Is artificial intelligence actually creating a new breed of super-hackers, or is the industry just selling panic?

In this episode of the Zero Sum Podcast, Aaron sits down with Silas Cutler, one of the top security researchers in the industry and a Principal Reverse Engineer at Censys. Silas strips away the corporate marketing hype to reveal what threat actors are actually doing in the wild. They dive deep into the economic realities of cybercrime, how Russian military intelligence (APT28) hijacks criminal botnets, and the deadly, real-world risks of private companies legally "hacking back" against ransomware cartels.

Whether you are a seasoned threat intel analyst, a security leader trying to understand the AI landscape, or an aspiring researcher looking to break into the field, this conversation provides a rare, unfiltered look into the trenches of cybersecurity.

Timestamps / Chapters:

00:00 - Intro: Welcoming Silas Cutler to Zero Sum

01:36 - The State of Security Research Today

04:15 - Why Research is Underfunded (And Why That's Okay)

07:44 - Debunking the AI "Vulnerpocalypse" Hype

13:54 - How Threat Actors Actually Scale Their Operations

18:24 - Team PCP & The Rise of Supply Chain Attacks

22:00 - Google's "Beautiful Paranoia" vs. Unprepared AI Startups

29:12 - Is Ransomware a "Solved Problem"?

32:01 - Unmasking Russian APT28 and the Moobot Hijack

38:30 - Red on Red: When Cybercriminals Hack Each Other

39:53 - Letters of Marque & The Deadly Reality of "Hacking Back"

50:40 - Career Advice: How to Break Into Threat Research

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• Hosted by Aaron Mog