Cybercriminals are continually thinking up new ways to manipulate online users into giving up their private information. Social engineering attacks, an increasingly common hacking technique, allows scammers to target vulnerable individuals through illicit and deceptive methods.
Experts at the Johns Hopkins University Information Security Institute have teamed up with the Cyberwire, a Baltimore-based cyber-security news service, on "Hacking Humans," a new weekly podcast aimed at educating the public about these pernicious phishing attacks.
Joe Carrigan, ISI senior security engineer, co-hosts the podcast with David Bittner, the Cyberwire's producer. Carrigan made his guest host debut about two years ago on the show's daily podcast, "The Cyberwire Daily," and he frequently serves as the academic expert on cyber security topics covered on the podcast.
"Joe makes talking about security fun and easy to understand, and our listeners have always appreciated his wealth of cybersecurity expertise and practical, no-nonsense advice," said Peter Kilpe, the Cyberwire editor.
The social engineering podcast is the brainchild of Kilpe and his team.
"By creating a broader awareness of the ways in which people are targeted, influenced, and deceived through social engineering, we might help people avoid falling victim to attacks like phishing that are taking a heavy toll on individuals and organizations every day around the world," said Kilpe.
Carrigan hopes the podcast, which debuted in May and airs every Thursday, will help listeners keep their information private and safe.
"Anyone who's been a victim of these things feels like they are stupid," said Carrigan. "The thing that we have to remember is that we all have some kind of vulnerability in our system, and the only reason that we haven't been exploited before is because someone hasn't found the right trigger to exploit us."
