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 critical

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 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 malware
• How signature-based detection fails
• Proactive governance vs. reactive triage

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.

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 ever
• Organizations paying ransomware but refusing data extortion demands
• Why defenders need both visibility and speed

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 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 hours
• The shift from reactive patching to predictive intelligence using EPSS and CISA KEV
• How to defend against zero-days when patching isn't an option

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 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 method
• Emerging social engineering tactics: vishing, copy and paste abuse, and software impersonation
• How campaigns have evolved from Black Basta to ShinyHunters

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.

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 attacks
• Nation-states weaponizing AI for attack automation
• The rise of sophisticated AI-generated malware

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.

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 evolved
• Campaigns targeting NPM package maintainers
• Actionable defense strategies

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.

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 organizations
• How top ransomware groups like Qilin, Akira, and Clop dominated in 2025.
• Actionable defense strategies for organizations to proactively combat ransomware in 2026

Brandon 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.

Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk

Join host John and intelligence analyst Ivan as they discuss:

• React2Shell Exploits Flood the Internet as Attacks Continue (1:06)
• ClickFix Style Attack Leveraging Grok and ChatGPT for Malware Delivery (7:39)
• New ConsentFix Attack Hijacking Microsoft Accounts via Azure CLI (13:50)
• Holiday Season Attack Risks: Phishing, Ransomware, and Defense Recommendations (18:22)

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.

Ivan Righi: Threat Intelligence Analyst at ReliaQuest, specializing in technical cyber threat research. Since joining ReliaQuest in June 2019, Ivan has focused on data breach investigations, automations, threat actor profiling, and reverse engineering threat campaigns. He holds a Master of Science degree in Cybersecurity and a GIAC Reverse Engineering Malware (GREM) certification, bringing technical expertise and actionable insights.

Resources: https://linktr.ee/ReliaQuestShadowTalk

Join host John along with systems security engineer Corey and intelligence analyst Hayden as they discuss:

• Chinese Threat Groups Exploiting the React2Shell Vulnerability (1:18)
• CISA Issues Alert on Persistent Brickstorm Backdoor Attacks (9:05)
• ShadyPanda Hackers Turn Millions of Browsers into Weapons (13:36)
• Storm-0249’s Shift to Targeted EDR Exploitation (20:09)

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.

Corey Carter: Systems Security Engineer at ReliaQuest. A Florida native and former infantryman in the United States Marines, Corey holds a bachelor's degree in computer science with a specialization in information assurance. His experience as a detection researcher, security analyst, and threat hunter at ReliaQuest, combined with his military background, equips him with a unique perspective on cybersecurity challenges.

Hayden Evans: Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst at ReliaQuest. He has experience in the F3EAD lifecycle and analyzing adversaries' TTPs to operationalize this information. He is also experienced with intrusion response, OSINT investigations, and offensive security.