Shows / ShadowTalk: Powered by ReliaQuest
ShadowTalk: Powered by ReliaQuest
Want to hear what industry experts really think about the cyber threats they face? ShadowTalk is a weekly cybersecurity podcast, made by practitioners for practitioners, featuring analytical insights on the latest cybersecurity news and threat research.
Threat Intelligence Analyst John Dilgen brings extensive expertise in cyber threat intelligence and incident response, specializing in researching threats impacting ReliaQuest customers. John and his guests provide practical perspectives on the…
Episodes
- ShadowTalk: Powered by ReliaQuest
ARTEX for Everyone: What Widely Available AI Hacking Means for Defenders
In this episode of ShadowTalk, John Dilgen and Dylan Deane examine ARTEX, an AI-powered penetration-testing framework that was openly available on GitHub and…
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PHP2Shell: Inside the AI-Assisted Exploit Race
In this episode of ShadowTalk, John Dilgen and Alexandra Moore break down PHP2Shell, two critical vulnerabilities in PHP that sent the security community…
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QuartzLine: A PDF Viewer Deploying a Backdoor at Scale
In this episode of ShadowTalk, John Dilgen and Tehman Tariq examine QuartzLine, a malware campaign disguised as a legitimate, signed Windows PDF viewer. The…
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AI Attacks From the Front Lines
In this episode of ShadowTalk, John Dilgen and Alexandra Moore break down a campaign where AI carried out major parts of an intrusion. The conversation covers…
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DPRK Insider Threats: How Remote-Worker Tactics Are Evolving
Security leaders should be asking a hard question: if a remote hire looks legitimate at every checkpoint, what would expose the operation? Security operations…
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CISO Wisdom: Turning Security Investments Into Measurable Risk Reduction
Security teams are contending with more tools, alerts, and vulnerabilities than ever—but volume does not necessarily equal security. Jigar Shah joins us to…
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Fake NDAs, Real Money: Inside the M&A Social Engineering Playbook
In this episode, we examine the Phantom Deal campaign, in which threat actors used publicly available details about companies’ acquisition histories…
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From Vulnerability Research to Domain Admin in Minutes
AI is changing the economics of cyberattacks. In this episode, we examine how a suspected threat actor used AI agents to accelerate PaperCut vulnerability…
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One Empty Field: The Email Security Bypass Letting Attackers Impersonate Your Executives
Organizations rely on Microsoft 365's RejectDirectSend control to block internal email spoofing—but a structural gap lets attackers walk right past it. With…
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From Data Dumps to Critical Findings: The New Era of Data Extortion
Threat actors do not see old email archives, forgotten shared drives, and outdated CRM exports as clutter. They see them as searchable inventory. With…
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Vishing at Scale: Inside the Criminal SaaS Platform Enabling Account Takeover
What if a threat actor already knew your name, your job title, your manager's name, and your direct number before they ever picked up the phone? That's not a…
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Nation-State Actors: Iran’s PLC Attacks, Russia’s Zero-Click Email Exploit, and North Korea’s Fake Employees
Three nation-states. Three distinct playbooks. Iranian actors are targeting internet-exposed industrial controllers and disabling critical safety systems. A…
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When AI Escapes the Lab: The Hugging Face Breach, PyPI Malware, and What It Means for Defenders
Fully autonomous attacks are here. AI agents escape a test environment, exploit zero-days, coordinate through shared infrastructure, and breach a production…
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The Gentlemen, Deadlock, and Clop: The Groups Driving Ransomware & Extortion in 2026
An affiliate receives a ready-made intrusion kit — pre-compromised targets, an EDR killer, and a full deployment workflow included. No building from scratch…
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Compromised Hotel Gateways, Fake Microsoft Domains, and the APT28-Adjacent Campaign That Bypasses MFA Without a Phishing Click
An employee connects to hotel Wi-Fi, receives a familiar Microsoft 365 sign-in prompt, and authenticates. No phishing email. No malicious link. No suspicious…
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The Largest Patch Tuesday Ever: 622 CVEs, a 1,380% Phishing Surge, and the Two-Front War on Initial Access
Defenders aren't losing ground on one front, they're losing it on two at once. The largest Patch Tuesday in history just dropped alongside a 1,380% surge in…
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FortiBleed, 70,000 Compromised Devices, and the Credential Economy Powering Every Breach
When a 20-person team using AI, automated tools, and a list of default credentials compromised 70,000 devices across 194 countries they exposed how mature the…
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Inside Conti's Leaked Chats: 300,000 Messages, a Criminal Empire, and the Ransomware Playbook Still Running Today
When 300,000 internal messages from the world's most prolific ransomware gang were leaked, they exposed more then a shadowy underground network, a full…
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How Hackers Are Using AI Right Now: Faster Attacks, Smarter Malware, and a New Arms Race
AI is not replacing threat actors, instead it is making them faster, cheaper, and harder to stop. From AI powered phishing campaigns generating thousands of…
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Klue, Kali365, OAuth: When the Front Door Is a Trusted Integration
In the Klue compromises threat actors walked in through a trusted integration, using legitimate credentials to quietly siphon Salesforce CRM data at scale. The…
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ShinyHunters' Expanding Toolkit: Oracle PeopleSoft Zero-Day Exploitation and the BreachForums Defense Gaps
ShinyHunters dominated headlines this week: a zero-day, a BreachForums listing, and unverified claims all hitting at once. The problem isn't just keeping up…
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China-Linked Cyber Espionage: How OP-512 Exploited Legacy IIS Servers and Evaded Detection
Your team built defenses around known China-linked clusters. The file hashes are tracked. The behavioral patterns are documented. What those weren't built to…
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SonicWall, MFA Bypass, IABs: Why Patched Devices Are Still Handing Attackers Initial Access
Your team patches the device. The firmware version matches the advisory. The ticket closes. The device comes off the remediation queue. What your workflow…
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Device Code, OAuth, PhaaS: How Session Token Theft is Breaking the Phishing Playbook
Your user clicked a link, landed on a real Microsoft login page, typed their password, completed MFA, and walked away thinking nothing happened. Somewhere…
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SQLite, Mistral, OpenAI: How AI Attacks Are Reshaping the Attack Surface
What happens when an AI agent uncovers a zero-day in hours instead of weeks, and state-backed groups are already operationalizing the same tools? With…
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Canvas, Trellix, Mini Shai-Hulud: How Defenders Respond When Supply Chain Attacks Become Weekly
What's driving the surge in weekly supply chain attacks, and why does the real defender problem start after the supplier gets hit? With 275 million records…
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Akira, ShinyHunters, and The Gentlemen: Extortion Lessons From Early 2026
What factors have driven the top ransomware and extortion groups' success in early 2026? And how should organizations structure their defenses to protect…
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What Happened to Black Basta's Playbook? The Automated Teams Phishing Threat Hitting Executives
Black Basta disbanded in February 2025, but their playbook didn't go with them. In March 2026, 77% of observed incidents targeted executives and directors, and…
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Did ShinyHunters Compromise Vercel? Every CISO's Cloud Security Visibility Problem
89% of organizations that suffered a SaaS breach last year believed they had appropriate visibility. They had the logs — what they lacked was detection on what…
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What Claude Mythos Means for Organizations
Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk Join hosts John and Alex, alongside special guest and ReliaQuest CTO Joe Partlow, as they discuss: How Claude…
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Axios and Trivy — Supply Chain Gaps Organizations Must Fix
Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk Join hosts John and Tehman as they break down two of the most consequential supply chain attacks of 2026: How…
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Faster, Smarter, and Already Escalated — What It Takes to Defend Against the Modern Threat Landscape
Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk Join hosts Alexandra and John, live from Exponent 2026, alongside top security leaders as they discuss: How…
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The Invisible Attack Surface: Iran-Aligned Threat Actors and Corporate Blind Spots
Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk Join hosts Brandon and John as they discuss: How Handala wiped 200,000 devices by weaponizing a trusted…
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The 2026 Annual Threat Report Breakdown, Part 3: The Long Game — Nation-State Threats & What's Coming in 2026
Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk Join hosts John and Alex as they discuss: How a Chinese APT maintained access for over a year Why North…
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The 2026 Annual Threat Report Breakdown, Part 2 — Once They're In: Post-Compromise Tactics, Ransomware & Exfiltration
Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk Join hosts Tehman and John as they discuss: Why ransomware now prioritizes exfiltration over encryption How…
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The 2026 Annual Threat Report Breakdown, Part 1 — How AI Contributes to Attacker Speed, and the Malware That's Winning
Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk Join hosts Brandon and John as they discuss: How attacker breakout times dropped to as little as 4 minutes…
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Malware Isn't Required—How Ransomware Groups Turn Legitimate RMMs Into a Weapon
Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk Join hosts John and Tehman as they discuss: What attackers prefer over custom malware How signature-based…
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Ransomware vs. Exfiltration-Only—The Extortion Model Showdown
Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk Join hosts Brandon and John as they discuss: Why extortion payment rates are the lowest ever Organizations…
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Patch Management Is Losing—The Case for Predictive Vulnerability Defense
Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk Join hosts Brandon and John as they discuss: Why traditional patch cycles can't beat attackers exploiting…
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Beyond Phishing Emails—Social Engineering Drives Initial Access
Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk Join hosts John and Tehman as they discuss: Why phishing emails are no longer the top malware delivery method…
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Malicious AI—The New Face of Cyber Threats
Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk John and Tehman as they discuss: How AI is enabling large-scale, high-speed attacks Nation-states weaponizing…
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Maintainer Compromise: The Next Supply-Chain Attack Vector in 2026
Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk Join hosts Brandon and John as they discuss: How supply-chain attacks evolved Campaigns targeting NPM package…
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Kicking Off 2026 with Ransomware Insights and Defense Strategies
Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk Join hosts Brandon and Tehman as they discuss: The resurgence of LockBit 5.0 and its December 2025 surge in…
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React2Shell Attacks Evolve, ClickFix Attacks, and Holiday Season Threats
Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk Join host John and intelligence analyst Ivan as they discuss: React2Shell Exploits Flood the Internet as…
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React2Shell Exploits, CISA’s Brickstorm Warning, ShadyPanda’s Browser Weaponization
Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk Join host John along with systems security engineer Corey and intelligence analyst Hayden as they discuss…
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Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters, SilverFox's ValleyRat Campaign, and More
Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk Join host John and intelligence analysts Alex and Hayden as they discuss: Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters Targeting…
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Are Cyber Predictions Worth It? Plus Chinese AI Attacks, IoT Takeovers
Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk Do you really need predictions to tackle cyber threats? Join host Kim along with intelligence analyst John &…
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Fortinet Flaw Exposed and Exploited! Plus, Threat Hunter Hacks: SEO Hits Hard
Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk Join host Kim, intelligence analyst John, and threat hunter Tristan as they discuss: Fortinet Flaw Enables…
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Gootloader's Return, LANDFALL Android Spyware, Sector-by-Sector Cyber Trends
Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk Wondering why Gootloader is suddenly back in action? Join host Kim along with intelligence analyst Hayden &…
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Why Cloud Threats Are Escalating: Identity Risks, Automation Flaws, and Legacy Vulnerabilities, Plus the Latest on Chinese APT Campaigns and NPM Package Abuse
Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk Did you know 99% of cloud identities are over-privileged, creating the perfect storm for attackers to…
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Why Cyber Threats Surge 20% During M&A, Plus the Latest on Qilin and Lazarus Group Campaigns
Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk Picture this: You close a $50M acquisition on Friday and by Monday, attackers are in your network. Sound…
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Automate to Defend: A Former FBI Agent's Ransomware Guide for CISOs
Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk Wondering what makes ransomware operations successful? Join host Kim along with intelligence analyst John &…
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Is Your Software a Secret Backdoor? Flax Typhoon's Latest Campaign Unwrapped
Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk How long could Flax Typhoon nestle silently in your networks? Join host Kim along with intelligence analysts…
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Cl0p's Latest Heist: Exploiting Oracle's Critical Vulnerability
Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk Join host Kim along with Intelligence Analyst John and Threat Detection Engineer Marken as they discuss…
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Should Governments Hoard Zero Days? Analyzing Brickstorm Malware and Storm-1849
Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk Join host Joey along with intelligence analysts Alex and Hayden as they discuss: Brickstorm Backdoor in U.S…
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Attacker Breakout Time Hits 18 Minutes, New Shai-hulud NPM Worm
Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk Join host Kim along with intelligence analysts John and Joey as they discuss: Summer 2025 Attacker Trends…
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Welcome to ShadowTalk
Host, Kim, alongside ReliaQuest's Threat Research experts, cut through the noise to bring you the cyber insights that matter most. Get news, research and…
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Do You Need AI to Fight AI? Plus Supply-Chain Attacks and Russia's Latest Backdoor
Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk Thinking about whether you need more AI in SecOps? Join host Kim along with intelligence analyst Joey &…
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Salesforce Attack Fallout, Axios Abuse, and Cloud Ransomware
Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk Need the latest information on Salesloft Drift? Join host Kim along with intelligence analyst John &…
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New Silk Typhoon Attacks, the Cybercriminal Recruitment Underworld, and More!
Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk Curious about the skills needed for modern cyber attacks? Join host Kim along with intelligence analysts John…