Ethical Threat Insights

Spencer Alessi

Download your free Active Directory Security Resource Kit: https://go.spenceralessi.com/podcast Ethical Threat Insights explores what attackers do inside your environment and how IT and security teams can stop them. Hosted by Spencer Alessi, Microsoft MVP and offensive security professional, the show covers Active Directory security, internal pentesting, identity attacks, Windows hardening, and practical defense. Real-world pentest insights, technical deep dives, webinars, and expert conversations to help make your environment harder to attack. Less theory. More real-world security.

  1. 2d ago

    Measure Security by the Attack Paths You Close

    Download your free Active Directory Security Resource Kit: https://spenceralessi.com/adsecuritykit/?utm_source=ethical_threat_insights&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ad_security_kit&utm_content=ep-015-measure-security-by-the-attack-paths-you-close In this episode of Ethical Threat Insights, Spencer Alessi explores security metrics tied to attacker outcomes. Counting fixed vulnerabilities does not always explain how risk changed. Spencer proposes tracking concrete attack paths that have been removed so leaders can connect technical work to a meaningful outcome. What you'll learn: Describe the route from a compromised user to a high-impact target.Track paths that have actually been closed over time.Explain the limitations of the metric while using it to communicate progress.More from Spencer: https://spenceralessi.com/ Follow @techspence for more practical cybersecurity insights.

  2. 3d ago

    Four Questions to Prioritize Your Security Work

    Download your free Active Directory Security Resource Kit: https://spenceralessi.com/adsecuritykit/?utm_source=ethical_threat_insights&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ad_security_kit&utm_content=ep-014-four-questions-to-prioritize-your-security-work In this episode of Ethical Threat Insights, Spencer Alessi explores harm, likelihood, improvement, and risk acceptance. Security work competes with a finite budget, a finite team, and a finite number of hours. Spencer shares a practical way to choose the changes that matter and make explicit decisions about the risks a team cannot address now. What you'll learn: Ask what could cause the greatest harm and what is most likely to be exploited.Choose improvements that are realistic with current resources.Make risk acceptance an explicit part of prioritization.More from Spencer: https://spenceralessi.com/ Follow @techspence for more practical cybersecurity insights.

  3. 4d ago

    Stop Adding Tools. Delete Attack Paths.

    Download your free Active Directory Security Resource Kit: https://spenceralessi.com/adsecuritykit/?utm_source=ethical_threat_insights&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ad_security_kit&utm_content=ep-013-stop-adding-tools-delete-attack-paths In this episode of Ethical Threat Insights, Spencer Alessi explores subtractive security. What could you remove from your environment that would make an attack materially harder? Spencer discusses deleting unnecessary paths, constraining what remains, and monitoring residual risk with tools a team may already have. What you'll learn: Apply deletion, constraint, and monitoring in that order.Look for unnecessary privileges and legacy protocols.Focus on foundational exposure while assessing new threats.More from Spencer: https://spenceralessi.com/ Follow @techspence for more practical cybersecurity insights.

  4. 5d ago

    Catch the Recon Before the Malware

    Download your free Active Directory Security Resource Kit: https://spenceralessi.com/adsecuritykit/?utm_source=ethical_threat_insights&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ad_security_kit&utm_content=ep-012-catch-the-recon-before-the-malware In this episode of Ethical Threat Insights, Spencer Alessi explores behavioral detection and deception during reconnaissance. Renaming a tool or changing a signature can defeat a narrow detection rule. Spencer discusses abnormal discovery activity, network telemetry, and believable decoys as ways to notice an intruder before the attack reaches its later stages. What you'll learn: Understand the limits of detections tied only to tool names or static signatures.Look for unusual volumes of discovery and file-share activity.Use deception as an early warning during the recon phase.More from Spencer: https://spenceralessi.com/ Follow @techspence for more practical cybersecurity insights.

  5. 6d ago

    Segment the Network Before Recon Starts

    Download your free Active Directory Security Resource Kit: https://spenceralessi.com/adsecuritykit/?utm_source=ethical_threat_insights&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ad_security_kit&utm_content=ep-011-segment-the-network-before-recon-starts In this episode of Ethical Threat Insights, Spencer Alessi explores network segmentation and attacker reconnaissance. A compromised endpoint is much less useful when it cannot reach the systems an attacker wants to enumerate. Spencer discusses host firewall rules, segmentation, jump hosts, and reducing unnecessary outbound access. What you'll learn: Connect network reachability to reconnaissance and lateral movement.Consider the built-in Windows Firewall alongside other segmentation options.Review which servers actually need internet access.More from Spencer: https://spenceralessi.com/ Follow @techspence for more practical cybersecurity insights.

  6. Oct 30

    App Control That Attackers Hate

    Download your free Active Directory Security Resource Kit: https://spenceralessi.com/adsecuritykit/?utm_source=ethical_threat_insights&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ad_security_kit&utm_content=ep-010-app-control-that-attackers-hate In this episode of Ethical Threat Insights, Spencer Alessi explores application control and the work needed to deploy it well. Well-configured application control can make it difficult for an attacker to run tools and payloads. Spencer explains why baselining, communication, and careful configuration matter just as much as selecting a product. What you'll learn: Understand how application control raises the cost of running attacker tools.Compare allow and block approaches discussed in the recording.Plan the learning period and coordinate rollout with the people affected.More from Spencer: https://spenceralessi.com/ Follow @techspence for more practical cybersecurity insights.

  7. Oct 29

    Fix, Retest, Repeat: Closing the Attack Path

    Download your free Active Directory Security Resource Kit: https://spenceralessi.com/adsecuritykit/?utm_source=ethical_threat_insights&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ad_security_kit&utm_content=ep-009-fix-retest-repeat-closing-the-attack-path In this episode of Ethical Threat Insights, Spencer Alessi explores prioritizing remediation and proving that a fix worked. A reported fix does not necessarily close the path an attacker used. Spencer explains how to balance ease of exploitation with operational impact, then retest the change so incomplete remediation does not quietly survive. What you'll learn: Prioritize using both exploitability and the impact of the change.Recognize that an easy technical change can still disrupt business services.Retest the original path after remediation.More from Spencer: https://spenceralessi.com/ Follow @techspence for more practical cybersecurity insights.

  8. Oct 28

    Tools That Help You Find Hidden AD Attack Paths

    Download your free Active Directory Security Resource Kit: https://spenceralessi.com/adsecuritykit/?utm_source=ethical_threat_insights&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ad_security_kit&utm_content=ep-008-tools-that-help-you-find-hidden-ad-attack-paths In this episode of Ethical Threat Insights, Spencer Alessi explores tools for finding Active Directory permissions and misconfigurations. BloodHound is a useful starting point, but it is not the only way to investigate identity attack paths. Spencer discusses PingCastle, Purple Knight, Locksmith, and delegation tools, with attention to collection alerts and the need to understand what the results mean. What you'll learn: Match attack-path mapping, delegation review, and certificate auditing to the question you need answered.Account for collection activity that may trigger endpoint alerts.Research the meaning of permissions instead of treating every result as equally exploitable.More from Spencer: https://spenceralessi.com/ Follow @techspence for more practical cybersecurity insights.

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About

Download your free Active Directory Security Resource Kit: https://go.spenceralessi.com/podcast Ethical Threat Insights explores what attackers do inside your environment and how IT and security teams can stop them. Hosted by Spencer Alessi, Microsoft MVP and offensive security professional, the show covers Active Directory security, internal pentesting, identity attacks, Windows hardening, and practical defense. Real-world pentest insights, technical deep dives, webinars, and expert conversations to help make your environment harder to attack. Less theory. More real-world security.

Information

  • Creator
    Spencer Alessi
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    16
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Spencer Alessi
  • Show Website
    Ethical Threat Insights