Adversary Universe Podcast

Hosted by CrowdStrike

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Jun 2026

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About the show

Modern adversaries are relentless. Today’s threat actors target organizations around the world with sophisticated cyberattacks. Who are they? What are they after? And most importantly, how can you defend against them? Welcome to the Adversary Universe podcast, where CrowdStrike answers all of these questions — and more. Join our hosts, a pioneer in adversary intelligence and a specialist in cybersecurity technology, as they unmask the threat actors targeting your organization.

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June 9, 2026Episode 7443 min

China Targets Technology to Steal AI Capabilities It Can’t Build

The technology sector is the most targeted in the world by eCrime and state-sponsored threat actors. Between April 1, 2025, and March 31, 2026, China-nexus adversaries drove more than 58% of state-sponsored interactive intrusions against the sector, creating the greatest intelligence collection threat to tech companies. These threat actors are escalating espionage against tech businesses to steal the AI capabilities and intellectual property they can’t build fast enough on their own. Adversaries such as MURKY PANDA, MUSTANG PANDA, OVERCAST PANDA, SUNRISE PANDA, and WARP PANDA targeted the tech sector more than any other industry. And China isn’t alone — Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) adversaries also have their sights set on tech. The CrowdStrike 2026 Technology Threat Landscape Report, now live, sheds light on how nation-state and eCrime adversaries are targeting this critical industry. From FAMOUS CHOLLIMA’s IT infiltration campaigns to eCrime adversaries accelerating extortion, there is a broad range of threats that tech organizations must prepare for. Modern tech companies are creating the world’s most valuable and targeted assets, and their cutting-edge innovations represent both competitive advantage and greater risk. Tune in to learn the report’s key takeaways and hear Adam and Cristian dive into the report’s findings.

May 18, 2026Episode 7330 min

Adversaries Follow the Money: The CrowdStrike 2026 Financial Services Threat Landscape Report

The CrowdStrike 2026 Financial Services Threat Landscape report is now live! Adam and Cristian are here to break down the trends and techniques affecting an industry that has become a major target for adversaries. Financial services is the fourth most-targeted industry as of Q1 2026 and accounts for 12% of all observed adversary activity. eCrime adversaries target the industry for financial gain. MUTANT SPIDER, the most active eCrime threat in the past 12 months, is tied to several intrusions in which they sell access to ransomware groups. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea set its sights on cryptocurrency and fintech entities to steal funds for its military programs. While financial gain may seem the obvious goal in targeting financial services, it’s not the only one. Nation-state adversaries in China, Iran, and Russia launched operations against the sector for intelligence collection. Hacktivists conducted DDoS campaigns and data breach operations, primarily driven by ideological conflicts. Even if you don’t work in the financial services sector, you most likely work with it — consumer banks, credit card companies, insurers, payment processors, and related businesses are all part of everyday business and personal life. Tune in to hear which adversaries are targeting them and why, which regions are in the crosshairs, and how companies should defend themselves. And stick around to hear about Adam’s foray into ice cream cakes.

May 7, 2026Episode 7238 min

The Partnerships Taking on AI Security: Daniel Bernard, CrowdStrike Chief Business Officer

The previous episode of the Adversary Universe podcast explored the “vuln-pocalypse” and the implications of advanced AI models accelerating vulnerability discovery and exploitation. Now, we’re diving into how companies are working together to face these evolving security risks. CrowdStrike Chief Business Officer Daniel Bernard spends much of his time talking with partners and customers about how to address their growing concerns: Is their business protected? Do they know which vulnerabilities are in their environment? What do they do about them? In this episode, Daniel joins Adam and Cristian to discuss why it takes an ecosystem of partners to answer these questions and help each business evaluate risk. He sheds light on the newly expanded Project Quiltworks — CrowdStrike’s coalition for securing frontier AI risk — as well as Anthropic’s Project Glasswing and OpenAI’s Trusted Access for Cyber as initiatives the industry needs in this critical time. “It feels like right now we’re at this fever-pitch moment ... where we’re going to do more patching in the next 6-12 months than we’ve probably done in the last 6-12 years," he says in this episode. To handle this, partner efforts are picking up speed. The “digital line” to join the project is growing as organizations jump in to help with solving the new problems companies face. Tune in to hear the latest on Project Quiltworks, the issues coming up most in CISO conversations, and of course, everyone’s favorite bread of the moment in this episode of the Adversary Universe podcast.

April 23, 2026Episode 7129 min

The "Vuln-pocalypse" Looms: Are We Cooked?

Many cybersecurity conversations of late are discussing the impending “vuln-pocalypse” — a term used to describe a scenario in which AI-powered tools are used to discover and exploit vulnerabilities faster than defenders can patch them. It’s a valid concern. Even without advanced AI algorithms, researchers can build tools to automate the vulnerability discovery process. Now, the rise of increasingly sophisticated AI models is rapidly expanding the volume of vulnerabilities defenders will need to handle. “I’ve been saying since November, we’re looking at three to nine months until a massive influx of zero-day vulnerabilities,” Adam says in this conversation. Which begs the question: Are we cooked? No, he says, but it’s getting hot in here. In this episode, Adam and Cristian explore the vuln-pocalypse from the defender's perspective. They dive into the economics of this shift and explain how organizations should approach their patching strategy going forward. This isn’t an “end of the world” problem, they say, but it will require a more thoughtful approach to which vulnerabilities are patched, how they’re patched, and when. Tune in for this timely conversation as adversaries and defenders alike explore the potential of AI.

April 9, 2026Episode 7026 min

Hunting Supply Chain Attacks with Jared Myers, Director, CrowdStrike OverWatch

Supply chain attacks targeting AI have recently been making headlines — and keeping the CrowdStrike OverWatch team busy. Jared Myers, director of CrowdStrike OverWatch, joins Adam in this episode to discuss his team’s approach to detecting and responding to these attacks. When a supply chain attack uses a zero-day vulnerability to breach a target, it’s often the CVE that grabs attention. But the zero-day isn’t what CrowdStrike OverWatch is after, Jared says. It’s the follow-on tradecraft once the adversary is inside. He takes listeners behind the scenes of the team’s response to recent supply chain attacks, including the MOVEit attack of 2023 and the Axios supply chain incident of March 2026, to share the technical details of how the team learns and acts on information as attacks are unfolding. Identity is an essential component in supply chain attacks, Jared explains. Once an adversary is in, they’re looking for a user account to help them move laterally. He shares advice with listeners and key takeaways from the team’s identity threat hunting. CrowdStrike OverWatch is a 24/7/365 operation, with experts working around the clock across time zones with visibility into trillions of events per day. By the time an attack makes headlines, CrowdStrike OverWatch may have known about it for months. “We don’t ever stop looking; we don’t ever stop hunting,” says Jared. Notes: • Blog: STARDUST CHOLLIMA Likely Compromises Axios npm Package [https://www.crowdstrike.com/en-us/blog/stardust-chollima-likely-compromises-axios-npm-package/] • Blog: From Scanner to Stealer: Inside the trivy-action Supply Chain Compromise [https://www.crowdstrike.com/en-us/blog/from-scanner-to-stealer-inside-the-trivy-action-supply-chain-compromise/]

March 10, 2026Episode 6947 min

Breaking Down the New National Cybersecurity Strategy

The Trump administration has released a national cybersecurity strategy that commits to strengthening defenses through six core pillars: employing more offensive cyber operations, streamlining regulations, modernizing and protecting federal networks, securing critical infrastructure, leading in new technologies, and developing talent. In this episode, Rob Sheldon, Sr. Director of Public Policy and Strategy at CrowdStrike, joins Adam and Cristian for a deep dive into three of the pillars that are top of mind for them: offensive cyber operations, updating federal systems, and protecting critical infrastructure. They discuss why these are difficult problems to solve and key considerations for how to approach them, including relevant threat activity and the involvement of the private sector. Though they could have talked about this for hours, this is a busy team! Check out the full cybersecurity strategy text for more details. [https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President-Trumps-Cyber-Strategy-for-America.pdf] Interested in government cybersecurity? Register here for Fal.Con Gov 2026, taking place March 18 in Washington, D.C. [https://www.crowdstrike.com/en-us/events/fal-con/gov/register/]

February 24, 2026Episode 6833 min

Speed, Stealth, and AI: The CrowdStrike 2026 Global Threat Report

It’s that time of year: The CrowdStrike 2026 Global Threat Report is live, and Adam and Cristian are here to break down the key findings. This year’s report spotlights adversaries’ heightened speed, their evolving use of AI, an increase in activity from China and North Korea, and the growth of supply chain attacks, zero-day exploitation, and cloud targeting. For new listeners, the annual Global Threat Report delivers an analysis of the modern threat landscape based on CrowdStrike's frontline observations and real-world threat intelligence from the previous year. 2026 was the year of the evasive adversary. As defenses get stronger, adversaries are focused on refining their techniques to target security blind spots and bypass detection. AI is helping them accelerate and find creative ways around defenses for hands-on-keyboard operations. In 2025, AI-enabled adversaries increased attacks by 89% year-over-year. The trend is poised to continue: “I don’t think AI is going to create the malware — I think AI is going to be the malware,” Adam said. But AI isn’t the only factor shaping the modern threat landscape. Below are a few key stats from the report: • The average eCrime breakout time fell to 29 minutes — a 65% increase in speed from 2024. The fastest breakout we observed occurred in just 27 seconds. • 82% of detections were malware-free, continuing a steady trend in recent years. • North Korea-nexus incidents jumped 130%, and FAMOUS CHOLLIMA's activity doubled compared to 2024. • We observed a 42% increase in vulnerabilities exploited prior to public disclosure and a 37% rise in cloud-conscious intrusions. Tune in to learn about these findings and more from the CrowdStrike 2026 Global Threat Report.

February 12, 2026Episode 6739 min

Interview with a Threat Hunter: Brody Nisbet, Sr. Director of CrowdStrike OverWatch

Threat hunting is hard to define, but Brody Nisbet, Sr. Director of CrowdStrike OverWatch, breaks down the basics in an episode that starts with the CrowdStrike OverWatch mission and dives into his stories from the front lines of threat hunting. This team detects adversaries in customer environments before they can achieve their nefarious goals. “Our mission is to outcompete your adversary,” Brody says. His team notifies customers of adversary activity and provides them with the actionable intelligence required to protect themselves. A staggering amount of data goes into the CrowdStrike OverWatch team's process: 5.7 trillion events per day (65 million events per second). The team triages this data and “sorts the wheat from the chaff” to figure out what’s most important for each business. As you might imagine, this work leads to some fascinating findings and stories. Tune in to hear Adam, Cristian, and Brody chat about encounters with FAMOUS CHOLLIMA and OPERATOR PANDA — and a cold case centered around malware dubbed Fluffy Cannoli.

January 29, 2026Episode 6632 min

LABYRINTH CHOLLIMA Evolves into Three Adversaries

LABYRINTH CHOLLIMA, which is among the most prolific DPRK-nexus adversaries that CrowdStrike tracks, has evolved into three separate threat actors: GOLDEN CHOLLIMA, PRESSURE CHOLLIMA, and LABYRINTH CHOLLIMA. Each adversary has specialized goals and tradecraft. While LABYRINTH CHOLLIMA continues to prioritize espionage and targets specific industries, GOLDEN CHOLLIMA and PRESSURE CHOLLIMA focus on cryptocurrency entities and stand out for the scale and scope of their operations. In this episode, Adam and Cristian explain when it became clear that one adversary had evolved into three and discuss how they differ — and, interestingly, what they still have in common. Despite operating independently, the three adversaries still share tools and infrastructure, a sign of coordination within the DPRK cyber ecosystem. To put this development into context, the hosts take us back to the early days of North Korea's cyber activity and trace the progression of the many nation-state threat actors operating on its behalf. Tune in to learn about a significant update for a prolific nation-state adversary. Learn more about: • The LABYRINTH CHOLLIMA evolution in our new blog post • Fal.Con Gov 2026 • CrowdTour 2026

January 15, 2026Episode 6548 min

Taking Down Cybercriminals with Shawn Henry, Former FBI Leader

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 Executive Assistant Director of the FBI and current Executive Advisor to the Founder and CEO of CrowdStrike. In some ways, it’s similar to taking down criminals in the physical world. But the speed and scale of cybercrime operations exacerbate the challenge of stopping them. While infrastructure can be dismantled, the impact is now short-lived as adversaries pivot to other setups. While law enforcement considers how to replicate successful operations, cybercriminals are thinking about how they can adapt and stay ahead. For those pursuing adversaries, speed and scale are difficult to achieve. As Shawn explains, successful takedowns require collaboration among dozens of groups; among them law enforcement agencies, international partners, intelligence analysts, reverse engineers, prosecutors, and private sector organizations that have visibility into adversary infrastructure. “A takedown isn’t a single door-kick moment. It’s a monthslong choreography of legal process and infrastructure mapping and partner synchronization,” he says. Are there ways to accelerate the process? He has a few ideas. Tune in as Shawn joins Adam and Cristian to share a behind-the-scenes take on stopping cybercrime. Learn the key challenges law enforcement faces, how a takedown comes together, why arrests alone aren’t enough to stop adversaries, and where there is still an opportunity to have real impact.