Show Notes
In this episode of the Signals & Stories limited series, host Kali Fencl sits down with Tom Hegel, Distinguished Threat Researcher and Research Lead at SentinelOne, alongside Visi Stark, co-founder of The Vertex Project, for a deep dive into how cyber threat intelligence has evolved over the past decade.
The conversation explores the increasing professionalization of nation-state and criminal threat actors, the blurred lines between cybercrime, espionage, and hacktivism, and the growing complexity of attribution in modern CTI. Tom shares insights from SentinelOne’s research into DPRK IT workers posing as job applicants, explaining how North Korean operators infiltrate organizations through automated hiring campaigns and why cybersecurity companies themselves have become top-tier targets.
The episode also examines why cross-functional intelligence sharing matters more than ever — from recruiting and HR to sales and security operations — and how organizations can use intelligence platforms to connect signals across teams. Along the way, the discussion touches on AI’s role in threat intelligence, the challenges of scaling analysis, and why analyst creativity and iterative exploration still matter in an increasingly automated world.
Topics covered include:
- The evolution of cyber threat actors over the last decade - DPRK IT worker operations and fake job applicants - Threat intelligence beyond the SOC - Cross-functional collaboration in cybersecurity - Intelligence platforms and analytical workflows - AI, automation, and the future of CTI research
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