Advertise on podcast: ShadowTalk: Powered by ReliaQuest

89% of organizations that suffered a SaaS breach last year believed they had appropriate visibility. They had the logs — what they lacked was detection on what mattered. The Vercel incident shows exactly how costly that gap can be.  Join hosts Brandon and John as they discuss: How a third-party OAuth chain may have exposed Vercel's internal dataWhy SaaS visibility gaps leave organizations exposedThe controls that can break the attackResources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk John Dilgen: Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst at ReliaQuest, where he specializes in researching cyber threats impacting ReliaQuest customers. With a strong technical background, he previously served as an Incident Response Analyst and Trainer at ReliaQuest. Brandon Tirado: Director of GreyMatter Operations for ReliaQuest. Brandon is a skilled cyber defense professional with a unique combination of management and hands-on experience. With a deep understanding of adversary motives and the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) they use to achieve their goals, Brandon enjoys operationalizing his knowledge to make it more difficult for adversaries to operate within the environments of ReliaQuest customers. His managerial and hands-on experience enriches ShadowTalk with practical and strategic viewpoints. 

Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk Join hosts John and Alex, alongside special guest and ReliaQuest CTO Joe Partlow, as they discuss: How Claude Mythos autonomously generated exploitsWhy AI is accelerating CVE volumeDefense strategies organizations need nowJoe Partlow: CTO of ReliaQuest, a leading Information Security provider and is currently involved with new product initiatives along with research and development efforts. Joe has been involved the Information Security field for over 30 years, in both the defensive side and offensive capabilities. Current projects include data ingestion/analytics at scale, DFIR automation and generative AI. He is also a regular speaker and contributor at security conferences, groups and associations. Joe has a degree in Computer Information Systems and holds many industry-specific certifications John Dilgen: Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst at ReliaQuest, where he specializes in researching cyber threats impacting ReliaQuest customers. With a strong technical background, he previously served as an Incident Response Analyst and Trainer at ReliaQuest. Alexandra Moore: Manager of Threat Intelligence at ReliaQuest, where she leads intelligence analysis and customer dissemination to help organizations understand and respond to emerging cyber threats. Prior to this, she established and scaled monitoring across Russian-language cybercriminal platforms at Digital Shadows, building collection and analytical coverage to support digital risk protection capabilities.

Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk Join hosts John and Tehman as they break down two of the most consequential supply chain attacks of 2026: How DPRK actors socially engineered a NPM maintainerWhy hijacked GitHub versions are a CI/CD wake-up callThe three gaps every security team needs to closeJohn Dilgen: Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst at ReliaQuest, where he specializes in researching cyber threats impacting ReliaQuest customers. With a strong technical background, he previously served as an Incident Response Analyst and Trainer at ReliaQuest. Tehman Tariq: Sr. Manager of Cyber Operations at ReliaQuest. He has spent a majority of my career leading our Incident Response, Security Architecture, and Detection teams. As well has working hand in hand with CISOs to introduce automation allowing for the maturity of their security programs.

Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk Join hosts Alexandra and John, live from Exponent 2026, alongside top security leaders as they discuss: How organizations keep pace with attackersWhy one in four incidents starts with social engineeringHow automated response is helping organizationsChris Thompson: CISO of Caris Life Sciences, a leading, next-generation AI TechBio company and precision medicine pioneer.  Chris is a retired Federal Agent having most recently led the North Texas Cyber Task Force for the FBI and was an operator on the FBI Cyber Action Team. Michael Andreano: Sr. Director of Information Security at Hikma Pharmaceuticals, leading their global information security team.  He has over 30 years experience in the healthcare and hospitality industries with roles of increasing responsibility at Merck, Wyndham Hotels, Olympus, Syneos Health, and now Hikma the past four years.  He also is part of the Evanta C-Suite Information Security Community where he serves as a Governing Body member and active in his local Cloud Security Alliance chapter in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania.  John Dilgen: Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst at ReliaQuest, where he specializes in researching cyber threats impacting ReliaQuest customers. With a strong technical background, he previously served as an Incident Response Analyst and Trainer at ReliaQuest. Alexandra Moore: Manager of Threat Intelligence at ReliaQuest, where she leads intelligence analysis and customer dissemination to help organizations understand and respond to emerging cyber threats. Prior to this, she established and scaled monitoring across Russian-language cybercriminal platforms at Digital Shadows, building collection and analytical coverage to support digital risk protection capabilities.

Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk Join hosts Brandon and John as they discuss: How Handala wiped 200,000 devices by weaponizing a trusted platformWhy your organization doesn't need to be a direct target to be at riskHow AI-enhanced malware is helping attackers get fasterJohn Dilgen: Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst at ReliaQuest, where he specializes in researching cyber threats impacting ReliaQuest customers. With a strong technical background, he previously served as an Incident Response Analyst and Trainer at ReliaQuest. Brandon Tirado: Brandon Tirado is the Director of GreyMatter Operations for ReliaQuest. Brandon is a skilled cyber defense professional with a unique combination of management and hands-on experience. With a deep understanding of adversary motives and the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) they use to achieve their goals, Brandon enjoys operationalizing his knowledge to make it more difficult for adversaries to operate within the environments of ReliaQuest customers. His managerial and hands-on experience enriches ShadowTalk with practical and strategic viewpoints. 

Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk Join hosts John and Alex as they discuss: How a Chinese APT maintained access for over a yearWhy North Korean impersonation surged 116%Why attackers exploit the same foundational gapsJohn Dilgen: Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst at ReliaQuest, where he specializes in researching cyber threats impacting ReliaQuest customers. With a strong technical background, he previously served as an Incident Response Analyst and Trainer at ReliaQuest. Alexander Capraro: Alexander Capraro is a Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst at ReliaQuest with over five years of experience in cybersecurity. With his prior experience as a Security Analyst, he specializes in incident response, malware campaign tracking, and OSINT investigations. 

Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk Join hosts Tehman and John as they discuss: Why ransomware now prioritizes exfiltration over encryption How attackers can exfiltrate your data in just 6 minutesWhy proactive darkweb monitoring is criticalJohn Dilgen: Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst at ReliaQuest, where he specializes in researching cyber threats impacting ReliaQuest customers. With a strong technical background, he previously served as an Incident Response Analyst and Trainer at ReliaQuest. Tehman Tariq: Sr. Manager of Cyber Operations at ReliaQuest. He has spent a majority of my career leading our Incident Response, Security Architecture, and Detection teams. As well has working hand in hand with CISOs to introduce automation allowing for the maturity of their security programs.

Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk Join hosts Brandon and John as they discuss: How attacker breakout times dropped to as little as 4 minutes Why ClickFix surged 200%Why behavioral detection is criticalJohn Dilgen: Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst at ReliaQuest, where he specializes in researching cyber threats impacting ReliaQuest customers. With a strong technical background, he previously served as an Incident Response Analyst and Trainer at ReliaQuest. Brandon Tirado: Director of Threat Research for ReliaQuest. A skilled cyber defense professional with a unique combination of management and hands-on experience. With a deep understanding of adversary motives and the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) they use to achieve their goals, Brandon enjoys operationalizing his knowledge to make it more difficult for adversaries to operate within the environments of ReliaQuest customers. His managerial and hands-on experience enriches ShadowTalk with practical and strategic viewpoints.

Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk Join hosts John and Tehman as they discuss: What attackers prefer over custom malwareHow signature-based detection failsProactive governance vs. reactive triageJohn Dilgen: Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst at ReliaQuest, where he specializes in researching cyber threats impacting ReliaQuest customers. With a strong technical background, he previously served as an Incident Response Analyst and Trainer at ReliaQuest. Tehman Tariq: Sr. Manager of Cyber Operations at ReliaQuest. He has spent a majority of my career leading our Incident Response, Security Architecture, and Detection teams. As well has working hand in hand with CISOs to introduce automation allowing for the maturity of their security programs.

Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk Join hosts Brandon and John as they discuss: Why extortion payment rates are the lowest everOrganizations paying ransomware but refusing data extortion demandsWhy defenders need both visibility and speedJohn Dilgen: Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst at ReliaQuest, where he specializes in researching cyber threats impacting ReliaQuest customers. With a strong technical background, he previously served as an Incident Response Analyst and Trainer at ReliaQuest. Brandon Tirado: Director of Threat Research for ReliaQuest. A skilled cyber defense professional with a unique combination of management and hands-on experience. With a deep understanding of adversary motives and the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) they use to achieve their goals, Brandon enjoys operationalizing his knowledge to make it more difficult for adversaries to operate within the environments of ReliaQuest customers. His managerial and hands-on experience enriches ShadowTalk with practical and strategic viewpoints.

Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk Join hosts Brandon and John as they discuss: Why traditional patch cycles can't beat attackers exploiting vulnerabilities in 24 hoursThe shift from reactive patching to predictive intelligence using EPSS and CISA KEVHow to defend against zero-days when patching isn't an optionJohn Dilgen: Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst at ReliaQuest, where he specializes in researching cyber threats impacting ReliaQuest customers. With a strong technical background, he previously served as an Incident Response Analyst and Trainer at ReliaQuest. Brandon Tirado: Director of Threat Research for ReliaQuest. A skilled cyber defense professional with a unique combination of management and hands-on experience. With a deep understanding of adversary motives and the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) they use to achieve their goals, Brandon enjoys operationalizing his knowledge to make it more difficult for adversaries to operate within the environments of ReliaQuest customers. His managerial and hands-on experience enriches ShadowTalk with practical and strategic viewpoints.

Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk Join hosts John and Tehman as they discuss: Why phishing emails are no longer the top malware delivery methodEmerging social engineering tactics: vishing, copy and paste abuse, and software impersonationHow campaigns have evolved from Black Basta to ShinyHuntersJohn Dilgen: Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst at ReliaQuest, where he specializes in researching cyber threats impacting ReliaQuest customers. With a strong technical background, he previously served as an Incident Response Analyst and Trainer at ReliaQuest. Tehman Tariq: Sr. Manager of Cyber Operations at ReliaQuest. He has spent a majority of my career leading our Incident Response, Security Architecture, and Detection teams. As well has working hand in hand with CISOs to introduce automation allowing for the maturity of their security programs.

Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk John and Tehman as they discuss: How AI is enabling large-scale, high-speed attacksNation-states weaponizing AI for attack automationThe rise of sophisticated AI-generated malwareJohn Dilgen: Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst at ReliaQuest, where he specializes in researching cyber threats impacting ReliaQuest customers. With a strong technical background, he previously served as an Incident Response Analyst and Trainer at ReliaQuest. Tehman Tariq: Sr. Manager of Cyber Operations at ReliaQuest. He has spent a majority of my career leading our Incident Response, Security Architecture, and Detection teams. As well has working hand in hand with CISOs to introduce automation allowing for the maturity of their security programs.

Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk Join hosts Brandon and John as they discuss: How supply-chain attacks evolvedCampaigns targeting NPM package maintainersActionable defense strategiesBrandon Tirado: Director of Threat Research for ReliaQuest. A skilled cyber defense professional with a unique combination of management and hands-on experience. With a deep understanding of adversary motives and the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) they use to achieve their goals, Brandon enjoys operationalizing his knowledge to make it more difficult for adversaries to operate within the environments of ReliaQuest customers. His managerial and hands-on experience enriches ShadowTalk with practical and strategic viewpoints. John Dilgen: Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst at ReliaQuest, where he specializes in researching cyber threats impacting ReliaQuest customers. With a strong technical background, he previously served as an Incident Response Analyst and Trainer at ReliaQuest.

Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk Join hosts Brandon and Tehman as they discuss: The resurgence of LockBit 5.0 and its December 2025 surge in named organizationsHow top ransomware groups like Qilin, Akira, and Clop dominated in 2025.Actionable defense strategies for organizations to proactively combat ransomware in 2026Brandon Tirado: Director of Threat Research for ReliaQuest. Brandon is a skilled cyber defense professional with a unique combination of management and hands-on experience. With a deep understanding of adversary motives and the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) they use to achieve their goals, Brandon enjoys operationalizing his knowledge to make it more difficult for adversaries to operate within the environments of ReliaQuest customers. His managerial and hands-on experience enriches ShadowTalk with practical and strategic viewpoints. Tehman Tariq: Sr. Manager of Cyber Operations at ReliaQuest. He has spent a majority of my career leading our Incident Response, Security Architecture, and Detection teams. As well has working hand in hand with CISOs to introduce automation allowing for the maturity of their security programs.