DISCARDED: Tales From the Threat Research Trenches
Episodes
Ho-Ho-Hold Up—Is That Message Real? Bad Santas Are Sending Seasonal Scams
09 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Happy Holidays to all our Cyber Pals!Host Selena Larson, and co-guest ho-ho-ho hosts, Tim Kromphardt & Sarah Sabotka unwrap the s...
From Toasters to Botnets: Securing Everyday IoT
18 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Hello to all our Cyber Squirrels!Host Selena Larson, and guest host, Tim Kromphardt sit down with Tony Robinson — Senior Security R...
Elect More Hackers: Tech Skills for Real-World Change
04 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Hello to all our Cyber Squirrels! Can hackers make great public servants? Host Selena Larson, and co-guest hosts, Sarah Sabotka and ...
From Web Injects to Info Stealers: How Cybercriminals Stay Ahead
21 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Hello to all our Cyber Sleuths! Host Selena Larson, and guest host, Sarah Sabotka take you behind the scenes of the ever-changing wor...
When Being Aware of Cybersecurity Means Knowing You're Human
08 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Hello to all our Pumpkin Spice Cyber Friends! It’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month — and what better way to kick it off than with a...
Hot sauce and hot takes: An Only Malware in the Building special
23 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Welcome in! You’ve entered, Only Malware in the Building — but this time, it’s not just another episode. This is a special edit...
Freighty Cats: RFQ Phishing Comes to A Warehouse Near You
09 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Hello to all our Cyber Stars! In this episode host Selena Larson welcomes back guest and part-time co-host Tim Kromphardt, fresh from...
Direct Send Exploitation & URL Rewrite Attacks: What Security Teams Must Know
26 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Hello to all our Cyber Squirrels! In this extra-packed episode of Discarded, host Selena Larson welcomes Proofpoint Principal Researc...
Phish, Chips & Voldemort: Inside China’s Cyber Targeting of Taiwan
12 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Hello to all our Cyber Panda Bears! In this extra-packed episode of Discarded, host Selena Larson and guest host, Sarah Sabotka reuni...
Threat Actor Theater: TA2541, TA558, and the Cyber Heist Crew TA582
29 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Hello to all our cyber pals! In this episode of Discarded, host Selena Larson and co-host, Tim Kromphardt, are joined by Joe Wise, Se...
10 Things I Hate About Attribution: A Clustering Conundrum
15 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Hello to all our cyber detectives and pedantic CTI friends! In this episode of Discarded, host Selena Larson is joined by Greg Lesnew...
Comic Sans and Cybercrime: Inside North Korea’s Global Cyber Playbook
01 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Hello to all our Cyber Pals! In this episode of Discarded, host Selena Larson and co-host Sara Sabotka are joined by Saher Naumaan an...
Signatures and Surprises: Inside the Emerging Threats Team
18 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Hello to all our Cyber Masked Vigilantes! In this episode of Discarded, host Selena Larson and co-host Tim Kromhardt are joined by ...
DBIR Deep Dive: Identity, Access, and the Expanding Attack Surface
04 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Hello to all our Cyber Stars! Join host Selena Larson, and guest host, Sarah Sabotka, as they sit down with Alex Pinto, Associate Dir...
The ClickFix Convergence: How Threat Actors Blur the Lines
14 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Hello to all our Cyber Spring Chickens! Join host Selena Larson, and guest host, Sarah Sabotka, as they chat with Saher Naumaan, Seni...
The Art of the Innocent Ask: How Threat Actors Use Benign Conversations
29 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Hello to all our Cyber Spring Chickens! Join host Selena Larson and guest hosts, Tim Kromphardt and Sarah Sabotka, both Senior Threat...
Diving Into Cyber Journalism: FOIA, Fraud, and the Fight Against Online Threats
09 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Hello to all our Cyber Cherry Blossoms! Join host Selena Larson and guest host, Tim Kromphardt, a Senior Threat Researcher, as they c...
RMM Tools: The New Cybercrime Trick?
25 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Hello to all our Remote Cyber Pals! Join host Selena Larson and guest host, Tim Kromphardt, a Senior Threat Researcher, as they cha...
Your Best Defense against Social Engineering: The Gray-Matter Firewall
11 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Hello to all our Cyber Pals! Join host Selena Larson and guest hosts, Sarah Sabotka and Tim Kromphardt, both Senior Threat Researcher...
Hiding in Plain Sight: How Defenders Get Creative with Image Detection
25 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Hello to all our Cyber Pals! Join host Selena Larson and guest host, Sarah Sabotka, as they speak with Kyle Eaton, Senior Security Re...
Cyber Groundhog Day and romance scams, featuring Only Malware in the Building
05 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Hey Cyber Pals! This week we are doing a very special spotlight on a recent episode from Only Malware in the Building. Our very own, ...
The Power of Partnerships: An Interview with the NSA’s Kristina Walter
22 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Hello to all our Cyber Magicians! Join host Selena Larson and guest host, Joshua Miller, as they speak with Kristina Walter, the Chie...
The Battle for a Safer Internet: Inside Domain Takedowns and Threat Actor Tactics
07 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Hello to all our Cyber Magicians! Join host Selena Larson and guest host,Tim Kromphardt, as they speak with Hannah Rapetti, the Taked...
Hackers, Heists, and Heroes: The Evolving Ransomware Game
17 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Hello to all our Cyber Pals! Join host Selena Larson and guest, ransomware expert, Allan Liska, CSIRT at Recorded Future, drops by to...
Stealth, Scale, and Strategy: Exploring China’s Covert Network Tactics
03 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Hello to all our Cyber Frogs! Join host Selena Larson and guest host, Sarah Sabotka, explore the evolving tactics of China-based nati...
Scams, Smishing, and Safety Nets: How Emerging Threats Catches Phish
15 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Hello to all our Cyber Pals! Join host Selena Larson and guest, Genina Po, Threat Researcher at Emerging Threats at Proofpoint. She ...
Pig Butcher Scammers Put Job Seekers On The Menu
29 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!A note to our listeners, this episode contains some content our listeners might find upsetting including mentions of human traffickin...
Under Siege: How Hackers Exploit Cloud Vulnerabilities
15 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Hello to all our Cyber Ghosts! Join host Selena Larson as she chats with Eilon Bendet– Cloud Threat Researcher from Proofpoint. ...
Champagne Attack Chains on a Kool-Aid Budget
30 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Hello to all our Pumpkin Spice cyber friends! Join host Selena Larson and today’s co-host, Tim Kromphardt, as they chat with Joe Wi...
Guarding the Vote: Unmasking Cyber Threats in Election Season
17 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Hello to all our cyber citizens! Join host Selena Larson and today’s co-host, Tim Kromphardt, as they chat with Joshua Miller, Seni...
Very Mindful, Very APT: Inside the Activity of Current Espionage Actors
04 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Hello to all our mindful and demure cyber sleuths! Join host Selena Larson and today’s co-host, Sarah Sabotka as they chat with Jos...
Rebel Security Training: Cyber Lessons from A Galaxy Far, Far Away
20 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Hello, cyber rebels! Ever wondered what lightsabers, the Force, and intergalactic battles have in common with the world of cybersecur...
The Art of Frustrating Hackers: Diving Into the DEaTH Cycle with Randy Pargman
06 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Hello, Cyber Stars! In today's episode of the Discarded Podcast, hosts Selena Larson and Sarah Sabotka are joined by Randy Pargm...
The Hunt for Cyber Criminals: A Deep Dive with Wired's Andy Greenberg
24 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Hello, Cyber Stars! In today's episode of the Discarded Podcast, hosts Selena Larson and Pim Trouerbach are joined by Andy Green...
Have you heard: Only Malware in the Building?
15 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Check out new episodes of Only Malware in the Building wherever you listen to podcasts:https://thecyberwire.com/podcasts/only-malware...
Malware Evasion Uncovered: The Battle Against Evolving Malware Techniques
09 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Hello, Cyber Pirates! In today's episode of the Discarded Podcast, hosts Selena Larson and Tim Kromphardt are joined by Kyle Cuc...
Checkmate: Breaking Down Operation Endgame
25 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Hello, cyber sleuths! In today's exciting episode of the Discarded Podcast, hosts Selena Larson and Sarah Sabotka are joined by ...
Hacking the Human Mind: How Cyber Attackers Exploit Our Brains
11 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Hello to all our cyber squirrels! Joining our series host, Selena Larson, is our co-host today, Tim Kromphardt. Together they welcome...
Decrypting Cyber Threats: Tactics, Takedowns, and Resilience
29 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Hello to all our cyber pals! Joining our series host, Selena Larson, is our co-host today, Tim Kromphardt. Together they welcome our ...
It Works on My Machine: Why and How Engineering Skills Matter in Threat Research
08 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!The Discarded Podcast team is gearing up and working hard for a new season! Until then we have a special Re-Run treat--one of our fav...
Decoding TA4903: Exploring the Dual Objectives of a Unique Cyber Threat Actor
02 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Today’s focus is on the elusive threat actor known as TA4903. But that's not all - we've got a special treat for you as w...
A Trip Down Malware Lane: How Today's Hottest Malware Stacks Up Against Predecessors
19 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!It has been a busy first quarter for the Proofpoint Threat Research team! Today we have returning guest, Pim Trouerbach, to share his...
Hiding In Plain Sight: Unique Methods Of C2 From Infostealers
05 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Network-based detections, such as those developed by threat detection engineers using tools like suricata and snort signatures, play ...
From Attribution to Advancement: Red Canary’s Katie Nickels Tackles CTI’s Biggest Questions
20 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!The esteemed Katie Nickels joins us on the show today! Katie is the Director of Intelligence Operations at Red Canary, and our conver...
Beyond the Headlines: Reporting on Sensitive Cybersecurity Topics to Resonate with Everyone
06 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!*This episode contains content warnings of suicide and self-harm* “It’s not about preventing something from happening, it’s bei...
Strategies for Defense and Disruption: Part Two of Predicting Cyber Threats in 2024
23 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Is 2024 the year of adaptability and collaboration within the security community? Let’s hope so!Today’s episode is Part Two of wh...
Phishing, Elections, and Costly Attacks: Part One of Predicting Cyber Threats in 2024
09 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!To move forward, it’s good to take a minute and reflect on what’s happened. Today’s episode focuses on insights from Daniel Bla...
Jingle Bells, Phishing Tales: Reflecting on Cybersecurity in the Holiday Spirit
26 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!In this special Holiday edition of Discarded, the tables are turned with hosts, Selena and Crista, becoming the answer-ers, our retur...
I Know This Might Sound Crazy but Russia’s TA422 Blasted Lots of Exploits
12 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Tis the season for understanding TA422’s latest activity AND for singing podcast guests!Today’s returning guest is Greg Lesnewich...
MITRE ATT&CK Evolves with Cyber Threat Sophistication
29 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Take a deep dive with us into the incomparable MITRE ATT&CK Framework, a comprehensive knowledge base that catalogs real-world th...
Looking Behind the Curtain at the Palestinian-Aligned TA402
14 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!While the current Israeli/Palestinian conflict is on everyone’s minds, how many are thinking about the repercussions of cyber secur...
Unmasking the Tricksters: The World of Fake Browser Updates
31 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!How can you tell when a website (yes, a website) is compromised? These threats are pretty crafty because they aren't out to targ...
Decoding the Malware Maze: Insights From a Threat Researcher
17 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Oh the days when spam was the only concern for email security!Our guest today is Chris Wakelin, a Senior Threat Researcher at Proofpo...
Obfuscated: Online Threats and the Visually Impaired
04 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Billions of dollars in losses is bad enough. But when a friend loses $1,000 on a platform he trusted, online fraud gets personal.In t...
DISCARDED: Live with John Hultquist!
22 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Live from New York City, it’s your Discarded podcast team at Protect 2023! Joining Selena Larson, is our special guest, John Hultqu...
From Rio to Madrid: Unmasking the Brazilian Banking Malware Wave
05 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Regardless of location, it’s important to understand what is happening in the global threat landscape because we are a global econo...
Everything Comes Back in Style: How Old TTPs are Remerging in China's E-Crime Ecosystem
22 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Just like a forensic scientist, the job of a threat analyst is to search for the digital fingerprints. The key is to have a starting ...
It Works on My Machine: Why and How Engineering Skills Matter in Threat Research
08 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Engineering skills can play a massively beneficial role in cyber security, as Pim Trouerbach, a Senior Reverse Engineer at Proofpoint...
An Apple a Day Won't Keep Iranian APT Away: How TA453 Targets Macs
25 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!What is new with Iranian actor TA453, and what is happening with their attack chains? To answer these questions, today’s guest is J...
Threats and Risks in the Global South
11 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!When researching cyber threats, there is a bias towards to the West and most of Europe. But what about the global majority?Today’s ...
Weird & Wacky Researcher Summer: The Artifacts & Detections Edition
27 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!It's shaping up to be a weird and wacky summer for threat researchers.While it’s been quieter on the front end, there are stil...
It's Summertime: What’s the E-crime Vibe?
14 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Who’s quiet and who’s making noise? What’s the backchannel chatter over at Proofpoint?Proofpoint threat researchers Joe Wise an...
When the Threat Profile is High: Protecting At-Risk Individuals Online
30 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!How does cybercrime threaten individual reporters? What about an entire newsroom? What if you’re an average person who suddenly bec...
The Spies and Stalkers of Surveillance Capitalism
16 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!A brief note on content for today's episode, we are going to be discussing or mentioning stalking, domestic abuse, and sex traff...
Beyond Banking: IcedID Gets Forked
02 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!At least three threat actors are ushering in a new era for IcedID, originally classified as banking malware in 2017. In this episode,...
“Did I miss you in Orlando?”: The Rise of SMS Phishing
18 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!In this podcast episode, Proofpoint senior threat researcher, Adam McNeil, joins us to talk about conversational SMS phishing. These ...
Staying Ahead of Cloud-Based Threats: Insights on today's threat landscape
07 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Cloud threats are a growing concern due to users' and organizations' increasing adoption of cloud computing. It's cruc...
Cat-phishing Dogfighters
21 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!In the cyber threat intelligence and cybersecurity world, there is a growing recognition of the value of professionals with diverse b...
Prank or Propaganda? TA499 Pesters Politics
07 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!In this episode, Zydeca Cass, Senior Threat Researcher at Proofpoint, joins the show to discuss Russia-aligned threat actor TA499. Zy...
A Venture Mindset: North Korean Actors Go Beyond Espionage
21 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!We’ve discussed a handful of APT actors on the Discarded podcast, like Russia, Iran, China and Turkey. In this episode, we dive int...
Why Do We Click? Understanding the Psychology of Social Engineering
08 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Social engineering is a technique used by attackers to manipulate individuals into performing actions that may put their personal or ...
New Year, New Threats: Prepping for the 2023 Threat Landscape
24 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!A new year has arrived! The 2022 threat landscape had some extremely notable activity, from Russian APT actors to Microsoft's bl...
Confidence, confusion, cashout: How pig butchering is blindsiding victims
10 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Threat actors are disarming their victims with a new approach: The long game. Instead of asking for money or gift cards upfront, they...
Holiday Happy Hour: 12 Faves of Threat Research
28 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!As the end of year is rapidly approaching, it’s important to reflect back on some of the top learnings for the year. In this specia...
AMA Answers From the Threat Research Trenches
13 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!In this highly entertaining episode of DISCARDED, Selena Larson and Crista Giering host a wild round of “Ask Me Anything,” with S...
The Many-Faced Threat: Multi-Persona Impersonation (MPI) In Your Inbox
29 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Social proof is a potent tool, even in the absence of direct support. When someone is pressured to do something in the presence of tr...
Machine Learning Is a Party With Camp Disco!
09 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!In this episode, Dr. Zachary Abzug, Manager and Tech Lead of Data Science at Proofpoint joins the show to discuss a machine learning ...
Reservation Confirmed: Threat Actors Visiting the Hospitality World
25 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!In this episode, Joe Wise, Threat Researcher at Proofpoint, joins the show to discuss his and Selena’s research into a small e-crim...
The Hallow-queen of Cybersecurity: Spooky and Sweet Takes with Sherrod DeGrippo
11 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Cybersecurity doesn't have to be spooky this Halloween.In this episode, Sherrod DeGrippo, VP of Threat Research and Detection at...
Investigating Wine Fraud with the Ransomware Sommelier
27 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!All for wine, and wine for all. But only if it isn’t fraudulent.In July 2022, Allan Liska, an analyst at Recorded Future and wine e...
Hot off the Press: APT Actors Posing as Journalists
13 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!In this episode, Joshua Miller and Michael Raggi, Senior Threat Researchers at Proofpoint, join the show to discuss APT groups target...
Misfits Managed: Breaking Down Misfit Malware
23 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!In this episode, Sara Sabotka Senior Threat Researcher on the field-facing team at Proofpoint, joins the show to chat about Misfit Ma...
The Art of Threat Detection Engineering
09 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!In this episode, Konstantin Klinger, Senior Security Research Engineer at Proofpoint, joins the show to chat about his role on the th...
APT Attribution: Trials and Tribulations From the Field
26 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!In this episode, Joshua Miller and Zydeca Cass, Senior Threat Researchers at Proofpoint, join the show to discuss attribution, specif...
The Dark-Side of Cryptocurrency
12 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!In this episode, Jared Peck, Senior Threat Researcher at Proofpoint, explains cryptocurrency and how bad actors are causing trouble w...
A Day in the Life of a Threat Researcher: Emerging Threats Edition
21 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Tony Robinson, Threat Researcher, joins the podcast to share his expertise as a member of the Emerging Threats team at Proofpoint. To...
The Buzz on Bumblebee Malware
07 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Float like a butterfly. Sting like Bumblebee malware.In this episode, Kelsey Merriman, Threat Research Analyst, and Pim Trouerbach, S...
Social Engineering: How Threat Actors Manipulate Their Targets
24 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Threat actors always take the path of least resistance to their payday. But it's a mistake to think they aren't willing to ...
Paying Attention to BEC: The Most Costly Threat by Individual Losses
10 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!When you think about the most costly threat by personal losses, most people will assume ransomware.The real threat, however, is busin...
Web Bugs & the Tubthumping Tactics of Chinese Threat Actor TA416
26 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Chinese Threat Actor TA416, otherwise known as Mustang Panda, has been active for a long time, and every time they get knocked down, ...
Defending Against Cyber Criminals: Emotet’s Resurrection & Conti’s Implosion
12 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Cybercriminals. They’re just like us. With the Russia Ukraine conflict, Conti found itself at odds with internal team members over...
Threat Actor 2541: The Latest Tricks & Patterns
29 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!How are threat actors like Olympic snowboard halfpipe athletes?When their good tricks get stolen by competitors, they add new ones to...
The Troubling Rise of MFA Kits
15 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!Until recently, threat actors haven’t really invested much time in MFA phish kits because not a lot of people used MFA. (Everyone n...
Discussing RTF Template Injection: A Malicious Phishing Attempt
02 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us fan mail!If you asked for M&M’s and received Skittles, you might pop a few in your mouth, but it won’t take long to realize something’...