How Hacks Happen

If you've seen The Imitation Game you've heard of the Enigma, the cryptographic machine used by the German military in WWII. Everything about the Enigma--how it was used, how it was solved--is echoed in the cryptographic methods we used in the past, today, and in the future.

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On July 19, the CrowdStrike outage was all over the news. But what was it really about, and what does it have to do with all of us? While the outage was repaired quickly, the fact that it affected so many systems we depend on is a wakeup call reminiscent of crippling cybersecurity attacks. In this episode, we look at what happened, how it relates to other outages including targeted cybersecurity attacks, and how we can protect ourselves from the fallout of such outages in the future.

Resources:

Washington Post: The hospitals, airlines and banks affected by the global IT outage

Video: Times Square billboards with Blue Screen of Death

Forbes: CrowdStrike Windows Outage—What Happened And What To Do Next

Windows 3.1 saves the day during CrowdStrike outage — Southwest Airlines scrapes by with archaic OS

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Your smart phone keeps busy, even when you're not on it. Apps are constantly downloading data–thumbnails, ad content, new posts–at a surprising frequency, even when you're not actively using the app. These downloads can lead to your download data making it look like you're using your phone when you're not. 

In this episode, I pull a story from my days in mobile forensics to show just how this constant downloading could get you in trouble one day, and how you can avoid such a fate.

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In response to the San Bernardino shooting in 2015, the FBI demanded that Apple, Inc. create a "back door" to bypass the shooter's iPhone security, a back door that could also compromise any iPhone, anytime. Thankfully, Apple CEO Tim Cook wasn't playing. But this isn't the first time government and law enforcement has tried to stick their noses into our business without permission, and probably won't be the last. In this episode we also talk about government efforts to compromise consumer security, like the NSA's Clipper Chip of 1993, and why these efforts have always failed.

Resources:

• Order Compelling Apple, Inc. to Assist Agents in Search
• The FBI Wanted a Back Door to the iPhone. Tim Cook Said No
• A Message to our Customers (Apple CEO Tim Cook’s response to FBI request)
• Apple Just Killed The 'GrayKey' iPhone Passcode Hack
• Electronic Privacy Information Center: The Clipper Chip

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Buzzwords are the language of business and marketing. But do they really live up to the hype? Find out how phrases like "end-to-end encryption" and "blockchain" are used to hype up a service that might not be what it seems. Join me on a journey through the world of buzzwords in cybersecurity marketing.

Resources:
Hackers steal nearly $10 million from Axie Infinity co-founder’s personal accounts
The Spectacular Collapse of CryptoKitties, the First Big Blockchain Game

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Have you gotten a dream job offer through WhatsApp, Facebook, or some other suspicious source? It's probably a scam. Let's look at how job scams work, and how you can spot them.

Report job scams in the USA to the Federal Trade Commission.

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Does your phone serve you content based on your conversations? It depends. 

This is the third episode in a three-part series on social media. Here we talk about what your apps or services might be listening to, and what you can do about it.

Resources:

• Does Your Phone Listen to You for Ads? (Yes, Here’s How)
• This Company Might Be Listening to Everything You Watch on TV
• That Game on Your Phone May Be Tracking What You’re Watching on TV
• Is your smartphone listening to you?

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What's your favorite Beatles song? Where did you get married? What's your dog's name? Whenever you answer a question on a random person's or company's post, you're giving up information to exploit you.

See what social media sites collect about you

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How do you find out what social media platforms know about you? Bet you didn't know you can grab your data anytime, all of it. In this episode, we talk about how to get all your data from a social media platform so you can see what they've stored.

• Get your data from Facebook
• Get your data from Instagram
• Get your data from LinkedIn
• Get your data from Snapchat
• Get all your Google emails, photos, YouTube videos 

For any other social media platforms, search for "download my data from [platform]" to find out how.

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What is an NFT, and why would anyone want to buy one?  There are lots of reasons why someone might buy a certified JPG or other NFT, but there's no guarantee your NFT will increase in value or even retain the value you paid for it. In this episode, host Michele Bousquet talks about different kinds of NFTs on the market, how they compare to physical art items, and how fraudsters have found a rich source of free funds in NFT theft.

Sources:

• Joey Mars website
• Investors sue Sotheby's, Justin Bieber, Hilton among others as NFT prices crash
• Seth Green’s Bored Ape NFT Got “Kidnapped"
• NFT Price Floor - Bored Ape Yacht Club

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