Cybersecurity Headlines Department of Know: Easterly helms RSAC, Third party apps report, Self-poisoning AI
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Jan 20, 2026 Dmitriy Sokolovskiy, a senior VP of information security at SEMrush, and Nick Espinosa, host of The Deep Dive Radio Show, dive deep into the evolving landscape of cybersecurity. They discuss the potential risks of AI hallucinations in risk reporting and explore how ransomware is now leveraging blockchain for command-and-control operations. The duo debates the implications of private firms engaging in offensive cyber operations and highlights alarming findings related to unauthorized third-party access to sensitive data.
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Verify Generative AI Outputs
- Generative models hallucinate and can produce authoritative-looking but false content.
- Organizations must require human verification before using AI outputs in consequential intelligence or legal actions.
Blockchain As Resilient C2
- Ransomware groups using blockchain smart contracts as C2 and leak markets is an evolution that resists takedown.
- Traditional IOC blocking and IP-based response will age out quickly against such resilient infrastructure.
Rethink Network Controls Against Blockchain C2
- Investigate how blockchain-based C2 appears at the network and traffic level before designing countermeasures.
- Consider creating isolated "white" networks and rethink traffic control to limit such covert channels.