This year at Black Hat, the topic of AI was everywhere — from hallway chats to the expo floor. Adam and Cristian took a break from the action for a rare in-person conversation about how adversaries are weaponizing AI, how defenders are using agentic AI, and what we should all be thinking about as AI evolves as an offensive and defensive tool.
The AI threat is real, and advanced adversaries in particular are using it to their advantage. They’re improving the wording in social engineering attacks, creating deepfakes in fraudulent job interviews, and targeting victims on a more personal level. FAMOUS CHOLLIMA is an example of one adversary “using it for everything,” the hosts say. SCATTERED SPIDER is another adversary to watch.
On the other side, defenders are adopting agentic AI to expedite their response. Adam and Cristian explore the importance of protecting AI workloads, the potential for insider threats with AI models, and the growing need for AI governance and security guardrails. If AI is monitoring security services, they ask, who guards the guardian?
Tune in for an in-depth conversation on what AI is really capable of — and stick around for a sneak peek of an upcoming guest episode, where a guest joins to discuss young adversaries moving from online gaming to organized cybercrime.
In the first half of 2025 alone, cloud intrusions were up 136% compared to all of 2024. China was a big driver — CrowdStrike saw a 40% year-over-year surge in intrusions from suspected cloud-conscious China-nexus threat actors. In the government sector, interactive intrusions increased 71%, and targeted intrusion activity jumped 185%.
The CrowdStrike OverWatch threat hunting team has a firsthand look at how adversaries are changing their techniques. In the CrowdStrike 2025 Threat Hunting Report, published today, the team shares observations, trends, and shifts seen in its threat hunting and adversary engagements over the past 12 months.
In this episode, Adam and Cristian dive deep into the report’s key findings and put them into context. They explore why the use of malware is going down (and why it won’t go away), unpack the rise in government intrusions, and explain the role of generative AI (GenAI) in today’s threat landscape. They examine the rise of prolific adversaries such as SCATTERED SPIDER and FAMOUS CHOLLIMA and discuss the techniques organizations can use to stop them.
Below are more key stats from this year’s report:
73% of all interactive intrusions were eCrime
81% of interactive intrusions were malware-free
In the first half of 2025, voice phishing (vishing) attacks surpassed the total number seen in 2024
FAMOUS CHOLLIMA insiders infiltrated 320+ companies in the last 12 months — a 220% year-over-year increase — by using GenAI throughout hiring and employment
Download the report to learn more.
Links:
📃 Threat Hunting Report: https://www.crowdstrike.com/resources/reports/threat-hunting-report/
🎧 Our site: https://www.crowdstrike.com/en-us/resources/adversary-universe-podcast/
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The Return of SCATTERED SPIDER
They never really left — they just got quieter, faster, and bolder. In this episode of the Adversary Universe podcast, Adam and Cristian trace the resurgence of SCATTERED SPIDER, one of today’s most aggressive and sophisticated adversary groups.
Once known for SIM swapping and gaming community exploits, SCATTERED SPIDER has evolved into a high-speed, high-impact ransomware crew targeting the retail, insurance, and aviation sectors. Adam shares CrowdStrike’s front-line insights into how the group operates, from conducting help desk social engineering and bypassing multifactor authentication (MFA) to hijacking hypervisors and exfiltrating data via software as a service (SaaS) integrations.
Tune in to learn:
How SCATTERED SPIDER blends SIM swapping, voice phishing, and cloud-native tradecraft
Why they’re one of the fastest threat actors we’ve seen, sometimes encrypting systems within 24 hours
What defenders must do to spot them early and act fast
And yes, why they still haven’t been arrested
Check the show notes for CrowdStrike’s latest guidance and technical blog on SCATTERED SPIDER.
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Ask Us (Almost) Anything: Threat Intel, Adversaries, and More
You asked, and we answered. This episode of the Adversary Universe podcast takes a deep dive into questions from our listeners.
What did you want to know? Well, a lot about adversaries, but also about career paths and the threat intel space. Tune in to hear the answers to questions like:
• How did you break into the threat intelligence space?
• Who is the first adversary CrowdStrike tracked?
• Who is an adversary that keeps you up at night and why?
• What was a jaw-dropping moment you experienced in tracking adversaries?
• If you didn’t work in infosec, what would your dream job be?
Thanks to everyone who submitted questions. We’d love to continue hearing from you.
💼 Careers at CrowdStrike: https://www.crowdstrike.com/en-us/careers/
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When the Adversary Shows Up in Person
Physical security and IT security have gone hand in hand for a long time. While cybersecurity teams are rightfully focused on protecting their virtual environments, they should also have an eye on whether an adversary is walking through the front door.
“Anytime there’s a physical boundary, an adversary is going to look to cross over that — whether it be in person or using some technology to get over that boundary,” Adam says in this episode on physical security threats.
Not too long ago, it was common for someone to walk into a business, slide behind the counter, and insert a USB device into a point-of-sale system to deploy malware or remote access tools. Now, this type of activity is less common, but it still occurs; China-nexus threat actor MUSTANG PANDA, for example, is dropping USB sticks to gain access to targets across the Asia Pacific region.
This conversation is full of twists, turns, and interesting stories. Tune in to hear about adversaries physically breaking into target organizations, Adam’s adventures in pen testing, the physical security implications for internet of things (IoT) and operational technology (OT) environments, and what organizations should know about protecting their physical environments.
Modern adversaries are relentless. Today’s threat actors target organizations around the world with sophisticated cyberattacks. Who are they? What are they after? And most importantly, how can you defend against them? Welcome to the Adversary Universe podcast, where CrowdStrike answers all of these questions — and more. Join our hosts, a pioneer in adversary intelligence and a specialist in cybersecurity technology, as they unmask the threat actors targeting your organization.
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