How to Fool the White House (Encore)

8th Layer Insights

Hey all! I'm at BlackHat and Defcon this week. If you're there, track me down. I'd love to meet you!

This week's episode is an encore of one of my favorites. My interview with James Linton (a.k.a. The Email Prankster). In 2017, James went on a virtual joyride exploiting the ways that people interact with emails. One of the most interesting things about James' story is that his exploits didn't rely on any type of highly technical method(s); they were simple display name deceptions. But that didn't stop him from fooling CEOs from some of the worlds largest banks, celebrities, and high ranking staff members in the White House.

James' success using these simple methods serves as a warning for us all. We don't fall for scams because they are technically sophisticated or because we are stupid. We fall for scams because we are human.

Guest: James Linton (LinkedIn) (Website)

Books and Resources:

• Anatomy Of An Email Impersonation Spree: Who Got Pranked And Why
• An email prankster is hitting the CEOs of the world's biggest banks
• How to Prank the Rich and Powerful Without Really Trying
• Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman falls for email prank
• This Man Pranked Eric Trump And Harvey Weinstein — Now He Just Wants A Job
• Media Coverage YouTube Playlist
• James Linton -- Wikipedia Entry
• The Journal of Best Practices: A Memoir of Marriage, Asperger Syndrome, and One Man's Quest to Be a Better Husband by David Finch
• Perry -- Interview on Springbrook's Converge Autism Radio
• Perry -- Security Weekly Interview
• Perry Carpenter - The Aspies Guide to Social Engineering - DEF CON 27 Social Engineering Village
• Transformational Security Awareness: What Neuroscientists, Storytellers, and Marketers Can Teach Us About Driving Secure Behaviors, by Perry Carpenter
• The Security Culture Playbook: An Executive Guide To Reducing Risk and Developing Your Human Defense Layer by Perry Carpenter & Kai Roer

Production Credits:

Music and Sound Effects by Blue Dot Sessions, Envato Elements, & Storyblocks.

Artwork by Chris Machowski @ https://www.RansomWear.net/ and Mia Rune @ https://www.MiaRune.com.

8th Layer Insights theme music composed and performed by Marcos Moscat @ https://www.GameMusicTown.com/

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