Firewalls Don't Stop Dragons Podcast

Firewalls Don't Stop Dragons Podcast


Crowdsourcing Network Security

July 18, 2022

We take that little box that connects our home to the internet for granted. But in reality, it’s often the only thing hiding our computers and vulnerable IoT devices from automated, remote attacks. This “internet background radiation” is ever present – a massive network of malicious or compromised devices, constantly scanning the internet for exposed and ill-protected systems. Today, we’ll discuss routers, firewalls and other common aspects of home network security with the CEO of CrowdSec. He’ll also explain how we can enable these devices to share information in a sort of global neighborhood watch program, distributing information about bad actors to better protect us all.


Philippe Humeau graduated as an IT security engineer in 1999 in Cyber security. He then created his first company, dedicated to red team penetration testing and high-security hosting. After selling his first company, his eternal crushes for Cybersecurity led him to create CrowdSec in 2020. This open-source editor creates a participative IPS which generates a global, crowd-powered CTI.


Further Info

Table of Contents

Use these timestamps to jump to a particular section of the show.


  • 0:02:46: Update on Firefox Total Cookie Protection
  • 0:03:50: DEF CON coming soon
  • 0:04:47: Interview start
  • 0:06:49: What does a firewall do?
  • 0:10:18: Should I enable the firewall on my computer, too?
  • 0:14:18: What is Universal Plug and Play (uPnP?)
  • 0:16:04: What is Network Address Translation (NAT)?
  • 0:20:16: Hacker vs Cybercriminal?
  • 0:21:17: Internet Background Radiation
  • 0:26:19: Creating network silos
  • 0:29:28: Attacks from within
  • 0:32:15: Botnets and DDoS attacks
  • 0:35:37: What are the biggest network threats today?
  • 0:40:16: Who are the main threat actors?
  • 0:45:09: How does Crowdsec work?
  • 0:49:36: How quickly do agents share info?
  • 0:51:37: How does Crowdsec make money?
  • 0:53:03: Can you use Crowdsec on home routers?
  • 0:55:28: Are things getting better or worse?
  • 0:57:43: Top security tips?
  • 1:01:45: How do you poke a hole in a firewall?
  • 1:04:01: Setting up guest network
  • 1:07:48: Reverse firewalls
  • 1:09:07: Final word

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