61: Samy

61: Samy

Mar 17, 2020 1h 1m

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Episode Description

Samy Kamkar is a hacker. And while he’s done a lot of stuff, he’s best known for creating the Samy Worm. Which spread its way through a popular social media site and had crazy results.

Thanks to our guest Samy Kamkar for telling his story. Learn more about him by visiting https://samy.pl/.

The Hacker Mindset

Jack shares a story from his childhood about receiving an ant farm, illustrating the concept of the hacker mindset: questioning the intended use of something and exploring alternative possibilities. This leads into the introduction of the guest, Samy Kamkar, who embodies this mindset as a hacker who sees the world differently, often treating systems as puzzles.

Samy Kamkar's Journey

Samy recounts his beginnings with computers at age nine, fueled by an obsession with technology and gaming. He shares how his playful curiosity quickly transitioned into more serious programming and hacking as he learned to manipulate and understand systems, particularly through cheating in online games like Counter-Strike.

The Infamous MySpace Worm

Samy narrates the creation of the 'Samy Worm,' a self-replicating virus that spread across MySpace, amassing over a million friends overnight. Although he intended it as a harmless joke, it led to significant consequences including MySpace going offline temporarily. Samy's panic upon seeing his creation spiral out of his control highlights the unintended impact of hacking.

Legal Consequences and Redemption

After months of anxiety following the worm incident, Sammy faced legal repercussions, including a plea agreement that barred him from using computers for life. He discusses the challenges of adapting to life away from technology and his eventual return to the digital world, focusing on ethical hacking and vulnerability research.

Pioneering Ethical Hacking

Returning to the digital sphere, Samy dove into ethical hacking, investigating RFID and NFC vulnerabilities, as well as exposing privacy concerns with Google and Apple's location-tracking practices. His commitment to responsible disclosure aims to improve security standards within the industry.

Current Ventures

Now, Samy is involved in building Open Path, a tech company focusing on digital access credentials and security solutions. Leveraging his extensive knowledge and experiences, he aims to provide modern solutions while continuing his mission to enhance cybersecurity.