Hacking Humans: Hot Sauce and Hot Takes – An Only Malware in the Building Special

Podcast: Hacking Humans
Network: N2K Networks
Date: January 1, 2026

Episode Overview

In this special, playful episode, Keith Milarsky (retired FBI agent, now at Q Intel) leads an interrogation-style chat with Dave Bittner (host of CyberWire podcasts) and Selena Larson (threat researcher at Proofpoint), all while the guests attempt increasingly spicy hot sauces. The show blends humor with sharp insights into personal cyber hygiene, the psychology of hacking, war stories from cybercrime investigations, and the challenges of staying sane in cybersecurity.

Segment Highlights & Key Discussion Points

1. Spice & Icebreakers: Passwords and Early Tech Memories

Timestamps: 00:57–06:03

• The group begins with a low-heat sauce and reminisces about their very first passwords, highlighting the evolution of their security habits.
• Selena admits her first password was likely just her last name, but her memorable AIM screen name was “PITA[lastname]” (Pain In The Posterior). (04:00)
• Dave recalls his earliest tech, a TRS-80 from 1980 with no passwords, joining BBSes under the name “Ziggy Stardust.” He jokes: “It was probably something like, you know, Bowie69.” (05:08)
• Keith admits his Beatles fandom led to his Hotmail password “28if” (a nod to the Abbey Road license plate).

“My first AIM screen name was PITA…which stood for pain in the posterior.”
– Selena Larson [04:00]

2. Morning Routines & Personal Threat Modeling

Timestamps: 06:03–09:08

• The panel discusses their daily rituals and vigilance. All admit to being glued to their devices.
• The conversation turns to threat modeling: Selena and Dave stress how being public figures changes their risk calculus and makes them more careful, not just for themselves but for friends and family.
• Keith emphasizes the importance of checking financial transactions daily to catch fraud, especially when traveling. Two-factor authentication is a must for all.

“For public people…it can kind of be a little bit of a supply chain.”
– Selena Larson [08:00]

3. “Getting Got”: Personal Encounters with Social Engineering

Timestamps: 09:51–15:18

• The heat turns up, and the group recalls moments when they nearly fell victim to phishing or malware.
• Dave: “I got got…classic text from a friend: ‘Hey Dave, did you see this video of you?’ Clicked the link, logged into a fake Facebook page, and got compromised.” (10:09)
  • He acted quickly to recover his account but stresses how emotional manipulation can override caution.
• Selena recounts nearly being tricked by a phone scam after dialing an airline number one digit off: “They put in all the things that are like numbers you can sort of type in…and it was all automated. I was like, wow, this is actually pretty good. Like, it could have got me.” (13:06)
• Keith shares a thrilling undercover moment: reviewing malware for a dark web forum that backdoored files and almost exposed his real-world identity. The team had to scramble to erase all traces and destroy the hackers’ exposé attempt.

“Part of the hack is making you feel stupid. They prey on your brain.”
– Selena Larson [11:56]

4. Digital Detox: Surviving Cybersecurity Burnout

Timestamps: 16:20–21:25

• As the Scoville units climb, talk turns to mental health and work/life boundaries.
• Selena is a fan of physical books and self-care (nails done away from screens) to avoid cyber burnout:
  • “Burnout in cybersecurity is so real, it’s so prevalent…I love physical books 'cause I do need a brain break.” (17:55)
• Dave: “My job is hunting down the bad news…so I need to take time to just breathe and change my space.” (18:40, 19:48)
• Keith coaches his team: “You can run a marathon or you can run a sprint, but you can’t sprint a marathon…really pace yourself.” (20:15)
  • He avoids bringing tech into the bedroom and favors cruises as vacations: “You turn your phone off, ‘cause the wifi on the cruise is just crazy expensive!” (21:15)

“You can run a marathon, or you can run a sprint, but you can't sprint a marathon.”
– Keith Milarsky [20:15]

5. FBI War Stories: Exotic Cats, Social Media, and HUMINT

Timestamps: 25:07–27:28

• With the hottest sauces, Dave turns the tables and interrogates Keith about his wildest FBI memories.
• Keith recalls tracking notorious criminal Bogachev (“Game Over Zeus”) and how social media posts, especially by “wives and girlfriends,” offered actionable intelligence.
  • “We had a thing called WAG-INT: Wives and Girlfriends Intelligence. Just seeing what they would be posting…” (26:16)
  • He laughs at the “crazy personalities” in cybercrime, such as criminals who kept bobcats or lynxes as pets.

6. Falling in Love with Tech: First Computers & Serendipitous Careers

Timestamps: 27:34–31:54

• The trio reminisce about their earliest tech.
• Selena says she was never a “techie” as a kid but became “self-taught” when journalism took her to the center of Bay Area tech: “In San Francisco, technology is the news.”
• Dave: “When you’re 11 or 12, you don’t have any money, but the thing you have is time.” He learned BASIC as a kid on TRS-80s and discovered the world of phone phreaking.
• Keith got into tech during college with games like Leisure Suit Larry, then jumped into cyber at the FBI in the ‘cyber division’ era with help from mentor Tom Grasso, “my Yoda.”

Notable Quotes & Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |---|---|---| | 04:00 | Selena Larson | “My first AIM screen name was PITA…which stood for pain in the posterior.” | | 05:08 | Dave Bittner | “My first username was Ziggy Stardust…it was probably something like Bowie69.” | | 08:00 | Selena Larson | “For public people…it can kind of be a little bit of a supply chain.” | | 11:56 | Selena Larson | “Part of the hack is making you feel stupid. They prey on your brain.” | | 17:55 | Selena Larson | “Burnout in cybersecurity is so real…it’s so prevalent…I love physical books ‘cause I do need a brain break.” | | 20:15 | Keith Milarsky | “You can run a marathon or you can run a sprint, but you can’t sprint a marathon.” | | 26:16 | Keith Milarsky | “We had a thing called WAG-INT: Wives and Girlfriends Intelligence.” |

Tone & Chemistry

• The conversation is fast, funny, and lightly competitive as the heat ramps up.
• Banter over hot sauce and tech nostalgia gives way to candid confessions about phishing, burnout, and self-care—all in good humor.
• The show’s energy comes from the mix of serious war stories and lighthearted mutual roasting.

Timeline of Sauces and Topics

| Sauce (Scoville) | Topic | Timestamps | |--------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------|--------------| | No Sauce (0) | First passwords, nostalgia | 03:06–06:03 | | Hacked & Hot (1,200) | Daily cyber routines, threat modeling | 06:03–09:21 | | Threat Levels (26,500) | Nearly falling for malware/phishing | 09:21–15:18 | | Scorchware (131,000) | Burnout, boundaries, digital detox | 16:12–21:25 | | Only Moruga (1,000,000) | FBI stories, wild cyber adversaries, first computers| 21:47–32:13 |

Closing

The episode closes with encouragement to try hot sauce with friends and tune in for more “Only Malware in the Building.” The guests survive the wings of death…and reflect on the resilience required in both cyber defense and hot sauce tasting.

“Try some hot sauce. It’ll make your brain rattle, and you’ll be very happy and tell some fun stories with your friends.”
– Selena Larson [32:32]

A fun, revealing, and spicy special for fans and newcomers alike—mixing cybersecurity reality with offbeat, competitive camaraderie.