How Hacks Happen
Many Worlds Productions
Hacks, scams, cyber crimes, and other shenanigans explored and explained. Presented by cyber security teacher and digital forensics specialist Michele Bousquet. howhackshappen.net
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Top 10 How Hacks Happen Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best How Hacks Happen episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to How Hacks Happen for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite How Hacks Happen episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
04/01/25 • 9 min
A Blackberry phone as a hacking tool?! For our April Fool's Day episode, we bring you an exclusive interview with hacking genius Dave the Barber, who leveraged a freak accident with a Blackberry into a hack that can compromise any device until the end of time.
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Your SSN Is Out There. Deal With It.
How Hacks Happen
10/23/24 • 27 min
How can you keep hackers from getting your Social Security Number? You can't. Between breaches of Equifax, the healthcare industry, and the recent National Public Data leak, your SSN is probably already making the rounds on the dark web. But you can fight back with some simple security measures.
In this episode, we call back to our very first episode on the Equifax breach of 2017, and revisit the lessons learned and how they pertain to cybersecurity today, and in the future.
Resources
- Krebs on Security: NationalPublicData.com Hack Exposes a Nation’s Data
- SBA: COVID-19 Pandemic EIDL and PPP Loan Fraud Landscape
- A Third of Americans Have had Their Social Security Numbers Leaked in Healthcare Breaches
- Usa.gov: How to place or lift a security freeze on your credit report
- Troy Hunt: Inside the "3 Billion People" National Public Data Breach
- Watchdogs: SBA handed out over $80 billion in potentially fraudulent loans
- NBC News: 'Biggest fraud in a generation': The looting of the Covid relief plan known as PPP
- WIRED: LifeLock CEO's Identity Stolen 13 Times
- YouTube: Lifelock Commercial
Can't keep up with AI? We've got you. Everyday AI helps you keep up and get ahead.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
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Is my phone spying on me? | Social Media Part III
How Hacks Happen
05/15/24 • 10 min
Does your phone serve you content based on your conversations? It depends.
This is the third episode in a three-part series on social media. Here we talk about what your apps or services might be listening to, and what you can do about it.
Resources:
- Does Your Phone Listen to You for Ads? (Yes, Here’s How)
- This Company Might Be Listening to Everything You Watch on TV
- That Game on Your Phone May Be Tracking What You’re Watching on TV
- Is your smartphone listening to you?
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Equifax Breach
How Hacks Happen
05/15/21 • 70 min
When consumer reporting agency Equifax was breached in 2017, the records of over 140 million people (more than half the adults in the USA!) were stolen. Years later, we take a closer look at the mistakes Equifax's security team made, how hackers leveraged a compromised Equifax web page to gain access to logins, passwords, and dozens of additional databases, and how they got the stolen data out of Equifax's network through a flawed router setup. We wrap up what you can do to keep yourself safe from identity theft as a result of this and other breaches.
Resources for this episode:
- Website where you can check if your identity was compromised in the Equifax breach
- Business Insider: Literally everyone should be thinking about suing Equifax. September 2017.
- U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform: The Equifax Data Breach. December 2018.
- CHINESE PLA MEMBERS, 54th RESEARCH INSTITUTE - The fellas charged with the Equifax breach, now on the FBI's wanted list.
- United States Government Accountability Office Report to Congressional Requesters
Can't keep up with AI? We've got you. Everyday AI helps you keep up and get ahead.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
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Quick Tip: Black Friday Shopping
How Hacks Happen
11/24/21 • 1 min
Black Friday, the day after American Thanksgiving, is traditionally one of the biggest holiday shopping days of the year. But hackers aren't going to take a holiday--they'll use Black Friday as an opportunity to try and scam you. If you get a text about an order or a gift card, don't tap the link! Instead, go to the retailer's site and see if there's a message for you. Let's all have a holly jolly holiday season with no scams!
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F12 is Not a Crime! Except in Missouri.
How Hacks Happen
05/24/23 • 9 min
In October 21, 2021, Josh Renaud, a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper, privately alerted a government authority that their website had vulnerabilities. In response, the governor of Missouri, Michael L. Parson, brought charges against the journalist for "hacking." This story would be hilarious if it wasn't true. Update: In July 2022, Josh Renaud was awarded The National Press Club press freedom award for his work.
- Get the "F12 IS NOT A CRIME" T-shirt
- Original St. Louis Post-Dispatch article: Missouri teachers' Social Security numbers at risk on state agency's website (requires subscription to view)
- Arstechnica article: Emails show what happened before Missouri gov. falsely called journalist a “hacker”
- Governor Parson's Facebook post - Enjoy the comments.
- Missouri State Highway Patrol report
- Fundraising video: Gov. Parson holds fake news accountable. Enjoy the comments.
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The Refund Scam: How it Works
How Hacks Happen
12/16/22 • 9 min
You get an email telling you you've been billed for a product you never ordered, and when you call for a refund, you somehow you get an excess refund and have to send back the difference. Find out how scammers manipulate people into sending them "excess refund money" from a nonexistent refund, and what you can do to keep it from happening to others. Shout-out to YouTuber Kitboga for showing me how this scam works.
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Technology Peak: Why the Elderly Fall for Scams
How Hacks Happen
01/15/22 • 11 min
Why are older people so susceptible to scams? There could be a relationship to the music you loved in your teen years. Just as most of us have a Musical Peak in our teens, I propose that we also have a Technology Peak in our 20s-40s. Nudging our elderly relatives out of their Technology Peak, and into the present, is the only way to break this pattern. And the only way to do it is by showing them.
References:
Study of link between adolescent age and music preference: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2059204320965058
Other references:
https://usa.kaspersky.com/resource-center/preemptive-safety/phone-number-spoofing
https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/12/17003076/spotify-data-shows-songs-teens-adult-taste-music
https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M15-0882?doi=10.7326%2FM15-0882
https://www.marketplace.org/2019/05/16/brains-losses-aging-fraud-financial-scams-seniors/
https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M15-0882?doi=10.7326%2FM15-0882
https://neurosciencenews.com/music-youth-17765/
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/10/opinion/sunday/favorite-songs.html
https://neurosciencenews.com/music-youth-17765/
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/snake-oil-salesmen-knew-something/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056262/
https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/27/nyregion/thecity/for-you-half-price.html
https://www.elon.edu/u/imagining/time-capsule/150-years/back-1870-1940/
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Apple vs. The FBI and Your Right to Privacy
How Hacks Happen
06/26/24 • 13 min
In response to the San Bernardino shooting in 2015, the FBI demanded that Apple, Inc. create a "back door" to bypass the shooter's iPhone security, a back door that could also compromise any iPhone, anytime. Thankfully, Apple CEO Tim Cook wasn't playing. But this isn't the first time government and law enforcement has tried to stick their noses into our business without permission, and probably won't be the last. In this episode we also talk about government efforts to compromise consumer security, like the NSA's Clipper Chip of 1993, and why these efforts have always failed.
Resources:
- Order Compelling Apple, Inc. to Assist Agents in Search
- The FBI Wanted a Back Door to the iPhone. Tim Cook Said No
- A Message to our Customers (Apple CEO Tim Cook’s response to FBI request)
- Apple Just Killed The 'GrayKey' iPhone Passcode Hack
- Electronic Privacy Information Center: The Clipper Chip
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Credit Card Fraud: 2024 Update
How Hacks Happen
11/13/24 • 31 min
Credit card fraud is on the rise, but not in the usual way: hackers are cobbling together synthetic accounts from real and fake names, addresses, social security numbers, and credit histories. Children's social security numbers are particularly at risk. Find out how it all works, and what you can do to help prevent synthetic account fraud, and help with inflation in the process.
Resources
- FBI: Combating Threats in the Cyberworld
- LawPay: Guide to Securely Storing Credit Card Information
- How Can Someone Use My Credit Card Without Having It? A Complete Guide to Theft Prevention
- Motley Fool: Identity Theft and Credit Card Fraud Statistics for 2024
- Mastercard: What is Synthetic Identity Fraud?
Can't keep up with AI? We've got you. Everyday AI helps you keep up and get ahead.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Join our Patreon to listen ad-free!
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FAQ
How many episodes does How Hacks Happen have?
How Hacks Happen currently has 57 episodes available.
What topics does How Hacks Happen cover?
The podcast is about News, Security, Infosec, True Crime, Tech News, Hacking, Podcasts, Cyber Security and Cybersecurity.
What is the most popular episode on How Hacks Happen?
The episode title 'Sneaky Phone Downloads' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on How Hacks Happen?
The average episode length on How Hacks Happen is 24 minutes.
How often are episodes of How Hacks Happen released?
Episodes of How Hacks Happen are typically released every 13 days, 23 hours.
When was the first episode of How Hacks Happen?
The first episode of How Hacks Happen was released on May 15, 2021.
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