Masked Actors

Send us Fan Mail Threat researchers work deep in the digital underground, mapping adversaries, exposing tactics, and turning fragments of intelligence into protection that actively stops attacks. Despite the impact of their work, the reality of what they do remains largely hidden from view. In this episode of Masked Actors, Group-IB’s Gary Ruddell is joined by Anastasia Tikhonova, Global Threat Re...

Send us Fan Mail Can you recognise every employee in your organisation? Most companies cannot — and attackers know it. A routine IT request comes in from a senior leader locked out of their account. Everything checks out, so access is restored. Except it wasn't them. In that moment, you've handed the keys to Scattered Spider — a group that has spent three years proving that human trust i...

Send us Fan Mail Cybercrime operates at a scale most people never see. A single incident can cost hundreds of millions of pounds, disrupt businesses overnight, or devastate individuals and families. What often follows is a simple question: how do you stop something that moves this fast, across so many borders? The reality is far from straightforward. Building a case against cybercriminals means tr...

Send us Fan Mail Cryptocurrency promised huge potential for investors. But it’s cybercriminals who are reaping the benefits. From multimillion-dollar ransomware payouts to borderless money laundering, cryptocurrency has quietly become the fuel powering a global cybercrime economy. As regulation evolves across multiple jurisdictions, gaps, inconsistencies, and the borderless nature of crypto contin...

Send us Fan Mail If evolution has taught humanity anything, it’s that adaptation is key to survival. As prey develop camouflage techniques, predators get faster, sturdier, and better at detection. Now this game of cat and mouse is taking over the digital world.  All cybergangs are on a cycle of relentless adaptation – but a group that stands out from all the rest is Boolka, innovating near-constan...

Send us Fan Mail Indonesia, June 2024 - 210 critical government agencies were crippled in one fell swoop. Immigration services were in disarray; customs officers locked out of critical systems and travellers left stranded in airport and ferry terminals facing delays that would continue for a full week. The culprit? Brain Cipher, a ransomware group barely a week old, which demanded a huge sum of $8...

Send us Fan Mail Cyber criminals are masters at exploiting human vulnerability and trust. In Uzbek folklore, there's a creature known for causing chaos, preying on humans, lurking in the dark and changing its face to trick its victims before it pounces.   In December 2023, it lent its name to a sophisticated Android malware campaign using the same tactics that emerged in the digital underworl...

Send us Fan Mail As digital infrastructure becomes the backbone of global economies, cyber espionage has quietly evolved into one of the most powerful tools in modern statecraft.  Behind the scenes, nation-backed threat groups like MuddyWater and OilRig operate sophisticated campaigns that blend malware, phishing, and social engineering to infiltrate governments, defence contractors, and critical...

Send us Fan Mail Forget everything you think you know about hackers. Today’s cybercriminals aren’t lurking in shadowy basements - they’re teenagers mastering cheat codes on Roblox, swapping tips on Discord, and using AI to launch attacks from their bedrooms. Join Group-IB’s Gary Ruddell and Nick Palmer as they sit down with Fergus Hay, CEO and co-founder of The Hacking Games, to explore how cyberc...

Send us Fan Mail When RansomHub, one of the most prolific ransomware groups, vanished overnight back in April, it sent shockwaves through the cybercriminal underworld. With over 600 global attacks and millions extorted, their sudden disappearance left affiliates scrambling and researchers asking: what happened? Join Group-IB’s Gary Ruddell and Nick Palmer as they speak with Pietro Albuquerque, a t...

Send us Fan Mail Empty shelves, lost customers, and hundreds of millions of pounds in lost profit are just some of the outcomes that retailers have faced in the wake of recent ransomware attacks. From the Co-operative to M&S, the recent cyber attacks on UK retail giants have dominated headlines and wreaked havoc that’s been felt by customers, staff, and government officials alike.  The culprit...

Send us Fan Mail In December 2014, Sony Pictures announced they were cancelling the release of Seth Rogan’s newest venture The Interview due to a large-scale cyberattack. And in February of this year, global cryptocurrency exchange Bybit suffered a massive attack resulting in the theft of $1.5 billion.  These masked actors are still active. But now, they’ve turned their attention to companies like...

Send us Fan Mail If a cybercriminal steals your password, you can change it. But what happens if they steal your face?  Former soldier turned hacker, Gary Ruddell and financial crime veteran, Nick Palmer , explore the actors behind GoldFactory - a cybercriminal group stealing users' facial recognition data to clean out victims bank accounts. Joined by Craig Jones , who spent five years at Int...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Masked Actors — a true crime-inspired podcast from Group-IB that brings you face to face with the people orchestrating some of the most sophisticated cyberattacks on the planet.  Join hosts Gary Ruddell — former soldier turned hacker and cyber threat expert — and Nick Palmer , a financial crime veteran, for the gripping new series which uncovers the tactics, motivations...