Know Your Adversary

SpecterOps

Know Your Adversary is a podcast by SpecterOps that dives deep into identity security through the lens of the attacker. Hosted by Jared Atkinson and Justin Kohler, each episode unpacks the methods, mindsets, and missteps that shape modern identity risk. From real-world war stories to cutting-edge research, the show brings together practitioners, researchers, and engineers to explore how adversaries think—and how defenders can get ahead.

Episodes

  1. 24/11/2025

    Episode 8: Ping Identity with Special Guest Bjorn Aannestad

    In this episode of Know Your Adversary, Jared Atkinson and Justin Kohler sit down with SpecterOps Principal Product Architect Andy Robbins and Ping Identity Director of Product Management Bjorn Aannestad to discuss SpecterOps’ recent attack path research engagement with the PingOne platform. The conversation covers how the collaboration began, why gaining access to a real PingOne tenant was crucial for accurate modeling, and what stood out about Ping Identity’s documentation, design choices, and security philosophy. Andy walks through key elements of the PingOne architecture—including its RBAC model, environment structure, and controls that limit privilege escalation—while the group highlights how thoughtful design can dramatically reduce attack path complexity. They also explore the broader challenges of understanding hybrid identity systems, how cross-platform dependencies can create unexpected risk, and why validating security assumptions across interconnected services is essential for modern defenders.

    46 min

  2. 24/11/2025

    Episode 7: The State of APM - Community Contributions

    In this episode of Know Your Adversary, Jared Atkinson and Justin Kohler sit down with Christopher Maddalena to explore how open-source contributions continue to shape the evolution of attack path management. Christopher breaks down how community tools have moved from raw data dumps to polished, digestible insights that plug directly into BloodHound. The team also discusses how researchers are expanding the attack graph across identity, cloud, and infrastructure systems, and how new interfaces such as OpenGraph, make analyzing complex environments faster and more accessible. Whether you're a defender or researcher, this episode highlights how open-source innovation is accelerating visibility across modern hybrid attack surfaces.

    26 min

  3. 13/11/2025

    Episode 6: The State of APM - Tradecraft Trends

    In this episode of Know Your Adversary, Jared Atkinson and Justin Kohler talk with Andrew Chiles, VP of Tradecraft at SpecterOps, about the latest trends in tradecraft. Andrew breaks down how real assessment data is reshaping identity-focused attacks, why hybrid and SaaS environments create new pivot opportunities, and how browser-based session abuse is changing the game. He also shares insights on modeling emerging techniques, shortening the attacker–defender feedback loop, and what these evolving patterns mean for organizations trying to stay ahead.

    21 min

  4. 27/10/2025

    Episode 5: The State of APM - Graph Expansion

    In this episode of Know Your Adversary, hosts Jared Atkinson and Justin Kohler sit down with Elad Shamir, Head of Research at SpecterOps, to discuss the evolution and future of BloodHound OpenGraph. Elad shares how BloodHound has grown from a simple model into a powerful platform that maps complex attack surfaces across diverse environments. The conversation explores the challenges of modeling adversary tradecraft, the impact of hybrid paths connecting Active Directory and Entra ID, and how new capabilities like OpenGraph are accelerating innovation. Elad also introduces his philosophy of the Clean Source Principle, explaining how misaligned trust between systems often creates the very attack paths BloodHound is designed to uncover.

    18 min

  5. 15/10/2025

    Episode 4: The State of APM - Operationalizing Attack Path Management

    In this episode of Know Your Adversary, hosts Jared Atkinson and Justin Kohler sit down with Kate Dawson, Director of Customer Success at SpecterOps, to explore what it takes to implement a successful Attack Path Management (APM) program. Kate explains how cross-team collaboration, identity-focused strategies, and programmatic—not project-based—approaches are key to lasting success. The team draws parallels between APM and vulnerability management, emphasizing the importance of continuous improvement, policy integration, and metrics like exposure reduction and remediation speed as signs of maturity in defending against identity-based attack paths.

    19 min

  6. 22/09/2025

    Episode 3: The State of APM - Access Graphs & Identity Movement

    In this episode of Know Your Adversary, hosts Justin Kohler and Jared Atkinson break down two key theoretical concepts shaping attack path management: the distinction between access graphs vs. attack graphs and the paradigm of identities at rest vs. identities in transit. They explain why access graphs—maps of who can reach what—don’t tell the full story, and how attack graphs reveal the snowballing effect of compromised identities that accumulate control across environments. With real-world analogies and data points, the conversation highlights why environments with millions of relationships often harbor billions of potential attack paths, leaving defenders with an overwhelming challenge.

    26 min

  7. 22/09/2025

    Episode 2: The State of APM - Executive Summary & Detection In Context

    In this episode of Know Your Adversary, hosts Justin Kohler and Jared Atkinson sit down with Robby Winchester, Chief Services Officer at SpecterOps, to explore the practical side of attack path management. Robby reflects on nearly a decade of SpecterOps’ consulting and training work, sharing how the newly released State of Attack Path Management Report formalizes long-standing challenges that organizations face when dealing with identity sprawl, misconfigurations, and privilege creep. Together, they discuss how identity issues scale across environments—whether Active Directory, Kubernetes, or cloud providers—and why visibility, context, and iteration are critical to managing real-world risk.

    28 min

  8. 22/09/2025

    Episode 1: Setting the Stage

    In the very first episode of Know Your Adversary by SpecterOps, Chief Product Officer Justin Kohler and Chief Technology Officer Jared Atkinson pull back the curtain on how BloodHound came to be and why attack path management is more critical than ever. They trace BloodHound’s roots from a red teamer’s Excel-driven struggle to its evolution into a revolutionary graph-theory tool that changed how defenders and adversaries alike understand identity-based attack paths. Along the way, they explain what an “attack path” really is, why attackers rarely land where they want to, and how pivoting across identities and computers creates endless opportunities for compromise.

    9 min
  • 8 Episodes

About

Know Your Adversary is a podcast by SpecterOps that dives deep into identity security through the lens of the attacker. Hosted by Jared Atkinson and Justin Kohler, each episode unpacks the methods, mindsets, and missteps that shape modern identity risk. From real-world war stories to cutting-edge research, the show brings together practitioners, researchers, and engineers to explore how adversaries think—and how defenders can get ahead.

Information

  • Creator
    SpecterOps
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    8
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © SpecterOps
  • Show Website
    Know Your Adversary