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Digital DesperadosEpisode #41 – Revisit of Episode #15 – Beware the Cozy Bear! The Digital Desperados Podcast explores infamous cybercriminals and attacks with host Jim Brangenberg, story guide Patrick McMurphy, and SaferNet CEO Brad Hawkins. In this episode, we revisit as they delve into the activities of Cozy Bear, a sophisticated state-sponsored hacking group linked to Russia. Cozy Bear specializes in cyber espionage, targeting entities largely across the US, Canada, and Europe, with a focus on disrupting sectors like military, government, and energy. Using advanced techniques like steganography, Cozy Bear became famous for embedding viruses in image files for covert infiltration. Their notorious tool, Cozy Duke, silently extracts data from compromised...2025-04-1620 minDigital DesperadosEpisode #37 – Antivirus to Anarchy: The John McAfee Story In this fascinating episode of Digital Desperados, Patrick McMurphy takes us deep into the wild and chaotic life of John McAfee, the tech genius turned fugitive. Best known for creating McAfee Antivirus, John’s story is anything but ordinary. From his early days as a brilliant mathematician and NASA programmer to his rise as a cybersecurity mogul, McAfee’s journey takes a dark turn—one filled with conspiracy, eccentricity, and crime. After making millions, McAfee walked away from his own company, distancing himself from the software that bore his name. But that was just the beginning. His life sp...2025-02-1920 minDigital DesperadosEpisode #36 – Explore the Hacking "Business” with DarkSide In this episode of Digital Desperados, host Jim Brangenberg is joined by Patrick McMurphy and SaferNet CEO Brad Hawkins to uncover the chilling world of DarkSide, one of the most notorious ransomware groups. DarkSide operates like a corporate enterprise, offering Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) to affiliates who target high-value organizations. From their carefully crafted business model to their role in the Colonial Pipeline attack that sent fuel prices soaring, this episode unpacks their methods, motivations, and the chaos they leave in their wake. Patrick unravels the intricacies of the group’s operations, explaining their strict affiliate screening process, “white-label” ransomw...2025-02-0520 minDigital DesperadosEpisode #34 – Elizabeth Holmes: Blood, Lies, and A Prison Sentence Welcome to Digital Desperados, where we explore the dark tales of the web! In this episode, Jim Brangenberg and Patrick McMurphy take a deep dive into the rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes, the ambitious founder of Theranos. Joined by Brad Hawkins, CEO of SaferNet, they uncover how Holmes’ dream of revolutionizing healthcare turned into a nightmare of fraud and deceit. Holmes’ story starts with promise—an overachieving Stanford dropout aiming to transform blood testing with a simple finger prick and a device called the Edison. By 2014, she was Silicon Valley’s golden girl, rocking black turtlenecks and rubbi...2025-01-0816 minDigital DesperadosEpisode #33 – Kevin Poulsen: The OG Digital Desperado In this episode of Digital Desperados, Jim Brangenberg, Patrick McMurphy, and Brad Hawkins (founder of SaferNet) take us on a wild ride through the life of Kevin Poulsen, aka "Dark Dante." From humble beginnings in Pasadena, California, to becoming a fugitive hacker legend, Kevin’s story is one you’ll want to hear all about! Known for his audacious phone hacks in the 80s and 90s, Kevin mastered the art of "phone phreaking," a precursor to modern hacking. His most infamous stunt? Rigging a radio contest to win a Porsche 944. His curiosity and rebellious spirit eventually led him to...2024-12-2522 minDigital DesperadosEpisode #32 – Iranian Hacking Group: the Not So “Charming Kitten” This week, Jim Brangenberg is joined by cybersecurity expert Patrick McMurphy and SaferNet CEO Brad Hawkins to unravel the dark web world of APT42—better known as Charming Kitten. Spoiler alert: it’s not actually charming. This Iranian state-sponsored hacking group is a master of digital espionage, targeting activists, journalists, government officials, and even U.S. presidential campaigns. Active since 2015, they use tricks like spear phishing (fake, super-convincing emails) and their custom malware, NiceCurl and TameCat, to steal data, control devices, and monitor their victims. What makes APT42 terrifying? Their attacks are surgical, using fake personas and websi...2024-12-1121 minDigital DesperadosEpisode #27 – The Rise and Fall of REvil In this gripping episode of Digital Desperados, Jim Brangenberg, Patrick McMurphy, and Brad Hawkins (CEO of SaferNet) dive into the shadowy world of REvil, one of the most notorious ransomware groups in history. You’ll walk through how REvil, born from the remnants of the GrandCrab group, transformed ransomware into a global business, threatening to compromise companies like Apple, JBS, and Acer for millions of dollars. Discover how REvil’s affiliates wreaked havoc, how they used a blog to control their victims, and how they leveraged ransomware as a service (RaaS). Learn about their infamous attacks, including steal...2024-10-0223 minDigital DesperadosEpisode #25 – Pavel Durov: Russia's Digital Rebel In this episode of Digital Desperados, Jim Brangenberg, Patrick McMurphy, and Brad Hawkins explore the fascinating story of Pavel Durov, known as the "Mark Zuckerberg of Russia." Durov created VK, Russia's largest social media platform, while still a university student. His success, however, came at a price—Durov refused to comply with Russian government censorship, leading to his eventual ousting from VK. Undeterred, Durov went on to create Telegram, a secure messaging app focused on privacy and free speech. Telegram quickly gained popularity and now has over a billion users worldwide. Unlike many tech moguls, Durov leads a...2024-09-0418 minDigital DesperadosEpisode #22 – The Julian Assange Story, Part 1 In this episode of Digital Desperados, Jim Brangenberg, Patrick McMurphy, and Brad Hawkins (CEO of SaferNet VPN) begin to explore the fascinating and controversial life of Julian Assange. We look at the early life events that led Julian to become a self-taught computer whiz. As usual, he quickly started getting into trouble as Assange crept further and further into the world of hacking, dabbling significantly in “hacktivism.” Although he should have spent his life in jail, he was offered and accepted a plea bargain to help authorities catch criminals. In 2001, Assange founded the infamous WikiLeaks with a...2024-07-2418 minDigital DesperadosEpisode #15 – Beware the Cozy Bear! The Digital Desperados Podcast explores infamous cybercriminals and attacks with host Jim Brangenberg, story guide Patrick McMurphy, and SaferNet CEO Brad Hawkins. In this episode, they delve into the activities of Cozy Bear, a sophisticated state-sponsored hacking group linked to Russia. Cozy Bear specializes in cyber espionage, targeting entities largely across the US, Canada, and Europe, with a focus on disrupting sectors like military, government, and energy. Using advanced techniques like steganography, Cozy Bear became famous for embedding viruses in image files for covert infiltration. Their notorious tool, Cozy Duke, silently extracts data from compromised computers for pr...2024-04-1720 minDigital DesperadosEpisode #14 – Spam Lord: Genius, Elusivity, and Mystery In episode 14 of the Digital Desperados podcast, hosts Jim Brangenberg, Patrick McMurphy, and Brad Hawkins embark on a wild ride into the world of cybercrime with the intriguing tale of Pytor Levashov, aka the Spam Lord. Levashov, hailing from Russia, made waves in the cyber underworld with his knack for spam email campaigns and the creation of the infamous Kelihos botnet. Despite his mischievous exploits, Levashov's background in mathematics and economics added an unexpected twist to his cyber escapades. With his Kelihos botnet, Levashov played a high-stakes game, challenging authorities with its decentralized structure. However, his downfall ca...2024-04-0320 minDigital DesperadosEpisode #12 – SEA: The Power of State-Sponsored Hacking In a whirlwind cybersecurity adventure, hosts Jim Brangenberg, Patrick McMurphy, and Brad Hawkins of SaferNet VPN unravel the intriguing history of the Syrian Electronic Army (SEA), a state-sponsored hacking group specializing in propaganda and chaos. Sponsored by SaferNet.com, the trio inject humor into the serious havoc that the SEA has caused. You’ll hear details of the SEA's origins and about their loyalty to President Assad, weaving in anecdotes of high-profile cyber infiltrations. The episode showcases SaferNet's role in defending against phishing attacks, one of the most common forms of cybercrime. Not all laughs – we take a dar...2024-03-0619 minDigital DesperadosEpisode #9 – A Global War: State-Sponsored Hacking In this lively episode of the Digital Desperados Podcast, hosts Jim Brangenberg and Patrick McMurphy, accompanied by SaferNet VPN's Brad Hawkins, unravel the thrilling world of state-sponsored hacking. The spotlight is on the infamous Lazarus Group, North Korea's cyber mischief-makers, engaging in espionage and global disruption. From Lazarus' humble beginnings as novice hackers trained in China to their sophisticated attacks on South Korea and beyond, learn about their evolution. Escapades include hacking Sony Pictures in retaliation of a movie poking fun at North Korea and multiple attacks on South Korea – the hacking groups favorite training ground. Y...2024-01-2420 min
More Movies PodcastOur Favourite Films - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)Greg and Dave discuss Miloš Forman's 1975 American drama film 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest', starring Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, William Redfield, Will Sampson, Sydney Lassick, Brad Dourif, Danny DeVito and Christopher Lloyd in his film debut.
The plot follows implacable rabble-rouser, Randle Patrick McMurphy, played by Jack Nicholson, serving time for insanity at a state mental hospital. Whilst there, he inspires his fellow patients to rebel against the authoritarian rule of head nurse, Mildred Ratched.
This is the ninth episode in series one where we watch, analyse and discuss some of our favourite films.2020-09-1053 min
Locked On Longhorns - Daily Podcast On Texas Longhorns Football & BasketballTarik Black Transfer, AD's on upcoming seasonCami and Patrick open the show discussing the newest Texas Longhorn wide receiver Tarik Black. How did he do at Michigan and where does he fit with the current group of pass catchers. According to Brett McMurphy, 114 athletic directors have weighed in on the upcoming season. So what does the future look like for college football?A tale of two Landon/Landen's, which one is coming to Texas and which one chose to go elsewhere in the latest Longhorn recruiting update. Plus why Texas Longhorns twitter so hyped up? The Athletic released their post-spring...2020-04-2927 min