Keeping Up With the Cybercriminals

In this episode of Beers with Talos, Hazel, Bill, Dave and Joe are joined by Kendall McKay to dive into the soap opera of modern cybercrime. From rival gangs launching smear campaigns against one another to reputation systems, trusted intermediaries and dark web "customer reviews". Turns out, every ransomware operation is one passive-aggressive group chat message away from falling apart.

Kendall chats to us about how AI is changing the economics of cybercrime, why it's helping inexperienced attackers get through the front door (only to leave them wondering what to do next), and how defenders can prioritize their defenses.

We also discuss the rise of supply chain attacks, and where the lines between cybercrime and state sponsored activity are beginning to blur.

Elsewhere in the episode, Joe once again attempts to Make Hazel a Hacker, Dave explains how a McDonald's receipt became an unlikely piece of counterintelligence, we preview Black Hat 2026, and Bill wraps everything up with his practical takeaways for defenders.