Security | Threat Detection | Cyberattacks | DevSecOps | Compliance

Iran’s APT42 — also known as Charming Kitten or Mint Sandstorm — is redefining social engineering with generative AI, deepfake voice cloning, and long-term phishing campaigns. In this episode of the Cyber Resilience Brief, we break down how Iranian state-sponsored threat actors are using AI-powered phishing, MFA fatigue attacks, credential harvesting, and hack-and-leak operations to target journalists, political campaigns, academics, and enterprise executives.

Your AI tools just became the perfect hiding spot for hackers. Cybercriminals have found a new attack vector: weaponizing the AI assistants your team uses every day. In this live demonstration, we show how adversaries can turn tools like Claude into persistent backdoors and how CrowdStrike Falcon stops them cold. TIMESTAMPS: WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:– How hackers exploit AI automation features to create backdoors– Why password resets and patches won't stop this attack– How behavioral detection catches threats hiding in legitimate tools– Real-time threat prevention in action.

The episode breaks down what hacking means in security, from finding flaws and bypassing controls to the point where it turns into crime. The word hacker is often treated as a label for villains, yet many security researchers still use it with pride, so intent and context decide when it becomes malicious. ⸻ For more information about us or if you have any questions you would like us to discuss email podcast@razorthorn.com. We give our clients a personalised, integrated approach to information security, driven by our belief in quality and discretion..

Some of the most skilled ransomware operators sit in jurisdictions where western law enforcement has no reach and local corruption offers cover. These groups share profit with officials or criminal partners, enjoy freedom to attack targets abroad and spend heavily on their own security while victims struggle to keep up. ⸻ For more information about us or if you have any questions you would like us to discuss email podcast@razorthorn.com. We give our clients a personalised, integrated approach to information security, driven by our belief in quality and discretion..

Organised hacker crews keep weaker operators and money mules at the edge of each scheme, ready to serve as scapegoats when police start making arrests. Cashing out and handling drop accounts carries the highest risk, so those at the bottom of the food chain end up expendable while the core group remains hidden. ⸻ For more information about us or if you have any questions you would like us to discuss email podcast@razorthorn.com. We give our clients a personalised, integrated approach to information security, driven by our belief in quality and discretion..

Criminal hacker groups fall into three broad camps, from ideologically driven actors attacking targets they dislike, to profit focused crews and state backed operators hiding behind deniability. Money driven groups dominate the landscape, yet all three types break systems, disrupt services and shape the threat model security teams face. ⸻ For more information about us or if you have any questions you would like us to discuss email podcast@razorthorn.com. We give our clients a personalised, integrated approach to information security, driven by our belief in quality and discretion..

Is there really honour amongst cybercriminals or is it every hacker for themselves? On this episode of Razorwire, I’m joined by Martin Voelk, a seasoned ethical hacker, to take a look at how the world’s most notorious cybercriminal groups really operate. We trace the journey from early hacking culture to today’s sprawling underworld of digital organised crime. Along the way, we ask: What does “hacker” truly mean and who actually gets caught when the authorities close in?

In Part 2 of our Russia cyber threat series, we unpack the Western cybercrime ecosystem powering Russian ransomware operations. We examine *Scattered Spider, LAPSUS$, and Shiny Hunters*, and how social engineering, SIM swapping, MFA bypass, and AI-driven voice spoofing are breaching Fortune 100 companies — without zero-days. Learn how access brokers commoditize breaches, why help desks are prime targets, and what this shift means for CISOs and security teams.

The episode explores how modern cybercrime works, from the meaning of hacker and the growth of an underground industry to scapegoats, lone wolves and cartel style structures. Listeners hear how criminals cash out, protect themselves better than victims, exploit new AI tools and treat attacks as business, with no honour in sight. ⸻ For more information about us or if you have any questions you would like us to discuss email podcast@razorthorn.com. We give our clients a personalised, integrated approach to information security, driven by our belief in quality and discretion..