Aaron Swartz

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Aaron Swartz

Malicious Life by Cybereason tells the unknown stories of the history of cybersecurity, with comments and reflections by real hackers, security experts, journalists, and politicians.

Technology

Tech News

Podcasting

Gadgets

Software How-To

In this episode of ML, we're exploring the history of the well-known Nigerian Prince scam, also known as 419 or advanced fee scam, from its roots in a Parisian prison during the French Revolution, to the economic and social reason why this particular scam became so popular with African youth. Also, will AI make such scams more dangerous - or, counter intuitively, go against the interests of scammers? 

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The Nigerian Prince

Dive into the world of open-source intelligence (OSINT) in this episode, where we uncover how ordinary citizens use publicly available data to unravel some of the most complex global mysteries. From tracking conflicts in real-time to exposing the truth behind high-profile incidents like the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, discover how OSINT is revolutionizing the field of investigative journalism and transforming how we perceive and verify information. 


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Unmasking Secrets: The Rise of Open-Source Intelligence

A few weeks ago we had a listener’s meetup in New York, and as part of that meetup, I gave a talk in which I discussed how Malicious Life came to be - a story that goes back to my days as a ship's captain in the Israeli Navy - and then about how me and Nate craft the stories that you hear every other week. That last part, I hope, might also be beneficial to those of you, our listeners, who find themselves giving talks about technically complex ideas, cyber-related or not. The storytelling ideas and techniques I laid out in the talk are universal, and you’ll find them in blockbuster movies as well as podcast episodes. 

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The Source Code of Malicious Life

In the waning years of the 20th century, amid growing anxieties about the turn of the millennium, one man, Robert Bemer, observed the unfolding drama from his remote home on King Possum Lake. A revered figure in computing, Bemer had early on flagged a significant, looming issue known as the Y2K bug, which threatened to disrupt global systems as calendars rolled over to the year 2000. This episode delves into Bemer's life during this critical period, exploring his predictions, the ensuing global frenzy to avert disaster, and the disparate views on whether the billions spent in prevention were justified or merely a response to a misunderstood threat.  
 
 
 
 
 


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The Y2K Bug, Part 2

In the 1950s and 60s - even leading into the 1990s - the cost of storage was so high, that using a 2-digit field for dates in a software instead of 4-digits could save an organization between $1.2-$2 Million dollars per GB of data. From this perspective, programming computers in the 1950s to record four-digit years would’ve been outright malpractice. But 40 years later, this shortcut became a ticking time bomb which one man, computer scientist Bob Bemer, was trying to diffuse before it was too late. 

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Aaron Swartz

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