Hacked

2025 Chatty Chat Year in Review

31 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s the 2025 Chatty Chat year in review friends! We’re diving into a big old pile of stories from the past year and speculating on what’s to co...

Inside the Smishing Triad

15 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A deep dive into Lighthouse, a phishing-as-a-service platform linked to millions of scam texts worldwide, and the sprawling “smishing triad” ecosy...

The Gayborhood

01 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For the last few years, Grindr has branded itself as the global gayborhood—a digital safe space for queer communities. But a series of European inv...

How Much of Facebook’s Revenue Is Scam Ads—And Other Chat Worthy Questions

16 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s a chatty chat. I repeat, this one's a chatty chat. Today we’re digging into the big weird questions on our desk: what percentage of Meta’s...

BADBOX 2.0

02 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Hh hey maybe don't buy that $14 projector off amazon. In this episode, we dive into the sequel nobody asked for: BADBOX 2.0 — the return of last y...

The SIM Farm

16 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The story of a massive swatting hoax campaign across the US that helped take down a piece of cybercrime infrastructure in the heart of New York. That ...

The Banxico Heist and a High Wire Act of Solo Podcasting

02 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The question: can one host of a podcast that was planning to do a chatty chat episode proceed at the last minute while the other host is unfortunately...

Will the Real Velvet Sundown Please Stand Up?

16 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The story of a hoax within a hoax within a hoax within an AI soft rock band. That and a bunch of other stories about technology. Learn more about your...

Gamescom 2025

01 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Reboundergame.com ( if you wanna wishlist our work in progress game on Steam

From Street to State

16 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We discuss the rise of China’s early patriotic hacking scene, and a new report that unravels how some of its most skilled members eventually found t...

The Escobar Phone and Imaginary Flamethrowers

02 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We unpack how a Swedish entrepreneur used Pablo Escobar’s name to sell fake phones, flamethrowers, and crypto — and how a viral scam built on infl...

The McDonald’s Hiring Robot Hack

16 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We start with the AI hiring chatbot used by McDonald’s, and the vulnerability hiding beneath the conversation. What looked like some janky job ap...

BONUS: July Chatty Chat

04 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Just for fun: an actual no script, no plan, hot mic blather-athon. If you crave a nice structured story with lots of research, give the ep we dropped ...

The Texas Lottery Courier App Scandal

29 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A London syndicate used a phone app to buy nearly every combination in the Texas Lottery—and walked away with a $95 million jackpot. In this episode...

Danabot: The Malware Operation That infected Itself

16 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode: the inside story of Danabot, the malware-as-a-service platform that thrived in the shadows for nearly a decade—until a critical mi...

Throwback: The Malware Historian

02 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Today malware is all nation state actors and organized crime, but in the beginning it was more about making a statement. Dan is a malware historian. H...

Hotline Hacked Vol. 13

29 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Schools out for summer. Another collection of computer confessions and strange tales of technology. Hacked is brought to you by Push Security. Ch...

The Lorebook Cult

16 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Content warning: This episode contains descriptions of exploitation, self-harm, and abuse. Listener discretion is advised. A network called 764 has ...

The 4chan Hack

02 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We discuss a schism years in the making — the infamous imageboard 4chan gets hacked by its own offshoot, Soyjak.party, in a breach that exposed mode...

Hotline Hacked Vol. 12

26 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A tech worker stumbles upon mass fraud and brings receipts, a flag football prank goes very right, a teenager uses Net Send and gets in trouble — bu...

WebcamGate

16 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 2009, a Pennsylvania high school accused sophomore Blake Robbins of dealing drugs—based on a photo secretly taken through his school-issued lapto...

The Killswitch Saboteur, AI Prompt Data Leak, and Bluetooth Chip Secrets Exposed

02 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A former developer at Eaton Corp, Davis Lu, is convicted of deploying a kill switch script that disrupted thousands of users worldwide—he’s now fa...

Hotline Hacked Vol. 11

28 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Hacked Discord accounts, zombie emergency alerts on TV, and a crime spree in Diablo 3—just another day. As always, thanks for sharing your calls wi...

The $1.5 Billion Crypto Heist & Vibe Coding Beats Big Tech Interviews

16 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hotline Hacked Vol. 10

02 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Double Digits! Featuring caller stories of sarcastic keyboard pranks, failed SEO birthday gifts, vending machine hijinks and more. Hacked is brought...

The Red Teamer

21 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Adam used to break into companies for a living—legally. As a red teamer, he watched the attack surface shift from networks to endpoints to something...

Silk Road Founder Released + DeepSeek's Big Moment for Open Source AI + Scam Complaint Lines to Nowhere

16 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We dive into the story of Silk Road—the infamous darknet marketplace that changed the internet. We revisit its rise under Ross Ulbricht, aka "Dread ...

The Year of Quantum

04 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Quantum computing raises big questions—about security, power, and who benefits as the technology advances. To kick off 2025, the International Yea...

Hotline Hacked Vol. 9

29 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A bunch of great stories, including a prank between brothers with video evidence, a DOS frat war, and a person who tried to buy a building with a cred...

US Soldier Arrested for Hacking + Honey Plugin Scandal + Listener Creates Bitcoin Pizza Website

16 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We have a bunch of stories to get to, but before you listen, check out our new Youtube page we'll be putting a lot of love into in 2025: https://www.y...

Throwback: The Phantom Orchestra

01 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Happy holidays, everyone. We’re bringing you a hacked classic to tide you over while Scott and I take a break to relax and gear up for the new year ...

Hotline Hacked Vol. 8

23 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Let's get festive with it. Calls concerning grocery point systems, Australian internet providers, and so much more. Want to share your story? Check ou...

2024 Year in Review

16 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It's been a wacky one. In this very loose year in review, we discuss adversarial agents being gamified for fun an profit, DNA companies changing owner...

Hacking Security Camera AI

02 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Can you trick the AI model running locally on a security camera into thinking you're a bird (and not a burglar)? We sat down Kasimir Schulz, principle...

Hotline Hacked Vol. 7

28 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A collection of calls, including an extremely wholesome story about a hacked internet contest and an electric guitar that changed a caller's life. H...

A Bot Made a Memecoin Worth Almost a Billion Dollars + McDonald's Ice Cream Machines Redux + Apple Bug Bounties

15 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A chatty chat in which we discuss the Infinite Backrooms and the extremely profitable shock-meme-cult it spurred, a big update in the McDonald's ice c...

Unmasking a Cybercriminal With Open Source Intelligence

02 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We wanted to know: How was USDoD, the hacker behind major data breaches, unmasked? On this episode, we trace his journey from infiltrating FBI-linked ...

Hotline Hacked Vol. 6

30 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The whole second half of this one is one long call but trust us it's worth it. A call in show with tales of hackers getting hacked back, spoofed email...

Doxing Strangers + Mexican Cartels and Timeshare Cybercrime + Facebook’s Big Password Fine

16 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A chatty chat episode where we discuss a Harvard research project turning Meta Ray-Bans into facial recognition hardware, an Irish court case resoluti...

Number Go Up: A Conversation with Author Zeke Faux

01 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We think Zeke Faux’s Number Go Up: Inside Crypto’s Wild Rise and Staggering Fall is one of the best modern books about crypto. It’s a globetrott...

Hotline Hacked Vol. 5

25 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It's a five-alarm fire in the fifth instalment of our call in show. We hear from a caller who accidentally won a naval war-game by unplugging a radio,...

$10 Million in Fake AI Royalties + the 'Infinite Money Glitch' That's Just Fraud + Voter Outreach So Bad It Seemed Like Phishing

17 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In which we discuss alleged Spotify streaming ad fraud that brought in millions, extremely poor voter outreach and an extended tangent on AI. Correc...

Hotline Hacked Vol. 4

08 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Fourth times a charm. Share your strange tale of technology, true hack, or computer confession at hotlinehacked.com. We discuss stealing login credent...

Hacking Bicycles + DIY Laser Exploits + the National Public Data Breach

24 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

You can do lot of damage by changing someone's bike gear at the wrong time. A collection of stories including a DIY laser mad science project that aim...

DEFCON: The Biggest Hacking Event in the World

16 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

DEFCON: The Biggest Hacking Event in the World Every year DEFCON, the world’s biggest hacking conference, descends on Las Vegas for a weekend of di...

CrowdStrike Incident

02 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We all just watched one of the largest IT events in years unfold in real time with the CrowdStrike incident. We wanted to understand it better, so we ...

Ticketmaster’s Billions in Barcodes Stolen + AI Misinformation Botnet + Breaking AT&T news

16 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We got a lot of messages about the Ticketmaster hack that went down since our last episode. We dive into all the weird angles of that evolving story, ...

Google Search Leaks

02 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Few things impact the shape of the internet more than Google Search, yet its inner workings are mostly a mystery. In May, Rand Fishkin received allege...

North Korean IT Scam + TikTok Zero Day + Consumer AI Gets Weird

16 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We discuss a bunch of stories, including the bizarre tale of how an anonymous business registration company let a massive IT scam unfold in the US, a ...

Hotline Hacked Vol. 3

02 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It's our third call in episode and we're cooking now. Share your strange tale of technology, true hack, or computer confession at hotlinehacked.com. W...

LockBitSupp Revealed? + The Cheyenne Supercomputer Gets Sold For Parts + FTX Gives a Bunch of Money Back

16 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A chatty chat episode in which we discuss one of the wildest cases of tech depreciation ever, the potential unmasking of the operator behind a massive...

Hotline Hacked Vol. 2

02 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It’s our second call in show episode. Share your strange tale of technology, true hack, or computer confession at hotlinehacked.com. We discuss hack...

The iSoon Leaks

16 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A data leak at a big Chinese security company reveals not just that they're engaged in state sponsored hacking-for-hire, but just how weirdly corporat...

Gaming Chatty Chat

15 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Bonus Chat Episode. We both love (and make) video games. Thanks to our supporters, alongside our typical two episodes this month, we’re excited to d...

The Real World

01 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The story of an online business school and the ex-student warning that it might be a cult. Check out some of our guest Tim Hume’s excellent report...

Hong Kong Deepfake Heist + Three Million Toothbrush Botnet + Hacked Canada

15 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A chatty chat episode in which Scott and Jordan discuss the proposed Flipper Zero ban in Canada, a chatbot that lied to an airline passenger, a multim...

The Pokédex

08 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A lot of the tech we use today started out as a gizmo in a piece of science fiction. A conversation with Abe Haskins, creator of the DIY Pokédex, abo...

Pretend: The Stalker - Part 1

01 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Two competing stories about a cyberstalking that all comes down to an IP address. Today's episode was a partnership with "Pretend," hosted by Javier ...

The Malware Historian

16 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Today malware is all nation state actors and organized crime, but in the beginning it was more about making a statement. Dan is a malware historian. H...

BADBOX

02 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

You can find all kinds of great deals on Android streaming TV boxes online. But sometimes something else comes in the box along with it. Our conversat...

Hotline Hacked Vol. 1

16 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It’s our first call in show episode. Share your strange tale of technology, true hack, or computer confession at hotlinehacked.com. Learn more about...

2023 Year in Review

31 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In which we look back on yet another hack-tacular year, and discuss the Open AI Coup, the "hacked Rockstar from a hotel room" guy, and a slew of other...

Poison Pixels

16 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How can an artists protect their art from being scraped by AI models? By turning it into a 'poison' that will corrupt those systems if it ever is. Our...

Talking Flipper Zero with The Talking Sasquatch

01 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Scott bought a Flipper Zero and was too lazy to watch YouTube so we've got Youtuber The Talking Sasquatch (https://www.youtube.com/@TalkingSasquach) j...

The FTX Finale + A European Spyware Bombshell + Roblox Buys Cheating Company

16 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A chat in which we discuss the end of the FTX trial, Amnesty International's newly released Predator Files, the Humane AI Pin, and what happens when a...

Halloween with Darknet Diaries' Jack Rhysider

31 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We celebrate the spooky season with Jack Rhysider, creator of the fantastic show Darknet Diaries. We discuss telling unsettling stories, how the way w...

23andMe Exposed + AI Watermarks + Announcing Hotline Hacked

16 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Visit hotlinehacked.com to share your strange technology tale and hear us discuss it on the show assuming this experiment works (and to see the least ...

Vegas Gets Hacked + So Does Sony + The Crypto Reality Show

02 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

On this chat episode we discuss the twin hacks of two of the biggest casino companies in the world, the recent claims of a new hack against Sony, anot...

How to Brute Force Music

15 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The story of two guys who set out to put every musical melody in the world into the public domain, and the technology they hacked together to do it. F...

FraudGPT + Chip Wars + Hacking Poker Machines + The Problem with Credit Bureaus

01 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this chat episode we discuss the new world of sketchy ChatGPT alternatives like WormGPT and FraudGPT, take a brief detour into the looming chip war...

Pondering the Worldcoin Orb + the Gang Who Cracked Outlook + Hacking Together Superconductors for Fun and Profit

16 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this chat episode we discuss Sam Altman's Worldcoin biometric ID / crypto project, the cybercrime syndicate that used a vulnerability in Microsoft ...

Mission Critical

01 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Jordan interviews TechCrunch Senior Writer Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai about a new chapter in crypto in the US; the first criminal charges for hacki...

Stalking Stalkerware + FTX Spending Sprees + the Uncertain Future of AI Game Dev

16 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

On this chat episode we talk about recent public disclosures revealing all the wild stuff FTX bought, the hacking of LetMeSpy and the world of stalker...

Kia Boys

01 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The story of a wave of car theft for internet clout on Tik Tok and the security vulnerability that made it possible. Learn more about your ad choices....

AI Lawyers Are Hallucinating + Hacktivists are Ransomwaring + the Apple is Augmenting Reality

16 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this chat episode we discuss a routine personal injury lawsuit derailed by AI, a new strain of ransomware called Malas Locker being used by hacktiv...

The Cursed Maiden Voyage of the MS Satoshi

01 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The story of the MS Satoshi and the quest to start a libertarian crypto nation on the high seas in the shell of an old cruise ship. Learn more about y...

Ethical Space Hackers + CryptoProgram + Juice Jacking Revisited.

16 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A chat episode about the world's first ethical satellite hacking exercise, a much deeper look at Juice Jacking and whether (and when) it's actually a ...

The Bibliophile

01 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The story of a manuscript hacker who scammed the publishing industry for years with increasingly elaborate social engineering schemes and an unclear m...

Operation Cookie Monster + The Russian Hackathon VPN + The Mac Bitcoin Whitepaper Mystery

16 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A chat episode about the brilliantly named international operation to take down Genesis Market, an FBI warning against juice jacking, Amnezia the open...

Adrian the Video Game Hacker and GDC 2023

31 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A chat + interview combo in which we talk with Adrian Bednarek, a man who has been hacking video games for profit for about as long as there has been ...

Crypto Mines in Crawl Spaces + Youtube as Infinite Storage +Voice Biometrics Aren't Doing So Hot Right Now.

16 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A chat episode about the a teacher who allegedly built a crypto mine in a school crawl space, researchers using Stable Diffusion to read MRIs, the sta...

The King of Ad Fraud

01 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The story of how profitable it can be to serve ads to nobody, featuring Zach Edwards from HUMAN Security. We discuss Methbot, Vastflux, how organized ...

The FBI Shuts Down Hive, Sky Hacks, and the Phishing Never Ends.

16 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A chat episode about the FBI takedown of the Hive ransomware as a service gang, a leak of the No Fly List, a mucked up file that grounded every plane ...

Beaming in the Metaverse

01 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A conversation about all the conversations we aren't having about Roblox. Featuring Quintin Smith of People Make Games. Check out How to Fix the Inte...

Pig Butchering, Ring Cam Swatters, and Raspberry Robin

16 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A chat episode about all these things and more. Sorry, a "chatty chat" about exactly seven topics. Network access security that scales with your busi...

Throwback: The Year Double Zero

31 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Oh dang we have enough episode to do reruns. We promise we'll use this power responsibly. To ring in New Years, please enjoy this throwback Hacked abo...

Holiday Retrospective 2022

16 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In which we look back on a hack-tacular year, and fail to live up the episode we had Chat GPT write for us by only really talking about two topics. Ne...

The Regifter

01 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The story of one man trying to make his fortune one Xbox gift card at a time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Trojan Phone

16 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The story of the international plan to put a very insecure phone into the pockets of criminals around the world. Network access security that scales ...

Crocodile of Wall Street

01 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The story of a rapping crypto-couple allegedly at the heart of a multi billion dollar social engineering heist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visi...

Campus Security

16 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The story of the software that monitors school safety amongst other things. Featuring data journalist Ari Sen. Network access security that scales wi...

Summer Retrospective 2022

01 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In which Scott returns from vacation right as Jordan is leaving, and they talk about the episodes Scott missed over the summer. New listener? Definite...

Internet Hitmen Aren't Really A Thing

16 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The story of the Besa Mafia and all the work that goes into making folks think you're a spooky dark web assassin syndicate. Learn more about your ad c...

The Treasure Hunt

01 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The story of the hunt for a couple million bucks in lost crypto. With Joe Grand AKA Kingpin from the L0pht. Check out Joe's YouTube channel: https://...

Dr. Ransomware

16 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The story of the case against Moises Luis Zagala Gonzalez — a cybercriminal polymath, or international fall guy. This is part one of a two episode i...

Private Eyes

01 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The story BellTroX and the world of private investigators outsourcing the nitty gritty stuff. Like Hacked? Subscribe, spread the word, and visit http...

Open Secret

16 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The story of a Minecraft scammer who sort of hacked the President.  Like Hacked? Subscribe, spread the word, and visit https://www.patreon.com/hacke...

Modified Elephant

01 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The story of some very incriminating letters and the mission to figure out where they came from. Like Hacked? Subscribe, spread the word, and visit ...

The Phantom Orchestra

16 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The story of a saxophone player trying to cross a border with a code hidden in plain sight. Featuring professor of music and RSA Conference speaker Me...

The Storm

01 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The story of the hack that's brought Costa Rica's government to a standstill. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices