Threat Intelligence and Hunting Summit

What once appeared as spontaneous acts of digital protest is now being strategically weaponized by nation-states and mercenary groups to obscure intent, disrupt operations, and manipulate global narratives.

Join this session with Senior Threat Researcher Jim Walter as he explores how malicious hacktivist activity is being leveraged by nation-states and mercenary groups.

Through technical case studies and geopolitical analysis, he will examine how these actors blend ransomware, data leaks, DDoS, and psychological operations under activist façades—creating significant challenges for attribution, response, and long-term threat modeling. He will also review existing, and still highly-prolific, traditional hacktivist groups, and their role in the current landscape.

Key Takeaways:
-Recent real-world case studies and geopolitical context
-How state-backed and proxy actors use “hacktivism” as cover for cyber warfare
-What makes attribution and response increasingly complex
-The evolving role of traditional hacktivist groups in today’s conflict-driven landscape

About the speaker:
Jim Walter is a Senior Threat Researcher at SentinelOne focusing on evolving trends, actors, and tactics within the thriving ecosystem of cybercrime and crimeware.