Did you know? In 1903, the world’s first "hacker" was actually a magician named Nevil Maskelyne, who disrupted a public demonstration of Marconi’s "secure" wireless telegraph by sending insulting Morse code messages through the theater’s projector.
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A Cyber Conversation that Might Have Taken Place
Cyber analyst: ‘Boss, we need to secure these cameras in town.’
Boss: ‘Who would hack traffic cameras?’
Cyber Actor: 'Appreciate the free surveillance grid.'
If you haven’t read the cyber activity in the current Iranian conflict, it’s worth a read and will orient you to the above fictional (but plausible) discussion.
The big takeaway here is that risk scenario identification is a big part of risk analysis and very often failure of imagination can lead to serious impacts.
Byte Sized Reads
🔗 Seeing through eyes of an attacker – never pass up an opportunity to read such topics
🔗Understanding the MITRE ATT&CK framework is key; I like this series that takes one concept at a time so you can learn incrementally. Here’s a good one on Cloud API Abuse
🔗 And another one except this time it’s details of how Python scripts can be deployed as part of an exploit to gain access. This org keeps up a good series on these topics and is worth following
Hardwired for Havoc: Understanding the North Korean Cyber Threat
A Review of The Lazarus Heist by Geoff White
(Deep review here, summary below)
Cyber defenders have a saying: your main weapon is knowledge.
That line opens The Lazarus Heist by Geoff White—and it perfectly captures why studying adversaries matters.
Many people think of the North Korean cyber program as old news tied to incidents like the Sony Pictures hack or the Bangladesh Bank heist.
It’s not.
What makes this book valuable isn’t just the history. It’s the insight into how this adversary thinks.
A few key takeaways and read the full book to synthesize these important points:
For North Korea, hacking is economic survival, not just espionage
Their operators are technically adept and learn fast—studying both technology and global money flows
They have historically reused indicators of compromise over many years and targets
Organizations can even become targets based on public statements or perceived political positions
In cybersecurity we often focus on tools, alerts, and vulnerabilities. But the real advantage comes from understanding why adversaries operate the way they do. When you understand the why, you can better anticipate the how.
I wrote a longer review of the book and why it’s still relevant for defenders today.
If you’re in cyber, geopolitics, or threat intelligence, it’s worth the read.
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Views expressed are informational only and not official advice. No warranties are made; readers assume all risk and should consult authoritative sources before acting.