Hotline Hacked Vol. 13

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1. 

   16 Jul 2025 · 1 hr 12 min

   The McDonald’s Hiring Robot Hack

   We start with the AI hiring chatbot used by McDonald’s, and the vulnerability hiding beneath the conversation. What looked like some janky job application exchanges led two security researchers, Ian Carroll and Sam Curry, to uncover a serious flaw. That and a bunch of Grok madness. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

2. 

   4 Jul 2025 · 1 hr 23 min

   BONUS: July Chatty Chat

   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 a few days ago about the Texas Lottery Courier App scandal a listen. This is to wash some dishes to. Links to some stuff we discuss below: CBC On Design First Episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zh4OLQxXEZ0&t=36s Input free generative AI by Terrence Broad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_LLD8ffgVc Reverse Turring: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxTWLm9vT_o Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

3. 

   29 Jun 2025 · 1 hr 20 min

   The Texas Lottery Courier App Scandal

   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, we dig into how that happened, what it reveals about the modern lottery system, and a handful of other stories. Hacked is brought to you by PushSecurity.com. Check them out! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

4. 

   16 Jun 2025 · 1 hr 29 min

   Danabot: The Malware Operation That infected Itself

   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 mistake exposed its creators. Just last week, U.S. prosecutors unsealed charges against sixteen alleged operators, using evidence pulled not from a takedown, but from Danabot’s own infection logs. Plus: a roundup of other top stories. Last week was a rerun—life got a little hectic—so we kept the mic hot and recorded a 90-minute marathon episode to make up for it. Let us know if you're intro it. Hacked is brought to you by Push Security Check them…

5. 

   2 Jun 2025 · 45 min

   Throwback: The Malware Historian

   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. He finds old hardware and viruses, runs them, and sees what happens. So we sat down to discuss the history of malware, where it's come from, and where he thinks it's going next. Check out his amazing YouTube channel at ⁠https://www.youtube.com/user/danooct1 Hacked is brought to you by PushSecurity.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

6. 

   16 May 2025 · 52 min

   The Lorebook Cult

   Content warning: This episode contains descriptions of exploitation, self-harm, and abuse. Listener discretion is advised. A network called 764 has turned abuse into currency. It spread through Discord, Telegram, and gaming platforms—built around “lorebooks,” collections of coerced violence traded for status. In a strange twist, this harm group has connections to cybercrime groups we've covered on this show before. Note: I was recording in an office, which between that and the subject matter, explains why my tone is pretty hushed in this one. Hacked is brought to you by Push Security—helping…

7. 

   2 May 2025 · 56 min

   The 4chan Hack

   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 moderator identities, source code, and shattered the myth of online anonymity. Then, we look at Cluely — an AI tool built by a suspended student to help users “cheat” on job interviews — and the viral campaign pitching it as a revolution. Is it a tech breakthrough, a social bluff, or both? Hacked is brought to you by Push Security—helping companies stop identity attacks before they happen. Phishing, credential stuffing, session hijacking—Push tackles…

8. 

   26 Apr 2025 · 56 min

   Hotline Hacked Vol. 12

   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 — but not as much as the person they're in trouble with, and a guy almost sends his pal on a "Taken" style revenge mission to Kosovo. Got a strange tale of technology, security, or hacking? Share it at HotlineHacked.com. Hacked is brought to you by Push Security. Check them out at PushSecurity.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

9. 

   16 Apr 2025 · 56 min

   WebcamGate

   In 2009, a Pennsylvania high school accused sophomore Blake Robbins of dealing drugs—based on a photo secretly taken through his school-issued laptop. The image, captured without his knowledge in his own bedroom, turned out to show candy. But the real story wasn’t about what was in his hand—it was about how the school got the photo in the first place. In this episode, we speak with filmmaker Jody McVeigh-Schultz, creator of SPY HIGH, and Blake himself, about surveillance, bias, and what happens when institutions cross the line between protecting kids and controlling them. Learn more about…

10. 

    2 Apr 2025 · 52 min

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

    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 facing up to 10 years in prison. A major AI image generator, GenNomis, accidentally exposed 95,000 image prompts online, raising serious privacy and security concerns. And finally, researchers discover debug commands in the popular ESP32 Bluetooth chip, sparking worries about potential exploitation. Note: We mention and explain this in the last episode, but we’re in the process of pumping the brakes on the ads and keeping our reads faster. Things got…