Beers with Talos, Ep. #116: Let's wade into the MuddyWater filled with Vipers

Dushmantha Charaka February 11, 2022 0 Comments

Beers with Talos (BWT) Podcast episode No. 116 is now available. Download this episode and subscribe to Beers with Talos:

Recorded Feb. 4, 2022.

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Most people would expect us to approach the Winter Olympics from a security perspective. Why are athletes using burner phones? Are we worried about any state-sponsored attacks? Not this year, folks! Instead, we rank each country's curling uniforms, discuss the origins of ski jumping and debate which events would be the most difficult to compete in.

On the actual cybersecurity front, we did carve out some time to discuss two state-sponsored threat actors Talos has written about recently: AridViper and MuddyWater. We look at the maldocs involved in these campaigns and their targets. Matt also expounds on his multiple Twitter threads around the current situation in Ukraine.

The timeline:

00:38 — Roundtable: Is this a test to see if you're on acid or MFA?
08:43 — MuddyWater threat actor using very specifically themed maldocs
18:15 — How does Arid Viper compare to MuddyWater?
29:55 — The latest on the situation in Ukraine
39:35 — Parting shots, closing thoughts: Taking mental health breaks in a hotel room