Past, Present, and Future of AI agents
Easy Prey
The intersection of AI and cybersecurity is changing faster than anyone expected, and that pace is creating both incredible innovation and brand-new risks we’re only beginning to understand. From deepfake ads that fool even seasoned security professionals to autonomous agents capable of acting on our behalf, the threat landscape looks very different than it did even a year ago. To explore what this evolution means for everyday people and for enterprises trying to keep up, I’m joined by Chris Kirschke, Field CISO at Tuskira and a security leader with more than two decades of experience...
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You Are Traceable with OSINT
Easy Prey
Publicly available data can paint a much clearer picture of our lives than most of us realize, and this episode takes a deeper look at how those tiny digital breadcrumbs like photos, records, searches, even the background of a Zoom call can be pieced together to reveal far more than we ever intended. To help break this down, I’m joined by Cynthia Hetherington, Founder and CEO of The Hetherington Group, a longtime leader in open-source intelligence. She also founded Osmosis, the global association and conference for OSINT professionals, and she oversees OSINT Academy, where her team trains...
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Anyone Could Walk In
Easy Prey
Sometimes we forget how much trust we place in the little things around us like a lock on a door or a badge on someone’s shirt. We see those symbols and assume everything behind them is safe, but it doesn’t always work that way. A person with enough confidence, or the right story, can slip through places we think are locked down tight, and most of us never notice it’s happening. My guest today is Deviant Ollam, and he’s one of the rare people who gets invited to break into buildings on purpose. He talks about how he fell into this unusual line of work, the odd moments that shaped his...
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The Scam You Never See Coming
Easy Prey
Fraud today doesn’t feel anything like it used to. It’s not just about somebody skimming a credit card at a gas pump or stealing a check out of the mail. It has gotten personal, messy, emotional. Scammers are building relationships, earning trust, and studying the little details of our lives so they can strike when we’re tired, distracted, or dealing with something big. And honestly, most people have no idea how far it’s gone. My guest, Ian Mitchell, has spent more than 25 years fighting fraud around the world and leading teams in the financial sector. He’s the founder of The Knoble,...
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Hacking AI
Easy Prey
AI has brought incredible new capabilities into everyday technology, but it’s also creating security challenges that most people haven’t fully wrapped their heads around yet. As these systems become more capable and more deeply connected to the tools and data we rely on, the risks become harder to predict and much more complicated to manage. My guest today is Rich Smith, who leads offensive research at MindGard and has spent more than twenty years working on the front lines of cybersecurity. Rich has held leadership roles at organizations like Crash Override, Gemini, Duo Security, Cisco,...
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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
Easy Prey
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...
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.