May 8th, 2025 – “Root Cause Analysis (and Getting it Right)”

Hello Hackers!

This month we are joined by Floofinfried who will be presenting their talk “Root Cause Analysis (and Getting it Right)”:

People talk at length about RCA reports, and the cybersecurity industry seems to be slowly settling on a standardized method for going about RCAs. However, there are several other industries that have had this nailed down for decades (for example, aviation and occupational safety) that we can learn from to improve our methodology. In this talk, we’ll go through the basics of the RCA process from multiple perspectives in order to deepen our understanding of the process and do better in the future.

Bio: Aspiring NPC with experience in several aspects of Blue Team work and a bit of experience in the physical & social engineering side of Red Team. Not much to write home about, but I’m here to help where I can.

Meeting will be on Discord. If you need an invite, look no further.

Talk starts at 6:12 PM U.S. Central, but feel free to hop in early and chat.

— TactiFail

April 10th, 2025 – “Tools of the Trade”

Hello Hackers!

This month we are joined again by @brianhalbach who will be presenting his talk “Tools of the Trade: How basic items can get you access almost anywhere.”:

You do not have to be James Bond to break into most buildings; in fact, a handful of simple items are often all you need. Success isn’t just about having the latest gadgets—it’s about knowing how to use simple, everyday items in creative ways. This talk explores the tools of physical penetration testing, from advanced lock picks and RFID cloners to common objects like clipboards, duct tape, and hotel key cards, demonstrating how these can be effective in bypassing physical security controls. Attendees will gain an understanding of the commonly used tools, including both specialized gear and unconventional items that can provide surprising advantages. We’ll discuss the importance of hands-on familiarity with your tools, selecting the right approach for a given scenario, and how to use these tools to expose real-world vulnerabilities.

Bio: Brian Halbach has eight years of cybersecurity experience, six of which have been penetration testing. He has been featured on Nightline ABC where a camera crew followed him and his coworker around while they broke into multiple companies in the Twin Cities Metro area. Brian was also featured on Darknet Diaries where he has regaled audiences with stories of physical penetration testing gone wrong. Brian has spoken about cybersecurity at conferences such as Defcon’s Physical Security Village, Wild West Hackin’ Fest, and GrrCon, Secure360. While he is passionate about hacking into things, he is equally as passionate about helping organizations learn how to secure themselves.

Meeting will be on Discord. If you need an invite, look no further.

Talk starts at 6:12 PM U.S. Central, but feel free to hop in early and chat.

— TactiFail

March 13th, 2025 – “A Day in the Life: Blue Team Edition”

Hello Hackers!

This month we are joined again by @Bajiri who will be presenting their talk “A Day in the Life: Blue Team Edition”:

Directly inspired by both the phishing analysis talk and the pentest panel (I have 0 creativity and originality), I thought it would be interesting to dive in a little deeper into the daily workflow of a SOC analyst (me). Focused mainly on what I do day-to-day, processes/procedures, tools we use in the SOC, and incident walkthroughs for some of the bigger incidents I’ve worked.

Bio: I am a SOC analyst and otherwise boring person

Meeting will be on Discord. If you need an invite, look no further.

Talk starts at 6:12 PM U.S. Central, but feel free to hop in early and chat.

— TactiFail

February 13th, 2025 – Pentester Panel

Hello Hackers!

This month we are joined by… well, a few people?

It sounds like there is interest in having a panel-style discussion led by pentesters, so that’s what we are gonna do! Each member of the panel will give a quick intro, some of their history, how they got into pentesting, etc. Then when that is done we will open it up for a general Q&A format. Wanna know what the day-to-day is like? Need advice for what to study? Opinions on the future? Ask away!

Meeting will be on Discord. If you need an invite, look no further.

Talk starts at 6:12 PM U.S. Central, but feel free to hop in early and chat.

— TactiFail

January 9th, 2025 – “Wonderful World of Wardriving”

Hello Hackers!

This month we are joined by Ringmast4r who will be presenting their talk “Wonderful World of Wardriving”. Simply put:

A comprehensive overview of wardriving

Meeting will be on Discord. If you need an invite, look no further.

Talk starts at 6:12 PM U.S. Central, but feel free to hop in early and chat.

— TactiFail

P.S. Going forward we are removing the time/location info from post titles and just having the date and talk title. This should make it easier to search for things going forward.