Today’s most disruptive and violent threat actors don’t just exploit systems, they exploit people, culture, and online communities. In this joint keynote, Allison Nixon, Unit 221B’s Chief Research Officer, and May Chen-Contino, CEO of Unit 221B, explore how youth-driven, English-speaking cybercrime networks organize, recruit, and scale enterprise attacks such as ransomware by using social engineering tactics that evade traditional controls. The session examines what it takes to move from fragmented intel to real-world disruption: cross-sector investigative collaboration, responsible evidence development, and practical strategies for adapting to decentralized adversaries operating at the speed of social media. Attendees will leave with a framework on how to decode the behavior of these attackers and recommendations on how to fortify the human side of security.
