The Business of State-Sponsored Hackers

About this episode

This episode explores the operations and motivations behind state-sponsored hacking, focusing on various countries' approaches to cybercrime and espionage.

In December 2025, hackers nearly knocked out power to half a million people in Poland during a brutal cold snap. The attack was traced back to Russian intelligence. State-sponsored hacking is an industry. There are org charts. Salaries. Military ranks. And a recruitment pipeline that can turn a criminal hacker into a government asset. In this episode, we break down how these groups actually operate. Why North Korea's hackers are focused on stealing money while China's are after your company's trade secrets. How Russia uses a network of freelancers, criminals, and intelligence officers to do its dirty work. This is the shadow world where cybercrime meets espionage. Newsletter : dontgetgot.co Security Awareness Program : dontgetgot.co/training Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/dontgetgot.co/

People in this episode

Host: dontgetgot

Topics covered

• state-sponsored hacking
• cybercrime
• espionage
• Russian intelligence
• North Korea hackers
• China trade secrets
• cybersecurity

Keywords

• state-sponsored hackers
• cybercrime
• espionage
• Russian intelligence
• North Korea
• China
• hacking operations

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Russian intelligence, Russia

Places: Poland, North Korea, China

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