Signals & Stories

Episode 2: “It Depends”: Attribution, Analysis, and the Evolution of Cyber Reporting

Signals & Stories

Show Notes

As part of The Vertex Project’s 10-year anniversary podcast series, Kali Fencl sits down with Vertex analysts Ryann “reign” Hallback, Jennifer “thesilence” Kolde, and Mary Beth “savage” Lee for a conversation about how cyber threat intelligence has evolved over the last decade and where it’s headed next.

From the lasting impact of the APT1 report to the realities of attribution, intelligence sharing, media pressure, and modern threat reporting, this episode explores how analysts balance technical rigor, operational context, and public narratives in today’s cybersecurity landscape.

The discussion also dives into mentorship, representation, and the qualities that truly make a great analyst: critical thinking, curiosity, adaptability, and intellectual humility.

In this episode: • How cyber reporting evolved beyond malware analysis • Why attribution is more complicated than most people realize • The tension between intelligence sharing and publicity • How geopolitics now shapes cyber operations • Why diverse perspectives improve intelligence analysis • The traits that separate strong analysts from the rest

Whether you work in cyber threat intelligence, SOC operations, incident response, or are simply interested in how the industry has changed over the past decade, this conversation offers an inside look at the people and thinking behind modern cyber investigations.

#CyberSecurity #ThreatIntelligence #CTI #CyberThreatIntel #APT1 #InformationSecurity #ThreatAnalysis #WomenInCyber #CyberPodcast #TheVertexProject

https://vertex.link/10-year-anniversary

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