Beers with Talos Podcast

Hazel, Bill, Joe and Dave break down (sometimes in the literal sense) the 2025 Talos Year in Review which is available  now at blog.talosintelligence.com/2025yearinreview
The team, supported as always by the Turkey Lurkey Man, dives into the biggest cybersecurity trends of the year, including:
·       The rapid weaponization of vulnerabilities
·       Why identity abuse showed up everywhere 
·       Ransomware trends
·       A rise in APT investigations
·       What defenders should prioritize heading into the year ahead
Before that, we discuss the cyber activity tied to the situation in the Middle East (full details on our blog https://blog.talosintelligence.com/talos-developing-situation-in-the-middle-east).
There’s also an alarming amount of discussion about glutes. And gravy.
Download the full 2025 Talos Year in Review:
blog.talosintelligence.com/2025yearinreview

It's the one, the only, it's Matt Olney! We are delighted to have Matt back to talk with the crew about about the most random things, including TikTok diagnosing us with ADHD, inspiring vtubers, K-Pop Demon Hunters, ransomware in hospitals (the serious bit), attacker use of AI, why 1999-era tricks are still undefeated, and an entirely reasonable number of desserts.
We recorded this episode on 20 February - please see the Talos blog for the latest on the developing situation in the Middle East https://blog.talosintelligence.com/talos-developing-situation-in-the-middle-east/
Links to some things Matt mentioned:
The MapMen: https://www.youtube.com/@JayForeman
Ironmouse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1_2JehaKOw&list=RDP1_2JehaKOw&start_radio=1

Guess who’s back? Hazel, Bill and Joe welcome back fresh-from-parental-leave Dave Liebenberg, who has returned with a new baby, and some truly chaotic Thanksgiving opinions.    
We kick things off with the security headlines. Joe gets spicy about a recent “AI-orchestrated cyber campaign” report.  Dave brings us the poetic news that AI models can apparently be jailbroken with a well-placed limerick. Hazel challenges the others to a guessing game about just how much cyberattacks cost the UK, and Bill discusses what’s top of mind for organizations right now.  
But really, you know what you’re here for: the annual RanksGiving extravaganza. Dave boldly ranks his top five Thanksgiving dishes (with a new twist for this year, because apparently we need to re-engage the ‘youth’ before they’re lost to TikTok forever.) Cue the outrage, the gravy discourse, and a heartfelt (touching on amorous) defense of gluttony from Bill.  
Happy holidays everyone! May your gravy be thick and your cyber incidents few. See you in 2026!

Talos' Vice President Christopher Marshall (the “real Marshall,” much to Joe’s displeasure) joins Hazel, Bill, and Joe for a very real conversation about leading people when the world won’t stop moving. We start with Marshall’s days in the Navy’s nuclear program and the art of translating deeply technical work for non-technical leaders. We then get into how he joined Talos (“you WILL do this for me”), why being right beats being first, and how to keep a team steady and mission focussed when the news cycle is anything but. Marshall also talks about the decisions that shaped his life and career, what he’s had to let go of as he’s moved up, and the gloriously nerdy hobbies that keep him grounded.

This week, the B-Team gets an upgrade as we’re joined by Sara McBroom from Talos’ nation-state threat intelligence and interdiction team. Sara shares her journey from a liberal arts major to tracking some of the world’s most advanced adversaries. Along the way, she talks about moving from the U.S federal service to Talos, mentoring, leading with empathy, and why making bad actors miserable is a pretty good day’s work.
Before diving into Sara’s story, we hit the security headlines (ouch) and also discuss a Dutch hacker camp with flaming badges and port-a-potty internet. But from 17 minutes in, it’s all about Sara — her path, her research (Static Tundra, anyone?), and how she leads her team without micromanaging.
If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to ruin an APT’s day for a living, this is the episode.
Here's the research that Bill mentioned: "Psychopathia Machinalis: A Nosological Framework for Understanding Pathologies in Advanced Artificial Intelligence" https://www.psychopathia.ai