Packet Protector
Episodes
PP107: Why Now’s the Time to Prepare for a Post-Quantum World (Sponsored)
28 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
A cryptographically relevant quantum computer is, at some point, going to emerge that can crack modern encryption. We don’t know when that day is co...
PP106: Architecting for Wi-Fi 7, Zero Trust, PQC, and More
21 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
For decades, network and security professionals have adapted to technology change in a piecemeal fashion: a new rule here, an upgrade there, a new pro...
PP105: Cybercrime Has Gone Industrial: Insights from HPE Threat Labs (Sponsored)
14 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Threat actors are behaving more like professional organizations in an effort to launch more effective and profitable attacks. We explore this and othe...
PP104: How SocGholish Picks Locks to Let In Ransomware
07 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In the cybercrime industry, initial access brokers specialize in break-ins. They pick digital locks and slide open electronic windows, and then sell t...
PP103: FireMon Brings Clarity to Firewall Rule Chaos (Sponsored)
31 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Firewall policies are the heart of network security, but over time they can become a tangled mess. Rules might be outdated, or conflicting, or fail to...
PP102: What’s Driving SASE Adoption?
24 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Spending on SASE, which combines SD-WAN and cloud-delivered security, is forecast to nearly triple over the next few years, according to Dell’Or...
PP101: Hackers Tap Intune to Wipe Windows Devices; Tricksters Trump E2E Encryption
17 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s news roundup we assess the White House’s new US cyber strategy (bellicose, bombastic, and boiler-plate), discuss a cyberattack ...
PP100: Building and Securing AI Agents – A Case Study
10 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Kyler Middleton, a software developer in the healthcare sector, builds and supports AI bots and AI agents that are now widely used inside the company ...
PP099: The Care and Feeding of Kerberos for Windows Environments
03 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Today we’re going to learn about the care and feeding of a three-headed dog named Kerberos. Developed at MIT and released in 1989, Kerberos is a fre...
PP098: What Goes On Inside a Firewall?
24 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s show, we pop the lid off of a firewall (figuratively speaking) to understand what’s inside. We talk about how a packet moves throug...
PP097: How and Why to Turn the Browser into a Universal Security Agent (Sponsored)
17 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
With the rise of cloud services and SaaS, the browser has become a primary productivity tool. It’s also a primary vector for malware, phishing, iden...
PP096: Taking Note of a Notepad++ Attack; Telnet and NTLM Are Still a Thing?
10 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Everything old is new again in today’s Packet Protector news roundup, as a decade-old Telnet exploit resurfaces, and Microsoft unfolds its roadm...
PP095: OT and ICS – Where Digital and Physical Risks Meet
03 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Operation Technology (OT) and Industrial Control Systems (ICS) are where the digital world meets the physical world. These systems, which are critical...
PP094: Understanding OAuth and Reducing Authorization Risks
27 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
OAuth is a widely used authorization (not authentication) protocol that lets a resource owner grant access to a resource using access tokens. These to...
PP093: Security Priorities for 2026 – A Roundtable Discussion
20 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The start of a new year is a good time to assess what’s important. We’ve gathered some Packet Protector listeners to talk about their secu...
PP092: News Roundup–Old Gear Faces New Attacks, Cyber Trust Mark’s Trust Issues, Alarms Howl for Kimwolf Botnet
13 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Everything old is new again in this Packet Protector news roundup, from end-of-life D-Link routers facing active exploits (and no patch coming) to a f...
PP091: News Roundup–Securing MCP, Hunting Backdoors, and Getting the Creeps From AI Kids’ Toys
16 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Our final news roundup for 2025 is a holiday sampler of tasty, chewy (and a few yucky) confections. We look at a years-long exploit campaign that used...
PP090: Why Native Controls Aren’t Enough to Protect Your Cloud Workspaces (Sponsored)
09 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Cloud-based workspaces such as Google Workspace are often the backbone of an organization. But they also face threats from spam and phishing, account ...
PP089: Hidden Wi-Fi Misconfigurations and Wi-Fi 7 Issues to Be Aware Of
02 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There may be misconfigurations and other problems lurking in your wireless network. From a lack of peer isolation to poor segmentation to RADIUS probl...
PP088: How Fortinet Delivers Web App Security in the AI Era (Sponsored)
25 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Web applications have always been tricky to protect. They’re meant to be accessible over the Internet, which exposes them to malicious actors, they’...
PP087: Why SBOMs Are Cooler and More Useful Than You Think
18 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Just what’s inside that commercial software you bought? Does it contain open-source components, NPM packages, or other third-party code? How cou...
PP086: Using Let’s Encrypt and the ACME Protocol for Domain Validation Certificates
11 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Certificates are the socks of IT—everyone needs them, and you always lose track of a few. On today’s show we dive into the ACME protocol, an I...
PP085: News Roundup – Naked Satellite Signals, Account Recovery Buddies, Busting Ghost Networks
05 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Did you know college students are snooping on satellite transmissions? On today’s news roundup we discuss new research in which university inves...
PP084: Inside the CVE Process With Cisco (Sponsored)
30 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
CVEs, or Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures, are such a routine aspect of tech that most IT pros probably take them for granted. But like many thing...
PP083: A CISO’s Perspective on Model Context Protocol (MCP)
21 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open-source protocol that enables AI agents to connect to data, tools, workflows, and other agents both within and ...
PP082: Building a Workable Mobile Security Strategy In a World of Risky Apps
14 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today we’re bringing back one of our favorite guests — Akili Akridge. He’s a former Baltimore cop who transitioned to building and leading mobil...
PP081: News Roundup – BRICKstorm Backdoor Targets Network Appliances, GitHub Unveils Supply Chain Defense Plans
07 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
From a massive SIM farm takedown to dealing with supply chain attacks targeting npm, our news roundup provides context and commentary on a fresh crop ...
PP080: The State of OT Risks in 2025 (and What to Do About Them)
30 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What does the risk environment for Operational Technology (OT) look like in 2025? JJ and Drew review four recent reports on the state of OT security f...
PP079: Rethinking the Architecture of Microsegmentation
23 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Microsegmentation is a complex topic. We did an overview episode earlier this year, and we invited listeners to reach out to keep the microsegmentatio...
PP078: Using Free Tools for Detection Engineering
16 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
You can build effective, scalable detection pipelines using free and open-source tools like Zeek, Suricata, YARA, and Security Onion. Today on Packet ...
PP077: News Roundup–Drift Breach Has Long Reach; FCC Investigates Its Own IoT Security Program
09 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is any publicity good publicity? On today’s News Roundup we talk about how Salesloft, which makes the Drift chat agent that’s been used as...
PP076: RF Risks and How to See Unseen Threats
02 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Our airwaves are alive with radio frequencies (RF). Right now billions of devices around the world are chattering invisibly over Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zig...
PP075: Kernel Vs. User Mode In Endpoint Security Software
19 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Microsoft is rethinking allowing endpoint security software to run in the Windows kernel (including third-party and Microsoft’s own endpoint sec...
PP074: News Roundup – Microsoft Dumps Digital Escorts; Palo Alto Bundles Billions Aboard CyberArk
12 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Packet Protector goes global for today’s security news roundup. Microsoft discontinues a program in which engineers in China supported the US De...
PP073: Identify Yourself: Authentication From SAML to FIDO2
05 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
From SAML to OAuth to FIDO2 to passwordless promises, we unpack what’s working—and what’s broken—in the world of identity and authentication. ...
PP072: Mobile Device Threat Management
29 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Mobile devices blur the boundaries between personal and work devices and are packed with sensitive information, making them popular targets for malwar...
PP071: SSE Vendor Test Results; Can HPE and Juniper Get Along?
22 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
CyberRatings, a non-profit that performs independent testing of security products and services, has released the results of comparative tests it condu...
PP070: News Roundup – Scattered Spider Bites MSPs, Microsoft Rethinks Kernel Access, North Koreans Seem Good at Their Illicit Jobs
15 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There’s lots of juicy stories in our monthly security news roundup. The Scattered Spider hacking group makes effective use of social engineering...
PP069: A Quantum Primer: It’s More Than Cracking Crypto
01 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Quantum computing is here, and it’s being used for more than cracking encryption. On today’s Packet Protector we get a primer on quantum, ...
PP068: Common Kubernetes Risks and What to Do About Them
24 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s Packet Protector digs into risks and threats you might encounter in a Kubernetes environment, what to do about them, and why sometimes a...
PP067: Protecting Secrets With Vault and TruffleHog
17 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Secrets trickle out through misconfigurations, poor tooling, and rushed Git commits. Today’s guest, John Howard, joins us on Packet Protector to wal...
PP066: News Roundup – NIST’s New Exploit Metric, Windows RDP Issues, Compromised Routers, and More
10 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Our security news roundup discusses the compromise of thousands of ASUS routers and the need to perform a full factory reset to remove the malware, wh...
PP065: A Microsegmentation Overview
03 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Microsegmentation divides a network into boundaries or segments to provide fine-grained access control to resources within those segments. On today’...
PP064: How Aviatrix Tackles Multi-Cloud Security Challenges (Sponsored)
27 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Aviatrix is a cloud network security company that helps you secure connectivity to and among public and private clouds. On today’s Packet Protec...
PP063: Wi-Fi Security and AI in the WLAN at Mobility Field Day
20 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Wireless security takes center stage in this episode of Packet Protector. Jennifer Minella and guests discuss “secure by default” efforts ...
PP062: Hunting for Host Security and Performance Issues with Stratoshark
13 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Stratoshark is a new tool from the Wireshark Foundation that analyzes system calls on a host. Network, security, and application teams can use Stratos...
PP061: Comparing Breach Reports, RSAC 2025 Highlights, and a Security Awareness Soapbox
06 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
New breach reports show threat actor dwell times are dropping significantly. It’s a positive development, but there is a caveat. We discuss this...
PP060: Subsea Cables and the Watery Risks to Critical Infrastructure
29 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Submarine cables are a hidden wonder. These fiber optic bundles carry data and voice traffic around the world and serve as critical global links for c...
PP059: News Roundup – Oracle Plays Breach Word Games, Fast Flux Worries CISA, AI Package Hallucinations, and More
22 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Once a month, the Packet Protector podcast likes to see what’s going on out there via our news roundup. There’s a lot happening! Today we ...
PP058: Network Discovery with NMAP: You’ve Got Swaptions
15 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We’re diving into NMAP on today’s show with guest Chris Greer. Chris, an expert in network analysis and forensics, explains what NMAP is, the diff...
PP057: Behind the Scenes At Cisco: PSIRT, AI, CVEs, and VEX
08 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Cisco Systems has a sprawling portfolio of home-grown and acquired products. What’s it like trying to find and address bugs and vulnerabilities ...
PP056: Ask A CISO with Joe Evangelisto
01 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s show, we chat with Joe Evangelisto, CISO at NetSPI. He recounts his journey to becoming a Chief Information Security Officer, one that st...
PP055: News Roundup – BotNet Targets TP-Link, Threat Hunting In the Electric Grid, Apple Vs. UK Snoops, and More
25 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week we dive into security headlines including a botnet bonanza that includes TP-Link routers, Chinese attackers targeting Juniper and Fortinet, ...
PP054: Understanding WireGuard and Overlay VPNs with Tom Lawrence
18 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
WireGuard and other overlay VPNs are the focus of today’s podcast with guest Tom Lawrence from Lawrence Systems. We dig into differences between Wir...
PP053: Rethinking Secure Network Access and Zero Trust With Bowtie (Sponsored)
11 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s Packet Protector episode we talk with sponsor Bowtie about its secure network access offering. If you think secure network access is just...
PP052: The State of the Network Security Market In 2025
04 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How big is the network security market? Is it growing? How is that growth measured? What effect is SASE having on security spending? Will security pro...
PP051: Security Certifications From Beginner to Advanced
25 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Certifications are a fact of life in a technical career. They can also provide a pathway to help you earn new roles, sharpen your skills, and boost yo...
PP050: Understanding–and Protecting Yourself From–the Malware Economy
18 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There’s a robust malware economy with an active market for exploits, brokered access to compromised systems, ransomware, bots-as-a-service, and ...
PP049: CSMM – A Practical Model for Improving Your Cloud Security
11 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Cloud Security Maturity Model (CSMM) is a practical blueprint for improving the security of your public cloud deployments. Developed in partnershi...
PP048: News Roundup – 5G Vulnerabilities Abound, CSRB Disbanded, Magic Packets Target Juniper Routers, and More
04 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
JJ and Drew catch you up on cybersecurity news including new research that uncovers a host of 5G/LTE vulnerabilities, the chain of breaches in a Beyon...
PP047: Why Packet Analysis (and Wireshark) Should Be In Your Security Toolkit
28 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Don’t underestimate the value of packet analysis in your security strategy. And if you’re analyzing packets, the open-source Wireshark softwar...
PP046: IPv6 Security, Migration, and Adoption
21 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
You asked for more IPv6 and we listened. In today’s episode, we talk with Ed Horley, co-host of the IPv6 Buzz podcast about IPv6 security, migration...
PP045: Reducing the Risk of Compromised Digital Certificates with CAA and Certificate Transparency
14 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Transport Layer Security (TLS) relies on certificates to authenticate Web sites and enable encryption. On today’s Packet Protector we look at me...
PP044: Optimizing Security and Performance with ADEM and App Acceleration (Sponsored)
17 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Autonomous Digital Experience Management, or ADEM, measures network and application performance from the user perspective and gives network and IT tea...
PP043: The Perils and Perks of the CISO Track
10 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) helps to architect and drive an organization’s security strategy. The role requires technical chops ...
PP042: CISO Liability Insurance, A Seriously Dangerous Menu Hack, and more Security News
03 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Our monthly news roundup discusses liability insurance for CISOs (if you are one, you should get it), serious intrusions of US telecom companies by Ch...
PP041: Cyber Insurance from a Policyholder Perspective
26 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Cyber insurance provides compensation if a company suffers financial loss due to a security incident such as a ransonware payment, costs of data recov...
PP040: Personal Privacy Tools
19 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Surveillance is a fact of life with modern technology, be it corporate data harvesting or government snooping. If you’re thinking about personal...
PP039: Securing Active Directory from a Pen Tester’s Perspective
12 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Microsoft’s Active Directory and Entra ID are valuable targets for attackers because they store critical identity information. On today’s ...
PP038: A Peek Inside the Security Mind
05 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Security professionals often have an impulse to want to move on to the next new thing. While that can be helpful in a field that thrives on change, it...
PP037: From Supply Chain Security to Post-Quantum Cryptography – Live from XFD!
29 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This episode was recorded live at Security Field Day (XFD) 12 in October, 2024. As delegates at the event, JJ and Drew heard presentations from DigiCe...
PP036: News Roundup – NIST Nixes Password Resets, Cargo Crane Espionage Risks, Municipal Govs Targeted, and More
22 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s Packet Protector rounds up recent security news, including revised password guidelines from NIST, a White House push to help fill infose...
PP035: What IT Should Know About Securing Industrial Systems
15 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Industrial Control Systems (ICS) and Operational Technology (OT) used to stand apart from traditional IT. But those worlds are converging, and IT pros...
PP034: Driving Security and Network Assurance with Juniper Networks (Sponsored)
08 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today on the Packet Protector podcast we talk with sponsor Juniper Networks about how to simplify the complexity that affects network and cybersecurit...
PP033: AI and Machine Learning 101 for Cybersecurity
01 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The terms “AI” and “machine learning (ML)” get thrown around pretty regularly in IT and cybersecurity. On today’s Packet...
PP032: Unpacking RPKI for BGP Security
24 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today on Packet Protector we get into BGP security. BGP is an essential protocol for directing traffic across the Internet, but it wasn’t designed w...
PP031: Cloud Firewall Architecture Essentials
17 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today on Packet Protector we look at cloud firewall architectures. If you’ve deployed firewalls in the campus or a data center, it’s useful to kno...
PP030: Volt Typhoon On the Attack, Starlink Joins the Navy, and More Security News
10 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s Packet Protector is an all-news episode. We cover the Volt Typhoon hacker group exploiting a zero-day in Versa Networks gear and a multi...
PP029: Translating Security Objectives into Business Outcomes
03 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s Packet Protector we talk about how to talk about security objectives in ways that resonate with business and non-technical leaders in...
PP028: Can SecOps and NetOps Work Together?
27 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
IT tends to divide itself by job function and technological specialization, especially as technology gets more complex. However, each IT domain is par...
PP027: How Wi-Fi Positioning Systems Enable Mass Surveillance
20 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Smartphones use Wi-Fi based Positioning Systems (WPSes) to collect data about nearby Wi-Fi access points and other wireless devices to help determine ...
PP026: Security Considerations for Working from Anywhere
13 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Remote work is now a norm. And whether it’s a day or two at home every week, or relocating overseas so you can log in to the office from an Ital...
PP025: Wi-Fi Security Part 2 – Listener Q&A
06 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s Packet Protector we answer listener questions about Wi-Fi security with guest Stephen Orr. Stephen is Chair of the Security Technical...
PP024: Considering Resiliency in a Time of Global Outages
30 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the wake of one of the largest global IT outages, resiliency is the theme of today’s show. We dig into the CrowdStrike debacle as well as an ...
PP023: Wi-Fi Security Part 1 – Unpacking Vulnerabilities and Exploits
23 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
From an SSID confusion exploit to a RADIUS attack to a critical vulnerability in a Windows Wi-Fi driver, the past several months have seen multiple at...
PP022: Inside an Equipment Test Lab
09 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Third-party test labs can help buyers make decisions about which products to purchase. While a testing lab can’t mimic the conditions of your specif...
PP021: Critical Vulnerabilities, AI-Assisted Scams, Compromised VPNs, and More Security News
02 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It’s an all-news episode for this week’s Packet Protector podcast. We cover critical vulnerabilities in the MOVEit file transfer software ...
PP020: Dropping the SBOM: The Software Bill of Materials and Risk Management
25 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If you care about nutrition, you check the ingredients of your food. If you care about your IT infrastructure, you check the Software Bill of Material...
PP019: The God Accounts: Cloud IAM
18 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today we discuss how to secure your all-powerful root accounts on the three major public cloud providers: AWS, Azure, and GCP. Our guests today, Ned B...
PP018: RSA Recap, Including a View from the Event SOC
11 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Drew and JJ have recovered from the overstimulation of the RSA expo floor and are ready to discuss their takeaways from the conference. They discuss t...
PP017: What’s the Matter? Understanding the Matter Protocol
04 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Matter is an IoT protocol that has security and interoperability baked into it. Steve Hanna, the chair of the Product Security Working Group in the Co...
PP016: Tabletop Security Exercises: D&D for Grown-ups
28 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Tabletop security exercises can help organizations game out their response to a security incident. From the technical and business considerations to l...
PP015: Zero Trust Architecture: Because You Can’t Trust Anybody Any More
21 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Zero trust is a buzzword, but what does it actually mean and how will it impact network engineers? Jennifer is here to get us up to speed. First, she ...
PP014: Good Threat Hunting
14 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever noticed “threat hunting” in vendor products and wondered exactly what it means? James Williams is here to explain: Threat hunting is...
PP013: Untangling Managed Security Services
07 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What’s the difference between cybersecurity “as a service” vs. “managed” vs. “hosted”? And what’s the difference between an MSP and an...
PP012: Planning for a Post Quantum Cryptography World
30 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The classical encryption algorithms that currently undergird our IT infrastructure will be broken once there’s a powerful and stable enough quantum ...
PP011: IoT Protocols: Detection and Protection
23 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
IoT devices are often like the tiny aliens in the locker in Men in Black: They’ve created a whole little world on your network without almost any hu...
PP010: CISA’s Cyber Incident Reporting Law: What You Need to Know
16 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The US government is seeking comment on a new law mandating detailed cyber incident reporting. In this episode, we cover what you need to know about t...
PP009: Don’t Forget the Firmware
09 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If your approach to firmware is that you don’t bother it as long as it doesn’t bother you, you might want to listen to this episode. Concerns abou...
PP008: Dishin’ Up Cloud SLAW (Security Lab A Week)
02 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Learning cloud security can be daunting for experienced network engineers, much less complete newbies. That’s why Rich Mogull started “Cloud Secur...