The CyberWeek - Interview with Z Pentest Alliance

In this CyberWeek the Cibercapitan brings the interview with Z Pentest Alliance, one of the bad boys of the moment. Despite the name, they aren’t Russian but Serbian, pro-Russian, and they’ve racked up a fine collection of attacks against NATO countries. What makes this group different is that they don’t stop at the usual denial of service or phishing. These ones get into the industrial environment: they touch PLCs, change parameters and wander through OT networks that, let’s be honest, are often a mess.

I take the chance to tell a story that gives you pause. Years ago I ran into someone who had worked on the cyber side of a nuclear plant in Spain, and the security wasn’t exactly top of the class. If that happens there, imagine everywhere else. The group was extremely cooperative and answered everything. No filter and no censorship, as this section demands, so you can really see what drives these people. Some of the answers will surprise you.