Max Smeets

China is using cyber attribution to pressure Taiwan Mirroring Western tactics, China’s main intelligence agency and private sector allies are publicly unmasking alleged Taiwanese hackers in a gambit to sway domestic and international opinion

#PublicAttribution of cyber activities is #China’s latest technique for pressuring #Taiwan and shaping the international dialogue around #cybersecurity. @benread.bsky.social digs into the details on Binding Hook: bindinghook.com/articles-hoo...

New from me: China has been ramping up its public attribution against Taiwan, likely in an attempt to shift the conversation on cyber intrusions and pressure the island and they're using their private sector cybersecurity companies to do it. Read the piece, but a few highlights, take aways in this 🧵

Time to ditch the AI arms race analogy You don’t need AI to beat AI. Most threats still fail in the face of ordinary, well-applied defences

The increasingly popular narrative that #AIthreats need to be fought with #AIsecuritysolutions fall short upon closer inspection, argue @virtualroutes.bsky.social’s Jamie Collier and @maxwsmeets.bsky.social in their latest: bindinghook.com/articles-bin...

mailchi.mp/bindinghook....

YouTube video by Virtual Routes Virtual Routes at CyCon 2025

Our #CyCon2025 #ransomware workshop, now in video! 🎞️ Watch the recap and join us for a quick trip back to Tallinn. 👇 @maxwsmeets.bsky.social @jamesshires.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=gb7G...

🎙️ The new episode of the @sansinstitute.bsky.social #CyberLeadersPodcast featuring @maxwsmeets.bsky.social is out now! Have a listen: sans.org/u/1Bxx

Why Europe must finally secure its water sectors from cyber threats Despite the vital importance of both drinking water and wastewater management, these sectors are highly vulnerable to cyberattacks. What policy actions can help?

Gijs van Loon, Apolline Rolland, @jamesshires.bsky.social, and @maxwsmeets.bsky.social call for increased action from the EU to support and protect European drinking- and wastewater utilities. bindinghook.com/articles-bin...

On Lawfare Daily, @jshermcyber.bsky.social and Jonathan Cedarbaum spoke to @maxwsmeets.bsky.social about his book “Ransom War,” the history of ransomware, how the threats have evolved, and some of the major drivers of innovation within the ecosystem. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/lawf...

I enjoyed joining James Lyne and @ciaranm.bsky.social on the Cyber Leaders podcast. It was both fun and useful to discuss state and criminal cyber activity in one episode - and to explore where the two intersect.

www.sans.org/podcasts/cyb...

bindinghooklive.com

Ransom War is now available as an audiobook! www.amazon.com/Ransom-War-B...

⏰ Hurry up - only 1️⃣ week left until the deadline! 📝 Submit your Lightning Talk proposal by May 31: bindinghooklive.com

Updates to our speakers list! Looking forward to the talks by Mattijs Dijkstra & Zawadi Done (@huntandhackett.com), @joshagoldstein.bsky.social (Georgetown's CSET), & @maxwsmeets.bsky.social (@virtualroutes.bsky.social + @ethz.ch). Registration closing 1 June: www.thehagueprogram.nl/the-hague-ti...

Het aantal gerichte taps door de #AIVD is de laatste 5 jaar aanzienlijk gedaald, daarentegen is het aantal taps door de #MIVD de afgelopen twee jaar geëxplodeerd:

Excited to be speaking at The Hague TIX this year. Great line up once again from @monicakello.bsky.social and team!

www.thehagueprogram.nl/the-hague-ti...

Cybersecurity Seminars NL - Virtual Routes The Google.org Cybersecurity Seminars program has been successfully implemented in higher education institutions across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, and is now being launched in the Netherland...

@virtualroutes.bsky.social is expanding the Google.org Cybersecurity Seminars program to the Netherlands, focusing on defending local communities against ransomware. Current university students can register interest now virtual-routes.org/initiatives/...

We are excited to launch a new program in the Netherlands. The goal is to give students hands-on experience in cybersecurity, with courses like malware reverse engineering, digital forensics, and ransomware economics.

Ransomware groups are not always out of reach The arrest of a suspect after a spate of ransomware attacks in the Netherlands is an unusual win for law enforcement, but a more holistic approach is required.

The arrest of a suspect after a spate of #RansomwareAttacks in the Netherlands is an unusual win for law enforcement, but a more holistic approach is required. Read the new piece by @jamesshires.bsky.social and @maxwsmeets.bsky.social: bindinghook.com/articles-hoo...

Binding Hook Live Binding Hook Live is a one-of-a-kind event bringing together leading voices in digital and emerging technologies and global affairs. This exclusive event takes place at the iconic Underbelly Boulevard...

⏳ 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗶𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗟𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟯𝟭, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱!

We're looking for talks on:

👉 Cyber & AI
👉 Surveillance
👉 Info ops
👉 Critical infra
👉 Cybercrime and more

✅ If accepted you’ll receive a 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁 to the event and a £𝟱𝟬𝟬 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘂𝗺.

📝 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗶𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗮𝗹: bindinghooklive.com

Sowing the seeds of enhanced cybersecurity cooperation within the G7 Officials from the Italian National Cybersecurity Agency discuss the challenges and successes of creating the new G7 Cybersecurity Working Group

The G7 Cybersec Working Group has finally put nat cyber agencies in one room to align on critical infra and AI safeguards. Now let us see if a small task force can truly overcome the deep institutional silos that have long slowed collective cyber security/defense:

bindinghook.com/articles-hoo...

State-backed ransomware at the intersection of espionage, sabotage, and cybercrime The governments of Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea use ransomware for diverse ends.

bindinghook.com/articles-hoo...

Binding Hook Live Binding Hook Live is a one-of-a-kind event bringing together leading voices in digital and emerging technologies and global affairs. This exclusive event takes place at the iconic Underbelly Boulevard...

One month left to submit a proposal for a Lightning Talk at Binding Hook Live. 10-minute presentations that should fit the same editorial scope as Binding Hook. We are interested in how digital and emerging technologies shape security.

bindinghooklive.com

Published a new Pharos report today - and learned a lot in the process from @milenkowski.bsky.social Jiro, @julianferdinand.bsky.social @tgrossman.bsky.social. The report takes a closer look at how states are using ransomware.

virtual-routes.org/wp-content/u...

North Korea’s financially driven approach, embedding itself deep within the ecosystem, is also striking. And then there is Iran.. which may be the most versatile in its use. We found it harder to pin down, but much of it mirrors their hacktivist tactics with wipers, offering a similar kind of cover.

Russia has used it largely to maintain operational tempo during the war in Ukraine, while China seems to mostly lean on it for plausible deniability.

I touched on this already in Ransom War, but it felt like the topic deserved a more in-depth treatment. What stands out is just how differently states use ransomware:

Published a new Pharos report today - and learned a lot in the process from @milenkowski.bsky.social Jiro, @julianferdinand.bsky.social @tgrossman.bsky.social. The report takes a closer look at how states are using ransomware.

virtual-routes.org/wp-content/u...

Looking forward to welcome @maxwsmeets.bsky.social at our next online seminar on 22 May to talk about his new book Ransom War: How Cyber Crime Became a Threat to National Security! More info and how to register: www.thehagueprogram.nl/events/ranso...

💡 The third report of the Pharos Series, Ransomware’s New Masters: How States Are Hijacking Cybercrime by @milenkowski.bsky.social, Jiro Minier, @julianferdinand.bsky.social, @maxwsmeets.bsky.social, and @tgrossman.bsky.social is out now. Read the full report: virtual-routes.org/pharos-repor...

📘 @maxwsmeets.bsky.social Ransom War: How Cyber Crime Became a Threat to National Security is now available in the US! ⏭️ Get your copy: a.co/d/7AZEKWu