The tech world is ever-changing and it can be difficult to keep up. As businesses and individuals, it's important to remember to keep your software up to date and apply patches as they are released. Today’s guest is John Hammond. John is a cybersecurity researcher, educator, and content creator. As part of the Adversary Tactics Teams at Huntress, John spends his days analyzing malware and making hackers earn their access. He is an online YouTube personality showcasing program tutorials, malware analysis, dark web threats, and other cybersecurity content.

Show Notes:

• [1:01] - John shares his role at Huntress and his side work as a YouTuber that creates content to help educate people about cybersecurity.

• [2:26] - John explains how he found himself in cybersecurity as a career.

• [4:10] - He hasn’t been a victim of a scam, but in his pursuit of catching hackers in the act, he has certainly been a target.

• [5:25] - What is doxxing and how can someone track down your information?

• [7:23] - When popular software is compromised, it is a really big deal.

• [9:22] - There’s a balance between companies releasing information about a threat and that information causing more damage.

• [13:17] - It is so important to update software and patch right away.

• [15:22] - Consumers are not always on the lookout for patches and updates. It’s crucial for companies to relay this information.

• [17:49] - One tactic for hackers is the use of remote software to access devices.

• [19:37] - It is best practice to not allow anyone to use your computer.

• [21:28] - Since 2020, there has been an increase in people working from home, which means that company devices are now out of their safety and control.

• [23:54] - John describes the People’s Call Center collaboration and the mission of bringing the fight back to scammers.

• [25:28] - John explains some of the tricks he has used to social engineer the scammers right back.

• [29:43] - The experience of keeping someone from being scammed or even just making a scammer’s life more difficult was rewarding for John.

• [31:09] - What is the dark web?

• [35:09] - John shares why he interacts on the dark web to research and learn how threat actors operate.

• [39:02] - By researching on the dark web, John has learned a lot about how cybercriminals work and think.

• [41:01] - Some of the ways cybercriminals work are better and more successful than some legitimate businesses and startups.

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