“Please permit me to make your acquaintance in so informal a manner. This is necessitated by my urgent need to reach a dependable and trust wordy foreign partner. This request may seem strange and unsolicited, but I will crave your indulgence and pray that you view it seriously. My name is…”
Has anyone *not* received some version of this email in their lifetimes? Have you even wondered who exactly sends these “correspondences”, where they are and who they are working with? If so, you are going to enjoy Episode 2 of Hackable Me, which examines the shadowy people and groups behind historically successful phishing attacks like these.
Sherrod DeGrippo, senior director of threat research and detection at Proofpoint discusses these forms of commodity crime, underscoring threat actors’ origins, financial motivations, and methods. She also provides an overview of those not typically motivated by money, Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs), which aim to gain influence in some way, using information to shape policy and influence.
Episode 2 also covers white hat hackers (the good guys) and what motivates them to do what they do, and the personality traits they share with their dark side brethren. From there, DeGrippo takes a deeper dive into actual techniques hackers use, who they target, and the substantial role current events and social media play in helping malicious actors design their email lures. Finally, Marc de Fontignac, senior sales engineer at Proofpoint gives listeners practical, actionable advice on how to stay safe, and the crucial role security awareness training plays in today’s threat landscape.
Hackable Me is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or on your preferred podcast player. Want to see how hackable you are? Give our test a go at www.proofpoint.com/hackableme.