Cyber Security Sauna

You know about malware, ransomware, spyware. But there's an increasing concern about stalkerware, a creepy breed of apps that allow someone else to digitally monitor you. What is stalkerware all about and how can you recognize it? Who plants it and why, and who are its victims? Joining the show are Eva Galperin, director of cyber security at the Electronic Frontier Foundation who also helped found the Coalition Against Stalkerware, and Anthony Melgarejo, threat researcher in F-Secure's Tactical Defense Unit.

Links:

Episode 45 transcript

Coalition Against Stalkerware

Operation Safe Escape

Electronic Frontier Foundation

It's a year like none we've ever experienced. COVID-19's effects have reverberated around the world, and around cyberspace. What's been happening in the threat landscape while we were all preoccupied with the pandemic? How have cyber attackers adapted to the new normal, and how are they exploiting COVID-19? Christine Bejerasco and Calvin Gan, of F-Secure's Tactical Defense Unit, join us to discuss. In this episode: How threat actors are taking advantage of remote work; email and phishing threats; infostealers that profile company networks; and why a ransomware infection may be just the tip of the iceberg.

Links:

Episode 44 transcript

F-Secure report: Attack Landscape H1 2020

There is no one set path to a cybersecurity career, and today's guests have arrived in the field in very different ways. Logan Whitmire comes from a military background and Derek Stoeckenius has a degree in psychology. In this episode, they share what sparked their interest in infosec, their journey to their current roles, and how their unique backgrounds influenced the way they approach their work. Also: Tips on getting into the field, and what they might have done differently if they could go back.

Links:

Episode 43 transcript

Encryption plays a critical role in protecting our data from hackers and theft. But at the same time, it presents a challenge for law enforcement when it comes to their work catching dangerous criminals and terrorists. What are the possible options at the end of the encryption debate, and are any of them actually viable? How can we protect our data while still enabling law enforcement to do their jobs? Erka Koivunen, CISO of F-Secure, joins us to discuss the encryption "sweet spot" that we've currently found, why some parties want to change it, and why there are no easy answers.

Links

Episode 42 transcript

New York Times The Daily podcast "A Criminal Underworld of Child Abuse, Part 2"

Red team testing is somewhat intrusive by nature, as it involves breaking into companies - albeit at their request - to help them improve their security. Red teamers must bluff their way past receptionists and hack into employee computers, things that would put anyone else in a lot of trouble. At what point do red teaming activities cross the line into being unethical, or even criminal? F-Secure's veteran red teamer Tom Van de Wiele stopped by to share what a red teamer is not willing to do in the name of security, why cyber security experts need a sense of ethics, and how red teamers and companies alike can make sure that their own ethical concerns are addressed.

Links:

Episode 41 transcript

The F-Secure Guide to Rainbow Teaming

Contact tracing is a key strategy for preventing the spread of COVID-19, and smartphone-assisted contract tracing automates a laborious process. But contact tracing technologies face criticism from privacy advocates concerned about the potential for abuse. F-Secure privacy expert and global technical director Tomi Tuominen argues that the issue is a process problem, not a technology problem. Janne speaks with Tomi about contact tracing, how apps should fit into a bigger healthcare picture, and how privacy-preserving contact tracing technology should work.

Links:

Episode 40 transcript

Tracking COVID tracing apps in different countries, MIT Technology Review

Principles for Technology-Assisted Contact Tracing, ACLU

APT29, aka Cozy Bear or the Dukes, is a cyber espionage group whose misdeeds include famously hacking into the DNC servers in the run-up to the 2016 US election. Now, as the subject of MITRE's latest ATT&CK Evaluation, the group is in focus again. The Dukes are familiar to F-Secure's Artturi Lehtio, who extensively researched them in 2015. But hindsight is 20/20, and Artturi joins the show to discuss how his views on the group have changed since his research.

Also in this episode: How APT groups behave after being burned and why the Dukes are different; why calling them a single organization is too strong; and why published APT research has generally dwindled in recent years.

Links:

Episode 39 transcript

The Dukes: 7 Years of Russian Cyberespionage - F-Secure whitepaper

MITRE ATT&CK Evaluation: APT29

Operation Ghost - ESET

No Easy Breach by Matthew Dunwoody & Nick Carr - DerbyCon 2016

Dukes activity after their "return" in 2016 - Volexity

It's the topic on everyone's minds: The new state of our world amid and after a global pandemic. Mikko Hypponen, F-Secure's Chief Research Officer, joins Janne to discuss a host of COVID-19-related security topics. In this episode: Avoiding Zoom bombers, new concerns for IT environments, COVID-19 hoaxes and spam, ransomware and hospitals, APT activity, privacy concerns of coronavirus tracking apps, and how the infosec community can help.

Links:

Episode 38 transcript

Webinar: Mikko Hypponen - Cyber Security and COVID-19

In infosec we're used to news about digital virus infections and outbreaks. But the new coronavirus is turning the real world upside down. In many countries, it's changing the way of life for the foreseeable future, and it's already having effects in business security too. Erka Koivunen, CISO at F-Secure, joins the show to talk about the impact of this pandemic on organizations when it comes to cyber security and the shift to a remote workforce.

Links:

Episode 37 transcript

Coronavirus Email Attacks Evolving as Outbreak Spreads

Hackers are Targeting Hospitals Crippled by Coronavirus

Hackers Promise 'No More Healthcare Cyber Attacks" During COVID-19 Crisis

Protecting Employees and Systems in a Time of Pandemic

2020 marks the start of a new decade. But it's also worth taking a look back at where we've come from and what has changed in infosec. F-Secure's Christine Bejerasco joins the show to review the highlights of the last ten years - from nation state malware to ransomware to Snowden and more - and to discuss how far we have, or maybe haven't, come.

Links:

Episode 36 transcript