Three Buddy Problem - Episode 42: We dig into news that China secretly fessed up to the Volt Typhoon hacks and followed up with claims that named NSA agents launched advanced cyberattacks against the Asian Winter Games. Plus, the MITRE CVE funding crisis, new Apple 0days in the wild includes PAC bypass exploit, Microsoft Patch Tuesday zero-days.

Plus, the effectiveness of Lockdown Mode, the rising costs of mobile exploits, Chris Krebs' exit from SentinelOne after a presidential executive order, and the value and effectiveness of security clearances.

Cast: Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade, Costin Raiu and Ryan Naraine.

Links:

• Transcript (unedited, AI-generated)
• China names alleged NSA cyberattack agents
• WSJ: In Secret Meeting, China Acknowledged Role in U.S. Infrastructure Hacks
• Apple Quashes Two Zero-Days With iOS, MacOS Patches
• Apple bulletin - iOS 18.4.1 Security Vulnerabilities
• Android zero-days documented
• MITRE CVE Program Gets Last-Hour Funding Reprieve
• NIST Still Struggling to Clear Vulnerability Submissions Backlog in NVD
• EU issues US-bound staff with burner phones to avoid espionage
• Exploitation of CLFS zero-day leads to ransomware
• Google announces Sec-Gemini v1 cybersecurity model

Three Buddy Problem - Episode 41: Costin and Juanito join the show from Black Hat Asia in Singapore. We discuss Bunnie Huang's keynote on hardware supply chains and a classification system to establish a grounded perspective on trust in hardware, Ivanti's misdiagnosis of a critical VPN applicance flaw and Mandiant reporting on a Chinese APT exploiting Ivanti devices. Plus, breaking news on the sudden firing of NSA director and head of Cyber Command Tim Haugh.

We also discuss Microsoft touting AI's value in finding open-source bootloader bugs, Silent Push report on a RUssian APT impersonating the CIA, a backdoor in a popular Chinese robot dog, and Chinese dominance of the robotics market.

Cast: Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade, Costin Raiu and Ryan Naraine.

Links:

• Transcript (unedited, AI-generated)
• National Security Agency chief ousted after far-right activist urged his removal
• Mandiant: China-Nexus Threat Actor Actively Exploiting Critical Ivanti Connect Secure Vulnerability
• Ivanti security bulletin (CVE-2025-22457)
• Chinese APT exploits misdiagnosed RCE in Ivanti VPNs
• Another exploited 0day in Apple iOS
• Android version of Lockdown Mode coming
• Microsoft: Using AI to find open-source bootloader flaws
• Indiana University cybersecurity "safe" after FBI home searches
• Silent Push: Russians impersonate CIA to target Ukraine sympathizers
• Unitree Go1 robot dog backdoor documentation
• America is missing in the robotics race
• Automated AI Reverse Engineering with MCP for IDA and Ghidra
• Bunny Huang: Perspectives on trust in hardware supply chains

Three Buddy Problem - Episode 40: On the show this week, we look at the technical deficiencies and opsec concerns around the use of Signal for ultra-sensitive communications. Plus, some speculation on who's behind Kaspersky’s ‘Operation Forum Troll’ report, Chinese discussion on NSA/CIA mobile networks exploitation, and the return of ‘Lab Dookhtegan’ hack-and-leak exposures.

Cast: Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade, Costin Raiu and Ryan Naraine.

Links:

• Transcript (unedited, AI-generated)
• The Atlantic: The Trump admin accidentally texted me its war plans
• The Atlantic: Here are the attack plans shared on Signal
• Signal statement on SignalGate
• Our experts separate Signal from noise in the Trump team group chat
• Operation ForumTroll exploits zero-days in Google Chrome
• PuzzleMaker attacks with Chrome zero-day exploit chain
• Ten most mysterious APT campaigns that remain unattributed
• Operation FishMedley linked to i-SOON
• Chinese gov agency on mobile attacks by US intel agencies
• LabDookhtegan Telegram channel
• Tornado Cash sanctions removed
• Intrusion Truth
• Lab Dookhtegan archives on CyberScoop

Three Buddy Problem - Episode 39: Luta Security CEO Katie Moussouris joins the buddies to parse news around a coordinated Chinese exposure of Taiwan APT actors, CitizenLab's report on Paragon spyware and WhatsApp exploits, an “official” Russian government exploit-buying operation shopping for Telegram exploits, the fragmentation of exploit markets and the future of CISA in the face of budget cuts and layoffs.

Cast: Katie Moussouris, Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade, Costin Raiu and Ryan Naraine.

Links:

• Transcript (unedited, AI-generated)
• China's MSS discloses Taiwan APTs
• Antiy report Taiwan's "Green Spot" attack group
• Citizen Lab on Paragon’s Proliferating Spyware Operations
• Operation Zero wants Telegram 1-click RCE exploits
• Operation Zero 0day Vulnerability Platform
• GitHub Action supply chain attack
• Blast radius of GitHub Action supply chain attack
• Windows .lnk shortcut exploit abused as zero-day
• Sean Plankey nominated to lead CISA
• Trump admin halts funding for two cybersecurity efforts
• CISA publishes Jen Easterley's calendars
• CISA statement on 'red-team' layoff reports

Three Buddy Problem - Episode 38: On the show this week, we look at a hefty batch of Microsoft zero-days exploited in the wild, iOS 18.3.2 fixing an exploited WebKit bug, a mysterious Unpatched.ai being credited with Microsoft Access RCE flaws, and OpenAI lobbying for the US to ban China's DeepSeek.

Plus, discussion on a Binarly technical paper with new approach to finding UEFI bootkits, Mandiant flagging custom backdoors on Juniper routers, and MEV 'sandwich attacks' front-running cryptocurrency transactions.

Cast: Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade, Costin Raiu and Ryan Naraine.

Links:

• Transcript (unedited, AI-generated)
• Microsoft Flags Six Active Zero-Days, Patches 57 Flaws
• Unpatched.ai discoveries
• Apple Ships iOS 18.3.2 to Fix Already-Exploited WebKit Flaw
• Apple iOS 18.3.2 and iPadOS 18.3.2 documentation
• Citizen Lab: Predator in the wires
• FreeType Zero-Day Being Exploited in the Wild
• CVE-2020-15999: FreeType Heap Buffer Overflow
• Mandiant : Ghost in the Juniper router
• Jun OS out-of-cycle security bulletin (CVE-2025-21590)
• Juniper Malware Removal Tool
• Binarly: UEFI Bootkit Hunting -- In-Depth Search for Unique Code Behavior
• Crypto Trader Loses $215,000 in MEV Sandwich Attack on Uniswap
• The Secretive World Of MEV, Where Bots Front-Run Crypto Investors For Big Profits
• Reuters journalist Raphael Satter loses overseas citizenship
• Yanis Varoufakis: Trump’s tariff chaos explained
• Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism (Yanis Varoufakis)

Three Buddy Problem - Episode 37: This week, we revisit the public reporting on a US/Russia cyber stand down order, CISA declaring no change to its position on tracking Russian threats, and the high-level diplomatic optics at play.

Plus, a dissection of ‘The Lamberts’ APT and connections to US intelligence agencies, attribution around ‘Operation Triangulation’ and the lack of recent visibility into these actors. We also discuss a fresh batch of VMware zero-days, China’s i-Soon ‘hackers-for-hire’ indictments, the Pangu/i-Soon connection, and a new wave of Apple threat-intel warnings about mercenary spyware infections.

Cast: Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade, Costin Raiu and Ryan Naraine.

Links:

• Transcript (unedited, AI-generated)
• Kim Zetter: Did Trump admin order a stand-down on Russia?
• Unraveling the Lamberts Toolkit (Securelist)
• VB2019: King of the hill: nation-state counterintelligence for victim deconfliction
• VB2018: Draw me like one of your French APTs
• Symantec: Who is Longhorn?
• VMware: Three new zero-days exploited
• Broadcom patches 3 VMware zero-days exploited in the wild
• DOJ indictments: i-Soon hackers for hire and APT27
• Unmasking I-Soon
• Catalan court orders former NSO Group execs be indicted for spyware abuses
• Apple sending 'mercenary spyware' threat notifications
• How Social Engineering Sparked a Billion-Dollar Supply Chain Cryptocurrency Heist
• Safe{Wallet] post-mortem on ByBit $1.4B crypto heist

Three Buddy Problem - Episode 36: Ryan and Juanito join the show from the RE//verse conference with discussion on Natalie Silvanovic’s keynote on hunting for bugs in mobile messengers, the thrill of looking at exposed attack surfaces and the grueling “losses” bug hunters endure before a breakthrough.

We also cover the latest on the $1.4 billion ByBit hack pinned on the Lazarus Group and the malicious JavaScript supply chain attack at the center of the cryptocurrency heist. Plus, the ethical gray zones of tethered exploits via Cellebrite, the whiplash of AI-driven threat intel, and the looming pivot in U.S. cyber policy signaling a stand-down on Russia-focused ops.

Cast: Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade, Costin Raiu and Ryan Naraine.

Links:

• Transcript (unedited, AI-generated)
• RE//verse Conference
• FBI Says North Korea Hacked Bybit as Details of $1.5B Heist Emerge
• FBI alert on $1.5b crypto heist
• CISA report on TraderTraitor
• Bybit launches bug bounty program
• Lazarus Bounty
• Cellebrite zero-day exploit used to target phone of Serbian student activist
• Trump administration retreats in fight against Russian cyber threats
• Hegseth orders Cyber Command to stand down on Russia planning

Three Buddy Problem - Episode 35: Juanito is live from DistrictCon with notes on discussion of an elusive iOS zero-day by a company called QuaDream and Apple’s controversial removal of iCloud backup end-to-end encryption in the UK. We also cover a staggering $1.4 billion hack by the Lazarus Group against Bybit, new angles in NSA-linked cyber-espionage against China’s top universities, Chinese hacking gangs moonlighting as ransomware criminals, and Russian APTs abusing Signal’s “linked devices” feature. Plus, Costin explains Microsoft’s quantum computing breakthrough.

Cast: Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade, Costin Raiu and Ryan Naraine.

Links:

• Transcript (unedited, AI-generated)
• DistrictCon: Dissecting a QuaDream iOS zero-day
• Unpacking the UK government's secret iCloud backdoor demand
• U.K. orders Apple to let it spy on users’ encrypted accounts
• Apple Pulls Advanced Data Protection for New UK Users Amid Backdoor Demand
• Bybit Sees Over $4 Billion ‘Bank Run’ After Crypto’s Biggest Hack
• ByBit CEO explains crypto heist
• iVerify on Pegasus infections
• Is there a Pangu Team/i-SOON connection?
• Russian hackers actively targeting Signal Messenger
• How Russian APTs abuse Signal 'linked devices' for real-time spying
• Cisco Talos: In the midst of a Typhoon
• Satya Nadella: Reflections on a quantum computing breakthrough
• Taiwan wants to ban Fortinet, Zoom
• Pangu Team Bvp47 report

Three Buddy Problem - Episode 34: We dig into the latest exploited Apple iPhone zero-day (USB Restricted Mode bypass), an AMD microcode flaw so serious it’s not being fully disclosed, a barrage of Patch Tuesday updates, the helpless nature of trying to defend corporate networks, Russian threat actor movements, and fresh intel from Rapid7, Volexity, and Microsoft.

Cast: Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade, Costin Raiu and Ryan Naraine.

Links:

• Transcript (unedited, AI-generated)
• Apple iOS 18.3.1 zero-day bulletin
• Apple Says iPhone USB Restricted Mode Exploited in ‘Extremely Sophisticated’ Attack
• Quarkslab: Analysis of USB Restricted Mode bypass (CVE-2025-24200)
• ZDI Patch Tuesday recap (exploited Windows 0days)
• The BadPilot campaign (Seashell Blizzard subgroup)
• Rapid7 on PostgreSQL zero-day linked to BeyondTrust 0days
• PostgreSQL 0day advisory (CVE-2025-1094)
• Google partial disclosure of high-risk flaw in AMD microcode
• AMD SEV Confidential Computing Vulnerability (CVE-2024-56161)
• Fortinet documents another exploited 0day
• Storm-2372 conducts device code phishing campaign
• CrowdStrike on malware naming schemes

Three Buddy Problem - Episode 33: In this episode, we unpack the UK government's secret push for backdoor access to encrypted iCloud data, Apple’s approach to iCloud encryption, and the broader implications for privacy and security on a global scale. Plus, how security agencies handle zero-day vulnerabilities, surveillance spyware and mercenary hacking, and TikTok-powered election disinformation and interference.

From wormable exploits like Eternal Bue to the realities of AI-based spying, the episode offers a detailed look into how government oversight, private sector collaboration, and shifting market forces have reshaped the way we think about cybersecurity.

Cast: Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade, Costin Raiu and Ryan Naraine.

Links:

• Transcript (unedited, AI-generated)
• UK orders Apple to let it spy on users’ iCloud data
• How to turn on Advanced Data Protection for iCloud
• Kim Zetter: US government disclosed 39 zero-days in 2023
• CISA alert on Trimble zero-day exploitation
• France VIGINUM report on foreign digital election interference