Packet Protector
Practical conversations at the intersection of security and networking
Packet Pushers
Show overview
Packet Protector has been publishing since 2024, and across the 2 years since has built a catalogue of 116 episodes. That works out to roughly 80 hours of audio in total. Releases follow a weekly cadence.
Episodes typically run thirty-five to sixty minutes — most land between 38 min and 49 min — and the run-time is fairly consistent across the catalogue. None of the episodes are flagged explicit by the publisher. It is catalogued as a EN-language Technology show.
The show is actively publishing — the most recent episode landed 1 weeks ago, with 24 episodes already out so far this year. Published by Packet Pushers.
From the publisher
Join us at the intersection of networking and security! Whether you’re fending off ransomware attacks, securing remote workers, hunting for rogue IoT devices, or gearing up for your latest compliance audit, Packet Protector provides practical information that IT and infrastructure pros can put to work. Every episode covers the latest security headlines and then drills into essential topics to provide technical and strategic insights on wired and wireless network security, access control, cloud security, pen testing and red/blue teaming, security hardware and software, and more. Whether security is your full-time job or one of your many responsibilities, Packet Protector is your go-to cybersecurity resource.
Latest Episodes
View all 116 episodesPP115: Palo Alto Networks: Reality of 109 to 1: Securing Machine Identities and AI Agents (Sponsored)
PP114: MACsec Overview
PP113: Patch Gaps, Pretexting, and AI Use for Crimes and Crimefighting: 2026 Verizon DBIR Highlights
PP112: When You Look But Don’t Find: The Art of Knowing When to Stop
PP111: New HPE Mist Features Validate NAC Changes, Enable Inline Microsegmentation (Sponsored)
PP110: News Roundup–Linux Fragged, Edge’s Password Manager Dragged, Android Intrusions Tagged, and More
PP109: ThreatLocker Enforces Zero Trust With Strict Application Control (Sponsored)
PP108: How to Build and Sustain a Successful Zero Trust Project
PP107: Why Now’s the Time to Prepare for a Post-Quantum World (Sponsored)
PP106: Architecting for Wi-Fi 7, Zero Trust, PQC, and More
PP105: Cybercrime Has Gone Industrial: Insights from HPE Threat Labs (Sponsored)
Ep 104PP104: How SocGholish Picks Locks to Let In Ransomware
In the cybercrime industry, initial access brokers specialize in break-ins. They pick digital locks and slide open electronic windows, and then sell that access to other threat actors who specialize in ransomware, exfiltration, and other crimes. SocGholish is a widely used tool in the access broker toolkit. Typically disguised as a legitimate software update, SocGholish... Read more »
Ep 103PP103: FireMon Brings Clarity to Firewall Rule Chaos (Sponsored)
Firewall policies are the heart of network security, but over time they can become a tangled mess. Rules might be outdated, or conflicting, or fail to address new applications, services, and risks. Add in remote locations and public cloud deployments, and you’ve got a serious headache for security and network teams. On today’s sponsored show... Read more »
Ep 102PP102: What’s Driving SASE Adoption?
Spending on SASE, which combines SD-WAN and cloud-delivered security, is forecast to nearly triple over the next few years, according to Dell’Oro Group. Today on Packet Protector we talk with that forecast’s author about what’s driving that spending. We also explore how SASE vendors are differentiating, architectural considerations for SASE deployments, pros and cons of... Read more »
Ep 101PP101: Hackers Tap Intune to Wipe Windows Devices; Tricksters Trump E2E Encryption
On today’s news roundup we assess the White House’s new US cyber strategy (bellicose, bombastic, and boiler-plate), discuss a cyberattack attributed to Iran that used Windows to wipe thousands of devices, and dig into a Microsoft update on Entra passkeys. JJ isn’t impressed with new research that bypasses Wi-Fi client isolation, corporate spyware gets a... Read more »
Ep 100PP100: Building and Securing AI Agents – A Case Study
Kyler Middleton, a software developer in the healthcare sector, builds and supports AI bots and AI agents that are now widely used inside the company where she works. Today on Packet Protector, Kyler stops by to talk about how and why she built these tools, how she (and her organization) address the risks these tools... Read more »
Ep 99PP099: The Care and Feeding of Kerberos for Windows Environments
Today we’re going to learn about the care and feeding of a three-headed dog named Kerberos. Developed at MIT and released in 1989, Kerberos is a free, open source authentication protocol that uses cryptographic keys to protect identity data as it crosses a network. Today, Kerberos is the backbone of Windows authentication. We’ll dive into... Read more »
Ep 98PP098: What Goes On Inside a Firewall?
On today’s show, we pop the lid off of a firewall (figuratively speaking) to understand what’s inside. We talk about how a packet moves through various packet-processing elements inside a firewall, how header analysis and de-encapsulation work, which hardware component has the biggest impact on performance, why stateful inspection still matters in an age of... Read more »
Ep 97PP097: How and Why to Turn the Browser into a Universal Security Agent (Sponsored)
With the rise of cloud services and SaaS, the browser has become a primary productivity tool. It’s also a primary vector for malware, phishing, identity theft, data leaks, and other risks. On today’s sponsored episode with Palo Alto Networks, we dive into browser security. We discuss risks to the browser and how they differ from... Read more »
Ep 96PP096: Taking Note of a Notepad++ Attack; Telnet and NTLM Are Still a Thing?
Everything old is new again in today’s Packet Protector news roundup, as a decade-old Telnet exploit resurfaces, and Microsoft unfolds its roadmap to phase out the ancient NTLM protocol. In other news, Google takes down a sprawling residential proxy network, the popular Notepad++ app takes steps to recover from a serious compromise, and a Polish... Read more »