Hacked

In this episode: the inside story of Danabot, the malware-as-a-service platform that thrived in the shadows for nearly a decade—until a critical mistake exposed its creators. Just last week, U.S. prosecutors unsealed charges against sixteen alleged operators, using evidence pulled not from a takedown, but from Danabot's own infection logs. Plus: a roundup of other top stories. Last week was a rerun—life got a little hectic—so we kept the mic hot and recorded a 90-minute marathon episode to make up for it. Let us know if you're intro it. Hacked is brought to you by Push Security Check them out at pushsecurity.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today malware is all nation state actors and organized crime, but in the beginning it was more about making a statement. Dan is a malware historian. He finds old hardware and viruses, runs them, and sees what happens. So we sat down to discuss the history of malware, where it's come from, and where he thinks it's going next. Check out his amazing YouTube channel at ⁠https://www.youtube.com/user/danooct1 Hacked is brought to you by PushSecurity.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Schools out for summer. Another collection of computer confessions and strange tales of technology. Hacked is brought to you by Push Security. Check them out at Pushsecurity.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Content warning: This episode contains descriptions of exploitation, self-harm, and abuse. Listener discretion is advised. A network called 764 has turned abuse into currency. It spread through Discord, Telegram, and gaming platforms—built around “lorebooks,” collections of coerced violence traded for status. In a strange twist, this harm group has connections to cybercrime groups we've covered on this show before. Note: I was recording in an office, which between that and the subject matter, explains why my tone is pretty hushed in this one. Hacked is brought to you by Push Security—helping companies stop identity attacks before they happen. Phishing, credential stuffing, session hijacking—Push tackles it right where it starts: in the browser. Smart, seamless, and built for how people actually work. Check them out at pushsecurity.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We discuss a schism years in the making — the infamous imageboard 4chan gets hacked by its own offshoot, Soyjak.party, in a breach that exposed moderator identities, source code, and shattered the myth of online anonymity. Then, we look at Cluely — an AI tool built by a suspended student to help users “cheat” on job interviews — and the viral campaign pitching it as a revolution. Is it a tech breakthrough, a social bluff, or both? Hacked is brought to you by Push Security—helping companies stop identity attacks before they happen. Phishing, credential stuffing, session hijacking—Push tackles it right where it starts: in the browser. Smart, seamless, and built for how people actually work. Check them out at . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A tech worker stumbles upon mass fraud and brings receipts, a flag football prank goes very right, a teenager uses Net Send and gets in trouble — but not as much as the person they're in trouble with, and a guy almost sends his pal on a "Taken" style revenge mission to Kosovo. Got a strange tale of technology, security, or hacking? Share it at HotlineHacked.com. Hacked is brought to you by Push Security. Check them out at PushSecurity.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 2009, a Pennsylvania high school accused sophomore Blake Robbins of dealing drugs—based on a photo secretly taken through his school-issued laptop. The image, captured without his knowledge in his own bedroom, turned out to show candy. But the real story wasn't about what was in his hand—it was about how the school got the photo in the first place. In this episode, we speak with filmmaker Jody McVeigh-Schultz, creator of SPY HIGH, and Blake himself, about surveillance, bias, and what happens when institutions cross the line between protecting kids and controlling them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A former developer at Eaton Corp, Davis Lu, is convicted of deploying a kill switch script that disrupted thousands of users worldwide—he's now facing up to 10 years in prison. A major AI image generator, GenNomis, accidentally exposed 95,000 image prompts online, raising serious privacy and security concerns. And finally, researchers discover debug commands in the popular ESP32 Bluetooth chip, sparking worries about potential exploitation. Note: We mention and explain this in the last episode, but we're in the process of pumping the brakes on the ads and keeping our reads faster. Things got overstuffed—that's on us. Thanks for the honest feedback. Got a strange tale of technology, security, or hacking? Share it at HotlineHacked.com. Hacked is brought to you by Push Security. Check them out at PushSecurity.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hacked Discord accounts, zombie emergency alerts on TV, and a crime spree in Diablo 3—just another day. As always, thanks for sharing your calls with us—we had a blast listening. Note: We mention and explain this in the episode, but we've pumped the brakes on the ads. Things got overstuffed—that's on us. Thanks for the honest feedback. Got a strange tale of technology, security, or hacking? Share it at HotlineHacked.com. Hacked is brought to you by Push Security. Check them out at PushSecurity.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Double Digits! Featuring caller stories of sarcastic keyboard pranks, failed SEO birthday gifts, vending machine hijinks and more. Hacked is brought to you by Push Security—helping companies stop identity attacks before they happen. Phishing, credential stuffing, session hijacking—Push tackles it right where it starts: in the browser. Smart, seamless, and built for how people actually work. Check them out at pushsecurity.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Adam used to break into companies for a living—legally. As a red teamer, he watched the attack surface shift from networks to endpoints to something new: identity. The Snowflake breach proved it—attackers aren't breaking in anymore, they're logging in. Adam saw it coming, founded Push Security to stop it, and now he's here to break it all down. They're our new sponsor, so if that's not your thing, no worries—catch you in the next one. But his story? Fascinating. Hacked is brought to you by Push Security—helping companies stop identity attacks before they happen. Phishing, credential stuffing, session hijacking—Push tackles it right where it starts: in the browser. Smart, seamless, and built for how people actually work. Check them out at pushsecurity.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We dive into the story of Silk Road—the infamous darknet marketplace that changed the internet. We revisit its rise under Ross Ulbricht, aka "Dread Pirate Roberts," and how law enforcement finally brought it down. With Ulbricht's recent presidential pardon in 2025, his release reignites debates on digital privacy, cybercrime, and government overreach. Plus, we've got a lot to catch up on—DeepSeek, the latest in AI, and much more.  Hacked is brought to you by Push Security—helping companies stop identity attacks before they happen. Phishing, credential stuffing, session hijacking—Push tackles it right where it starts: in the browser. Smart, seamless, and built for how people actually work. Check them out at pushsecurity.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Quantum computing raises big questions—about security, power, and who benefits as the technology advances. To kick off 2025, the International Year of Quantum, I sat down with Joan Etude Arrow—Founder and CEO of the Quantum Ethics Project and a Womanium Quantum Solutions Launchpad Fellow—to talk about what's real, what's next, and why it matters. This is our chat with Joan Etude Arrow, here on Hacked.

A bunch of great stories, including a prank between brothers with video evidence, a DOS frat war, and a person who tried to buy a building with a credit card. Want to share your story? Check out hotlinehacked.com. Hotline Hacked is brought to you by DeleteMe. Take control of your data and keep your private life private by signing up for DeleteMe. Now at a special discount for our listeners: Today get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to joindeleteme.com/HACKED and use promo code HACKED at checkout.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We have a bunch of stories to get to, but before you listen, check out our new Youtube page we'll be putting a lot of love into in 2025: https://www.youtube.com/@hackedpodcast and this very useful site a listener made based on our last episode about an extremely expensive pizza delivery. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Happy holidays, everyone. We're bringing you a hacked classic to tide you over while Scott and I take a break to relax and gear up for the new year to hit us like a ton of bricks. This is one of my favorites from a couple of years ago, back in the halcyon days of June 2022—an interview with music professor Meryl Goldberg that I still think about. It's got Cold War intrigue, hidden codes, and Klezmer music. Honestly, I want to make a movie about it, so if your 2025 wishlist includes setting a bunch of money on fire producing a film, let me know. Hope you had a happy holiday and a festive new year. Safe travels if you're on the road, and if you're home, I hope you're relaxing. Enjoy The Phantom Orchestra. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Let's get festive with it. Calls concerning grocery point systems, Australian internet providers, and so much more. Want to share your story? Check out hotlinehacked.com. Hotline Hacked is brought to you by DeleteMe. Take control of your data and keep your private life private by signing up for DeleteMe. Now at a special discount for our listeners: Today get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to joindeleteme.com/HACKED and use promo code HACKED at checkout.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's been a wacky one. In this very loose year in review, we discuss adversarial agents being gamified for fun an profit, DNA companies changing ownership and what it means for your data, and take a tour through some of the biggest tech, hacking, AI, and security stories of the year. And yes, I'm aware we never actually revisit the intro story during the ep. We apparently had too many broken bones to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Can you trick the AI model running locally on a security camera into thinking you're a bird (and not a burglar)? We sat down Kasimir Schulz, principle security researcher at HiddenLayer, to discuss Edge AI, and to learn about how AI running on your device (at the "edge" of the network) can be compromised with something like a QR code. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A collection of calls, including an extremely wholesome story about a hacked internet contest and an electric guitar that changed a caller's life. Hotline Hacked is brought to you by DeleteMe. Take control of your data and keep your private life private by signing up for DeleteMe. Now at a special discount for our listeners: Today get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to joindeleteme.com/HACKED and use promo code HACKED at checkout.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A chatty chat in which we discuss the Infinite Backrooms and the extremely profitable shock-meme-cult it spurred, a big update in the McDonald's ice cream machine right to repair story, Apple Bug Bounties, Canadian hackers and so much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We wanted to know: How was USDoD, the hacker behind major data breaches, unmasked? On this episode, we trace his journey from infiltrating FBI-linked networks to leaking sensitive data, and hear from OSINT specialist and Predicta Lab CEO Baptiste Robert, who used open-source intelligence to follow USDoD's digital trail, revealing what law enforcement missed along the way. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The whole second half of this one is one long call but trust us it's worth it. A call in show with tales of hackers getting hacked back, spoofed emails, and operating system vulnerabilities. Hotline Hacked is brought to you by DeleteMe. Take control of your data and keep your private life private by signing up for DeleteMe. Now at a special discount for our listeners: Today get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to joindeleteme.com/HACKED and use promo code HACKED at checkout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A chatty chat episode where we discuss a Harvard research project turning Meta Ray-Bans into facial recognition hardware, an Irish court case resolution on a password breach, a live-action roleplaying game solved basically while we were talking, and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We think Zeke Faux's Number Go Up: Inside Crypto's Wild Rise and Staggering Fall is one of the best modern books about crypto. It's a globetrotting adventure and a great piece of reporting. To celebrate the paperback release, we sat down with Bloomberg investigative reporter and author Zeke Faux to dig into his experience writing it, what he learned, and what he thinks happens next. Number Go Up is now available in paperback wherever you get your books. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's a five-alarm fire in the fifth instalment of our call in show. We hear from a caller who accidentally won a naval war-game by unplugging a radio, a person whose company hired someone who clearly lied about their technical background, a very wholesome story about Counterstrike, and a person who decided to do a scavenger hunt by scavenging online instead of the real world. Hotline Hacked is brought to you by DeleteMe. Take control of your data and keep your private life private by signing up for DeleteMe. Now at a special discount for our listeners: Today get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to joindeleteme.com/HACKED and use promo code HACKED at checkout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fourth times a charm. Share your strange tale of technology, true hack, or computer confession at hotlinehacked.com. We discuss stealing login credentials with microphones, hacking courses for cybersecurity classes for instant grades, and parking pits. Hotline Hacked is brought to you by DeleteMe. Take control of your data and keep your private life private by signing up for DeleteMe. Now at a special discount for our listeners: Today get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to joindeletem.com/HACKED and use promo code HACKED at checkout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You can do lot of damage by changing someone's bike gear at the wrong time. A collection of stories including a DIY laser mad science project that aims to replicate a $150,000 piece of equipment, and one of the largest leaks of US Social Security Numbers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DEFCON: The Biggest Hacking Event in the World Every year DEFCON, the world's biggest hacking conference, descends on Las Vegas for a weekend of digital mad science, security, and community building. We braved the desert heat to go find out what it's all about and to see how many people would talk into a microphone at privacy-centric event.  Check out the Capture the Flag replays here: https://www.youtube.com/@livectf Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We all just watched one of the largest IT events in years unfold in real time with the CrowdStrike incident. We wanted to understand it better, so we called up security researcher and educator John Hammond to get to the bottom of it.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We got a lot of messages about the Ticketmaster hack that went down since our last episode. We dive into all the weird angles of that evolving story, a strange real time news update about the AT&T hack, and spend a surprising amount of time hyping a Canadian movie about Blackberry.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Few things impact the shape of the internet more than Google Search, yet its inner workings are mostly a mystery. In May, Rand Fishkin received alleged leaked documents that peal back the curtain as to how it works. We speak with Rand Fishkin about his involvement in the Google API leaks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We discuss a bunch of stories, including the bizarre tale of how an anonymous business registration company let a massive IT scam unfold in the US, a TikTok zero day, Microsoft recall and Apple Private Cloud Compute, and a home-brew cell tower hack in the UK. NOTE: I (JB) misspeak at about 18 minutes in. I say "US" when we're talking about the UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's our third call in episode and we're cooking now. Share your strange tale of technology, true hack, or computer confession at hotlinehacked.com. We discuss accidentally causing internet outages, creating a botnet pandoras box, and the proud tradition of hacking into stuff to play great songs the man does't want you to. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A chatty chat episode in which we discuss one of the wildest cases of tech depreciation ever, the potential unmasking of the operator behind a massive ransomware operation, a twist in the FTX case, and a bunch of other tangents. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's our second call in show episode. Share your strange tale of technology, true hack, or computer confession at hotlinehacked.com. We discuss hacking e-bike networks, an act of white hat kindness, an 1970's hack from the prairies, and how bots have turned everyone into a commodities trader. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A data leak at a big Chinese security company reveals not just that they're engaged in state sponsored hacking-for-hire, but just how weirdly corporate a job that actually is. Our conversation with Mei Danowski, security researcher, about her analysis of the iSoon leaks. Check our her excellent Substack Natto thoughts: https://nattothoughts.substack.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bonus Chat Episode. We both love (and make) video games. Thanks to our supporters, alongside our typical two episodes this month, we're excited to drop this bonus episode where we chat about hacking games, making games, and playing games. If you want to support Hacked too, check out hackedpodcast.com to subscribe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The story of an online business school and the ex-student warning that it might be a cult. Check out some of our guest Tim Hume's excellent reporting at the links below: https://www.vice.com/en/article/pkaw7k/andrew-tate-the-real-world-cult https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7emvg/andrew-tate-channels-culled-by-youtube-after-revelations-about-get-rich-quick-cult https://www.vice.com/en/article/4a385g/youtube-profited-from-andrew-tate-recruitment-videos-despite-banning-them Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A chatty chat episode in which Scott and Jordan discuss the proposed Flipper Zero ban in Canada, a chatbot that lied to an airline passenger, a multimillion dollar deepfake heist in Hong Kong, and the Satoshi Nakamoto court trial currently underway. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A lot of the tech we use today started out as a gizmo in a piece of science fiction. A conversation with Abe Haskins, creator of the DIY Pokédex, about how the sci-fi we love informs the tech we get, and how he hacked together an iconic piece of 90's pop culture. Check out his excellent work at https://www.youtube.com/@abetoday Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Two competing stories about a cyberstalking that all comes down to an IP address. Today's episode was a partnership with "Pretend," hosted by Javier Leiva. Pretend is a true crime podcast about con artists. Definitely check it out wherever you get your shows. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2vaCjR7UvlN9aTIzW6kNCo Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/pretend-a-true-crime-podcast-about-con-artists/id1245307962 RSS: Click here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today malware is all nation state actors and organized crime, but in the beginning it was more about making a statement. Dan is a malware historian. He finds old hardware and viruses, runs them, and sees what happens. So we sat down to discuss the history of malware, where it's come from, and where he thinks it's going next. Check out his amazing YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/danooct1 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You can find all kinds of great deals on Android streaming TV boxes online. But sometimes something else comes in the box along with it. Our conversation with Lindsay Kaye - Vice President of Threat Intelligence at Human, and part of the security team that discovered that somewhere along the supply chain something else was getting installed into all kinds of Android devices. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's our first call in show episode. Share your strange tale of technology, true hack, or computer confession at hotlinehacked.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In which we look back on yet another hack-tacular year, and discuss the Open AI Coup, the "hacked Rockstar from a hotel room" guy, and a slew of other stories from a wild 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How can an artists protect their art from being scraped by AI models? By turning it into a 'poison' that will corrupt those systems if it ever is. Our conversation with Shawn Shan from the University of Chicago about "Nightshade," "Glaze," and a suite of tools they're developing to help artists protect their art. Also a five minute intro about plants, deal with it. Support hacked on by visiting hackedpodcast.com to find our Patreon, or grab a sick visor, mug, sweater, or shirt at store.hackedpodcast.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Scott bought a Flipper Zero and was too lazy to watch YouTube so we've got Youtuber The Talking Sasquatch (https://www.youtube.com/@TalkingSasquach) joining us today to talk through the hardware hacking device, its past and some of the ethical boundaries of being a content creator! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A chat in which we discuss the end of the FTX trial, Amnesty International's newly released Predator Files, the Humane AI Pin, and what happens when a video game company decides to buy the people who were cracking their game. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices