A Look Inside the Insikt Weekly Podcast

p>Insikt Group is Recorded Future’s human-produced intelligence group. The team is composed of operators, researchers, analysts, editors, and malware reverse engineers. The work produced by Insikt Group always has a nexus to security intelligence — primarily cyber and geopolitical — with an emphasis on driving operational outcomes. That means moving beyond the identification or evolution of a threat (though that’s also important) to develop security controls that when implemented, measurably reduce risk.

Actionable Insights From the Insikt Weekly Podcast

Insights from Insikt Group are primarily captured in the Recorded Future® Platform as new data sources, notes, and reports. Since there are still a few companies who aren’t yet Recorded Future clients, there are plenty of people who don’t benefit from Insikt Group’s daily intelligence.

The Insikt Weekly podcast is a newly introduced opportunity to hear an updated summary on cybersecurity developments, threat actor tactics, and interviews with subject-matter experts, primarily from Insikt Group. The podcast is homegrown — literally — and I’m still working on the audio, but it’s been fun to learn the logistics and many facets of production.

Pandemic Lures and the Criminal Underground

In episode one, I interview Insikt Group’s director of operational outcomes, Lindsay Kaye, about COVID-19-realted lures and general malicious activity emanating from those looking to profit from the pandemic. I also speak with Alexandr Solad, threat intelligence analyst at Recorded Future, about the criminal underground and how threat actors think about their online personas.

Russian Cybercrime and Threat Intelligence Reporting

In episode two, I cover pitfalls in threat intelligence reporting with Dmitry Smilyanets, one of the world’s most infamous former Russian cybercriminals.

Disinformation and Nation-State Activity

In episode three, I debate (with myself) the state of “actionable” threat intelligence. I also converse with Sherry Huang, threat intelligence researcher for Insikt Group, and Priscilla Moriuchi, Recorded Future’s head of nation-state research, on all things disinformation, as well as the requirements for successful nation-state sponsored online influence operations.

Cloud Adoption and Ransomware

In episode four, I opine about the merits of cloud adoption for small- and medium-sized businesses. I also speak with Allan Liska, threat intelligence analyst at Recorded Future, about all things ransomware and the new trend in combined ransomware delivery and further data exposure extortion demands.

Cryptocurrency and Unauthorized Access

In episode five, I contrast money laundering in the physical drug trade with cryptocurrency payments between online criminals. I also speak with Andrei Barysevich (Insikt Group OG, Recorded Future’s director of advanced collection, and founder of new fraud services startup Gemini Advisory) about the criminal underground and some of the more surprising unauthorized access that we’ve witnessed over the years — including access to the Election Assistance Commision (EAC) days before the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Tune in Every Friday

Every Friday at 3:00 PM ET, you’ll discover a new episode of Insikt Weekly — on your podcast app of choice — that recaps the week through the Insikt Group lens. There are plenty of podcasts to consider for the commute home from work, and hopefully, in this interim period of working from home, listeners will find new value in the form of Insikt Weekly.

I intend to provide compelling security intelligence content not only for industry insiders, but also for the general public at large (acronyms and jargon to be explained, of course). There may be occasional hiccups, but expect the production quality to improve over time. Thank you in advance for checking it out!