Operation EndOfYear: New Malware, Popular Tactics, and Where AI Is Taking Us

Operation EndOfYear: New Malware, Popular Tactics, and Where AI Is Taking Us

December 31, 2025 · 57 min · Season 1 · Episode 93

About this episode

Selena Larson and Daniel Blackford discuss the evolution of the cyber threat landscape and preparations for 2026.

Send us fan mail! Hello to all our Cyber Elves! Host Selena Larson chats with Daniel Blackford, Vice President of Threat Research at Proofpoint, for an end-of-year look at how the cyber threat landscape evolved—and what defenders should be preparing for in 2026. They reflect on how the second half of 2025 brought meaningful shifts in attacker behavior, with familiar techniques becoming more professionalized and new malware emerging alongside identity-focused attacks. The conversation also exp...

People in this episode

Host: Selena Larson

Guest: Daniel Blackford

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Proofpoint

More episodes of DISCARDED: Tales From the Threat Research Trenches

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the DISCARDED: Tales From the Threat Research Trenches podcast page.