How Nations Hack, Spy, and Win
From Threat Vector by Palo Alto Networks by Palo Alto Networks and N2K Networks
April 16, 2026 · 38 min · Season 9 · Episode 113
About this episode
Allie Mellen discusses the predictable patterns behind nation-state cyberattacks and their strategic implications.
Most people think nation-state cyberattacks are unpredictable. Allie Mellen wrote the book that proves they’re not. Allie Mellen is the author of Code War: How Nations Hack, Spy, and Shape the Digital Battlefield and a leading industry analyst and former hacker. She advises Global 2000 organizations on detecting and responding to nation-state attacks. Her research career began as a hacker with work featured at Black Hat USA. She has partnered with multiple government agencies on election security and regularly briefs the Wall Street Journal, NPR, and the Washington Post. Allie joined Threat Vector previously to break down the XDR landscape and what’s next for security operations. This time, the conversation goes somewhere different. In this conversation with David Moulton, Allie breaks down the strategic logic behind attacks most defenders treat as random events. You’ll learn: Why nation-state attacks follow predictable strategic patterns, not chaos How military doctrine and national history shape a country’s hacking behavior What makes Stuxnet, WannaCry, NotPetya and the Sony Pictures hack so instructive How to tell the difference between espionage, disruption and destruction…
People in this episode
Host: David Moulton
Guest: Allie Mellen
Topics covered
- nation-state cyberattacks
- cybersecurity
- strategic patterns in hacking
- military doctrine
- geopolitical objectives
- threat actors
Keywords
- nation-state attacks
- cybersecurity strategy
- hacking behavior
- Stuxnet
- WannaCry
- NotPetya
- Sony Pictures hack
- espionage
- disruption campaigns
- destruction campaigns
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Palo Alto Networks, N2K Networks, Black Hat USA, Wall Street Journal, NPR, Washington Post
Books & works: Code War: How Nations Hack, Spy, and Shape the Digital Battlefield
Places: China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Israel, United States
More episodes of Threat Vector by Palo Alto Networks
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- Encore: Is the Quantum Threat Closer Than You Think? · May 29, 2026 · 45 min
- Follow the Crypto · May 21, 2026 · 36 min
- The Human Side of Threat Intelligence · May 14, 2026 · 35 min
- AI in the Wrong Hands · May 7, 2026 · 40 min
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