Three Buddy Problem

Security Conversations

The Three Buddy Problem is a popular Security Conversations podcast that goes beyond industry talking points to discuss what others won’t -- nation-state malware, attribution, cyberwar, ethics, privacy, and the messy realities of securing computers and corporate networks. Hosted by three veteran security pros -- journalist Ryan Naraine and malware paleontologists Costin Raiu and Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade -- the weekly show attracts a highly engaged audience of security researchers, corporate defenders, CISOs, and policymakers. Connect with Ryan on Twitter (Open DMs).

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235 episodes
Updated Friday

Episodes235

Newest first

Aug 7, 2025 · 1 hr 30 min
Live from Black Hat: Brandon Dixon parses the AI security hype
Three Buddy Problem - Episode 57: Brandon Dixon (PassiveTotal/RiskIQ, Microsoft) leads a deep-dive into the collision of AI and cybersecurity. We tackle Google’s “Big Sleep” project, XBOW’s automation hype, the long-running tension between big tech ownership of critical security tools and the community’s need for open access. Plus, the future of SOC automation to AI-assisted pen testing, how agentic AI could transform cyber talent bottlenecks and operational inefficiencies, geopolitical debate
Aug 1, 2025 · 1 hr 51 min
Rethinking APT Attribution: Dakota Cary on Chinese Contractors and Espionage-as-a-Service
Three Buddy Problem - Episode 56: China-focused researcher Dakota Cary joins the buddies to dig into China’s sprawling cyber ecosystem, from the HAFNIUM indictments and MSS tasking pipelines to the murky world of APT contractors and the ransomware hustle. We break down China’s “entrepreneurial” model of intelligence collection, why public visibility into these threat actors is so hard to get right, and how companies like Microsoft get caught in the geopolitical crossfire. Plus: a deep dive on
Jul 25, 2025 · 1 hr 55 min
Microsoft Sharepoint security crisis: Faulty patches, Toolshell zero-days
Three Buddy Problem - Episode 55: We dig into Microsoft's latest security nightmare: a SharePoint zero-day exploit chain from Pwn2Own Berlin becomes a full-blown security crisis, with Chinese nation-state actors exploiting vulnerabilities that Microsoft struggled to patch properly, leading to trivial bypasses and a cascade of new CVEs. The timeline is messy, the patches are faulty, and ransomware groups are lining up to join the party. We also revisit the ProPublica bombshell about Microsoft's
Jul 18, 2025 · 1 hr 48 min
Train brake hack, GRU sanctions, Wagner war crimes, Microsoft's Chinese ‘digital escorts’
Three Buddy Problem - Episode 54: Europol busted pro‑Russian hacktivist crew NoName 057(16), the Brits announce sanctions on Russia’s GRU cyber units, Wagner‑linked “war influencers” streamed atrocities from Africa, and fresh tech worries ranged from a $500 RF flaw that can hijack U.S. train brakes. Plus, ProPublica on Microsoft’s China‑based “digital escorts,” Google’s headline‑grabbing AI‑found SQLite zero‑day, and OpenAI’s new task‑running agents. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s hackers wiped a Russia
Jul 10, 2025 · 1 hr 49 min
How did China get Microsoft's zero-day exploits?
Three Buddy Problem - Episode 53: We dig into news of the first-ever arrest of a Chinese intelligence-linked hacker in Italy, unpack the mystery behind HAFNIUM and how they somehow got their hands on the same Microsoft Exchange zero-days that researcher Orange Tsai discovered - was it coincidence, inside access, or something more sinister? Plus, China's massive cyber capabilities pipeline, ‘theCom’ teenagers arrested in the UK after ransomware binge, and spyware attacks against Russian organi
Jul 3, 2025 · 1 hr 34 min
Who’s hacking who? Ivanti 0-days in France, China outs 'Night Eagle' APT
Three Buddy Problem - Episode 52: Fresh intelligence reports out of Europe and China: France’s ANSSI documents a string of Ivanti VPN zero-days ('Houken'), and Quanxin frames a stealth Microsoft Exchange-zero-day chain linked to a North American 'Night Eagle' threat actor. We dissect the technical bread-crumbs, questions the attribution math, and connects Houken to SentinelOne’s “Purple Haze” research. Plus, the FBI’s claim that China’s “Salt Typhoon” has been “contained,” Iran’s Nobitex crypt
Jun 20, 2025 · 3 hr 7 min
Israel-Iran cyberwar: Predatory Sparrow, vanishing crypto, destructive bank hacks
Three Buddy Problem - Episode 51: Former Immunity/Trail of Bits researcher Hamid Kashfi joins the buddies for a fast-moving tour of cyber activities in the Israel-Iran war. The crew unpacks who 'Predatory Sparrow' is, why Sepah Bank and the Nobitex crypto exchange were hit, and what a $90 million cryptocurrency burn really means. Plus, radar-blinding cyberattacks that paved the way for Israel’s air raid, the human cost of sudden ATM outages and unpaid salaries, and the puzzling “Code Breakers”
Jun 13, 2025 · 1 hr 51 min
Cyber flashpoints in Israel-Iran war, the 'magnet of threats', Mossad drone swarms
Three Buddy Problem - Episode 50: This week, we dissect cyber flashpoints in the Iran-Israel war, revisit the “magnet of threats” server in Iran that attracted APTs from multiple nation-states, and react to Israel's Mossad sneaking explosive drone swarms deep into Iran to support airstrikes. Plus, Stealth Falcon’s new WebDAV zero-day, SentinelOne’s brush with Chinese APTs, Citizen Lab’s forensic takedown of Paragon’s iPhone spyware, and the sneaky Meta/Yandex trick that links Android web browsi
Jun 6, 2025 · 1 hr 29 min
Mikko Hypponen talks drone warfare, APT naming schemes
Three Buddy Problem - Episode 49: Cybersecurity veteran Mikko Hypponen joins the show to discuss the fast-changing life and times on NATO’s newest frontline, how Ukraine’s long-range “Spiderweb” drone swarms punched holes in Russian air bases, the cyber connections to the escalating drone warfare, and the coming wave of autonomous “killer robots”. Plus, news on Ukraine’s hack of bomber-maker Tupolev, the industry’s never-ending APT naming mess, iVerify’s newly disclosed iMessage zero-click bug,
May 30, 2025 · 2 hr 11 min
The dark hole of 'friendlies' and Western APTs
Three Buddy Problem - Episode 48: We unpack a Dutch intelligence agencies report on ‘Laundry Bear’ and Microsoft’s parallel ‘Void Blizzard’ write-up, finding major gaps and bemoaning the absence of IOCs. Plus, discussion on why threat-intel naming is so messy, how initial-access brokers are powering even nation-state break-ins, and whether customers (or vendors) are to blame for the confusion. Plus, thoughts on an academic paper on the vanishing art of Western companies exposing Western (frie
May 23, 2025 · 2 hr 30 min
Russia hacks Ukraine war supply lines, Signal blocks Windows screenshots, BadSuccessor vuln disclosure debate
Three Buddy Problem - Episode 47: We unpack a multi-agency report on Russia’s APT28/Fancy Bear hacking and spying on Ukraine war supply lines, CISA’s sloppy YARA rules riddled with false positives, the ethics of full-disclosure after Akamai dropped Windows Server “BadSuccessor” exploit details, and Sekoia’s discovery of thousands of hijacked edge devices repurposed as honeypots. The back half veers into Microsoft’s resurrected Windows Recall, Signal’s new screenshot-blocking countermeasure, Ja
May 16, 2025 · 2 hr 23 min
A Coinbase breach with bribes, rogue contractors and a $20M ransom demand
Three Buddy Problem - Episode 46: We dig into a Coinbase breach headlined by bribes, rogue contractors and a $20 million ransom demands. Plus, (another!) batch of Ivanti and Microsoft zero-days being exploited in the wild, a new 'Intrusion Logging' feature coming to Android, Apple's iOS 18.5 patches, and the EU announcing its own vulnerability database and software vendor secure-coding pledge. Cast: Costin Raiu, Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade and Ryan Naraine.
May 9, 2025 · 31 min
JAGS keynote: The intricacies of wartime cyber threat intelligence
Three Buddy Problem - Episode 45: (The buddies are trapped in timezone hell with cross-continent travel this week). In the meantime, absorb this keynote presented by Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade (JAG-S) at CounterThreats 2023. It's a frank discussion on the role of cyber threat intelligence (CTI) during wartime and its importance in bridging information gaps between adversaries. Includes talk on the ethical challenges in CTI, questioning the impact of intelligence-sharing and how cyber operation
May 3, 2025 · 2 hr 38 min
Signalgate redux, OpenAI's Aardvark, normalizing cyber offense
Three Buddy Problem - Episode 44: We unpack news that US government officials are using an obscure app to archive Signal messages, OpenAI’s new “Aardvark” code-evaluation and reasoning model and leapfrog implications, NSC cyber lead Alexei Bulazel on normalizing US offensive operations, and JP Morgan Chase CISO’s warning to software vendors. Plus, fresh SentinelOne threat-intel notes, France’s attribution of GRU activity and a head-scratching $330 million Bitcoin heist. Cast: Costin Raiu, Juan
Apr 25, 2025 · 1 hr 33 min
Thomas Rid joins the show: AI consciousness, TP-Link's China connection, trust in hardware security
Three Buddy Problem - Episode 43: Director of the Alperovitch Institute for Cybersecurity Studies Thomas Rid joins the show for a deep-dive into the philosophical and ethical considerations surrounding AI consciousness and anthropomorphism. We dig into the multifaceted implications of AI technology, particularly focusing on data privacy, national security, and the philosophical questions surrounding AI consciousness and rights. Plus, TP-Link under US government investigation and the broader i
Apr 17, 2025 · 1 hr 39 min
China doxxes NSA, CVE's funding crisis, Apple's zero-day troubles
Three Buddy Problem - Episode 42: We dig into news that China secretly fessed up to the Volt Typhoon hacks and followed up with claims that named NSA agents launched advanced cyberattacks against the Asian Winter Games. Plus, the MITRE CVE funding crisis, new Apple 0days in the wild includes PAC bypass exploit, Microsoft Patch Tuesday zero-days. Plus, the effectiveness of Lockdown Mode, the rising costs of mobile exploits, Chris Krebs' exit from SentinelOne after a presidential executive or
Apr 4, 2025 · 1 hr 36 min
NSA director fired, Ivanti's 0day screw-up, backdoor in robot dogs
Three Buddy Problem - Episode 41: Costin and Juanito join the show from Black Hat Asia in Singapore. We discuss Bunnie Huang's keynote on hardware supply chains and a classification system to establish a grounded perspective on trust in hardware, Ivanti's misdiagnosis of a critical VPN applicance flaw and Mandiant reporting on a Chinese APT exploiting Ivanti devices. Plus, breaking news on the sudden firing of NSA director and head of Cyber Command Tim Haugh. We also discuss Microsoft touting
Mar 28, 2025 · 1 hr 52 min
Signalgate and ID management hiccups, PuzzleMaker and Chrome 0days, Lab Dookhtegan returns
Three Buddy Problem - Episode 40: On the show this week, we look at the technical deficiencies and opsec concerns around the use of Signal for ultra-sensitive communications. Plus, some speculation on who's behind Kaspersky’s ‘Operation Forum Troll’ report, Chinese discussion on NSA/CIA mobile networks exploitation, and the return of ‘Lab Dookhtegan’ hack-and-leak exposures. Cast: Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade, Costin Raiu and Ryan Naraine.
Mar 21, 2025 · 1 hr 56 min
China exposing Taiwan hacks, Paragon spyware and WhatsApp exploits, CISA budget cuts
Three Buddy Problem - Episode 39: Luta Security CEO Katie Moussouris joins the buddies to parse news around a coordinated Chinese exposure of Taiwan APT actors, CitizenLab's report on Paragon spyware and WhatsApp exploits, an “official” Russian government exploit-buying operation shopping for Telegram exploits, the fragmentation of exploit markets and the future of CISA in the face of budget cuts and layoffs. Cast: Katie Moussouris (Luta Security), Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade, Costin Raiu and
Mar 14, 2025 · 2 hr 5 min
A half-dozen Microsoft zero-days, Juniper router backdoors, advanced bootkit hunting
Three Buddy Problem - Episode 38: On the show this week, we look at a hefty batch of Microsoft zero-days exploited in the wild, iOS 18.3.2 fixing an exploited WebKit bug, a mysterious Unpatched.ai being credited with Microsoft Access RCE flaws, and OpenAI lobbying for the US to ban China's DeepSeek. Plus, discussion on a Binarly technical paper with new approach to finding UEFI bootkits, Mandiant flagging custom backdoors on Juniper routers, and MEV 'sandwich attacks' front-running cryptocurre