178: Ubiquiti

Nickolas Sharp worked for Ubiquiti, a company that makes networking equipment. He noticed that there were some security problems at work. He tried to point them out, but didn't feel like he was being listened to enough. What do you do when the company you work for isn't securing their software up to your standards? Well, he thought he needed to teach them a lesson, but in the end, he learned an even bigger lesson. ### Sponsors This show is brought to you by Drata. Drata is the trust management platform that uses AI-driven automation to modernize governance, risk, and compliance, helping thousands of businesses stay audit-ready and scale securely. Learn more at drata.com/darknetdiaries. This show is sponsored by Material Security. Your cloud office (think Google Workspace or Microsoft 365) is the core of your business, but it’s often protected by scattered tools and manual fixes. Material is a purpose-built detection and response platform that closes the gaps those point solutions leave behind. From email threats to misconfigurations and account takeovers, Material monitors everything and steps in with real-time fixes to keep your data flowing where it should. Learn more at https://material.security. Support for this show comes from ThreatLocker. ThreatLocker is a Zero Trust Platform that gives organizations control over what can run and what users and devices can access. It combines prevention with real time detection and automated response, helping security teams stop unauthorized activity and quickly contain compromised machines. Learn how ThreatLocker can strengthen your defenses at threatlocker.com/Darknet. View all active sponsors. ### Sources Full list of sources on the show page: https://darknetdiaries.com/episode/178/

darknetdiaries.com

177: National Public Data

This is the story of the hacker known as "USDoD". When he was young he had a vengeance on the US, and this lead him down a road of continual data breaches, until he hacked into National Public Data, which is when his spree went one step too far. ### Sponsors Support for this show comes from ThreatLocker®. ThreatLocker® is a Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform that strengthens your infrastructure from the ground up. With ThreatLocker® Allowlisting and Ringfencing™, you gain a more secure approach to blocking exploits of known and unknown vulnerabilities. ThreatLocker® provides Zero Trust control at the kernel level that enables you to allow everything you need and block everything else, including ransomware! Learn more at www.threatlocker.com. This show is sponsored by Maze. Maze uses AI agents to triage and remediate cloud vulnerabilities by figuring out what’s actually exploitable, not just what’s theoretically risky. They remove the noise, prioritize vulns that matter, and manage remediation, so your team stops wasting time on meaningless vulns. Visit MazeHQ.com/darknet for more information. This show is sponsored by Sentry.IO. Sentry wants to help you monitor your environment for problems. They do error tracking, stack tracing, debugging, all so that your developers can diagnose, fix, and optimize the performance of their code. This makes it so developers ship more reliable code faster. Learn more at sentry.io. View all active sponsors. ### Sources Full list of sources on the show page: https://darknetdiaries.com/episode/177/

darknetdiaries.com

176: NSL

One day Nick got a visit from the FBI demanding he give them data on one of his customers. They asked for it in the form of a National Security Letter or NSL. Something wasn’t right about this letter. It seemed to violate the constitution. So he set out to change the law. Learn more about Nicks work at calyxinstitute.org and phreeli.com. Check out Cindy’s book Privacy’s Defender: My Thirty-Year Fight Against Digital Surveillance (https://amzn.to/4gXuK2J). ### Sponsors Support for this show comes from ThreatLocker®. ThreatLocker® is a Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform that strengthens your infrastructure from the ground up. With ThreatLocker® Allowlisting and Ringfencing™, you gain a more secure approach to blocking exploits of known and unknown vulnerabilities. ThreatLocker® provides Zero Trust control at the kernel level that enables you to allow everything you need and block everything else, including ransomware! Learn more at www.threatlocker.com. Support for this episode comes from NetSuite. NetSuite gives you visibility and control of your financials, planning, budgeting, and of course - inventory - so you can manage risk, get reliable forecasts, and improve margins. NetSuite helps you identify rising costs, automate your manual business processes, and see where to save money. KNOW your numbers. KNOW your business. And get to KNOW how NetSuite can be the source of truth for your entire company. Visit www.netsuite.com/darknet to learn more. This show is sponsored by Maze. Maze uses AI agents to triage and remediate cloud vulnerabilities by figuring out what’s actually exploitable, not just what’s theoretically risky. They remove the noise, prioritize vulns that matter, and manage remediation, so your team stops wasting time on meaningless vulns. Visit MazeHQ.com/darknet for more information. View all active sponsors. ### Sources * https://www.democracynow.org/2010/8/11/gagged_for_6_years_nick_merrill * https://globalfreedomofexpression.columbia.edu/cases/u-s-nicholas-merrill-v-loretta-e-lynch-14-cv-9763-vm/ * https://clearinghouse.net/case/12966/ * https://www.theguardian.com/law/2015/dec/06/fbi-national-security-letter-gag-order-nick-merrill * https://www.aclu.org/documents/national-security-letters * https://www.eff.org/cases/re-matter-2011-national-security-letter * Cindy’s Book: Privacy’s Defender: My Thirty-Year Fight Against Digital Surveillance

darknetdiaries.com

175: Bayrob

It started with a fake car listing on eBay. What looked like a simple online scam quietly grew, over more than a decade, into one of the most sophisticated cybercrime operations the FBI had ever traced. Custom malware. Opsec off the charts. Fleets of infected computers mining cryptocurrency for someone else. Millions of dollars siphoned from victims who had no idea. This is the story of Bayrob and the three men from Romanian who were behind it. And the long, strange road that led American investigators to their door. ### Sponsors Support for this show comes from ThreatLocker®. ThreatLocker® is a Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform that strengthens your infrastructure from the ground up. With ThreatLocker® Allowlisting and Ringfencing™, you gain a more secure approach to blocking exploits of known and unknown vulnerabilities. ThreatLocker® provides Zero Trust control at the kernel level that enables you to allow everything you need and block everything else, including ransomware! Learn more at www.threatlocker.com. This show is sponsored by Meter, the company building networks from the ground up. Meter delivers a complete networking stack - wired, wireless, and cellular - in one solution that’s built for performance and scale. Alongside their partners, Meter designs the hardware, writes the firmware, builds the software, manages deployments, and runs support. Learn more at meter.com. This show is sponsored by Maze. Maze uses AI agents to triage and remediate cloud vulnerabilities by figuring out what’s actually exploitable, not just what’s theoretically risky. They remove the noise, prioritize vulns that matter, and manage remediation, so your team stops wasting time on meaningless vulns. Visit MazeHQ.com/darknet for more information. Support for this episode comes from NetSuite. NetSuite gives you visibility and control of your financials, planning, budgeting, and of course - inventory - so you can manage risk, get reliable forecasts, and improve margins. NetSuite helps you identify rising costs, automate your manual business processes, and see where to save money. KNOW your numbers. KNOW your business. And get to KNOW how NetSuite can be the source of truth for your entire company. Visit www.netsuite.com/darknet to learn more. This episode is sponsored by Chainguard. Chainguard builds container images the right way — minimal, hardened, and built from source every single day. We’re talking images with zero known CVEs, designed from the ground up for production. No bloat. No mystery packages. No 2 a.m. patching marathons because some transitive dependency lit up your dashboard. Stop patching images that are insecure. Start shipping clean. Head to chainguard.dev to see how secure your software supply chain can really be.

darknetdiaries.com

174: Pacific Rim

For six years, Sophos fought a secret cyber war against a state-backed hacking group targeting its firewalls. This forced Sophos to drastically change tactics to properly secure their firewalls. Was it ethical? Was it effective? They disrupted nine zero-day attacks, exposed who was hacking them, and forced the hackers to change tactics. But at what cost? You have to listen to one of the most audacious corporate cyber defenses ever conducted. ### Sponsors Support for this show comes from ThreatLocker®. ThreatLocker® is a Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform that strengthens your infrastructure from the ground up. With ThreatLocker® Allowlisting and Ringfencing™, you gain a more secure approach to blocking exploits of known and unknown vulnerabilities. ThreatLocker® provides Zero Trust control at the kernel level that enables you to allow everything you need and block everything else, including ransomware! Learn more at www.threatlocker.com. This show is sponsored by Meter, the company building networks from the ground up. Meter delivers a complete networking stack - wired, wireless, and cellular - in one solution that’s built for performance and scale. Alongside their partners, Meter designs the hardware, writes the firmware, builds the software, manages deployments, and runs support. Learn more at meter.com. Support for this show comes from Drata. Drata is the trust management platform that uses AI-driven automation to modernize governance, risk, and compliance, helping thousands of businesses stay audit-ready and scale securely. Learn more at drata.com/darknetdiaries. ### Sources * https://news.sophos.com/en-us/2024/10/31/pacific-rim-timeline/ * https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/seven-hackers-associated-chinese-government-charged-computer-intrusions-targeting-perceived * https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/cyber/guan-tianfeng

darknetdiaries.com

173: Tarjeteros

In the streets of the Dominican Republic, a new economy thrives in the shadows. It’s built not on tourism or sugar, but on stolen data. They call them tarjeteros. And they are making a lot of money from stolen credit cards. This is a story about one group of tarjeteros who came to the US, and let loose on New York city. ### Sponsors Support for this show comes from ThreatLocker®. ThreatLocker® is a Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform that strengthens your infrastructure from the ground up. With ThreatLocker® Allowlisting and Ringfencing™, you gain a more secure approach to blocking exploits of known and unknown vulnerabilities. ThreatLocker® provides Zero Trust control at the kernel level that enables you to allow everything you need and block everything else, including ransomware! Learn more at www.threatlocker.com. This show is sponsored by Maze. Maze uses AI agents to triage and remediate cloud vulnerabilities by figuring out what’s actually exploitable, not just what’s theoretically risky. They remove the noise, prioritize vulns that matter, and manage remediation, so your team stops wasting time on meaningless vulns. Visit MazeHQ.com/darknet for more information. Support for this show comes from Privacy.com. Privacy allows you to create anonymous debit cards instantly to use for online shopping. Visit privacy.com/darknet to get a special offer.

darknetdiaries.com

172: SuperBox

What if there was a device which gave you endless movies and TV shows without ads? Ok great sign me up! In this episode we interview “D3ada55”, who found such a device, but as she gazed into it, she discovered it gazing back at her. ### Sponsors Support for this show comes from ThreatLocker®. ThreatLocker® is a Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform that strengthens your infrastructure from the ground up. With ThreatLocker® Allowlisting and Ringfencing™, you gain a more secure approach to blocking exploits of known and unknown vulnerabilities. ThreatLocker® provides Zero Trust control at the kernel level that enables you to allow everything you need and block everything else, including ransomware! Learn more at www.threatlocker.com. This episode is sponsored by Meter, the company building networks from the ground up. Meter delivers a complete networking stack - wired, wireless, and cellular - in one solution that’s built for performance and scale. Alongside their partners, Meter designs the hardware, writes the firmware, builds the software, manages deployments, and runs support. Learn more at meter.com. This episode is sponsored by Exaforce. Exaforce was created to handle the complete security operations workflow - detect, triage, investigate, respond. Exabots autonomously manage every stage, eliminating gaps between alert and action that slow down traditional security operations. And how it works is simple too: the exabots ingest all security data and then semantically connects it to understand the full context of security events and how they relate to each other. Learn more at exaforce.com/darknet-diaries.

darknetdiaries.com

171: Melody Fraud

What if the music charts you see aren’t real? What if the numbers that define success can be manufactured? We talked to Andrew, a man who has spent his career on both sides of this battle. He once profited from the loopholes in streaming platforms, but now, his job is to close them. This episode will change the way you understand music streaming platforms from now on. ### Sponsors Support for this show comes from **ThreatLocker®**. ThreatLocker® is a Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform that strengthens your infrastructure from the ground up. With ThreatLocker® Allowlisting and Ringfencing™, you gain a more secure approach to blocking exploits of known and unknown vulnerabilities. ThreatLocker® provides Zero Trust control at the kernel level that enables you to allow everything you need and block everything else, including ransomware! Learn more at **www.threatlocker.com**. Support for this show comes from **Adaptive Security**. Deepfake voices on a Zoom call. AI-written phishing emails that sound exactly like your CFO. Synthetic job applicants walking through the front door. Adaptive is built to stop these attacks. They run real-time simulations, exposing your teams to what these attacks look like to test and improve your defences. Learn more at **adaptivesecurity.com**. This episode is sponsored by **Meter**, the company building networks from the ground up. Meter delivers a complete networking stack - wired, wireless, and cellular - in one solution that’s built for performance and scale. Alongside their partners, Meter designs the hardware, writes the firmware, builds the software, manages deployments, and runs support. Learn more at **meter.com**.

darknetdiaries.com

170: Phrack

<p>Phrack is legendary. It is the oldest, and arguably the most prestigious, underground hacking magazine in the world.</p><p>It started in 1985 and is still running today. In this episode we interview the Phrack staff to hear some stories about what it’s like running a hacker magazine for 40 years.</p><p><a href="https://phrack.org/"><strong>phrack.org</strong></a></p><h3>Sponsors</h3><p>Support for this show comes from <a href="https://www.threatlocker.com/"><strong>ThreatLocker®</strong></a>. ThreatLocker® is a Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform that strengthens your infrastructure from the ground up. With ThreatLocker® Allowlisting and Ringfencing™, you gain a more secure approach to blocking exploits of known and unknown vulnerabilities. ThreatLocker® provides Zero Trust control at the kernel level that enables you to allow everything you need and block everything else, including ransomware! Learn more at <a href="https://www.threatlocker.com/"><strong>www.threatlocker.com</strong></a>.</p><p>Support for this show comes from <a href="https://drata.com/darknetdiaries"><strong>Drata</strong></a>. Drata is the trust management platform that uses AI-driven automation to modernize governance, risk, and compliance, helping thousands of businesses stay audit-ready and scale securely. Learn more at <a href="https://drata.com/darknetdiaries"><strong>drata.com/darknetdiaries</strong></a>.</p><p>This episode is sponsored by <a href="https://www.meter.com/"><strong>Meter</strong></a>, the company building networks from the ground up. Meter delivers a complete networking stack - wired, wireless, and cellular - in one solution that’s built for performance and scale. Alongside their partners, Meter designs the hardware, writes the firmware, builds the software, manages deployments, and runs support. Learn more at <a href="https://www.meter.com/"><strong>meter.com</strong></a>.</p>

darknetdiaries.com

169: MoD

Legion of Doom, step aside. There’s a new elite hacker group in town, and they’re calling themselves Masters of Deception (MoD). With tactics that are grittier and more sophisticated than those of the LoD, MoD has targeted high-profile entities and left an indelible mark on the internet. This is part 2 of the LoD/MoD series. Part 1 is **episode 168: “LoD”**. ### Sponsors Support for this show comes from **ThreatLocker®**. ThreatLocker® is a Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform that strengthens your infrastructure from the ground up. With ThreatLocker® Allowlisting and Ringfencing™, you gain a more secure approach to blocking exploits of known and unknown vulnerabilities. ThreatLocker® provides Zero Trust control at the kernel level that enables you to allow everything you need and block everything else, including ransomware! Learn more at **www.threatlocker.com**. This show is sponsored by **Red Canary**. Red Canary is a leading provider of Managed Detection and Response (MDR), helping nearly 1,000 organizations detect and stop threats before they cause harm. With a focus on accuracy across identities, endpoints, and cloud, we deliver trusted security operations and a world-class customer experience. Learn more at **redcanary.com**. This show is sponsored by **Maze**. Maze uses AI agents to triage and remediate cloud vulnerabilities by figuring out what’s actually exploitable, not just what’s theoretically risky. They remove the noise, prioritize vulns that matter, and manage remediation, so your team stops wasting time on meaningless vulns. Visit **MazeHQ.com/darknet** for more information. ### Sources * **Book: Masters of Deception** * **Book: The Hacker Crackdown** * **https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,982254-1,00.html** * **https://www.nytimes.com/1995/01/14/nyregion/reprogramming-convicted-hacker-his-line-friends-phiber-optik-virtual-hero.html** * **https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/101/pg101-images.html** * **https://phrack.org/issues/31/5** * **https://www.thisamericanlife.org/2/small-scale-sin**

darknetdiaries.com

168: LoD

The Legion of Doom (LoD) wasn’t just a “hacker group”, it captured the essence of underground hacking in the 80s/90s. BBSes, phreaking, rival crews, and the crackdowns that changed everything. From those humble beginnings came a legacy that still echoes through modern security culture today. ### Sponsors Support for this show comes from **ThreatLocker®**. ThreatLocker® is a Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform that strengthens your infrastructure from the ground up. With ThreatLocker® Allowlisting and Ringfencing™, you gain a more secure approach to blocking exploits of known and unknown vulnerabilities. ThreatLocker® provides Zero Trust control at the kernel level that enables you to allow everything you need and block everything else, including ransomware! Learn more at **www.threatlocker.com**. This show is sponsored by **Rippling**. Rippling is the unified platform for Global HR, Payroll, IT, and Finance. They’ve helped millions replace their mess of cobbled-together tools with one system designed to give leaders clarity, speed, and control. With Rippling, you can run your entire HR, IT, and Finance operations as one, or pick and choose the products that best fill the gaps in your software stack. Learn more **rippling.com/darknet**. This show is sponsored by **Meter**, the company building networks from the ground up. Meter delivers a complete networking stack - wired, wireless, and cellular - in one solution that’s built for performance and scale. Meter’s full-stack solution covers everything from first site survey to ongoing support, giving you a single partner for all your connectivity needs. Go to **meter.com/darknet** to book a demo now! ### Sources * **Book: Masters of Deception****(https://amzn.to/4q3O0gJ)** * **Book: The Hacker Crackdown****(https://amzn.to/3N4bovY)**

darknetdiaries.com

167: Threatlocker

A manufacturer gets hit with ransomware. A hospital too. Learn how Threatlocker stops these types of attacks. This episode is brought to you by Threatlocker. ### Sponsors This episode is sponsored by **ThreatLocker®**. ThreatLocker® is a Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform that strengthens your infrastructure from the ground up. With ThreatLocker® Allowlisting and Ringfencing™, you gain a more secure approach to blocking exploits of known and unknown vulnerabilities. ThreatLocker® provides Zero Trust control at the kernel level that enables you to allow everything you need and block everything else, including ransomware! Learn more at **www.threatlocker.com**.

darknetdiaries.com

166: Maxie

Maxie Reynolds loves an adventure, especially the kind where she’s breaking into buildings (legally). In this episode, she shares stories from her time as a professional penetration tester, including high-stakes physical intrusions, red team chaos, and the unique adrenaline of hacking the real world. Her book: **The Art of Attack: Attacker Mindset for Security Professionals****(https://amzn.to/4ojYSVZ)** Her data center: **www.subseacloud.com/**

darknetdiaries.com

165: Tanya

Tanya Janca is a globally recognized AppSec (application security) expert and founder of We Hack Purple. In this episode, she shares wild stories from the front lines of cybersecurity. She shares stories of when she was a penetration tester to an incident responder. You can sign up for her newsletter at **https://newsletter.shehackspurple.ca/** ### Sponsors Support for this show comes from **ThreatLocker®**. ThreatLocker® is a Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform that strengthens your infrastructure from the ground up. With ThreatLocker® Allowlisting and Ringfencing™, you gain a more secure approach to blocking exploits of known and unknown vulnerabilities. ThreatLocker® provides Zero Trust control at the kernel level that enables you to allow everything you need and block everything else, including ransomware! Learn more at **www.threatlocker.com**. This episode is sponsored by **Hims**. Hims offers access to ED treatment options ranging from trusted generics that cost up to 95% less than brand names to Hard Mints, if prescribed. To get simple, online access to personalized, affordable care for ED, Hair Loss, Weight Loss, and more, visit **https://hims.com/darknet**. Support for this show comes from **Drata**. Drata is the trust management platform that uses AI-driven automation to modernize governance, risk, and compliance, helping thousands of businesses stay audit-ready and scale securely. Learn more at **drata.com/darknetdiaries**. **View all active sponsors.** ### Books * **Alice and Bob Learn Secure Coding by Tanya Janca** * **Alice and Bob Learn Application Security by Tanya Janca**

darknetdiaries.com

164: Oak Cliff Swipers

He started small, swiping cards, buying gift cards, and cashing out. It spiraled into a full‑blown criminal enterprise. Dozens of co‑conspirators, stacks of stolen plastic, and a lifestyle built on chaos. Meet Nathan Michael, leader of Oak Cliff Swipers. ### Sponsors Support for this show comes from **ThreatLocker®**. ThreatLocker® is a Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform that strengthens your infrastructure from the ground up. With ThreatLocker® Allowlisting and Ringfencing™, you gain a more secure approach to blocking exploits of known and unknown vulnerabilities. ThreatLocker® provides Zero Trust control at the kernel level that enables you to allow everything you need and block everything else, including ransomware! Learn more at **www.threatlocker.com**. Support for this show comes from **Pantheon**. Pantheon keeps your site fast, secure, and always on. That means better SEO, more conversions, and no lost sales from downtime. But this isn’t just a business win; it’s a developer win too. Your team gets automated workflows, isolated test environments, and zero-downtime deployments. Visit **Pantheon.io**, and make your website your unfair advantage. Support for this show comes from **Adaptive Security**. Deepfake voices on a Zoom call. AI-written phishing emails that sound exactly like your CFO. Synthetic job applicants walking through the front door. Adaptive is built to stop these attacks. They run real-time simulations, exposing your teams to what these attacks look like to test and improve your defences. Learn more at **adaptivesecurity.com**.

darknetdiaries.com

163: Ola

In 2019, Ola Bini, a Swedish programmer and privacy advocate, was arrested in Ecuador for being a Russian hacker. Find Ola on X: **https://x.com/olabini**. Or visit his website **https://olabini.se/blog/**. Or check out his non-profit **https://autonomia.digital/**. ### Sponsors Support for this show comes from **ThreatLocker®**. ThreatLocker® is a Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform that strengthens your infrastructure from the ground up. With ThreatLocker® Allowlisting and Ringfencing™, you gain a more secure approach to blocking exploits of known and unknown vulnerabilities. ThreatLocker® provides Zero Trust control at the kernel level that enables you to allow everything you need and block everything else, including ransomware! Learn more at **www.threatlocker.com**. This show is sponsored by **Miro**. AI doesn’t have to be intimidating—in fact, it can help your team thrive. Miro’s Innovation Workspace changes that by bringing people and AI together to turn ideas into impact, fast. Whether you’re launching a new podcast, streamlining a process, or building the next big thing, Miro helps your team move quicker, collaborate better, and actually enjoy the work. Learn more at **https://miro.com/**. This show is sponsored by **Thales**. With their industry-leading platforms, you can protect critical applications, data and identities – anywhere and at scale with the highest ROI. That’s why the most trusted brands and largest banks, retailers and healthcare companies in the world rely on Thales to protect what matters most – applications, data and identities. Learn more at **http://thalesgroup.com/cyber**. **View all active sponsors.** ### Sources * **https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/08/ecuador-political-actors-must-step-away-ola-binis-case** * **https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/04/six-years-dangerous-misconceptions-targeting-ola-bini-and-digital-rights-ecuador** * **https://peoplesdispatch.org/2019/04/12/ola-bini-detained-in-ecuador-for-90-days/** * **https://globalvoices.org/2022/10/21/ola-bini-the-cyberactivist-who-causes-panic-in-ecuador/** * **https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/09/ecuador-allanamiento-violento-pone-en-riesgo-juicio-justo-ola-bini-2/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ola_Bini**

darknetdiaries.com

162: Hieu

All Hieu Minh Ngo wanted was to make money online. But when he stumbled into the dark web, he found more than just opportunity, he found a global dark market. What started as a side hustle turned into an international crime spree. Find Hieu on X: **https://x.com/HHieupc**. ### Sponsors Support for this show comes from **ThreatLocker®**. ThreatLocker® is a Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform that strengthens your infrastructure from the ground up. With ThreatLocker® Allowlisting and Ringfencing™, you gain a more secure approach to blocking exploits of known and unknown vulnerabilities. ThreatLocker® provides Zero Trust control at the kernel level that enables you to allow everything you need and block everything else, including ransomware! Learn more at **www.threatlocker.com**. Support for this show comes from **Drata**. Drata is the trust management platform that uses AI-driven automation to modernize governance, risk, and compliance, helping thousands of businesses stay audit-ready and scale securely. Learn more at **drata.com/darknetdiaries**. This show is sponsored by **Red Canary**. Red Canary is a leading provider of Managed Detection and Response (MDR), helping nearly 1,000 organizations detect and stop threats before they cause harm. With a focus on accuracy across identities, endpoints, and cloud, we deliver trusted security operations and a world-class customer experience. Learn more at **redcanary.com**.

darknetdiaries.com

161: mg

In this episode we talk with mg (**https://x.com/****_MG_**), the brilliant (and notorious) hacker and hardware engineer behind the OMG Cable. A seemingly ordinary USB cable with extraordinary offensive capabilities. Learn more about mg at: **o.mg.lol** ### Sponsors Support for this show comes from **ThreatLocker®**. ThreatLocker® is a Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform that strengthens your infrastructure from the ground up. With ThreatLocker® Allowlisting and Ringfencing™, you gain a more secure approach to blocking exploits of known and unknown vulnerabilities. ThreatLocker® provides Zero Trust control at the kernel level that enables you to allow everything you need and block everything else, including ransomware! Learn more at **www.threatlocker.com**. Support for this show comes from **Axonius**. Axonius transforms asset intelligence into intelligent action. With the Axonius Asset Cloud, customers preemptively tackle high-risk and hard-to-spot threat exposures, misconfigurations, and overspending. The integrated platform brings together data from every system in an organization’s IT infrastructure to optimize mission-critical risk, performance, and cost measures via actionable intelligence. Covering cyber assets, software, SaaS applications, identities, vulnerabilities, infrastructure, and more, Axonius is the one place to go for Security, IT, and GRC teams to continuously drive actionability across the organization. Bring truth to action with Axonius. Learn more at **axonius.com**.

darknetdiaries.com

160: Greg

Greg Linares (AKA Laughing Mantis) joins us to tell us about how he became the youngest hacker to be arrested in Arizona. Follow Greg on Twitter: **https://x.com/Laughing_Mantis**. ### Sponsors Support for this show comes from **ThreatLocker®**. ThreatLocker® is a Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform that strengthens your infrastructure from the ground up. With ThreatLocker® Allowlisting and Ringfencing™, you gain a more secure approach to blocking exploits of known and unknown vulnerabilities. ThreatLocker® provides Zero Trust control at the kernel level that enables you to allow everything you need and block everything else, including ransomware! Learn more at **www.threatlocker.com**. This show is sponsored by **Red Canary**. Red Canary is a leading provider of Managed Detection and Response (MDR), helping nearly 1,000 organizations detect and stop threats before they cause harm. With a focus on accuracy across identities, endpoints, and cloud, we deliver trusted security operations and a world-class customer experience. Learn more at **redcanary.com**. This show is sponsored by **Miro**. AI doesn’t have to be intimidating—in fact, it can help your team thrive. Miro’s Innovation Workspace changes that by bringing people and AI together to turn ideas into impact, fast. Whether you’re launching a new podcast, streamlining a process, or building the next big thing, Miro helps your team move quicker, collaborate better, and actually enjoy the work. Learn more at **https://miro.com/**.

darknetdiaries.com

159: Vastaamo

Joe Tidy investigates what may be the cruelest and most disturbing cyber attack in history. A breach so invasive it blurred the line between digital crime and psychological torture. This story might make your skin crawl. Get more from Joe **linktr.ee/joetidy**. Get the book **Ctrl + Alt + Chaos: How Teenage Hackers Hijack the Internet** (**https://amzn.to/3He7GNs**). ### Sponsors Support for this show comes from **ThreatLocker®**. ThreatLocker® is a Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform that strengthens your infrastructure from the ground up. With ThreatLocker® Allowlisting and Ringfencing™, you gain a more secure approach to blocking exploits of known and unknown vulnerabilities. ThreatLocker® provides Zero Trust control at the kernel level that enables you to allow everything you need and block everything else, including ransomware! Learn more at **www.threatlocker.com**. This show is sponsored by **Red Canary**. Red Canary is a leading provider of Managed Detection and Response (MDR), helping nearly 1,000 organizations detect and stop threats before they cause harm. With a focus on accuracy across identities, endpoints, and cloud, we deliver trusted security operations and a world-class customer experience. Learn more at **redcanary.com**.

darknetdiaries.com

158: MalwareTech

MalwareTech was an anonymous security researcher, until he accidentally stopped WannaCry, one of the largest ransomware attacks in history. That single act of heroism shattered his anonymity and pulled him into a world he never expected. **https://malwaretech.com** ### Sponsors Support for the show comes from **Black Hills Information Security**. Black Hills has a variety of penetration assessment and security auditing services they provide customers to help keep improve the security of a company. If you need a penetration test check out **www.blackhillsinfosec.com/darknet**. Support for this show comes from **Arctic Wolf**. Arctic Wolf is the industry leader in security operations solutions, delivering 24x7 monitoring, assessment, and response through our patented Concierge Security model. They work with your existing tools and become an extension of your existing IT team. Visit **arcticwolf.com/darknet** to learn more. Support for this show comes from **Cloaked**, a digital privacy tool. Cloaked offers private email, phone numbers, and virtual credit card numbers. So you can be anonymous online. They also will remove your personal information from the internet. Like home address, SSN, and phone numbers. Listeners get 20% off a Cloaked subscription when they visit **https://cloaked.com/darknet**. Calling 1-855-752-5625 for a free scan to check if your personal information is exposed!

darknetdiaries.com

157: Grifter

Grifter is a longtime hacker, DEF CON organizer, and respected voice in the infosec community. From his early days exploring networks to helping shape one of the largest hacker conferences in the world, Grifter has built a reputation for blending deep technical insight with a sharp sense of humor. Learn more about Grifter by visiting **grifter.org**. ### Sponsors Support for this show comes from **ThreatLocker®**. ThreatLocker® is a Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform that strengthens your infrastructure from the ground up. With ThreatLocker® Allowlisting and Ringfencing™, you gain a more secure approach to blocking exploits of known and unknown vulnerabilities. ThreatLocker® provides Zero Trust control at the kernel level that enables you to allow everything you need and block everything else, including ransomware! Learn more at **www.threatlocker.com**. Support for this show comes from **ZipRecruiter**. ZipRecruiter has solved the hiring problem. Employers prefer it the most for so many reasons. Let’s start by telling you about their matching technology. They work hard to find the best candidates for your needs, and will instantly show you results once you post a job listing. ZipRecruiter will speed up your hiring process. See it for yourself at **www.ziprecruiter.com/DARKNET**. This show is sponsored by **Material Security**. Your cloud office (think Google Workspace or Microsoft 365) is the core of your business, but it’s often protected by scattered tools and manual fixes. Material is a purpose-built detection and response platform that closes the gaps those point solutions leave behind. From email threats to misconfigurations and account takeovers, Material monitors everything and steps in with real-time fixes to keep your data flowing where it should. Learn more at **https://material.security**.

darknetdiaries.com

156: Kill List

The dark web is full of mystery. Some of it’s just made up though. Chris Monteiro wanted to see what was real and fake and discovered a hitman for hire site which took him on an unbelievable journey. Chris Monteiro **Twitter: x.com/Deku_shrub**, **Website: https://pirate.london/** Carl Miller **Twitter: https://x.com/carljackmiller**. Kill List podcast: **https://wondery.com/shows/kill-list/** ### Sponsors Support for this show comes from **ThreatLocker®**. ThreatLocker® is a Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform that strengthens your infrastructure from the ground up. With ThreatLocker® Allowlisting and Ringfencing™, you gain a more secure approach to blocking exploits of known and unknown vulnerabilities. ThreatLocker® provides Zero Trust control at the kernel level that enables you to allow everything you need and block everything else, including ransomware! Learn more at **www.threatlocker.com**. This episode is sponsored by **ProjectDiscovery**. Tired of false positives and falling behind on new CVEs? Upgrade to Nuclei and ProjectDiscovery, the go-to tools for hackers and pentesters. With 10,000 detection templates, Nuclei helps you scan for exploitable vulnerabilities fast, while ProjectDiscovery lets you map your company’s perimeter, detect trending exploits, and triage results in seconds. Get automation, accuracy, and peace of mind. First-time users get one month FREE of ProjectDiscovery Pro with code DARKNET at **projectdiscovery.io/darknet**. This episode is sponsored by **Kinsta**. Running an online business comes with enough headaches—your WordPress hosting shouldn’t be one of them. Kinsta’s managed hosting takes care of speed, security, and reliability so you can focus on what matters. With enterprise-level security, a modern dashboard that’s actually intuitive, and 24/7 support from real WordPress experts (not chatbots), Kinsta makes hosting stress-free. Need to move your site? They’ll migrate it for free. Plus, get your first month free when you sign up at **kinsta.com/DARKNET**.

darknetdiaries.com

155: Kingpin

In this episode, we delve into the multifaceted career of Joe Grand, also known as “Kingpin.” A renowned hardware hacker and computer engineer, Joe has been exploring and manipulating electronic systems since the 1980s. As a former member of the legendary hacker collective L0pht Heavy Industries, he has significantly contributed to the cybersecurity landscape. Joe is also the proprietor of Grand Idea Studio, a research and development firm, and has shared his expertise through various media, including his YouTube channel. Join us as we explore Joe’s unique perspective on hacking, engineering, and his extraordinary journey in the world of technology. **https://joegrand.com/** ### Sponsors Support for this show comes from **ThreatLocker®**. ThreatLocker® is a Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform that strengthens your infrastructure from the ground up. With ThreatLocker® Allowlisting and Ringfencing™, you gain a more secure approach to blocking exploits of known and unknown vulnerabilities. ThreatLocker® provides Zero Trust control at the kernel level that enables you to allow everything you need and block everything else, including ransomware! Learn more at **www.threatlocker.com**. Support for this show comes from **Lumen**. It used to be hard to track your metabolism, but Lumen is a little device that you breath into which tells you if your burning fat or carbs, fast and easy and have your results in seconds. And knowing that will help you know what kind of food your body needs. And knowing that will help you with your health goals like losing weight or gaining muscle. Take the next step to improving your health go to **lumen.me/darknet**. Support for this show comes from **ZipRecruiter**. ZipRecruiter has solved the hiring problem. Employers prefer it the most for so many reasons. Let’s start by telling you about their matching technology. They work hard to find the best candidates for your needs, and will instantly show you results once you post a job listing. ZipRecruiter will speed up your hiring process. See it for yourself at **www.ziprecruiter.com/DARKNET**.

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