This episode is sponsored by SailPoint.
This year, cybercrime got a teenage makeover. Groups like Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters – aka Scattered Spider, Lapsus$ and ShinyHunters – part of the loose collective ‘The Com’ and filled with young, radicalized hackers became a top threat.
Their aggressive tactics led to high-profile breaches in 2025, including attacks on Marks & Spencer, the Co-op, and Jaguar Land Rover.
Meanwhile, insider attacks exploded: employees secretly working for ransomware gangs, zero-day brokers selling to Russia and a million-dollar-worth crypto heist at Coinbase.
In 2025 we also saw AI evolve from being a futuristic threat to a threat which can power real malware, with AI tools like Claude helping criminals automate attacks at terrifying speed.
In this podcast episode, we sat down with Rebecca Taylor, Threat Intelligence Knowledge Manage & Researcher at Sophos and Will Thomas, Senior Threat Intelligence Advisor at Team Cymru, to discuss 2025’s highs and lows in cybersecurity and cybercrime – and to make educated guesses on what to look for in 2026.
Their prediction? That 2026 could bring live deepfake heists (imagine a fake CEO on a video call draining company funds) and nation-states weaponizing insiders for destructive cyberwar.
Still trying to find Christmas gift ideas for your cybersecurity-savvy relative or just something to watch or listen to during the holidays? Our guests and the Infosecurity Magazine team have you covered with cyber-related recommendations:
This episode is sponsored by SailPoint.