Former FBI Special Agent Chris Tarbell and ex-Anonymous/LulzSec blackhat hacker Hector Monsegur (aka Sabu) faced off as adversaries in cyberspace before becoming close friends and podcast co-hosts. Listen to Tarbell, co-founder of the elite cybersecurity firm NAXO, and Monsegur, a top network penetration tester and security engineer, break down the must-know cybersecurity news and topics of the week. You’ll walk away from each episode with unique perspectives on keeping your family, your company, and yourself safe from cyber attacks.
Twitter's Data Leak, Russian Hacking Crew "Cold River", and Listener Questions
This week on Hacker And Fed we discuss Twitter's data leak, explaining APIs and how to better protect ourselves. We also touch on the Russian hacking crew "Cold River" and answer some listener questions. -- For more information on Chris and his current work visit naxo.com Follow Hector @hxmonsegur
Cell Phone Eavesdropping, Tupac and Biggie in New Zealand, and Botnets
This week on Hacker And Fed we tackle IMSI Catchers, or cell phone eavesdropping devices after one was found by French authorities in the back of a vehicle near the US embassy in Paris. We also cover Hector's PBS Hack, his thought process and attack vector. And finally we have a conversation about Botnets and some of the risks they present. -- For more information on Chris and his current work visit naxo.com Follow Hector @hxmonsegur
Cyber Warfare With Special Guest Jeffrey Carr
This week on Hacker And Fed we tackle cyber warfare with special guest Jeff Carr. Jeff authored the book "Inside Cyber Warfare: Mapping the Cyber Underworld" and is an expert on how nation-states, groups, and individuals around the world wage digital war on one another. We cover a wide range of topics from how to define "cyber war" to the insider perspective on the war in Ukraine. Check out Jeff's book here! -- For more information on Chris and his current work visit naxo.com Follow Hector @hxmonsegur
The Perspective Of A Hacker, Questions For Sabu
This week on Hacker And Fed we select a number of audience questions specifically directed toward Hector, and he answers them from the perspective of his former self, Sabu. We cover questions like "what is a hack?" "What are the hardest security controls to beat?" And "what do Hackers do with your stolen data?" And finally, Sabu reveals his coolest hack. -- For more information on Chris and his current work visit naxo.com Follow Hector @hxmonsegur
The Infamous Shadow Brokers and Apple's New Security Posture
This week on Hacker And The Fed we discuss the infamous Shadow Brokers, a group (or individual hacker) who compromised the NSA back in 2016. We explore and explain this hack from the perspective of a former FBI agent and a former black hat hacker. We also detail Apple's new security posture deploying end-to-end encryption. -- For more information on Chris and his current work visit naxo.com Follow Hector @hxmonsegur
CISA’s Small Business Security Guidance and Listener Questions
This week on Hacker And The Fed we discuss a recent paper published by CISA (The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency) detailing how to help secure your small business online. We also answer a number of listener questions. You all have been sending us some great questions in the past week, today we answer a few of our favorites. -- For more information on Chris and his current work visit naxo.com Follow Hector @hxmonsegur
Sabu and Recursion Face to Face, Former Hackers Reunite Over War Stories
This week on Hacker And The Fed we have our first ever guest. Former Black Hat and former member of LulzSec, Cody Kretsinger. Hector and Cody go back nearly 20 years to the earliest days of online hacking when they spent years partnering to infiltrate major computer networks around the world. Despite that long history, they’ve never actually met in the flesh. We cover a lot as they speak together for the first time, from hacking origin stories to life after federal prison. -- For more information on Chris and his current work visit naxo.com Follow Hector @hxmonsegur
Hector's Decision To Work With The FBI
This week on Hacker And The Fed we discuss Hector's decision to work with the FBI. To change the course of his life and begin the journey to where he is now. We explore his moral considerations as well as the very practical implications of such a decision. We also hear the story of Hector's first hack and answer a listener question on NSO group and high level hacking. -- For more information on Chris and his current work visit naxo.com Follow Hector @hxmonsegur
The Silk Road Bitcoin Hack
This week on Hacker And The Fed we discuss the recent seizure related to Silk Road, the black market website Chris took down in 2013. Silk Road is back in the news as the IRS just recently caught a man who stole 50,000 bitcoin from the site. -- For more information on Chris and his current work visit naxo.com Follow Hector @hxmonsegur
The Dropbox Hack And Questions About The FBI
This week on Hacker And The Fed we discuss the recent DropBox hack that relied on a phishing attack to steal credentials as well as multi-factor authentication codes. We also discuss other tactics attackers use to work around multi-factor authentication as well as a technology that may replace the applications and codes you use today. And finally, we respond to a few user questions about the FBI. -- For more information on Chris and his current work visit naxo.com Follow Hector @hxmonsegur
NSO Group’s Pegasus & IRC Wars
This week on Hacker And The Fed we discuss the NSO Group’s zero-click iPhone exploit, also known as Pegasus, a powerful tool that can be used to take full control of a target’s iPhone without their knowledge. We break down how it all works and how to think about this tool and others like it. We also answer a question from the audience about Hector’s experience using IRC, an old internet chat tool where Hector had “wars” with other hackers. -- For more information on Chris and his current work visit naxo.com Follow Hector @hxmonsegur
Cyber Security Whac-A-Mole, Getting Arrested By The FBI, And Protecting Your Small Business
This week on Hacker And The Fed we answer audience questions. We discuss the future of cyber security and whether we will ever get ahead of the bad guys. We also detail what it's like to be arrested by the FBI as Hector recounts his experience following the knock on the door. And finally, we respond to a small business owner on how to secure her social media accounts and website from potential threats. -- For more information on Chris and his current work visit naxo.com Follow Hector @hxmonsegur
Social Engineering & "Vishing"
This week on Hacker And The Fed we discuss voice fishing, or "vishing," and the social engineering tactics behind this attack. You know those spam calls you get? Well sometimes those are actually social engineering attacks aimed at convincing you to send money to scammers. It's a relatively new twist on phishing and it employs many of the same basic tactics. We detail what these attacks look like, tell a few stories of our own experience with social engineering, and leave you with some key takeaways for how to keep yourself and loved ones safe and secure. -- Below are several terms Hector and Chris use in the show that some listeners may not be familiar with: Dox – publish private information about an individual online APT – advanced persistent threat, e.g. a nation state with sophisticated cyber capabilities EFNet – an internet chat relay network API – automated programming interface, a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other. WHOIS – information about an IP address or domain name (e.g. google.com) -- For more information on Chris and his current work visit naxo.com Follow Hector @hxmonsegur
The Origin Story
On this first episode of Hacker And The Fed, Chris and Hector tell their origin story. Hector details the journey from his first time on the internet to becoming a globally infamous black hat hacker. And Chris tells of growing up in Virginia next to the chief of police to ultimately joining the FBI and dedicating his life to fighting cyber crime. The two outline their story from the moment Chris arrested Hector, ultimately leading to a long time collaboration and lifelong friendship. For more information on Chris and his current work visit naxo.com Follow Hector @hxmonsegur
Introducing Hacker And The Fed
Former FBI special agent Chris Tarbell and former Anonymous blackhat Hector Monsegur (aka Sabu) first faced-off as adversaries in cyberspace before becoming close friends and podcast co-hosts. Listen to Tarbell, co-founder of an elite cybersecurity firm NAXO, and Monsegur, a top network penetration tester and security engineer, break down the must-know cybersecurity news and topics of the day. You’ll walk away from each episode with unique perspectives on how to keep your family, your company, and your personal cyber footprint safe from attacks.