Dave, Joe, and Maria break down phishing kits, deepfakes, and social-engineering scams weekly.
Hacking Humans follows the messy human side of security: email bombing, phishing kits, AI deepfakes, identity theft, and fraud that hides in plain sight. The tone is conversational and quick, with named voices trading jokes, follow-up, and practical skepticism.
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Hacking Humans is a panel-format cybersecurity podcast produced by N2K Networks, built around a recurring roundtable rather than one-on-one interviews. The regular lineup is Dave Bittner, Joe Carrigan, and Maria Varmazis, who typically open with a short mailbag item or personal aside before moving into the week's stories. Each episode works through several scam or social-engineering cases in sequence, reviewing a phishing kit, a fraud scheme, or an AI-misuse story reported by outlets like Wired or research groups like Proofpoint and Cofence. Recurring subject matter includes MFA-bypass techniques such as device-code phishing and Tycoon 2FA, help-desk and payroll impersonation, and AI-generated deepfakes used in both financial fraud and misinformation. Several episodes focus on fraud aimed at specific victim groups, including elderly targets in gold-bar and gold-laundering schemes, aspiring authors, and academics drawn to fake conferences. The show also cites large-scale fraud data, referencing Interpol's global financial fraud assessments and describing scam-center labor conditions reported in Southeast Asia. The feed occasionally includes short crossover segments from sibling N2K/CyberWire programs, such as Rick Howard's Word Notes explainer on cryptography history and segments from Only Malware in the Building. The tone is conversational and often light, with running jokes and personal asides, before pivoting into the security substance of each case. Practical mitigation advice — disabling unused email-relay features, enforcing conditional access, using hardware security keys — accompanies the storytelling. The show suits security practitioners tracking current scam and phishing trends as well as general listeners who want to recognize fraud tactics before they're targeted.
Made for: IT security professionals, fraud investigators, and general listeners who want to recognize phishing, deepfake, and social-engineering scams before falling for them.
What sets it apart: Unlike straight news-recap cybersecurity shows, Hacking Humans pairs a recurring three-host panel and listener mailbag with deep dives into specific scam mechanics like MFA-bypass kits and AI face-swap fraud.
Deception, influence, and social engineering in the world of cyber crime.
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Hacking Humans shows how modern scams combine persuasive human pressure with phishing kits, deepfakes, and weak authentication controls.
Hacking Humans turns scams into lively case studies, with Dave Bittner, Joe Kerrigan, and Maria Vermazis trading stories, questions, and reactions.
A chicken update walks into an AI deepfake scam, and somehow your defenses get sharper.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A sharp, conversational look at Everest rescue fraud and the weak human systems that let scams scale.
Hacking Humans finds a strong social-engineering angle in an Everest rescue-flight scam, where emergency evacuations, altitude sickness, helicopter operators, tour companies, and hospital claims all become part of the fraud surface.
A clear, grounded look at MFA phishing kits and why stolen logins still matter.
"Who's logging in?" makes identity compromise feel less routine than its reputation suggests. Selina Larson opens with the kind of loose studio chaos Only Malware in the Building likes, then settles into Tycoon, an MFA credential phishing platform described as popular with…
A grounded warning that video calls are losing their value as proof against AI-enabled scams.
Hacking Humans treats AI deepfakes as a working fraud tactic, not some distant cybersecurity parlor trick. The episode is at its best when it stays close to the mechanics: workers presenting as AI face models, reading scripts in call center settings, speaking the target's…
A smart, conversational look at scams that turn professional ambition and status anxiety into attack surfaces.
Identity theft gets a raise is less about stolen credentials than stolen legitimacy: the episode looks at scams that promise recognition to people trying to be taken seriously.
A funny AI misinformation stunt opens the door to a darker look at trust, paperwork, and exploitation.
Hacking Humans opens with a comic premise that is almost too neat: Thomas Germain plants a fake claim that he is the world's best competitive hot dog eating tech journalist, then uses it to probe how AI misinformation can take on a life of its own.
A practical look at device code phishing, where a legitimate login flow becomes the attack path.
Device code phishing lands here as a tidy example of a grim security truth: legitimate login flows can become the trick. The attacker is not chasing the username and password so much as the token, and the episode is clearest when it stays on that distinction.
Deeply researched narrative dives into hacking history and cyber-law cases, hosted by Ran Levi.
Reported narratives on hackers, spyware, and data crimes from Dina Temple-Raston.
IAPP's Jedidiah Bracy interviews the regulators and lawyers writing privacy and AI law.
A daily cybersecurity briefing hosted by Dave Bittner, pairing breaking incidents with a guest interview.
This episode explains what a Service Set Identifier (SSID) is, including its definition, example usage, and context as the name of a wireless access point broadcast by routers.
The gang is back in one room.
"Why do we sound like animated chipmunks?" A cold open control slip sends the hosts into chipmunk voices and movie trailer voices before they land on identity and credential phishing.
This Word Notes episode from the Cyber Wire Network defines AES — Advanced Encryption Standard — and uses it as a springboard for a complete history of cryptography from 600 BC Sparta to the 2001 NIST standard.
This episode of Hacking Humans discusses a listener's experience with an email bombing attack potentially linked to geopolitical tensions, focusing on social engineering scams and cybersecurity threats.
Hacking Humans focuses on the changing face of AI deepfakes, from Kagi’s LinkedIn lingo translator to a Civ AI phishing tool that can draft scam emails for Darth Vader, Yoda, and Paul Atreides.
This episode of Hacking Humans discusses the distinction between regular identity theft and aggravated identity theft, where the latter involves using stolen identity to commit additional crimes like wire fraud.
This episode explains the Domain Name System (DNS) as a technology that translates human-readable URLs into numerical IP addresses for internet connectivity.
This episode features an interview with Rob, a cybersecurity expert, discussing his background and insights on phishing at the Zero Trust World conference.
This episode defines pretexting as a social engineering technique where attackers pose as trusted entities to trick victims into disclosing information or performing harmful actions.
Irregardless opens the follow-up, and Joe walks right into it.
This episode discusses social engineering and cyber crime, with a sponsor segment about ThreatLocker's zero-trust security solutions.
Maria opens with a fake hot dog brag.
This episode discusses social engineering and cyber crime, featuring a sponsor segment on IT governance and a definition of the COBIT framework.
A cybersecurity podcast discussing social engineering scams and phishing schemes, with a story about a fake sheriff's deputy phone call.
This episode discusses social engineering and cyber crime, with a sponsor segment about a cybersecurity graduate program and a definition of Security Service Edge.
The episode discusses social engineering scams and phishing schemes, with a listener story about a suspicious text from Bank of America.
This episode discusses social engineering tactics like domain spoofing and the importance of zero-trust security solutions.
This episode of Hacking Humans discusses social engineering scams and phishing schemes affecting organizations worldwide, with hosts Dave Bittner and Joe Kerrigan joined by guest Michelle Kellerman.
Cyber Feud starts with slow performance and pop-ups.
This episode discusses social engineering and cyber crime, with a sponsor segment on mobile app security and a definition of Secure Web Gateway.
This episode of the Hacking Humans podcast discusses social engineering scams and phishing schemes, including a new scam exploiting the recent Verizon outage.
The hosts discuss social engineering scams and phishing schemes, with a follow-up segment about a chicken coop automatic door.
The hosts discuss listener feedback and share stories about social engineering and cyber scams, including a humorous segment about automated chicken doors.
A holiday party turns chaotic as a cyber breach threatens the company's server room, blending festive banter with a hacking scenario.
This episode discusses social engineering scams and phishing schemes, with follow-up on listener comments about diamonds being a scam.
This episode discusses recent developments in Myanmar scam centers, including China sentencing seven people to death and the arrest of a Chinese-born businessman.
A podcast discussing social engineering scams, phishing schemes, and cyber crime exploits, with a lighthearted segment about chickens.
This episode discusses social engineering scams and a Robinhood security feature.
A cybersecurity podcast discussing social engineering and deception, with a humorous road trip to an awards show.
This episode discusses listener feedback on why low-income households are more vulnerable to scams, exploring the role of financial desperation.
The hosts discuss recent social engineering scams and phishing schemes, with a personal update about a co-host's dog passing away.
The hosts discuss social engineering scams and share personal stories about modeling, leading into cyber crime topics.
The hosts discuss listener follow-up about a prison scam call and introduce stories on social engineering exploits.
The hosts and producer stage a Halloween prank with a ghost-in-a-mask reveal, parodying Scooby-Doo.