Decipher Security Podcast

Hosted by Decipher

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Episodes

391

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Oct 2026

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About the show

Every week, Dennis Fisher and Lindsey O'Donnell-Welch, the editors of Decipher, bring you exclusive, in-depth conversations with security researchers, CISOs, founders, and security experts to hellp you understand the threat landscape and better protect your organizations.

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60 recent

October 23, 202629 min

PHP2Shell and a Big CA Compromise

This week was a tale of two stories: the PHP2Shell vulnerabilities and the compromise of several certificates issued by CA eMudhra in India. Timestamps 00:00 — A wild week in security news 02:50 — PHP vulnerabilities and the disclosure drama 08:07 — Why coordinating an embargo is so difficult 10:02 — Preparing for the PHP patches 11:29 — The PHP bugs make national headlines 13:44 — Inside the researchers’ PHP vulnerability analysis 15:56 — Exploit risk, patching, and the long tail 18:06 — Cloudflare’s mitigation and the response so far 21:44 — Compromised certificate authority keys 23:37 — Revoking certificates and restoring trust 25:07 — The hidden infrastructure behind internet security 28:11 — “We have a problem here” — shout-out to Wayne29:22 — What’s coming next

October 21, 202611 min

PHP2Shell Bugs and The Impact for Defenders | Ben Harris

The newly disclosed PHP2Shell vulnerabilities (CVE-2026-109618 and CVE-2026-109619) are as serious as everyone feared, and Ben Harris of watchTowr joins Dennis Fisher to discuss their long-term impact.Timestamps00:00 - Introduction and why the PHP bugs are a big deal00:22 - The disclosure process starts to unravel01:04 - Why the two PHP vulnerabilities are so severe02:07 - Why the embargo mattered and why the leak was dangerous02:49 - PHP’s massive footprint across the internet04:08 - What mitigations can and cannot do05:35 - Comparing this to Log4Shell06:32 - Why sysadmins outside security are suddenly paying attention07:22 - Why old assumptions about disclosure may no longer hold08:48 - How LLMs accelerate reproduction from tiny clues09:13 - Why even partial screenshots and leaked video can be enough10:33 - A rough six to twelve months ahead for security teams Links PHP blog: https://thephp.foundation/blog/2026/10/21/todays-php-security-release-and-how-were-strengthening-php-security/Our story: https://decipher.sc/2026/10/20/critical-php-flaws-disclosed-patches-out-now/

October 20, 202638 min

When Hackers Meet Policymakers | Beau Woods

Cybersecurity policy can stall when technical experts and lawmakers speak different languages. Beau Woods, CEO and founder of Stratigos Security joins Lindsey O’Donnell-Welch to explain how Hackers on the Hill brings cybersecurity researchers and policymakers together to build understanding and move ideas forward. Timestamps 0:05 Introduction to Beau Woods 1:46 The Origins of Hackers on the Hill 5:48 Bridging Cybersecurity Research and Policy 9:43 Misconceptions in Cybersecurity Legislation 13:47 Growing Technical Literacy in Government 19:46 Applying Security Across Critical Sectors 25:47 Mock Hearings and Policy Conversations 28:36 Cyber Policy Shark Tank 31:58 AI, Cybersecurity, and Public Policy 36:57 Societal Goals Over Technology 37:33 Closing Thoughts

October 16, 202643 min

Hacked Fridges, North Korean Laptop Farms, and Mercenary Spyware

This week, we're talking about hacked refrigerators, the FBI disrupting a North Korean laptop farm run by Famous Chollima, and a stealthy network of ads used to deliver mercenary spyware via a zero-click exploit. imestamps 0:00 Intro & new video bumper 2:00 Hacked supermarket refrigerators 3:39 Default credentials and exposed controllers 6:47 Food losses, overheating, and real-world impact 9:47 The risk of “smart” connected devices 15:29 Why security warnings don’t reach operators 22:09 Spyware delivered through targeted ads 27:17 The scale of modern mercenary spyware 33:10 North Korean fake IT-worker operations 37:56 Inside the laptop-farm scheme 42:57 What’s coming next on DecipherLinksCitizen Lab report: https://citizenlab.ca/research/how-di... FBI advisory on Famous Chollima: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justic...

October 13, 202646 min

The ClickFix Epidemic and AI-Enabled Attacks | John Hammond

John Hammond of Huntress joins Dennis Fisher to dive into the ClickFix attack episdemic, how these attacks work, what the payloads are, and what individuals and organizations can do to protect themselves against them.

October 11, 202642 min

Why Patching Faster Doesn't Work, Ransomware Negotiation War Stories, and the NSA View of AI Threats

This week we talk about all the news from THREATCON1, including why the idea of just patching faster doesn't work, how analysts handle threat actor communications in ransomware incidents, and what the NSA thinks of AI threats.

October 6, 202651 min

Catch Me If You Can with Shea Serrano!

Bestselling author, podcaster, and all around great guy Shea Serrano joins Dennis Fisher and Lindsey O’Donnell-Welch to explore why Catch Me If You Can is more than a con-artist story: it’s a hacker classic and master class in social engineering, confidence, and deception. We unpack Leonardo DiCaprio’s performance, Spielberg’s tension-building, and the film’s memorable cast and scenes. Along the way, the conversation connects the movie to hacker culture and cybersecurity, and asks why Frank Abagnale’s cons still fascinate us today. Links Subscribe to Shea's Good Movie newsletter: https://substack.com/@sheaserrano

October 2, 202631 min

Edge Devices Under Attack, a Threatcon Preview, and Communication Breakdowns

Today we have for you a buffet of zero days being exploited in edge security products, including Citrix and Fortinet, then we discuss the importance of communications from vendors when bad things happen, and finally we preview VulnCheck's THREATCON1, which takes place next week.

October 2, 202622 min

The Citrix NetScaler Zero Day Saga | Ben Harris

Ben Harris of watchTowr joins Dennis Fisher to walk through the Citrix NetScaler zero days that emerged over the weekend, from first detection of exploitation to reporting to finally some patches and why vendor communication is so vital in these cases.

September 29, 202630 min

The Malware That Asks AI What to Do Next | Ryan Fetterman

Ryan Fetterman from Cisco Talos sits down with Decipher’s Lindsey O’Donnell-Welch to talk about ClosedQuorum, the first reported malware binary with an autonomous command-and-control. They talk about the wide range of ways threat actors are using AI, and useful detection strategies for AI-assisted attacks. Links Talos analysis: https://blog.talosintelligence.com/th...