Darknet Diaries

In 2019, Ola Bini, a Swedish programmer and privacy advocate, was arrested in Ecuador for being a Russian hacker. Find Ola on X: https://x.com/olabini [https://x.com/olabini]. Or visit his website https://olabini.se/blog/ [https://olabini.se/blog/]. Or check out his non-profit https://autonomia.digital/ [https://autonomia.digital/]. SPONSORS Support for this show comes from ThreatLocker® [https://www.threatlocker.com/]. ThreatLocker® is a Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform that strengthens your infrastructure from the ground up. With ThreatLocker® Allowlisting and Ringfencing™, you gain a more secure approach to blocking exploits of known and unknown vulnerabilities. ThreatLocker® provides Zero Trust control at the kernel level that enables you to allow everything you need and block everything else, including ransomware! Learn more at www.threatlocker.com [https://www.threatlocker.com/]. This show is sponsored by Miro [https://miro.com/]. AI doesn’t have to be intimidating—in fact, it can help your team thrive. Miro’s Innovation Workspace changes that by bringing people and AI together to turn ideas into impact, fast. Whether you’re launching a new podcast, streamlining a process, or building the next big thing, Miro helps your team move quicker, collaborate better, and actually enjoy the work. Learn more at https://miro.com/ [https://miro.com/]. This show is sponsored by Thales [http://thalesgroup.com/cyber]. With their industry-leading platforms, you can protect critical applications, data and identities – anywhere and at scale with the highest ROI. That’s why the most trusted brands and largest banks, retailers and healthcare companies in the world rely on Thales to protect what matters most – applications, data and identities. Learn more at http://thalesgroup.com/cyber [http://thalesgroup.com/cyber]. View all active sponsors. [https://darknetdiaries.com/sponsors/] SOURCES * https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/08/ecuador-political-actors-must-step-away-ola-binis-case [https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/08/ecuador-political-actors-must-step-away-ola-binis-case] * https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/04/six-years-dangerous-misconceptions-targeting-ola-bini-and-digital-rights-ecuador [https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/04/six-years-dangerous-misconceptions-targeting-ola-bini-and-digital-rights-ecuador] * https://peoplesdispatch.org/2019/04/12/ola-bini-detained-in-ecuador-for-90-days/ [https://peoplesdispatch.org/2019/04/12/ola-bini-detained-in-ecuador-for-90-days/] * https://globalvoices.org/2022/10/21/ola-bini-the-cyberactivist-who-causes-panic-in-ecuador/ [https://globalvoices.org/2022/10/21/ola-bini-the-cyberactivist-who-causes-panic-in-ecuador/] * https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/09/ecuador-allanamiento-violento-pone-en-riesgo-juicio-justo-ola-bini-2/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ola_Bini [https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/09/ecuador-allanamiento-violento-pone-en-riesgo-juicio-justo-ola-bini-2/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ola_Bini]

All Hieu Minh Ngo wanted was to make money online. But when he stumbled into the dark web, he found more than just opportunity, he found a global dark market. What started as a side hustle turned into an international crime spree. Find Hieu on X: https://x.com/HHieupc [https://x.com/HHieupc]. SPONSORS Support for this show comes from ThreatLocker® [https://www.threatlocker.com/]. ThreatLocker® is a Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform that strengthens your infrastructure from the ground up. With ThreatLocker® Allowlisting and Ringfencing™, you gain a more secure approach to blocking exploits of known and unknown vulnerabilities. ThreatLocker® provides Zero Trust control at the kernel level that enables you to allow everything you need and block everything else, including ransomware! Learn more at www.threatlocker.com [https://www.threatlocker.com/]. Support for this show comes from Drata [https://drata.com/darknetdiaries]. Drata is the trust management platform that uses AI-driven automation to modernize governance, risk, and compliance, helping thousands of businesses stay audit-ready and scale securely. Learn more at drata.com/darknetdiaries [https://drata.com/darknetdiaries]. This show is sponsored by Red Canary [https://redcanary.com/]. Red Canary is a leading provider of Managed Detection and Response (MDR), helping nearly 1,000 organizations detect and stop threats before they cause harm. With a focus on accuracy across identities, endpoints, and cloud, we deliver trusted security operations and a world-class customer experience. Learn more at redcanary.com [https://redcanary.com/].

In this episode we talk with mg (https://x.com/MG [https://x.com/_MG_]), the brilliant (and notorious) hacker and hardware engineer behind the OMG Cable. A seemingly ordinary USB cable with extraordinary offensive capabilities. Learn more about mg at: o.mg.lol [https://o.mg.lol/] SPONSORS Support for this show comes from ThreatLocker® [https://www.threatlocker.com/]. ThreatLocker® is a Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform that strengthens your infrastructure from the ground up. With ThreatLocker® Allowlisting and Ringfencing™, you gain a more secure approach to blocking exploits of known and unknown vulnerabilities. ThreatLocker® provides Zero Trust control at the kernel level that enables you to allow everything you need and block everything else, including ransomware! Learn more at www.threatlocker.com [https://www.threatlocker.com/]. Support for this show comes from Axonius [https://www.axonius.com/]. Axonius transforms asset intelligence into intelligent action. With the Axonius Asset Cloud, customers preemptively tackle high-risk and hard-to-spot threat exposures, misconfigurations, and overspending. The integrated platform brings together data from every system in an organization’s IT infrastructure to optimize mission-critical risk, performance, and cost measures via actionable intelligence. Covering cyber assets, software, SaaS applications, identities, vulnerabilities, infrastructure, and more, Axonius is the one place to go for Security, IT, and GRC teams to continuously drive actionability across the organization. Bring truth to action with Axonius. Learn more at axonius.com [https://axonius.com/].

Greg Linares (AKA Laughing Mantis) joins us to tell us about how he became the youngest hacker to be arrested in Arizona. Follow Greg on Twitter: https://x.com/Laughing_Mantis [https://x.com/Laughing_Mantis]. SPONSORS Support for this show comes from ThreatLocker® [https://www.threatlocker.com/]. ThreatLocker® is a Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform that strengthens your infrastructure from the ground up. With ThreatLocker® Allowlisting and Ringfencing™, you gain a more secure approach to blocking exploits of known and unknown vulnerabilities. ThreatLocker® provides Zero Trust control at the kernel level that enables you to allow everything you need and block everything else, including ransomware! Learn more at www.threatlocker.com [https://www.threatlocker.com/]. This show is sponsored by Red Canary [https://redcanary.com/]. Red Canary is a leading provider of Managed Detection and Response (MDR), helping nearly 1,000 organizations detect and stop threats before they cause harm. With a focus on accuracy across identities, endpoints, and cloud, we deliver trusted security operations and a world-class customer experience. Learn more at redcanary.com [https://redcanary.com/]. This show is sponsored by Miro [https://miro.com/]. AI doesn’t have to be intimidating—in fact, it can help your team thrive. Miro’s Innovation Workspace changes that by bringing people and AI together to turn ideas into impact, fast. Whether you’re launching a new podcast, streamlining a process, or building the next big thing, Miro helps your team move quicker, collaborate better, and actually enjoy the work. Learn more at https://miro.com/ [https://miro.com/].

Joe Tidy investigates what may be the cruelest and most disturbing cyber attack in history. A breach so invasive it blurred the line between digital crime and psychological torture. This story might make your skin crawl. Get more from Joe linktr.ee/joetidy [https://linktr.ee/joetidy]. Get the book Ctrl + Alt + Chaos: How Teenage Hackers Hijack the Internet [https://amzn.to/3He7GNs] (https://amzn.to/3He7GNs [https://amzn.to/3He7GNs]). [http://127.0.0.1:4000/imgs/ctrlaltchaos.jpg]https://amzn.to/3He7GNs SPONSORS Support for this show comes from ThreatLocker® [https://www.threatlocker.com/]. ThreatLocker® is a Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform that strengthens your infrastructure from the ground up. With ThreatLocker® Allowlisting and Ringfencing™, you gain a more secure approach to blocking exploits of known and unknown vulnerabilities. ThreatLocker® provides Zero Trust control at the kernel level that enables you to allow everything you need and block everything else, including ransomware! Learn more at www.threatlocker.com [https://www.threatlocker.com/]. This show is sponsored by Red Canary [https://redcanary.com/]. Red Canary is a leading provider of Managed Detection and Response (MDR), helping nearly 1,000 organizations detect and stop threats before they cause harm. With a focus on accuracy across identities, endpoints, and cloud, we deliver trusted security operations and a world-class customer experience. Learn more at redcanary.com [https://redcanary.com/].