Security Conversations

Three Buddy Problem - Episode 23: Volexity founder Steven Adair joins the show to explore the significance of memory analysis and the technical challenges associated with memory dumping and forensics. We dig into Volexity’s “nearest neighbor” Wi-Fi hack discovery, gaps in EDR detection and telemetry, and some real-talk on the Volt Typhoon intrusions. We also cover news on a Firefox zero-day exploited on the Tor browser, the professionalization of ransomware, ESET's discovery of a Linux bootkit (we have a scoop on the origins of this!), Binarly research on connections to LogoFAIL, and major visibility gaps in the firmware ecosystem. Cast: Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade (https://twitter.com/juanandres_gs) (SentinelLabs), Costin Raiu (https://twitter.com/craiu) (Art of Noh) and Ryan Naraine (https://twitter.com/ryanaraine) (SecurityWeek). Honorary buddy: Steven Adair (https://twitter.com/sadair) (Volexity)

Episode sponsors: Binarly (https://binarly.io) Binary Risk Hunt (https://risk.binarly.io) In this reboot of the Security Conversations interview series, Foundation Capital partner Sid Trivedi weighs in on major changes to the RSA Innovation Sandbox, the mandatory $5M uncapped SAFE investment for all 10 finalists, and red-flag concerns around discounts and pro-rata rights. Also discussed: controversial pay-for-play dynamics involving CISOs and venture capital firms, ethical implications of CISOs taking advisory positions in startups, and the challenges of investing in seed-stage startups amidst a trend towards platformization.

Three Buddy Problem - Episode 22: We discuss Volexity’s presentation on Russian APT operators hacking Wi-Fi networks in “nearest neighbor attacks,” the Chinese surveillance state and its impact on global security, the NSA's strange call for better data sharing on Salt Typhoon intrusions, and the failures of regulatory bodies to address cybersecurity risks. We also cover two new Apple zero-days being exploited in the wild, the US Government’s demand that Google sell the Chrome browser, and the value of data in the context of AI. Cast: Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade (https://twitter.com/juanandres_gs) (SentinelLabs), Costin Raiu (https://twitter.com/craiu) (Art of Noh) and Ryan Naraine (https://twitter.com/ryanaraine) (SecurityWeek).

Three Buddy Problem - Episode 21: We dig into an incredible government report on Iranian hacking group Emennet Pasargad and tradecraft during the Israel/Hamas war, why Predatory Sparrow could have been aimed at deterrence in cyber, and the FBI/CISA public confirmation of the mysterious Salt Typhoon hacks. Plus, discussion on hina’s cyber capabilities, the narrative around “pre-positioning” for a Taiwan conflict, the blending of cyber and kinetic operations, and the long tail of Chinese researchers reporting Microsoft Windows vulnerabilities. The future of CISA is a recurring theme throughout this episode with some speculation about what happens to the agency under the Trump administration. Cast: Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade (https://twitter.com/juanandres_gs) (SentinelLabs), Costin Raiu (https://twitter.com/craiu) (Art of Noh) and Ryan Naraine (https://twitter.com/ryanaraine) (SecurityWeek).

Three Buddy Problem - Episode 20: We revisit the ‘hack-back’ debate, the threshold for spying on adversaries, Palo Alto watching EDR bypass research to track threat actors, hot nuggets in Project Zero’s Clem Lecinge’s Hexacon talk, Apple’s new iOS update rebooting iPhones in law enforcement custody, the mysterious GoblinRAT backdoor, and physical ‘meatspace’ Bitcoin attacks and more details on North Korean cryptocurrency theft. Cast: Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade (https://twitter.com/juanandres_gs) (SentinelLabs), Costin Raiu (https://twitter.com/craiu) (Art of Noh) and Ryan Naraine (https://twitter.com/ryanaraine) (SecurityWeek).

Three Buddy Problem - Episode 19: We explore Ivan Kwiatkowski’s essay on the limits of threat intelligence, Sophos using kernel implants to surveil Chinese hackers, the concept of ‘hack-back’ and legal implications, geopolitical layers of cyber espionage, CIA malware in Venezuela, Vatican/Mossad mentioned in high-profile Italy hacks, and Canada bracing for .gov attacks from India. Cast: Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade (https://twitter.com/juanandres_gs) (SentinelLabs), Costin Raiu (https://twitter.com/craiu) (Art of Noh) and Ryan Naraine (https://twitter.com/ryanaraine) (SecurityWeek).

Three Buddy Problem - Episode 18: This week’s show covers the White House's new Traffic Light Protocol (TLP) guidance, Reuters expose of Appin as a hack-for-hire mercenary company, Fortinet zero-day exploitation and missing CSRB investigations, major cryptocurrency heists, Apple opening Private Cloud Compute to public inspection, Russians removed from Linux kernel maintenance and China’s Antiy beefing with Sentinel One over APT reporting. Cast: Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade (https://twitter.com/juanandres_gs) (SentinelLabs), Costin Raiu (https://twitter.com/craiu) (Art of Noh) and Ryan Naraine (https://twitter.com/ryanaraine) (SecurityWeek).

Three Buddy Problem - Episode 17: News of a wiper malware attack in Israel implicating ESET, threats from wartime hacktivists, China's strange response to Volt Typhoon attribution and Section 702 messaging, an IE zero-day discovery and web browser rot in South Korea, the ongoing isolation of Kaspersky due to sanctions, and the geopolitical influences affecting cybersecurity reporting. Cast: Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade (https://twitter.com/juanandres_gs) (SentinelLabs), Costin Raiu (https://twitter.com/craiu) (Art of Noh) and Ryan Naraine (https://twitter.com/ryanaraine) (SecurityWeek).

Three Buddy Problem - Episode 16: We break down the new GCHQ advisory on the history and tactics of Russia’s APT29, the challenges of tracking and defending against these sophisticated espionage programs, the mysterious Salt Typhoon intrusions, the absence of technical indicators (IOCs), the risks of supply chain attacks. We also touch on the surge in zero-day discoveries, the nonstop flow of exploited Ivanti security bugs, and why the CSRB should investigate these network edge device and appliance vendors. Cast: Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade (https://twitter.com/juanandres_gs) (SentinelLabs), Costin Raiu (https://twitter.com/craiu) (Art of Noh) and Ryan Naraine (https://twitter.com/ryanaraine) (SecurityWeek).

Three Buddy Problem - Episode 15: Juanito checks in from Virus Bulletin with news on the return of Careto/Mask, a ‘milk-carton’ APT linked to Spain. We also cover the latest controversy surrounding IDA Pro's subscription model, a major new YARA update, and ongoing issues with VirusTotal's value and pricing. The conversation shifts to North Korean cyber operations, particularly the infiltration of prominent crypto companies, Tom Rid's essay on Russian disinformation results, and the US government's ICE department using commercial spyware from an Israeli vendor. Cast: Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade (https://twitter.com/juanandres_gs) (SentinelLabs), Costin Raiu (https://twitter.com/craiu) (Art of Noh) and Ryan Naraine (https://twitter.com/ryanaraine) (SecurityWeek).

Three Buddy Problem - Episode 14: The buddies are back together for a discussion on Juan’s LABScon keynote and mental health realities, Microsoft rewriting the Windows Recall security architecture, a new CVSS 9.9 Linux CUPS flaw, Kaspersky's controversial transition to Ultra AV, and the intelligence operations surrounding exploding pagers in Lebanon. (This episode is dedicated to the memory of Jeff Wade from Solis, who was an important part of the LABScon family.) Cast: Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade (SentinelLabs), Costin Raiu (Art of Noh) and Ryan Naraine (SecurityWeek).

Three Buddy Problem - Episode 13: This is a special edition of the show, featuring Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade's full keynote day remarks at LABScon2024. In this talk, Juanito addresses the current state of the threat intelligence industry, expressing a need for a difficult conversation about its direction and purpose. He discusses feelings of disenfranchisement among professionals, the void in meaningful work, and the importance of reclaiming control and value in cybersecurity. Juan emphasizes the need for researchers, journalists, and even VCs, to be the change to reinvigorate the industry and ensure its relevance and impact. Cast: Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade (SentinelLabs). Costin Raiu and Ryan Naraine are listening to this episode.

Three Buddy Problem - Episode 12: Gabriel Bernadett-Shapiro joins the show for an extended conversation on artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. We discuss the hype around OpenAI's new o1 model, AI chain-of-thought reasoning and security use-cases, pervasive chatbots and privacy concerns, and the ongoing debate between open source and closed source AI models. Cast: Gabriel Bernadett-Shapiro (https://x.com/Gabeincognito) , Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade (https://x.com/juanandres_gs)(SentinelLabs), Ryan Naraine (https://x.com/ryanaraine) (SecurityWeek). Costin Raiu is on vacation.

Three Buddy Problem - Episode 11: Russia's notorious GRU Unit 29155 (previously tied to assassinations, poisonings and coup attempts) now blamed for destructive cyberattacks for sabotage; FBI and DOJ take down 'Doppelganger' network spreading Russian propaganda; CISA's budget, staff, advisories and YARA rules; Influence Operations 2.0; prolific Chinese hackers and global bug-disclosure implications; North Korean hacking capabilities and 0day expertise. Cast: Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade (https://x.com/juanandres_gs)(SentinelLabs), Costin Raiu (https://x.com/craiu) (Art of Noh), Ryan Naraine (https://x.com/ryanaraine) (SecurityWeek)

Three Buddy Problem - Episode 10: Top stories this week -- Volt Typhoon zero-day exploitation of Versa Director servers, Chinese APT building botnets with EOL routers, the gap in security solutions for network devices and appliances, Russia's APT29 (Midnight Blizzard) caught reusing exploits from NSO Group and Intellexa, Microsoft’s upcoming Windows endpoint security summit in response to the CrowdStrike incident, and the arrest of Telegram’s Pavel Durov in France. Plus, the NSA is launching a podcast. Hosts: Costin Raiu (https://x.com/craiu) (Art of Noh), Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade (https://x.com/juanandres_gs)(SentinelLabs), Ryan Naraine (https://x.com/ryanaraine) (SecurityWeek)

Three Buddy Problem - Episode 9: On this episode, we look at the hacking scene in Taiwan, the sad state of visibility into big malware campaigns, the absence of APTs linked to the prolific MIVD Dutch intelligence agency, the blurring lines between big ransomware heists and nation-state actors caught using ransomware as a tool for sabotage and misattribution. Plus, Chinese mobile OS vendor Xiaoimi caught disabling parts of its infrastructure -- including its global app store -- to thwart Pwn2Own contestants; and news of an addition to the LABScon 2024 keynote stage. Hosts: Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade (SentinelLabs), Costin Raiu (Art of Noh), Ryan Naraine (SecurityWeek)

Three Buddy Problem - Episode 8: This week’s show digs into Microsoft’s in-the-wild zero-day woes, Patch Tuesday and the absence of IOCs, a wormable Windows TCP/IP flaw that the Chinese government knew about for months, Iran’s aggressive hacking US election targets, CrowdStrike v Qihoo360 and major problems with APT naming conventions. Hosts: Costin Raiu (Art of Noh), Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade (SentinelLabs), Ryan Naraine (SecurityWeek)

Three Buddy Problem - Episode 7: In this episode, we try to close the book on the CrowdStrike Windows BSOD story, Microsoft VP David Weston’s technical documentation and issues around kernel access and OS resilience. We also discuss Binarly’s PKFail research, secure boot bypasses, Dan Geer and tech monoculture, software vendor liability issues and the need for inspectability in security mechanisms. The conversation explores cyber angles to train service disruptions in Paris, the history of cyber operations targeting the Olympics, the lack of public acknowledgment and attribution of cyber operations by Western intelligence agencies, and the importance of transparency and case studies in understanding and discussing cyber operations. Hosts: Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade (SentinelLabs), Costin Raiu (Art of Noh), Ryan Naraine (SecurityWeek)

Three Buddy Problem - Episode 6: As the dust settles on the CrowdStrike incident that blue-screened 8.5 million Windows computers worldwide, we dig into CrowdStrike’s preliminary incident report, the lack of transparency in the update process and the need for more robust testing and validation. We also discuss Microsoft's responsibility to avoid infinite BSOD loops, risks of deploying EDR agents on critical systems, and how an EU settlement is being blamed for EDR vendors having access to the Windows kernel. Other topics on the show include Mandiant's attribution capabilities, North Korea’s gov-backed hacking teams launching ransomware on hospitals, KnowBe4 hiring a fake North Korean IT worker, and new developments in the NSO Group surveillance-ware lawsuit. Hosts: Costin Raiu (Art of Noh), Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade (SentinelLabs), Ryan Naraine (SecurityWeek)

Three Buddy Problem - Episode 5: Hot off the press, we dive into the news of the CrowdStrike software update that caused blue screens on computers worldwide, the resulting chaos and potential connections to the Microsoft 365 outage, the fragility of modern computing and the risks of new software paradigms. We also discuss the AT&T mega-breach and the ransom paid to delete the stolen data; the challenges of ransomware and the uncertainty surrounding the deletion of stolen data; the FBI gaining access to a password-protected phone, the prices for zero-click exploits; and the resurgence of APT 41 with expanding targets. Plus, some news on upcoming keynote speakers at LabsCon 2024. Hosts: Costin Raiu (Art of Noh), Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade (SentinelLabs), Ryan Naraine (SecurityWeek)