Adversary Universe Podcast
Episodes
Taking Down Cybercriminals with Shawn Henry, Former FBI Leader
15 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
How do you take down a cybercriminal? Last month, we explored that question through the lens of Operation Endgame. Today, we ask Shawn Henry, former E...
2025 Wrapped: Updates on This Year’s Hottest Topics
30 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This was a busy year for the Adversary Universe podcast. We covered the emergence of new adversaries, the weaponization of AI, critical CrowdStrike re...
Is This Endgame? How Takedowns Are Reshaping eCrime
18 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In November 2025, a major public-private sector collaboration took down three significant malware networks. Operation Endgame involved law enforcement...
Defrosting Cybersecurity’s Cold Cases with CrowdStrike’s Tillmann Werner
04 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Not all cybercrimes are resolved. Some threat groups disappear completely, and some malware is never seen again. But sometimes, a long-dormant case is...
Prompted to Fail: The Security Risks Lurking in DeepSeek-Generated Code
20 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
CrowdStrike research into AI coding assistants reveals a new, subtle vulnerability surface: When DeepSeek-R1 receives prompts the Chinese Communist Pa...
Extortion Rises and Nation-State Activity Intensifies: The CrowdStrike 2025 European Threat Landscape Report
06 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Europe is a prime target for global adversaries. There is a strong emphasis on eCrime across the region as well as a rise in hacktivism and espionage ...
Thriving Marketplaces and Regional Threats: The CrowdStrike 2025 APJ eCrime Landscape Report
23 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ) region, a burgeoning set of threat actors is emerging with a different language set, distinct tools, and an ecosys...
A Brief History of Ransomware
16 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ransomware is not new, but the ransomware of today is very different from the ransomware of 1989. Today’s episode doubles as a history lesson, as Ad...
Tech Sector Targeting, Innovation Race, Fal.Con Countdown
12 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week’s episode arrives as Adam and Cristian are gearing up for Fal.Con, CrowdStrike’s annual event taking place next week in Las Vegas. They’...
Live at Black Hat: What’s AI Really Capable Of?
18 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Cloud Intrusions Rise, eCrime Thrives, Governments Under Attack: CrowdStrike 2025 Threat Hunting Report
04 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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-yea...
The Return of SCATTERED SPIDER
17 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
They never really left — they just got quieter, faster, and bolder. In this episode of the Adversary Universe podcast, Adam and Cristian trace the r...
Ask Us (Almost) Anything: Threat Intel, Adversaries, and More
03 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 k...
When the Adversary Shows Up in Person
19 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Physical security and IT security have gone hand in hand for a long time. While cybersecurity teams are rightfully focused on protecting their virtual...
Where AI Fits in the Adversary’s Toolbox
05 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Would you rather have an adversary profile you based on your AI chat history or tell your AI chatbot to forget everything it knows about you? That’s...
Catching Up on Cloud Attack Paths with Cloud Threat Specialist Sebastian Walla
28 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s adversaries are increasingly operating in the cloud — and Sebastian Walla, Deputy Manager of Emerging Threats at CrowdStrike, is watching ...
Inside the CrowdStrike 2025 Latin America Threat Landscape Report
08 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Latin America has become a hotspot for cyber activity. Threat actors around the world, particularly eCriminals, are targeting organizations operating ...
OCULAR SPIDER and the Rise of Ransomware-as-a-Service
10 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ransomware has become more difficult for organizations to defend against, but easier for adversaries to deploy. The rise of ransomware-as-a-service (R...
Meet LUNAR SPIDER: The Inner Workings of an eCrime Adversary
27 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
To anticipate threat actors’ behavior, we must understand them. That’s why CrowdStrike closely tracks the evolution and activity of 257 named adve...
NSOCKS: Insights into a Million-Dollar Residential Proxy Service
13 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When an adversary wants to target an organization, they want to make it look like they’re coming from a regional or local internet service provider....
China’s Cyber Enterprise Grows: CrowdStrike 2025 Global Threat Report
27 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
China’s cyber enterprise is rapidly growing: China-nexus activity was up 150% across industries in 2024, with a 200-300% surge in key sectors such a...
A Deep Dive into DeepSeek and the Risks of Foreign LLMs
20 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
DeepSeek took the internet by storm earlier this year, making headlines and sparking conversations about its development, use, and associated risks. T...
Putting a Spotlight on Energy Sector Threats with Corelight's Greg Bell
06 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure have made more headlines in recent years, sparking concern about how these systems are protected. Adver...
See You I-Soon: A Peek at China’s Offensive Cyber Operations
16 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
“It would not be an understatement to say that China is the number one national security concern that I think we have here in the West.” China’s...
The Most Prolific Adversaries and Threats of 2024
19 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It has been another busy year for defenders and adversaries alike. As we wrap up 2024, Adam and Cristian reflect on the nation-state and eCrime threat...
Cross-Domain Attacks: Know Them, Find Them, Stop Them
12 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Adversaries have realized their time-honored attack methods involving clunky malware and malicious attachments are no longer working, largely due to e...
LIMINAL PANDA and the Implications of Global Telco Targeting
27 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On Nov. 19, 2024, Adam testified in front of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law on Chinese cyber threats to cr...
Exploring Offensive Security with CrowdStrike Red Teamers
07 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If a business wants to know what an adversary might be capable of, they can seek the help of a red team. These cybersecurity professionals are tasked ...
The Latest in China-Taiwan Cyber Tensions
24 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
China and Taiwan have a long history of geopolitical tension that has evolved from land and sea to cyberspace. Relations between the two recently took...
How CrowdStrike Tracked INDRIK SPIDER from Origin to Takedown
10 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On Oct. 1, 2024, an international law enforcement coalition announced the disruption of a senior member of INDRIK SPIDER, who was also an affiliate of...
Small But Mighty: The Kernel’s Essential Role in Cybersecurity Defense
01 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The kernel is the brain of the operating system. It controls everything that happens on a computer and has full access to the hardware and all system ...
Coming Soon to Las Vegas: Adversary Universe Previews #FalCon2024
12 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Next week marks the start of Fal.Con 2024. CrowdStrike’s annual conference brings together cybersecurity leaders and practitioners, as well as our c...
Intern Spotlight: Starting A Cyber Career with CrowdStrike
29 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For students aspiring to work in cybersecurity, sitting in a classroom isn’t enough to gain the skills and experience they need to succeed. Industry...
Hunting the Rogue Insiders Operating for FAMOUS CHOLLIMA
21 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
FAMOUS CHOLLIMA, a new adversary CrowdStrike is tracking, has recently made headlines for its insider threat activity. In April 2024, CrowdStrike Serv...
Talking OT Security with Fernando Madureira, Global CISO of Cosan
11 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Where in the world are Adam and Cristian? In this episode, they’re coming to you live from São Paulo, Brazil, where they sat down with a special gu...
How Adversaries Respond to Law Enforcement Takedowns
27 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when there is a takedown of a major cybercriminal group or law enforcement activity has a major impact on its leadership? In this episode...
When the Adversary Knows They’re Caught
13 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How do adversaries react when they know they’re being tracked? How do they respond to organizations that are on to them — and how do they know wha...
Unpacking China-India Cyber Tensions
30 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when two cyber superpowers — and the most populous countries in the world — target one another? Tensions between China and India have...
Understanding Social Engineering with Shelly Giesbrecht, Director, Professional Services
23 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Social engineering is not a new threat — adversaries have long used psychological manipulation to gain access, money, information and more. But as w...
Hacktivism and the JACKALs Behind It
09 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The rise of hacktivism — the use of hacking techniques to make a statement supporting a political or social cause — is often associated with the O...
Building a Strong Threat Hunting Program with Andrew Munchbach
25 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Organizations fear adversaries will attack. Threat hunters assume adversaries are already in the system — and their investigations seek unusual beha...
Adversary Attribution: What It Means and How It Works
11 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s conversation explores a common question around adversary activity: Why does attribution matter? When a cyberattack hits, why go to the troub...
LIVE from Gov Threat Summit: A Chat with Morgan Adamski, Chief of the NSA’s Cybersecurity Collaboration Center
28 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The National Security Agency’s Cybersecurity Collaboration Center (CCC) was created based on a growing need for the public and private sectors to wo...
CrowdStrike CSO Shawn Henry on Election Security, Nation-State Threats and His FBI Career
14 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
CrowdStrike Chief Security Officer Shawn Henry joined CrowdStrike as employee number 19 after a 24-year career at the FBI, where he retired as the Bur...
A Human at the Keyboard: CrowdStrike Reports 60% Jump in Interactive Intrusions
22 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The days of automated cyberattacks are dwindling: last year CrowdStrike saw a 60% jump in interactive intrusions, a type of attack in which a human is...
The Dark Personality Traits Fueling Cybercrime
15 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
CrowdStrike has long said, “You don’t have a malware problem — you have an adversary problem.” Much like we analyze the malware and tools used...
Demystifying North Korea: Why the "Hermit Kingdom" Is a Cyber Threat to Watch
01 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Though the inner workings of North Korea remain a mystery to much of the world, its global cyber activity has been tracked and analyzed for years. Cro...
AI Through the Defender’s Lens: A Chat with CrowdStrike’s Global CTO
18 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Cristian is joined by CrowdStrike Global CTO Elia Zaitsev to revisit the world of AI and large language models (LLMs), this time from the perspective ...
Inside Russia’s Laboratory of Cyber Operations — and Beyond
11 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In mid-December 2023, an adversary CrowdStrike tracks as VOODOO BEAR targeted Ukrainian telecom provider Kyivstar, wreaking havoc and disrupting thous...
Adversary Universe: 2023 Highlights
28 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It has been a whirlwind year for the cybersecurity industry. In this episode of the Adversary Universe podcast, we revisit clips from standout episod...
Inside the ”Alphabet Soup” of Incident Reporting Regulations
14 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Organizations around the world must navigate a growing number of cyber incident reporting regulations mandated by government bodies. In the U.S., the...
Data Extortion Dethrones Ransomware as the Threat to Watch
30 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s adversaries are working smarter, not harder — and it’s clear in the way their tactics are evolving. In this episode, Adam and Cristian ...
Urgent Care Required: The State of Healthcare Cybersecurity
16 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
At a time when breaches make headlines daily, the healthcare sector is among the most popular adversary targets. Cyberattacks against healthcare orga...
Iran’s Rise from Nascent Threat Actor to Global Adversary
09 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“Iran’s digital presence is something we don’t want to underestimate.” Though its cyber activity has been making headlines during a dynamic p...
Inside China’s Evolution as a Global Security Threat
02 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
China is the source of some of the most prolific and aggressive nation-state cyber activity organizations face. Every business vertical, across every...
Have You Been Breached?
19 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A cyberattack is any security team’s worst nightmare — but the earlier a breach is detected, the faster you can respond and mitigate the damage. ...
The Rise of the Access Brokers
05 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When an adversary seeks entry into an organization, they no longer need to develop their own vulnerability exploits or steal credentials. Many turn t...
Inside the AI, Cloud and Platform Innovations Previewed at Fal.Con 2023
29 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Adversaries are moving and innovating at a rapid pace — but so are we. In this bonus episode, Adam and Cristian chat about the biggest announcement...
Adversaries and AI: Today’s Reality and Tomorrow’s Potential
21 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Artificial intelligence. It’s the hot topic in cybersecurity today. Everyone is curious about it, excited about its use cases and nervous about the...
Ransomware Actors Mark Their Calendars for Back-to-School
07 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
School is back in session — and adversaries have already done their homework. They know educational institutions often lack the resources and exper...
Invisible Threats: Discovering, Tracking and Mitigating Vulnerabilities
24 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Vulnerabilities are the unlocked doors allowing adversaries a foothold into your organization. Left unpatched, they provide an entryway for intruders...
Intel-Led Threat Hunting with CrowdStrike Counter Adversary Operations
10 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“Scary and incredible.” “Terrifying.” Adam and Cristian dig into new data from CrowdStrike’s recently formed Counter Adversary Operations U...
Is Microsoft’s Monoculture a National Security Risk?
03 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Multiple U.S. government agencies were recently breached after adversaries exploited vulnerabilities in Microsoft’s Azure Active Directory. With Mic...
Cloud is the New Battleground
27 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Most organizations rely on cloud services or infrastructure to power their day-to-day operations — and adversaries know it. In this episode, we’ll...
Who is the Adversary?
13 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Behind every cyberattack, there is an adversary. These adversaries target organizations large and small, across all industries, to steal money, inform...
Adversary Universe Podcast Trailer
28 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to the Adversary Universe podcast, the best place to learn about the threat actors behind today’s cyberattacks. We’ll dig deep into the ad...