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Research Saturday

N2K Networks
Cybersecurity
Malware
Ransomware
Vulnerabilities
Phishing
Infostealer Malware
Agentic AI
Social Engineering
Remote Code Execution
Threat Actors
Software Development
Large Language Models
Sonicwall
Dev Popper Campaign
Mustang Panda
Doubletrouble Mobile Banking Trojan
Clickfix
Proofpoint
Data Exfiltration
China

Every Saturday, we sit down with cybersecurity researchers to talk shop about the latest threats, vulnerabilities, and technical discoveries.

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes445Founded6 years ago
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Artwork for Research Saturday

Latest Episodes

This week, we are joined by Juliana Testa, Senior Security Engineer from 7AI, sharing their work on "Quish Splash - When the QR Code Is the Weapon: A Multi-Wave Phishing Campaign That Slipped Past Every Filter." A large-scale “quishing” campaign used... more

Today we are joined by Dr. Darren Williams, Founder and CEO of BlackFog, to discuss his team's work on "Steaelite RAT Enables Double Extortion Attacks from a Single Panel." A new remote access trojan, Steaelite, is being marketed on underground forum... more

YouTube

Today we are joined by Selena Larson, Threat Researcher from Proofpoint research team and co-host of Only Malware in the Building, talking about their work on "(Don't) TrustConnect: It's a RAT in an RMM hat." Proofpoint uncovered TrustConnect, a mal... more

YouTube

This week, we are joined by Santiago Pontiroli, Threat Intelligence Research Lead from Acronis TRU team, discussing their work on "New year, new sector: Transparent Tribe targets India’s startup ecosystem." The Acronis Threat Research Unit uncovered ... more

YouTube

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Recent Guests

Dr. Darren Williams
Founder and CEO of BlackFog
BlackFog
Episode: A new breed of RAT.
Selena Larson
Threat researcher, Proofpoint Threat Research Team
Proofpoint
Episode: A wolf in admin clothing.
Santiago Pontiroli
Threat Intelligence Research Lead, Acronis TRU Team
Acronis TRU Team
Episode: Startup surge sparks spy interest.
Omer Ninburg
CTO of Novee Security
Novee Security
Episode: When “safe” documents aren’t.
Yuval Avrahami
Vulnerability researcher at Wiz
Wiz
Episode: A subtle flaw, a massive blast radius.
Or Eshed
Co-founder and CEO, LayerX Security
LayerX Security
Episode: Your AI sidekick might be a spy.
Marcelle Lee
Cybersecurity consultant and researcher
Episode: The scareware rabbit hole.
Tomer Bar
VP of Security Research at SafeBreach Labs
SafeBreach Labs
Episode: Telegram for the throne.
Ziv Mador
VP of Security Research from LevelBlue SpiderLabs
LevelBlue SpiderLabs
Episode: Stealer in the status bar.

Host

Dave Bittner
Host of Research Saturday, consistently hosting cybersecurity researchers for in-depth threat discussions

Reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars from 9 ratings
  • Podcast doesn’t play while on VPN.

    Podcast doesn’t play while on VPN.

    Apple Podcasts
    1
    [REDACTED] USER
    United States3 years ago
  • A fascinating look into the guts of the machine

    I love learning about how even the people who deeply know and understand the intricacies of existing data networks are constantly breaking new ground.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Jedi Wannabi
    United States5 years ago
  • The go-to for cyber research discussion

    Need or want to know more about the leading research in security? You’ve found just the thing. It’s the perfect show to catch up on the latest research over a cup of joe on a Saturday morning.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    GottaRun21
    United States5 years ago
  • One of my favorites from the CyberWire

    I never miss an episode of Research Saturday. These one-on-one interviews with researchers from all over the world, and from a diverse range of companies and institutions helps me keep on top of critical threats and vulnerabilities. I like the concise, down-to-business format too. This podcast is time well spent, thank you!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Frogstar5
    United States5 years ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Strong guest diversity across vendors and research domains.
In-depth security research with practical takeaways.
One of the go-to shows for staying on top of critical threats and vulnerabilities.
Concise, no-fluff format suitable for busy security professionals.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Apple Podcasts
#164
Israel/Technology
Apple Podcasts
#195
Singapore/Technology

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

A new breed of RAT.
Q: What kind of market approach or commercialization model have you observed for this technology?
The operators appear to be running a scalable extortion business, taking a share of the ransom similar to a partner arrangement, with pricing that could involve monthly access and a substantial cut of any extortion payments.
A new breed of RAT.
Q: When you first analyzed this tool, what stood out as unusual compared with other remote access Trojans?
The tool is a hybrid that bundles many capabilities usually spread across separate malware families, including remote access, real-time control via a web interface, screen sharing, and key capture, all in a single, browser-controlled package.
When “safe” documents aren’t.
Q: So, before you all brought AI into this process, what did you all do to manually identify the issues inside of some of these PDF viewers? What made you think there's something deeper here, this is worth pursuing?
They started from manual inspection of embedded engines and postMessage flows, then gradually uncovered undisclosed inputs and complex runtime interactions that suggested deeper, scalable vulnerabilities worth pursuing, leading to a shift toward AI-assisted approaches for consistency and scale.
Startup surge sparks spy interest.
Q: How do they bypass user defenses and detection for as long as possible?
They pad the delivered payload to inflate its size, which helps evade quick detection by antivirus, and rely on social engineering and stealthy execution to keep the operation under the radar until exfiltration is complete.
Startup surge sparks spy interest.
Q: Walk us through the attack chain here. Where do things begin and take us through what happens?
The attacker starts with a spearphishing email containing an ISO attachment. When opened, Windows mounts it as a local archive and runs a hidden payload via a PowerShell script and a Windows shortcut, enabling the malware and subsequent data exfiltration while the user continues to see only a legitimate document.

Audience Metrics

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Frequently Asked Questions About Research Saturday

What is Research Saturday about and what kind of topics does it cover?

A tech-forward interview show that centers on cybersecurity researchers and their latest threat findings. Episodes commonly cover malware campaigns, threat actor activity, defense strategies, and practical tools for investigators, often highlighting real-world incidents, innovative attack techniques, and defense gaps. Notable strengths include concise, geek-friendly discussions with researchers from a mix of vendors, academia, and independent outfits, plus clear takeaways for defenders and incident responders. The format tends to favor in-depth dives over broad overviews, making it valuable for security practitioners who want actionable insights and a deeper understanding of emerging threats.

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These podcasts share a similar audience with Research Saturday:

1. Career Notes
2. Hacking Humans
3. Caveat
4. CyberWire Daily
5. SANS Internet Stormcenter Daily Cyber Security Podcast (Stormcast)

How many episodes of Research Saturday are there?

Research Saturday launched 6 years ago and published 445 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on Research Saturday?

Recent guests on Research Saturday include:

1. Dr. Darren Williams
2. Selena Larson
3. Santiago Pontiroli
4. Omer Ninburg
5. Yuval Avrahami
6. Or Eshed
7. Marcelle Lee
8. Tomer Bar

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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