A weekly discussion of new developments and the latest cybersecurity threats, including ransomware, malware, phishing schemes, DDoS attacks and more, facing the U.S. industrial sector.
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Networksecurity Podcasts
"Data at Rest" is an accessible but informed discussion of current concepts, best practices, and personal experiences in computer security, network security, and information security overall, including interviews with expert guests and the history of each topic.
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SAM is the leading provider of cloud-native security and intelligence services for unmanaged networks and IoTs, covering upwards of 500 million connected devices globally. With its powerful and intuitive AI technology, SAM addresses the challenges of our hyperconnected world, in which an explosion of IoT devices exposes potential attack surfaces for companies and consumers alike. SAM's device-agnostic software provides deep network visibility to not only protect against sophisticated cyber- ...
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The Wild & Weird of Industrial Cybersecurity
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30:33Send us a text When talking to the experts and leading authorities that have participated in the 140+ episodes of Security Breach, there’s always a slight pause when directing their attention specifically to the industrial sector. That’s because, well, we’re special. There’s the unique juxtaposition of old and bleeding edge technology. There’s the …
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Send us a text I know that we’re constantly talking about artificial intelligence - the best ways to use it, the ways hackers are using it, and the overall good, bad and ugly of implementing AI into your security infrastructure. But what if we took a little different route. In this episode we're going to explore how AI can help make your people bet…
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Send us a text Discussing the ever-expanding threat landscape is something we do a lot on Security Breach, but this episode is dedicated exclusively to topics like zero-day vulnerabilities, nation-state threats, phishing schemes, ransomware, and of course, the role artificial intelligence continues to play in making the good guys smarter and the ba…
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Cure Me or Kill Me - The Little Things That Escalate Attacks
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43:18Send us a text As loyal listeners of this podcast know, I’m a big believer in paying close attention to the little things, the blocking and tackling, the basics, the fundamentals. All those elementary elements that comprise the building blocks of stronger cybersecurity plans and successful defensive strategies. Spoiler alert – that comes through ag…
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Being 'Proactively Paranoid, Not Paralyzed'
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36:54Send us a text As all of you know, there are no silver bullets when it comes to cybersecurity success in the industrial sector. Every enterprise has its own unique characteristics, each plant floor its different connectivity elements, and each business is comprised of diverse human dynamics that fuel its culture. However, regardless of the environm…
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Why More Hackers Are Logging On Than Breaking In
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32:27Send us a text We’ve heard it before – hacker tactics are not changing, but the hackers are getting a lot smarter in how they deploy their time-tested attacks. Additionally, honing in on the human element of cybersecurity is nothing new. We’ve spoken with numerous guests about getting buy-in, improving training, and how creating a cyber-receptive c…
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Send us a text Who are you? This episode dives into one of the most challenging cybersecurity topics currently on the docket – identity management. My conversation with Brandon Traffanstedt, Sr. Director and Global Technology Officer at CyberArk, took us in two equally important directions. The first deals with individuals and how to properly manag…
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Send us a text I’m always tempted to start out each episode by talking about a problem, and then setting up our guest as the solution to that problem. It’s formulaic and a bit redundant, but it’s also effective. So I’ll apologize in advance because I’m about to do that very thing again. The difference is that Howard Grimes, the CEO of the Cybersecu…
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Send us a text Insider threats are creating new attack vectors, but old-school solutions could rise to the challenge. Regardless of the situation or dynamic, everyone likes to think that they’re special. However, with experience we learn that appreciating both the shared similarities, as well as some of those unique traits, are how we can best solv…
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Send us a text In many instances the biggest challenge facing OT cybersecurity practitioners is knowing where to focus resources, especially their time. In other words, what are the priorities for the enterprise, facility and people? I recently sat down with Securin's Lead Threat Intelligence Analyst - Aviral Verma. And while I anticipated a conver…
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Why Ransomware, Credential Theft and Phishing Schemes Persist
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39:22Send us a text One of the great things about covering industrial cybersecurity is the number of reports, studies and white papers being produced right now to help provide intelligence on threats, research on new tools, and data on leading trends. The tough part is sorting through all this data and, at some point, prioritizing it in order to get the…
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Unsecure Webcam Was All a Ransomware Group Needed
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31:23Send us a text Endpoint security tools worked, but the hackers worked harder for their payday. While everyone likes to know how someone else might have screwed up and what the fallout looks like, the more import elements of episodes like this one come from the in-depth conversations about new tactics and strategies that are being used by the bad gu…
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Send us a text We talk a lot about the growing complexity of hacking groups and how their tools and tactics continue to evolve. One such evolution is the ongoing specialization that runs rampant throughout the black hat community – especially when it comes to ransomware. The rise of initial access brokers, affiliate programs, spoofing domain creato…
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Send us a text Breaking down silos while securing the cloud and leveraging secure-by-design advancements. The challenges facing the industrial OT landscape that emanate from external sources are … varied, complex and constantly evolving. Smarter hacking groups, AI-driven phishing schemes and deceptive malware viruses head the list of concerns. And …
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Observations of an Ethical Hacking Researcher
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35:35Send us a text One of the goals of the show is to help you better understand all the threats facing your OT assets, your data and your people. In order to do that, we work to identify those individuals with a feel and in-depth understanding of these threats and the evolving network of threat actors. And I can’t think of anyone better to break down …
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Send us a text When we talk about the threat landscape for the industrial sector, the eye-catching, headline-grabbing hacking groups with nefarious names typically lead the list of concerns. And while understanding their well-publicized exploits are important, what is often overlooked are all the little things these groups were able to do before dr…
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Send us a text While we’re still in the infancy of 2025, the New Year has proven to have no issues in welcoming in a number of pre-existing challenges – whether we’re talking about cybersecurity or … other social topics. So, in continuing this trend, we tapped into a unique collection of voices to discuss a topic that has, and will continue to be, …
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Send us a text The continued evolution of the CyberAv3ngers hacking group and its IIoT-focused malware. We talk a lot about change on Security Breach. Some of it’s good and obviously some of it makes us want to tear our hair out. Well, this episode, surprisingly, should go easy on the scalp, even though it will focus on the IOCONTROL malware strand…
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Send us a text Winston Churchill famously stated that, “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” His concerns about applying lessons learned to post WWII foreign policy initiatives rings just as true in the current cybersecurity climate. So, in an effort to ensure we repeat as few of 2024’s mistakes in 2025, we’re going to tak…
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Send us a text As we begin to close out 2024 and look ahead to 2025, I couldn’t resist the urge to revisit some of my favorite guests from the last couple of months. While I’m grateful for everyone we’ve had on the show, and all the support we continue to receive from the industrial cybersecurity community, I felt these comments were worth another …
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AI Is Exposing Your Most Vulnerable Attack Surface
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35:18Send us a text According to Fortinet’s 2024 State of Operational Technology and Cybersecurity Report, 43 percent of those surveyed reported a loss of business critical data or intellectual property so far in 2024– a number this is up nearly 10 percent from last year. And we all know what happens with this hijacked data. Per the World Economic Forum…
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Send us a text Next to artificial intelligence, one of the biggest buzz terms in industrial cybersecurity right now might be SBOM, or software bill of materials. The term generates equal parts concern and eye roll as those entrusted with enterprise defense look to ensure that there are no embedded vulnerabilities amongst the data platforms they are…
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What Cybersecurity Can Learn from Tom Brady
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52:41Send us a text We assembled some "nerds from the basement" to cover a key strategy in combatting evolving threats. Today’s episode is going to take on a little different flavor, as we’re going to show you one particular tool that can impact a number of your security planning, training and discovery strategies. While table top exercises are nothing …
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Send us a text For this episode, instead of tapping into one source for feedback and updates on industrial cybersecurity, we’re going to look at some of the key insights previous guests have offered on the evolving threat landscape – from increased risks emanating from technological integrations and an uptick in automation, to the more traditional …
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Send us a text While there are plenty of unknowns when it comes to protecting the OT attack surface, there are some things that are undeniably true. We know that the frequency of attacks will continue to increase. We know that it’s not if your ICS will be probed, but when. And we also know that asset and connection visibility is an ongoing challeng…
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Phishing Attack Defense 'Not Rocket Science'
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22:22Send us a text Maybe you’re sick of hearing about phishing schemes and the way hackers are using this strategy to infiltrate your networks, access intellectual data, shut down production, or hold your assets for ransom. If that’s the case, then you’ve made a lot of hackers very happy. And based on Proofpoint’s 2024 State of Phish report, protecting…
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Legacy Mindsets Are Helping Hackers Weaponize Networks
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42:09Send us a text So, my daughters like to give me a hard time about growing old. Said another way, I’m a legacy asset - just like most of the devices many of you observe, manage and secure every day. Your machines are still in place because they work. While the technology around these assets has evolved, their core functionality and value to the prod…
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Using Force Multipliers to Protect Against Next-Gen Stuxnet
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39:43Send us a text While the justifications for additional cybersecurity spending is easy to explain, getting buy-in at the C-level can be difficult. However, some recent research might help you win over those controlling the purse strings. SonicWall’s Mid-Year Cyber Threat Report found that their firewalls were under attack 125 percent of the time dur…
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Send us a text One of the most common topics we explore here on Security Breach is the ongoing challenge of asset visibility in the OT landscape. It's frustrating because it would seem that the solution starts with basic inventory management approaches, i.e. the first step in developing frameworks and plans for everything from tool selection to att…
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Send us a text According to Veeam’s 2024 Ransomware Trends Report, cyber victims stated that they were unable to restore 43 percent of whatever data was affected by ransomware attacks. This reaffirms what a number of Security Breach guests have stated about trusting hackers after paying their extortion demands. Another finding shows that 63 percent…
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Send us a text The ongoing theme in industrial cybersecurity centers on two competing dynamics – the desire to expand our implementation of automation and Industry 4.0 technologies with the goal of using more and faster connections, along with the decision-making data each generates to improve the efficiency and quality of production. However, thes…
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Inside the Growing Complexity of Ransomware Hacking Groups
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32:02Send us a text We’re back to discuss an all-too-familiar topic – ransomware. Ironically enough, it seems the topics we describe in this manner become so familiar because we can’t figure out viable, long-term solutions. I think part of the challenge for industrial organizations dealing with ransomware is that we have to divide our energy and resourc…
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Time to 'Rip off the Band-Aid' to Ensure Security
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39:13Send us a text A smarter, well-funded hacker community means embracing basic, yet daunting cyber challenges. In manufacturing, regardless of your role, avoiding downtime is an obvious priority, and one of the motivating factors driving investments in cybersecurity. In working to mitigate potential DDoS attacks or malware drops, manufacturers are ta…
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Combating the 20th Century Mafia with a Stronger Human Firewall
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46:07Send us a text Sophos recently reported that 65 percent of manufacturing and production organizations were hit by ransomware last year, which, unlike other sectors, is an increase. Overall, these attacks have increased by 41 percent for manufacturing since 2020. Additionally, the cybersecurity firm found that 44 percent of computers used in manufac…
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Tearing Down the 'Set It and Forget It' Mindset
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41:54Send us a text I recently watched an interesting documentary called Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War on Netflix. Great watch – I’d highly recommend it. Essentially it positioned nearly every prominent geo-political event since World War II as fallout from the U.S. dropping the nuclear bomb on Japan to end World War II. Similarly, we can loo…
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Send us a text When I was a kid, we always looked forward to my dad’s work picnic. He was a tool and dye maker for a leading caster manufacturer that would rent out a local park, make a ton of food and put on various games and activities for the families. One of the highlights of this day was a softball game pitting the office versus the shop. The …
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'There's No Bulletproof Vest' in Cybersecurity
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51:29Send us a text An ethical cyber researcher breaks down the 'tsunami of exposed data' he continues to uncover. When it comes to solving industrial cybersecurity's biggest challenges, I think we have to continue to ask questions that simultaneously tackle basic blocking and tackling concerns, as well as those that lead to bad news. Both prevent us fr…
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Send us a text The landscape of industrial cybersecurity continues to change and evolve, and demands a vigilant monitoring of the next threat, vulnerability or potential soft spot in our defenses. That’s why we continue to produce Security Breach, and, by the way, continue to be so appreciative of the growth and support we’ve received from each of …
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The $25M 'Wake-Up Call' Supply Chain Hack
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30:42Send us a text According to IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach Report, nearly 20 percent of the organizations surveyed stated that they have experienced a breach stemming from a compromise in their supply chain, or a vulnerability related to it. The average cost of these breaches was estimated at just under $4.5 million. Their data also found that attacks…
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Send us a text Due to the rise in attacks on manufacturing and critical infrastructure, and the devasting impacts these attacks have on daily lives around the world, the World Economic Form recently unveiled a report entitled Building a Culture of Cyber Resilience in Manufacturing. This initiative not only identified the sector’s primary challenges…
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There's No 'Plant the Flag' Moment in Cybersecurity
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33:08Send us a text When looking at industrial cybersecurity, more attention is being paid to how workers are logging in to access critical machinery, software or data. And according to Trustwave Threat Intelligence’s recent Manufacturing Threat Landscape report, 45 percent of attacks experienced by manufacturers stemmed from the bad guys accessing cred…
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Send us a text As we’ve discussed numerous times on Security Breach, terms like change, evolution and constant are more than just buzz terms – they’re a simple reality of working in the industrial OT space. Whether we’re discussing threat actors from Stuxnet to Lockbit, tactics from social engineering to double-extortion ransomware, or vulnerabilit…
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The Protection and Productivity of Zero Trust
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43:09Send us a text Over the last nearly 100 episodes of Security Breach we’ve discussed a wide range of strategies for protecting the manufacturing enterprise. But perhaps the most polarizing of these has been Zero Trust. While some unwaveringly champion the cause of this approach, others question the ways in which it is typically deployed. Perhaps thi…
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Send us a text One of the more common obstacles that we discuss here on Security Breach is how increased connectivity has combined with new Industry 4.0 technologies to constantly expand the OT attack surface. In the midst of all this expansion, it’s easy to either overlook cybersecurity concerns, or put too much trust in the embedded security feat…
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Send us a text Those of you with a military or law enforcement connection are probably, and unfortunately, familiar with the term collateral damage. While this phrase has a legacy in these environments, it’s also become an unwelcome addition to the realm of cybersecurity. Examples of this dynamic can be found in a number of hacktivist attacks that …
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The OT Threat Landscape's Infectious Nature
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43:35Send us a text Viewing hacks as diseases to address evolving threats, vulnerabilities and tools like AI. Like many of you, I recently dove into Verizon’s 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR). And while there’s a plethora of data housed in the report that could fuel conversations on a multitude of topics, I chose the following two pieces of…
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Send us a text It starts with a dedication to enhanced visibility. One of the big conversations regarding OT security revolves around the use of tools. Some have too many, others not enough and everyone is searching for the funds to mange and obtain the right ones for a constantly evolving threat landscape. The key to understanding which tools are …
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Send us a text Many attacks on manufacturers are just the first step in going after even bigger targets. One of the inescapable truths about the industrial sector is that it is usually the ultimate proving ground for product performance. When we look at some of the technologies that have created seismic social shifts, tools like operational softwar…
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Send us a text In this episode, we dive into some of the most notorious attacks to hit manufacturing over the last six months. In addition to speaking with cybersecurity experts from around the world for this podcast, I’ve also been able to do a fair amount of reporting on our websites regarding several high-profile industrial attacks. So, I felt l…
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Send us a text A look back at Security Breach guest's most accurate and timely industrial cybersecurity predictions. As we near our 100th episode of Security Beach, I thought it would be a good time to take a look back at some of our guest’s predictions from the previous 12 months. If you want to check out the full episodes from any of these previo…
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