The Cyber Threat Perspective

Think Active Directory is dead? Think again. According to Microsoft data, 86% of organizational workloads still touch Active Directory, and nearly 20% of organizations don't expect to reach a hybrid state for 10-20+ years. In this episode, Brad and Spencer break down why AD attack paths remain one of the most critical threats in enterprise environments and what defenders can do about it right now.

Spencer also previews his ContinuumCon workshop "Killing AD Attack Paths Once and For All" where he demonstrates how authentication policies and silos can eliminate an entire class of lateral movement attacks built into Windows and Active Directory.

In this episode:

- Why Active Directory is still alive, well, and heavily targeted
- What an Active Directory attack path is and how attackers use them
- The four prerequisites attackers need to abuse AD attack paths
- Real-world examples: Kerberos ticket theft, SCCM abuse, certificate misconfigurations, and misconfigured permissions
- Tools defenders should know: Bloodhound, PingCastle, Purple Knight, Locksmith, and ADelegator
- How to prioritize remediations based on ease of exploitation vs. impact
- Why retesting is the most overlooked step in any remediation cycle

Resources mentioned:

- Spencer's ContinuumCon Workshop (Fri. June 12, 10:30am PT / 1:30pm ET): https://continuumcon.com/schedule/
- Hybrid Identity Protection Podcast (Semperis): https://www.semperis.com/hybrid-identity-protection-podcast/
- Bloodhound CE: https://github.com/SpecterOps/BloodHound
- PingCastle: https://www.pingcastle.com
- Purple Knight: https://www.purple-knight.com
- Locksmith: https://github.com/TrimarcJake/Locksmith
- offsec.blog | securit360.com
Blog: https://offsec.blog/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@cyberthreatpov
Twitter: https://x.com/cyberthreatpov
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Spencer's Links: https://spenceralessi.com
Work with Us: https://securit360.com | Find vulnerabilities that matter, learn about how we do internal pentesting here.

Security misconfiguration is one of the most frequently found vulnerabilities in web application pen testing — and most of the fixes are just a checkbox. In Part 2 of their OWASP Top 10 series, Brad Causey and Jordan Natter cover OWASP A05: Security Misconfiguration with real stories from recent engagements and practical takeaways for developers, security teams, and organizations of all sizes.
In this episode:
Hardcoded Active Directory credentials and API keys discovered in a public GitHub repo during a healthcare pen test
Default credentials (admin/1234) found on a clinical research app storing PHI
A rogue Apache basic auth panel that survived from dev into production
How verbose error handling and stack traces hand attackers a roadmap to your app
Why dev-to-production is the most dangerous transition in your app's lifecycle
The shift-left mindset and DevSecOps — empowering devs to ship secure code
How CIS lockdown guides can dramatically improve your security posture overnight
Resources mentioned:
OWASP Top 10: OWASP Top Ten Web Application Security Risks | OWASP Foundation
CIS Benchmarks: https://www.cisecurity.org/cis-benchmarks
Ep. 182 – OWASP Top 10 Part 1: https://youtu.be/BwYJ-kZ3XaY
Need a web application pen test? Reach out: Offensive Security - SecurIT360
Blog: https://offsec.blog/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@cyberthreatpov
Twitter: https://x.com/cyberthreatpov
Follow Spencer on social ⬇
Spencer's Links: https://spenceralessi.com
Work with Us: https://securit360.com | Find vulnerabilities that matter, learn about how we do internal pentesting here.

Hosts Brad Causey and Spencer Alessi break down the 2026 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, focusing on the findings that actually matter for IT and security teams.
The biggest surprise: vulnerability exploitation has overtaken stolen credentials as the top initial access vector, accounting for 31% of attacks, while credential abuse dropped to just 13%. This completely flips the script on years of "identity is the new perimeter" thinking.
Topics covered include:
Vulnerability explosion and remediation crisis: Why there are too many vulnerabilities and not enough time for patching, with only 26% of CISA KEV vulnerabilities fully remediated (down from 38%)
The patching time paradox: Median remediation time increased from 32 days to 43 days despite organizations initially getting faster at patching from 2022-2024
Web application sprawl: How the push to cloud and SaaS has created massive attack surfaces organizations don't own and can't patch
The top 4 initial access vectors: Vulnerability exploitation, phishing, credential abuse, and pretexting
Ransomware economics shifting: 48% of breaches involved ransomware, but 69% of victims didn't pay and median payments dropped to $139,875
Mobile phishing success: Mobile-centric phishing had 40% higher success rates than email phishing as users get better at spotting email threats
Social engineering evolution: The human element appeared in 62% of breaches, with pretexting requiring different countermeasures than traditional phishing
Shadow AI explosion: 45% of employees are regular AI users on corporate devices (up from 15%), with 67% using non-corporate accounts
AI data exfiltration: Shadow AI is now the third most common non-malicious insider risk, with source code being the top data type leaked
MCP and IDE extension risks: Real-world examples including PocketOS having their entire production database deleted by Claude connected to a railway CLI MCP
Brad and Spencer emphasize that while the threat landscape is shifting dramatically, the fundamentals still matter. Organizations need to get comfortable with not being able to patch everything and focus on what matters most.
Blog: https://offsec.blog/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@cyberthreatpov
Twitter: https://x.com/cyberthreatpov
Follow Spencer on social ⬇
Spencer's Links: https://spenceralessi.com
Work with Us: https://securit360.com | Find vulnerabilities that matter, learn about how we do internal pentesting here.

We're re-releasing one of our most practical episodes this week — originally published November 2025, and still one of the best roadmap conversations we've had on the show.
Brad and Spencer share no-fluff advice for breaking into cybersecurity, whether you're switching careers, starting from scratch, or leveling up from a general IT role. They cover what employers actually look for, the fastest paths in, and what to skip.
If you're exploring a cybersecurity career, or know someone who is, this one's for you.
Blog: https://offsec.blog/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@cyberthreatpov
Twitter: https://x.com/cyberthreatpov
Follow Spencer on social ⬇
Spencer's Links: https://spenceralessi.com
Work with Us: https://securit360.com | Find vulnerabilities that matter, learn about how we do internal pentesting here.

Brad and Spencer break down Google Threat Intelligence Group's latest report on how adversaries are weaponizing AI across the entire attack lifecycle.
The big takeaway isn't that AI has magically replaced attackers, but that it's making certain workflows faster, more scalable, and more repeatable. More importantly, AI platforms, agent skills, integrations, and dependencies are now becoming targets themselves.
Topics covered include:
AI for vulnerability discovery and exploit development: Google's first confirmed case of a zero-day exploit developed entirely with AI, including intentional prompts like "You are currently a network security expert specializing in embedded devices"
Claude skills weaponization: A distilled knowledge base of over 85,000 real-world vulnerability cases integrated into AI research workflows
Automation and scaled research: APT45 sending thousands of repetitive prompts to recursively analyze CVEs and validate proof-of-concept exploits
AI-powered obfuscation techniques: Dynamic modification, evasive payload generation, and decoy logic using Gemini API for just-in-time VBScript obfuscation
Autonomous attack orchestration: Moving beyond content generation into sophisticated malware command automation, including PromptSpy navigating Android UI for persistence
AI-enhanced reconnaissance: Generating detailed organizational hierarchies and third-party relationships for high-value targets in finance, security, and HR departments
Information operations and deepfakes: Taking legitimate journalist videos, editing in fabricated content, and adding AI-generated voiceovers
Attacking AI dependencies: TeamPCP (UNC6780) targeting AI environments as initial access vectors, including March 2026 supply chain attacks on Trivy, Checkmarx, and LiteLLM
The Mini Shai-Hulud worm: May 2026 attacks targeting AI infrastructure and dependencies
Defensive fundamentals: Why inventory, zero trust principles, and behavioral monitoring matter more than ever
Brad and Spencer emphasize that while the threat landscape is evolving rapidly, doubling down on foundational security practices remains the most effective defense strategy.
Blog: https://offsec.blog/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@cyberthreatpov
Twitter: https://x.com/cyberthreatpov
Follow Spencer on social ⬇
Spencer's Links: https://spenceralessi.com
Work with Us: https://securit360.com | Find vulnerabilities that matter, learn about how we do internal pentesting here.