Microsoft Threat Intelligence Podcast

In this episode of the Microsoft Threat Intelligence Podcast, host⁠ ⁠⁠Sherrod DeGrippo is joined by Greg Schlomer and Vlad H. to discuss new research on Jasper Sleet, a North Korean–aligned threat actor incorporating AI into active operations. 

The conversation examines how AI is being integrated across the attack lifecycle — from highly tailored phishing lures and fabricated job applicant personas to accelerating malware development and refining operational workflows. Rather than treating AI as a novelty, Jasper Sleet is using it to increase speed, scale, and adaptability while reducing many of the friction points that once slowed campaigns. 

They also explore what this shift means for defenders. As AI compresses iteration cycles and lowers barriers to entry, traditional attribution signals evolve, influence operations become more convincing, and defensive teams must tighten the loop between intelligence, detection, and response. This is less about experimentation and more about the operationalization of AI as part of modern tradecraft. 

In this episode you’ll learn:      


How AI is changing the speed at which cyber operations evolve 


Why jailbreaking AI models is often trivial for motivated adversaries 


 The strategic implications of AI leveling the playing field between threat actors 

Some questions we ask:     


Is there resistance among experienced malware authors to adopting AI? 


Are we seeing fully AI-written malware in the wild? 


What stands out about Jasper Sleet’s use of AI? 

 

Resources:  

View Greg Schloemer on LinkedIn  

View Sherrod DeGrippo on LinkedIn  

 

Related Microsoft Podcasts:                   


Afternoon Cyber Tea with Ann Johnson 


The BlueHat Podcast 


Uncovering Hidden Risks     

Discover and follow other Microsoft podcasts at microsoft.com/podcasts  

Get the latest threat intelligence insights and guidance at Microsoft Security Insider 

 

The Microsoft Threat Intelligence Podcast is produced by Microsoft, Hangar Studios and distributed as part of N2K media network.

In this episode of the Microsoft Threat Intelligence Podcast, Sherrod DeGrippo speaks with Microsoft security and AI researchers Giorgio Severi and Noam Kochavi about a newly observed trend in AI abuse: recommendation poisoning through memory manipulation. 

While looking into prompt injection and reprompt-style behaviors, the team uncovered something quieter but potentially more persistent—websites embedding hidden instructions inside Summarize with AI links that attempt to influence what an AI assistant remembers and recommends over time. 

Rather than focusing on immediate exploitation, this technique aims to shape long-term behavior inside AI systems. Giorgio and Noam explain how it works, why it’s spreading across industries, where legitimate marketing tactics can blur into security risk, and what defenders and users should understand about managing AI memory in an increasingly agent-driven environment. 

In this episode you’ll learn:      


How AI memory poisoning differs from traditional prompt injection 


Why legitimate businesses are using memory manipulation tactics 


What threat hunters can look for inside enterprise telemetry 

 Some questions we ask:     


How is memory poisoning different from prompt injection? 


What are the long-term risks of embedding bias into AI memory? 


Could this technique be used for more harmful influence beyond marketing? 

 

Resources:  

View Giorgio Severi on LinkedIn  

View Noam Kochavi on LinkedIn  

View Sherrod DeGrippo on LinkedIn  

 

Related Microsoft Podcasts:                   


Afternoon Cyber Tea with Ann Johnson 


The BlueHat Podcast 


Uncovering Hidden Risks     

 

Discover and follow other Microsoft podcasts at microsoft.com/podcasts  

 

Get the latest threat intelligence insights and guidance at Microsoft Security Insider 

 

 

The Microsoft Threat Intelligence Podcast is produced by Microsoft, Hangar Studios and distributed as part of N2K media network.

In this episode of the Microsoft Threat Intelligence Podcast, host⁠ ⁠⁠Sherrod DeGrippo is joined by Microsoft security researchers Megan Stalling and Anna Seitz to examine how financially motivated threat actors are using familiar, low-complexity techniques to drive real-world impact across the financial services sector. 

They examine Storm-0727, a financially motivated threat actor targeting cryptocurrency, financial services, and government entities, highlighting how simple techniques like financial-themed lures, macro-enabled documents, and credential theft allow attackers to quietly establish and maintain access. The conversation then expands to broader financial-services threat trends, including business email compromise, ransomware with data extortion, phishing-as-a-service, and why social engineering and unpatched vulnerabilities continue to succeed even in mature security environments. 

In this episode you’ll learn:      


How credential theft helps attackers maintain persistence 


Why social engineering works even in well-secured environments 


How Storm-0727 targets financial services and cryptocurrency organizations 

Some questions we ask:     


What happens after a victim opens a macro-enabled document used by Storm-0727? 


How are phishing as a service platforms changing the threat landscape? 


What major threat trends are currently shaping the financial services sector? 

 

Resources:  

View Megan Stalling on LinkedIn  

View Anna Seitz on LinkedIn  

View Sherrod DeGrippo on LinkedIn  

 

Related Microsoft Podcasts:                   


Afternoon Cyber Tea with Ann Johnson 


The BlueHat Podcast 


Uncovering Hidden Risks     

 

Discover and follow other Microsoft podcasts at microsoft.com/podcasts  

 

Get the latest threat intelligence insights and guidance at Microsoft Security Insider

In this episode of the Microsoft Threat Intelligence Podcast, host⁠ ⁠⁠Sherrod DeGrippo is joined by security researcher Crane Hassold and Digital Defense Report lead Chloe Mesdaghi for a grounded, practitioner-led discussion on where artificial intelligence actually stands today. Moving beyond hype and fear-driven narratives, the conversation examines how AI is realistically being used by threat actors, where its impact is often overstated, and why defenders currently stand to gain the most from AI-driven tooling.  

The episode explores AI’s strengths in detection, triage, and workflow acceleration, the psychology and incentives that shape attacker behavior, and emerging risks such as prompt injection and AI systems becoming direct attack targets. 

In this episode you’ll learn:      


Where AI is genuinely being used in real-world cyber operations 


Why AI systems themselves are becoming attractive targets for attackers 


How AI is accelerating defensive workflows like detection engineering and threat triage 

 Some questions we ask:     


What does AI do well right now, and where has it been overpromised? 


Does AI shift the balance of power toward defenders or attackers? 


Why are prompt injection and agent manipulation such serious concerns? 

 

Resources:  

View Chloé Messdaghi on LinkedIn  

View Crane Hassold on LinkedIn  

View Sherrod DeGrippo on LinkedIn  

 

Related Microsoft Podcasts:                   


Afternoon Cyber Tea with Ann Johnson 


The BlueHat Podcast 


Uncovering Hidden Risks     

 

Discover and follow other Microsoft podcasts at microsoft.com/podcasts  

 

Get the latest threat intelligence insights and guidance at Microsoft Security Insider 

 

The Microsoft Threat Intelligence Podcast is produced by Microsoft, Hangar Studios and distributed as part of N2K media network.

To kick off Season 3 of Microsoft Threat Intelligence Podcast, host⁠ ⁠⁠Sherrod DeGrippo is joined by Microsoft security researchers Anna Seitz and Jonathan Checchi.  

Our guests examine two developments shaping today’s threat landscape: the cloud-native evolution of ransomware group Storm-0501 and the SesameOp backdoor’s abuse of trusted AI platforms for stealthy command-and-control. The discussion highlights how identity, hybrid-cloud pivot points, and federated authentication enable high-impact attacks without traditional malware, and why policy-compliant platform abuse is becoming harder to detect.  

Sherrod, Anna, and Jonathan provide guidance for defenders around enforcing MFA, tightening conditional access and identity controls, monitoring across cloud and on-prem environments, and partnering with platform providers to disrupt emerging attacker tradecraft. 

In this episode you’ll learn:      


What happens when threat actors gain control of highly privileged identities 


Why monitoring identity behavior is as critical as monitoring endpoints 


How attacker tactics are adapting to environments that blend cloud and on-prem systems 

 Some questions we ask:     


What does recent threat activity tell us about where the landscape is headed? 


How is Storm-0501 using federated authentication in their operations? 


What should security teams focus on as AI becomes more integrated into systems? 

Resources:  


View Anna Seitz on LinkedIn  


View Sherrod DeGrippo on LinkedIn  

 Related Microsoft Podcasts:                   


Afternoon Cyber Tea with Ann Johnson 


The BlueHat Podcast 


Uncovering Hidden Risks     

 

Discover and follow other Microsoft podcasts at microsoft.com/podcasts  

 

Get the latest threat intelligence insights and guidance at Microsoft Security Insider 

 

The Microsoft Threat Intelligence Podcast is produced by Microsoft, Hangar Studios and distributed as part of N2K media network.