8 Binge-Worthy Cybersecurity Podcasts in 2024

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Cybersecurity podcasts are audio-based shows with consistently recurring episodes that provide listeners with recent security news, analysis from experts in the field, vulnerability information, or deep dives into major stories or concepts. We’ve selected eight top podcasts with varying lengths and areas of focus. Each has a minimum of 4.5 stars and 100 ratings on Apple Podcasts and is available on multiple streaming platforms.

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Darknet Diaries

4.9 stars, 7.1K+ reviews


If you’ve listened to investigative reporting podcasts like Serial or Reply All and wanted something that was specific to cybersecurity, Darknet Diaries is the perfect podcast for you. Since 2017, it’s investigated some of the most noteworthy stories related to the darkside of the internet, using a storytelling style that’s easy to follow for technical and non-technical listeners alike.

New episodes of Darknet Diaries typically air on the first Tuesday of the month and are usually around an hour long. There are currently over 150 episodes available on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, and Spotify. The podcast has an explicit rating.

Darknet Diaries logo.

Jack Rhysider has a background working in a security operations center (SOC) for a Fortune 500 company. He started the podcast in 2017 and initially created it because he didn’t know of anything like it available. He also occasionally blogs about podcasting and has spoken on multiple other podcasts as well.

Darknet Diaries focuses on topics like cyber scams, hacking and social engineering, penetration testing, and malicious types of software.

In the episode “Maddie,” Maddie Stone, a researcher from Google’s Project Zero, discusses combatting zero-day vulnerabilities with Rhysider.

In the episode “Rachel,” social engineer Rachel Tobac chats about her background in hacking and the ways she was able to manipulate people.

SecurityNow

4.6 stars, 1.9K+ reviews


Running since 2005, Security Now provides weekly episodes to keep both tech geniuses and total novices up to date on recent developments in cybersecurity. The hosts talk knowledgeably about the subjects at hand without getting too bogged down in jargon.

New episodes of Security Now typically air live weekly on Tuesdays, in both audio and visual form, and are uploaded later that evening. There are over 950 episodes of the podcast. Episodes are often around 100-120 minutes long and are available on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, and Spotify. Security Now has a clean rating.

Security Now Logo

Leo Laporte founded the TWiT.tv podcast network and is the host of podcast This Week in Tech and radio show The Tech Guy. Steve Gibson founded Gibson Research Corporation and is its current CEO. He created computer science electronics curriculum as a high schooler and has developed both an anti-spyware application and data recovery software. Both hosts have been in the technology industry for a long time and know a lot about security history.

SecurityNow touches on recent breaches and backdoors, legal security news, and specific product issues, just to name a few topics. It covers a wide range of security issues, including crimes and recent hacking news, as well as recommendations for securing your own organization’s systems.

This podcast doesn’t regularly incorporate guests.

CyberWire Daily

4.8 stars, 930+ reviews


The CyberWire is a cybersecurity-focused news service, and the CyberWire Daily Podcast delivers a rundown of the top cyber news each day of the week. It requires some baseline industry knowledge, but it’s a great way for security professionals to stay on top of InfoSec current events.

New episodes of CyberWire Daily Podcast air each weekday morning (if not more frequently) and are usually less than 30 minutes long. CyberWire Daily has been active since 2016 and currently has more than 2,000 episodes. They’re available on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, and Spotify. The podcast is rated clean.

CyberWire Daily Logo.

Dave Bittner is the primary host listed for CyberWire Daily, though he isn’t the only one. He’s a security podcaster, but his extensive television and production background includes videography, acting, and content creation.

CyberWire Daily is more of a news overview than a super deep dive into one topic. Multiple security things will be touched on within a single episode, so you’re getting nuggets of security information. These include major attacks, the intersection of government and cybersecurity, and vulnerabilities in major software.

In episode 2029, Adam Meyers, the senior vice president of Counter Adversary Operations at CrowdStrike, speaks about cloud security issues and the cloud as an attack surface.

In an encore episode on April 7, threat intelligence analyst Selena Larson discusses her career move from journalism to into the security field.

Malicious Life

4.8 stars, 880+ reviews


For history buffs, Malicious Life by EDR and XDR provider Cybereason chronicles some of the most influential untold cybersecurity stories around the world. It takes listeners on a journey through the history of cybersecurity through the lens of real hackers, security experts, journalists, and politicians.

New episodes of Malicious Life typically air twice a month and are usually 30-40 minutes long. Malicious Life currently has over 240 episodes. They’re available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. The show has been active since 2017 and is rated clean.

Malicious Life logo.

Ran Levi studied electrical engineering at the Technion Institute of Technology and has worked in electronic engineering and programming for multiple Israeli technology companies. He’s the creator of another popular podcast, Making History. Through interviews and research, Ran connects the dots between the early days of cybercrime and today’s stories of data hacks and breaches.

Malicious Life’s topics of discussion include historical events like Y2K, famous hackers such as Kevin Mitnick, and famous as well as lesser-known cybercrimes and the responsible criminals. Levi also covers hot topics like generative AI.

In one of Malicious Life’s specials, Levi interviewed Amit Serper, the Principal Security Researcher at Cybereason, who’s worked in cybersecurity for the Israeli government. In the episode, Levi and Serper discuss Serper’s experience with the government, reverse-engineering and analyzing malware, and nation-state attacks against high-profile targets’ network infrastructure.

In another interview special, Levi interviews Graham Cluley of Smashing Security, who discusses how he got into the security world and the early stages of the malware industry.

Risky Business

4.7 stars, 330+ reviews


Risky Business is one of the longest-running podcasts in the cybersecurity industry, publishing episodes since 2007. You’ll get in-depth analysis each week of the latest stories and how they impact security trends on a global scale.

New episodes of Risky Business typically air weekly on Wednesdays and are usually about 60 minutes long. There are currently over 700 episodes. Risky Business is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and it has a clean rating.

Risky Business logo.

Patrick Gray is a journalist who began writing about security over 20 years ago, including freelancing for multiple internet and security publications. Adam Boileau holds a senior role at CyberCX, a security company based in Australia.

Risky Business takes an analytical approach to cybersecurity topics like attack and breach news, as well as covering legislation and the ways different governmental bodies approach security.

In episode 743, Risky Business chats with Andres Freund, a software developer who found the XZ Utils backdoor, as well as discussing a Ukraine hack of Russia, social engineering, and a Cyber Safety Review Board (CSRB) scolding directed toward Microsoft.

In a sponsored news episode, Catalin Cimpanu, the author of Risky Business’s newsletter, interviews the founder of GreyNoise, Andrew Morris, about vulnerability exploit trends from the previous year.

Hacking Humans

4.6 stars, 270+ reviews


If you’re particularly interested in the connection between cybersecurity and psychology, you may like Hacking Humans, CyberWire’s podcast division specifically dedicated to social engineering and how to avoid it.

New episodes of Hacking Humans air weekly on Thursdays and are usually 40-60 minutes long. The podcast currently has more than 500 episodes. They’re available on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, or Spotify and are rated clean. Another series within Hacking Humans includes Word Notes, a short episode that defines a common security term or acronym.

Hacking Humans logo.

Dave Bittner shows up again in this podcast, also connected to CyberWire, but he’s not the only host. Joe Carrigan has a background in software engineering and currently works as a senior security engineer with the Johns Hopkins University Information Security Institute. His experience includes usable security, data migration, and embedded systems.

Hacking Humans mainly focuses on the world of social engineering, phishing attempts, insider threats, and similar criminal exploits. It offers recommendations for listeners to protect themselves from these attacks, too.

In episode 285, the hosts speak with Dr. Robert Blumofe, the chief technology officer at Akamai, about an AI doomsday scenario. Bittner also discusses the research surrounding people falling for scams and that they shouldn’t feel guilty for succumbing to one.

In episode 279, Bittner and Carrigan chat with Mike Kosak, the principal intelligence analyst at LastPass, about passkeys and Chinese hacking group Volt Typhoon.

Smashing Security

4.5 stars, 280+ reviews


Cybersecurity topics are usually no laughing matter, but on Smashing Security, the co-hosts bring a sense of levity to the conversation. Each week, the two computer security experts and a variety of guests talk through some of the top cybercrime headlines, taking a humorous, laid-back tone that makes learning about security news more approachable.

New episodes of Smashing Security air weekly on Wednesdays (with occasional additional episodes on other days). The podcast currently has over 370 episodes. They’re usually 45-60 minutes long and are available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify. Smashing Security is rated explicit and may contain adult themes.

Smashing Security logo.

Graham Cluley is a security blogger and researcher with a background in programming; he coded an early Windows antivirus toolkit. Carole Theriault started Sophos Naked Security and currently runs Tick Tock Social, a media firm geared toward tech organizations.

Cluley and Theriault cover common hot topics like AI, breaches, hacking, online privacy, and legal concerns, but their tone is more lighthearted overall than the majority of podcasts. They also cover security vulnerabilities or attacks on a variety of enterprises, including those in the pharmaceutical, gaming, and consumer electronic industries.

In episode 360, Cluley and Theriault chat with Keiron Holyome of BlackBerry about predictive AI as a tool to prevent cybersecurity threats.

In episode 359, the co-hosts discuss ransomware gangs and mobile phone number issues with Allan Liska, incident response team member at Recorded Future.

Unsupervised Learning

4.6 stars, 120+ reviews


Unsupervised Learning condenses 5-20 hours of research into a concise summary of the most interesting things happening in the news related to security, technology, and society at large. This podcast is extremely succinct, so some listeners may find it a bit dry, but the host connects a wide scope of topics masterfully. It’s a great podcast for security geeks.

New episodes of Unsupervised Learning typically air once a week or every two weeks and are around 30 minutes or less. There are currently over 400 episodes, and they’re available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. The show is rated explicit.

Unsupervised Learning logo.

Daniel Miessler has a background in information security and writing and started his site in 1999. The podcast came later, in 2016, but he’s been writing about security much longer. He lives in San Francisco. Miessler pairs cybersecurity news that might otherwise feel boring with commentary and analysis of how current affairs could affect future events.

Unsupervised Learning currently focuses largely on AI and how it affects humans, as well as the ways people can thrive using AI and handle it well.

In a March 19 conversation, Miessler talks with Jason Meller, founder of Kolide, which was just acquired by 1Password. They discuss password management, device trust and zero trust, and limitations of mobile device management products.

In a January 29 episode, Miessler chats with Shil Sircar, the senior VP of engineering and data science at Blackberry. They discuss machine learning, threat detection, and synthetic malware generation.

Bottom Line: Podcasts Can Deepen Your Interest in Cybersecurity

It’s one thing to look at an application’s management console or stare at threat intelligence feeds and alerts all day. But listening to podcasts — and the humans who have experienced events in this field — makes cybersecurity that much more interesting. If you’re looking for a new podcast, whether to further your experience in the security field or to learn what professionals do, I recommend you check out these podcasts and see which ones are a fit.

If you’re interested in hearing more insights from security professionals, read our guide to the best cybersecurity Twitter accounts next.

Kaiti Norton Avatar

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