Red hat, blue hat, grey hat, black hat; follow along as we dive into the world of hackers on episode 21 of the Defending the Edge Podcast with DefendEdge set to be released tomorrow, August 6th. Uncover the different veils that make up ethical hackers, state-sponsored hackers, and the many other hats they wear. Topics such as the recent AT&T data breach, CrowdStrike, and how Singapore is implementing a new rule in hopes of stopping future phishing attacks will also be mentioned in this new episode, as well as a deep dive into the well-known hacktivist group Anonymous.
What Are the Different Hats of Hackers?
Hackers come in many different shapes and sizes, from white hat hackers who focus on ethical hacking to black hat hackers who do everything in their power illegally to breach company systems for personal gain. According to RSI, the color associated with a specific hacking group, such as the ones mentioned previously, comes from old western movies when good guys would be seen wearing white cowboy hats and bad guys would be seen with black hats. The ones in between got developed later as the cybersecurity realm grew and new hackers with more complex motives emerged on the scene. There are 10 well-known hacker types today, including the white hat, black hat, grey hat, blue hat, red hat, green hat, state-sponsored, script kiddies, hacktivist, and finally, malicious insider or whistleblower hackers. In episode 21, we dive into each of the ones listed above, along with examples of some famous hackers that may surprise you.
What Recent Attacks Will Be Mentioned in The Episode?
Since the last episode of the Defending the Edge Podcast with DefendEdge, we have seen numerous different attacks targeting sectors from retail to technology, including malware ranging from ransomware to information stealers. The hosts Gabe, Andrea, Lyndon, and Katey discuss attacks they’ve seen such as the recent AT&T data breach that affected over 109 million customers and the CrowdStrike outage that left thousands of companies, including airlines, with the ‘blue screen of death’ halting services. RockYou2024, another breach that exposed over 10 billion plaintext passwords is also talked about alongside Evolve Bank & Trust’s recent ransomware attack claimed by no other than the LockBit ransomware gang. The 11-billion-dollar Southeast Asia cybercrime hub, HuiOne Guarantee is mentioned as well as a lesser-known topic of ‘pig butchering’ and what exactly that has to do with cybersecurity attacks. Finally, the group talks about the banks of Singapore and how, within three months’ time, they plan to remove the use of one-time passwords in hopes of stopping the high volume of social engineering attacks the country has seen recently.
Will There Be an Update Regarding Artificial Intelligence in The Episode?
Of course! If you have tuned into the previous three episodes of the new iteration of the podcast, you will know that from now on, there will be a dedicated section in our episodes that revolves around artificial intelligence. This new segment includes any attacks we have seen at DefendEdge over the past month that involve the use of AI as well as new threat actors or trends we have been following that could change the scope of the cyber realm as we know it. From domains belonging to Russian AI bot farms being seized by the United States to OpenAI’s latest model supporting paralyzed patients by implanting brain chips, the hosts talk about everything there is to be known.
Where Can I Tune in To Listen?
The Defending the Edge Podcast with DefendEdge can be viewed on the following streaming platforms: Spotify, Apple Music, Buzzsprout, and many more. You can also click on the link hosted on the very website from which you are reading this blog post, and it will take you directly to the newest episode each month. Episode 21: Unveiling the Mask, The Many Faces of Hacking is set to release the first Tuesday of the month, tomorrow, August 6, 2024.
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