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When researching cyber threats, there is a bias towards to the West and most of Europe. But what about the global majority?

Today’s guest is Martijn Grooten, a Digital Security Threat Analyst with Internews. With 16 years of experience in cybersecurity, he has recently focused on the impact of security for at risk groups and people.

Join us as we discuss the following:

• Outdated ideas of security for the general public
• Common trends geographically
• The distinction of threats between devices

For more information, check out our website.

Resources:
Martijn’s BotConf talk: https://youtu.be/CcqOy6WdUjw
Martijn on social media: Twitter, Mastodon, LinkedIn

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It's shaping up to be a weird and wacky summer for threat researchers.

While it’s been quieter on the front end, there are still many stories to share with some weird and wacky incidents. This episode also includes a fun, dramatized read of an email tactic.

Join us as we discuss the following:

• Where the team identifies on the Cyber Alignment Chart
• Use of celebrity names within email lures
• Recent PDF antics
• Updates about activity from current threat actors

For more information, check out our website!

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Who’s quiet and who’s making noise? What’s the backchannel chatter over at Proofpoint?

Proofpoint threat researchers Joe Wise and Pim Trouerbach join this week’s episode to discuss the e-crime vibe for the first half of 2023.

Join us as we discuss the following:

• Emotet’s activity, or lack thereof
• Chaotic vibes from IcedID
• TA570 and TA577 setting trends

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How does cybercrime threaten individual reporters? What about an entire newsroom?
What if you’re an average person who suddenly becomes the center of a dark conspiracy theory?

Welcome to the world of cybersecurity for at-risk individuals. In this episode, renowned cybersecurity expert, Runa Sandvik joins to talk about her work protecting journalists and newsrooms from powerful attackers.


Join us as we discuss the following:

• Protecting personal and corporate devices and accounts for high risk individuals
• Common security gaps found in highly targeted organizations
• Effectively using cybersecurity tools
• Communicating cybersecurity guidance in the workplace

Resources:

• https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/reuters-reporters-online-accounts-faked-approach-china-activists-2023-02-28/
• https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/misinformation/tiffany-dover-conspiracy-theorists-silence-rcna69401

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A brief note on content for today's episode, we are going to be discussing or mentioning stalking, domestic abuse, and sex trafficking in today's show.

If you’re a threat actor with a million dollar budget targeting high ranked targets like dissidents, activists, journalists and politicians, how do you do it? What if you’d like to stalk your neighbor, or your ex?

In this episode, Proofpoint security research engineer, Chris Talib discusses high-ticket mobile spyware, the proliferation of low-cost stalkerware, surveillance capitalism and why he believes technology can’t solve social problems.

Join us as we discuss the following:

• Mobile spyware tools
• The impact of low cost stalkerware
• Moral and ethical implications of developing spyware
• The role of governments,organizations and activists in protecting citizen’s right to privacy

Resources:

• https://www.laquadrature.net/en/
• https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/research/2020/09/german-made-finspy-spyware-found-in-egypt-and-mac-and-linux-versions-revealed/
• https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2023/04/06/sex-traffickers-use-parenting-apps-like-life360-to-spy-on-victims/?sh=110a6e2464c3
• https://www.eff.org/
• https://tacticaltech.org/
• https://defensive-lab.agency/
• https://echap.eu.org/

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At least three threat actors are ushering in a new era for IcedID, originally classified as banking malware in 2017. In this episode, Proofpoint researchers, Joe Wise and Pim Trouerbach, are here to share their research on the Lite and Forked IcedID variants

Join us as we discuss the following:

• Lite IcedID Variant
• Forked IcedID Variant
• The key differences between the variants
• Which operators the Proofpoint team hypothesizes are behind the attacks

Resources:
https://www.proofpoint.com/us/blog/threat-insight/fork-ice-new-era-icedid

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In this podcast episode, Proofpoint senior threat researcher, Adam McNeil, joins us to talk about conversational SMS phishing. These campaigns target mobile devices and often start with a simple, innocuous question.

“Are you coming to dinner tomorrow?” can lead to anything from fraud to impersonation to financial schemes and is considered a $3 billion threat.
In this episode, we discuss the following:

• Why a threat actor would choose a conversational SMS campaign
• Different scams associated with conversational SMS phishing
• Lack of awareness surrounding mobile threats

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Cloud threats are a growing concern due to users' and organizations' increasing adoption of cloud computing. It's crucial to develop the skills needed to identify and analyze cloud-based threats and know the latest security tools and techniques to detect, prevent, and respond to cloud-based attacks.

Ultimately, security researchers and analysts play a critical role in helping organizations mitigate cloud-related risks and ensure the security of their cloud environments. In this episode, Eilon Bendet, from the Proofpoint cloud threat research team, joins us to discuss the cloud threats he is seeing.
In this episode, we discuss the following:

• Cloud threat Detection and landscape
• Main objectives for threat actors when they leverage the cloud
• How users and organization can best protect themselves

Additional Resources:
Cloud Threats & Cloud Threat Landscape

• https://www.proofpoint.com/us/threat-reference/casb

• https://www.proofpoint.com/us/corporate-blog/post/dont-let-cloud-threats-rain-your-parade

• https://www.proofpoint.com/us/corporate-blog/post/microsoft-office-365-attacks-circumvent-multi-factor-authentication-lead-account

• https://www.proofpoint.com/us/blog/cloud-security/proofpoint-discovers-potentially-dangerous-microsoft-office-365-functionality

• https://www.proofpoint.com/us/blog/cloud-security/proofpoint-analyzes-potentially-dangerous-functionality-microsoft-sway-enables

• https://www.proofpoint.com/us/resources/webinars/deep-dive-latest-cloud-threats-microsoft-environments

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In the cyber threat intelligence and cybersecurity world, there is a growing recognition of the value of professionals with diverse backgrounds and skillsets. While many individuals in the field come from traditional computer science or engineering backgrounds, there is also a trend of people entering the field from unexpected paths. Sarah Sabotka, Senior Threat Researcher at Proofpoint, joins us on this episode to discuss her background in animal cruelty investigations.
In this episode, we discuss the following:

• What a typical day in the life of an animal cruelty investigator looks like
• How Sarah used social engineering and open-source intelligence (OSINT) to build cases
• How non-traditional skills and experiences have translated to success in infosec

Resources:

• https://medium.com/katies-five-cents/a-cyber-threat-intelligence-self-study-plan-part-1-968b5a8daf9a
• https://medium.com/katies-five-cents/a-cyber-threat-intelligence-self-study-plan-part-2-d04b7a529d36
• https://www.mandiant.com/resources/blog/cti-analyst-core-competencies-framework

Keep up with the latest tales from the threat research trenches by subscribing to DISCARDED in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. Thanks for listening!

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In this episode, Zydeca Cass, Senior Threat Researcher at Proofpoint, joins the show to discuss Russia-aligned threat actor TA499. Zydeca dives into what makes tracking this threat actor so unique.

Join us as we discuss:

• Who TA499 are and what they do
• What makes their activity a cyber threat others should pay attention to
• What their activity tells us about Russia-aligned groups
• How to prevent being exploited

Check out these resources we mentioned:

• https://www.proofpoint.com/us/blog/threat-insight/dont-answer-russia-aligned-ta499-beleaguers-targets-video-call-requests
• https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/21/video-released-showing-russian-hoax-call-with-uk-defence-secretary

Keep up with the latest tales from the threat research trenches by subscribing to DISCARDED in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. Thanks for listening!