on his background in media, theater, and podcasting, as well as years of reporting on security issues, he explains how both criminals and defenders are using...
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AI Supercharges Scams
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Cybercriminals are accelerating their attacks in ways that weren’t possible a few years ago. Artificial intelligence is giving them the ability to spin up phishing campaigns, voice clones, and deepfakes in minutes instead of days. As a result, the gap between what’s genuine and what’s fake is closing fast, making it harder for both individuals and organizations to defend themselves. I’m thrilled to welcome Brett Winterford, Vice President of Okta Threat Intelligence. Brett has had a front row seat to these changes. His team analyzes identity-based attacks and delivers insights to help...
info_outlineRansomware isn’t a lone hacker in a hoodie. It’s an entire criminal industry complete with developers, brokers, and money launderers working together like a dark tech startup. And while these groups constantly evolve, so do the tools and partnerships aimed at stopping them before they strike.
My guest today is Cynthia Kaiser, former Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI’s Cyber Division and now the Head of the Ransomware Research Center at Halcyon. After two decades investigating global cyber threats and briefing top government leaders, she’s now focused on prevention and building collaborations across government and industry to disrupt ransomware actors at their source.
We talk about how ransomware groups operate, why paying a ransom rarely solves the problem, and what layered defense really means for organizations and individuals. Cynthia also shares how AI is reshaping both sides of the cyber arms race and why she believes hope, not fear, is the most powerful tool for defenders.
Show Notes:
- [01:04] Cynthia Kaiser had a 20-year FBI career and has now transitioned from investigation to prevention at Halcyon.
- [03:58] The true scale of cyber threats is far larger than most people realize, even within the government.
- [04:19] Nation-state and criminal activity now overlap, making attribution increasingly difficult.
- [06:45] Cynthia outlines how ransomware spreads through phishing, credential theft, and unpatched systems.
- [08:08] Ransomware is an ecosystem of specialists including developers, access brokers, money launderers, and infrastructure providers.
- [09:55] Discussion of how many ransomware groups exist and the estimated cost of attacks worldwide.
- [11:37] Ransom payments dropped in 2023, but total business recovery costs remain enormous.
- [12:24] Paying a ransom can mark a company as an easy target and doesn’t guarantee full decryption.
- [13:11] Example of a decryptor that failed completely and how Halcyon helped a victim recover.
- [14:35] The so-called “criminal code of ethics” among ransomware gangs has largely disappeared.
- [16:48] Hospitals continue to be targeted despite claims of moral restraint among attackers.
- [18:44] Prevention basics still matter including strong passwords, multi-factor authentication, and timely patching.
- [19:18] Cynthia explains the value of layered defense and incident-response practice drills.
- [21:22] Even individuals need cyber hygiene like unique passwords, MFA, and updated antivirus protection.
- [23:32] Deepfakes are becoming a major threat vector, blurring trust in voice and video communications.
- [25:17] Always verify using a separate communication channel when asked to send money or change payment info.
- [27:40] Real-world example: credential-stuffing attack against MLB highlights the need for two-factor authentication.
- [29:55] What to do once ransomware hits includes containment, external counsel, and calling trusted law-enforcement contacts.
- [32:44] Cynthia recounts being impersonated online and how she responded to protect others from fraud.
- [34:28] Many victims feel ashamed to report cybercrime, especially among older adults.
- [36:45] Scams often succeed because they align with real-life timing or emotional triggers.
- [38:32] Children and everyday users are also at risk from deceptive links and push-fatigue attacks.
- [39:26] Overview of Halcyon’s Ransomware Research Center and its educational, collaborative goals.
- [42:15] The importance of public-private partnerships in defending hospitals and critical infrastructure.
- [43:38] How AI-driven behavioral detection gives defenders a new advantage.
- [44:48] Cynthia shares optimism that technology can reduce ransomware’s impact.
- [45:43] Closing advice includes practicing backups, building layered defenses, and staying hopeful.
Thanks for joining us on Easy Prey. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes and leave a nice review.