8th Layer Insights

Feel First, Think Never: Your Emotions Are the Exploit

Listen Later

If it made you panic, rage, or rush… it probably bypassed your cognitive defenses.

In the latest issue of Deceptive Minds, I dig into the dark cognitive malware of emotional hijacking: how scammers, manipulators, and even well-meaning voices use fear, urgency, outrage, and hope to short-circuit your critical thinking.

Inside:

🧠 Why your emotions beat your rational mind to the punch

📞 How scam messages and panic phishing bypass logic

📣 What viral rage-bait and fear-mongering have in common

🔥 Plus: how a single fire reshaped a nation — and how the “lie that felt true” still outperforms facts today

The stronger the feeling, the weaker the scrutiny.


Want the print version? It's available on LinkedIn or my website.


References:

  • The Great Moon Hoax: https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2014/08/the-great-moon-hoax/
  • Moon Shot: Race, a Hoax, and the Birth of Fake News: https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/moon-shot-race-a-hoax-and-the-birth-of-fake-news
  • The True Story of the Reichstag Fire and the Nazi Rise to Power: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/true-story-reichstag-fire-and-nazis-rise-power-180962240/
  • The Missile Gap: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missile_gap


    • Episode 26 of The FAIK Files:

    • Listen here: https://thecyberwire.com/podcasts/the-faik-files/36/notes
    • Watch here: https://youtu.be/2slM09Czy_s?si=D3ZotFEef3zdGbZA

      • Anthropic's Claude 4 Attempts to Blackmail a Researcher:

      • Claude 4 System Card: https://www-cdn.anthropic.com/6be99a52cb68eb70eb9572b4cafad13df32ed995.pdf
      • Something Wild Happens If AI Looks Through Your Emails and Discovers You're Having an Affair: https://futurism.com/ai-email-affair

        • Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

        ...more
        View all episodesView all episodes
        Download on the App Store
        8th Layer InsightsBy Perry Carpenter | N2K Networks
        • 5
        • 5
        • 5
        • 5
        • 5

        5

        56 ratings

        More shows like 8th Layer Insights

        View all
        Hacked by Hacked

        Hacked

        184 Listeners

        Security Now (Audio) by TWiT

        Security Now (Audio)

        2,001 Listeners

        Defensive Security Podcast - Malware, Hacking, Cyber Security & Infosec by Jerry Bell and Andrew Kalat

        Defensive Security Podcast - Malware, Hacking, Cyber Security & Infosec

        369 Listeners

        SANS Internet Stormcenter Daily Cyber Security Podcast (Stormcast) by Johannes B. Ullrich

        SANS Internet Stormcenter Daily Cyber Security Podcast (Stormcast)

        637 Listeners

        CyberWire Daily by N2K Networks

        CyberWire Daily

        1,017 Listeners

        Smashing Security by Graham Cluley

        Smashing Security

        322 Listeners

        Click Here by Recorded Future News

        Click Here

        414 Listeners

        Malicious Life by Malicious Life

        Malicious Life

        931 Listeners

        Darknet Diaries by Jack Rhysider

        Darknet Diaries

        7,999 Listeners

        Hacking Humans by N2K Networks

        Hacking Humans

        314 Listeners

        CISO Series Podcast by David Spark, Mike Johnson, and Andy Ellis

        CISO Series Podcast

        188 Listeners

        Defense in Depth by David Spark, Steve Zalewski, Geoff Belknap

        Defense in Depth

        73 Listeners

        Cyber Security Headlines by CISO Series

        Cyber Security Headlines

        134 Listeners

        Hacker And The Fed by Chris Tarbell & Hector Monsegur

        Hacker And The Fed

        168 Listeners

        The FAIK Files by Perry Carpenter | N2K Networks

        The FAIK Files

        17 Listeners