In this episode of the Defense of Security podcast, hosts Jerry Bell and Andrew Kalat discuss various cybersecurity topics, including a recent incident involving notorious hackers breaching a company network in under an hour, strategies to defend against deepfake attacks, the targeting of freelance developers by North Korean adversaries, vulnerabilities in Palo Alto firewalls, and the emergence of ghost ransomware. The conversation emphasizes the importance of proactive security measures and the evolving landscape of cyber threats.

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Takeaways:

• The speed of cyber attacks is increasing, with breaches occurring in under an hour.





• Organizations must implement robust processes to defend against deepfake attacks.





• Freelance developers are at risk of being targeted by sophisticated cybercriminals.





• Palo Alto firewalls are vulnerable to attacks if management interfaces are exposed to the internet.





• Ghost ransomware is a growing threat, often using familiar tactics to exploit vulnerabilities.

Links:

• https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/02/notorious-crooks-broke-into-a-company-network-in-48-minutes-heres-how/





• https://www.darkreading.com/vulnerabilities-threats/4-low-cost-ways-defend-organization-against-deepfakes





• https://www.welivesecurity.com/en/eset-research/deceptivedevelopment-targets-freelance-developers/





• https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/19/palo_alto_firewall_attack/





• https://hackread.com/fbi-cisa-ghost-ransomware-threat-to-firms-worldwide/