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April 25th, 2024 | 7:02 AM ET

Black Hat Day 2: Trust No One

Posted: August 5th, 2016

By Luke Penn-Hall

Luke Penn-Hall covers topics related to technology, cyber-security, space, and aviation. Luke is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies. His research interests are focused primarily on military technology, military innovation, emerging technologies, and cybersecurity. He is originally from Grand Terrace, California, and received a BA in International Relations and Religious Studies from Claremont McKenna College.

If my first day at Black Hat was all about insider threats and ransomware, my second was focused on attackers. I had the opportunity to speak with a number of experts about how attackers are hitting systems and – arguably more importantly – why they are doing so.

So what motivates cybercriminals? Experts from Deloitte told me that, unsurprisingly, they are motivated by money. When I asked about penetration of critical infrastructure systems, an expert from FusionX said that adversaries may be “preparing the battlefield” in case they ever go to war with the United States.

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