about.

To CATCH A HACKer

Picture a robbery that might happen in your town. Bank robbers taking out security cameras, broken windows and emptied cash registers. Or A mugging on a dark street. Or front door smashed in with a missing TV or jewelry.

Now think a little bit more about the scene…

You might hear police sirens, or see caution tape, witnesses giving statements to officials, and investigators dusting for fingerprints. There’s a real process going on. Everyone seems to know what’s supposed to happen next.

We know what this crime looks like. It's engrained in our heads. Even more importantly, we expect these crimes to be rare, and we expect people in charge to have a handle on things.

But the truth is, most crime doesn’t look like that anymore. The real world of crime is less likely to be in our neighborhoods but on the internet. It moves at speeds faster than any getaway car or smash and grab. It is millions of break-in attempts in a minute. It is the same brick that is thrown through thousands of windows with a single click.

And largely, we are unprepared to do anything about it...

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Episodes

Part ONE: Ransom

On Sunday, January 12, 2017, an officer of the Metropolitan Police Department, the law enforcement agency of Washington, DC, made an urgent phone call to the U.S. Secret Service. The MPD officer had discovered that some of the public surveillance cameras used by MPD had been compromised and were no longer feeding surveillance video to the Command Center. This is the story of the hack of Donald Trump's Inauguration.

Part Two: ATTRIBUTION

Just a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol, the Metropolitan Police Department’s own headquarters has been turned into a crime scene. The 2017 presidential inauguration was just hacked and is being held for ransom. It has all markings of a nation state actor attempting a decapitation strike. But was it?

Part THREE: THE ARREST

The true culprits behind the hacking of the 2017 presidential inauguration have been identified by authorities, but they won’t know that until nearly a year later. For years, these criminals allegedly stole money here and there from people who never noticed, cared, or reported it. Now, they've poked the bear that's going to strike back. In 2018, they arrive at the international airport in Bucharest, Romania to catch a flight to London...but they never make it onto the plane.

HOST

Mieke EOYANG

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Mieke Eoyang is the former Senior Vice President for Third Way's National Security Program. During her time at Third Way, she was committed to closing the credibility gap between Democrats and Republicans on security issues and crafting a national security strategy that is both tough and smart. Mieke worked on every major national security issue—from foreign policy to cybercrime to impeachment—while still making time to mentor the next generation of women in national security.

Mieke has had a long career on Capitol Hill, most recently serving as Chief of Staff to Representative Anna Eshoo (D-CA). Prior to that, she was the Defense Policy Advisor to Senator Kennedy, the Subcommittee Staff Director on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and a Professional Staff Member on the House Armed Services Committee. Mieke began her career as a legislative assistant in the office of Representative Pat Schroeder (D-CO), where she handled the congresswoman's Armed Services and Foreign Policy work.