Whom I’m Watching
The quality bar is pretty high when it comes to making free videos available to anyone, worldwide. These are some of the folks I’ve been spending time with as I’ve fallen into the infosec rabbit hole and needing to educate myself on the nuts and bolts as well as the history, policy, and implications of all of this stuff. All these folks have high production values, which means it’s easy to watch them. The video is well lit; they use good microphones; the editing is tastefully done and doesn’t disorient; the episodes are well organized; and they don’t feel like you’re in a work meeting with bullet points on a powerpoint deck. In other words, they’ve all taken time to learn how to tell a story.
Plus, they’re smart and they’re orientation is, “this is stuff you need to get things done.” Yes, you need theory to understand what it is you’re doing and why so that you’re not just following recipes and can’t make you’re own. But also, you need to know the nuts and bolts so you can execute. These folks provide the right mix of theory and execution so that you can get things done while knowing enough of the why so that you do so quickly and efficiently without inadvertently causing damage.
For those that have guests, you’ll find a lot of the folks are on each other’s youtube channels. This is a cross pollination technique that’s a common design pattern for network marketing. Most also have courses to sell. All are part of the DIY ethic that’s a reaction to expensive colleges and certifications.
My youtube playists:
Security – Defcon
SDR, Ham Radio, RF
LED, ESP8266, Arduino, etc.
Ryan Macbeth
A number of years ago, I took a PR course at the UT Austin Professional Development Center. The class was full of PR pros from the likes of Dell, The State of Texas, etc. I asked everyone a question, “What’s the difference between PR and Propaganda?” Everyone looked at me like I was an alien; no one had an answer. Indeed, it was as if they didn’t understand the question. To them, “propaganda” was a thing of the past, a relic like a decommissioned navy sub.
Yet this guy from New Jersey, a 20 year anti-tank army veteran, knows the answer. He’s one of the few people who debunks misinformation and disinformation and he does so in a systematic and passionate way. He’s smart and like your fun uncle who’ll give you a first taste of beer on the sly why you’re visiting him and cooking out on his grill.
He also explains military hardware and tactics, which is especially important in the information warfare we find ourselves in when it comes to real war. There’s a lot of talk about the “Laws of Armed Combat,” and the Geneva Convention from people who think they know, but they don’t. Macbeth knows them because he’s had to follow them and enforce them in the real world.
Who knows the difference between PR and propaganda? Ryan Macbeth does. If you follow him, you will too.
Network Chuck
An entertaining, entrepreneurial networking and cybersecurity educator on Youtube. He clearly loves networking and makes great use of editing to keep viewers engaged and learning. Plus coffee! Lots of networkchuck coffee.
I first came across him when I was installing a hardware firewall in my home.
Website
Youtube channel
OSINT Browser ($7/month to hide your tracks)
Network Chuck Academy
Networkchuck Coffee. Because yeah. Coffee.
Darknet Diaries by Jack Rhysider
Rhysider tells stories of hackers from all over the world in the style of This American Life. I binged on his stories as I was getting ready to attend DEFCON 31. If you listen to him on a long road trip, you’ll pretty much be up to speed on the major hacking events that have occurred over the past 20 years.
But if you were to only listen to one story, listen to Russia vs. Ukraine: The Biggest Cyber Attack Ever🎙Darknet Diaries Ep. 54: NotPetya. It’s about Russia’s second hacking of the Ukraine…the whole country. They took down ATMs, trains, planes, the power grid…just about everything. The Ukrainians know the truth: this was just a dress rehearsal. Russia honed their physical warfare in Syria. They honed their cyber warefare in the Ukraine. It’s a story of the future from the past.
David Bombal
British Cisco Network Engineer turned Youtube educator. He gives good, practical advice on how to break into the industry and how to learn the skills you need. Many of his guests are collaborators as he has courses on Udemy and other platforms, both together with his collaborators and individually. In each of those courses, he talks about having 1,000,000 students.
A constant theme of his is get a practical education.
Hack5
Long running channel devoted to hacking and selling interesting devices they and their circle of collaborators have created. This is very creative use of hardware.
“Trust your technolust,” is their model. This is what happens when someone who spent their childhood breaking into their parent’s computer grows up.
Interesting collaborators include Michael Ossmann, Software Defined Radio (SDR) expert and creator of HackerRF One and a cousin of one of the co-hosts and Kody Kinzie, hacker and inventor of the wifi-cat.
Deviant Ollam
(Prounounced “dee-vee-unt o-laf”)
Physical pen tester (he breaks into buildings) and personal security expert. He’s entertaining, authentic, and informative. He’s active in TOOOL, The Open Organization of Lock Pickers. Hacking and lock picking seem to go hand in hand.
As a result of listening to his practical advice, I have tightened up my personal security while traveling with some simple devices and processes.