Wood you fall for this?
This week, hosts of N2K CyberWire Maria Varmazis and Dave Bittner alongside Joe Carrigan are discussing the latest in social engineering scams, phishing schemes, and criminal exploits that are making headlines. We start with some follow-up after a listener wrote in to share their love of X Japan, joking that the show should spend less time talking about chickens and more time celebrating one of Japan’s most legendary metal bands. Joe covers how millions of compromised consumer devices are fueling massive residential proxy networks that cybercriminals and nation-state actors use to disguise malicious activity online. Dave looks at a ransomware campaign using fake INTERPOL emails to pressure victims into opening malicious attachments and infecting their systems. Maria explores whether AI-powered operating systems could one day become our first line of defense against scams by detecting social engineering attacks before users ever fall for them—and what new risks that future could bring. Our catch of the day is on an unsolicited Telegram message that quickly turns into an entertaining romance scam encounter.
Resources and links to stories:
- X Japan - Kurenai Live 1989 (Blue Blood Tour - 爆発寸前ＧIＧ)
- How Hackers Found a Back Door Into the American Living Room
- A Sneaky Back Door Lets Hackers Into Your Home. Here’s How to Protect Yourself.
- 50.147.72.126
- Fake Interpol investigation emails target small businesses with ransomware
- The Beginning of the End of Social Engineering
- Polish Frank part 1. He had me at the bush.
Have a Catch of the Day you'd like to share? Email it to us at hackinghumans@n2k.com.
