Masked Actors
True crime meets cybercrime. Discover the people behind the keyboard.
From Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) gangs to global financial crime syndicates, the rise of sophisticated cyber threats is reshaping the world. These aren’t lone hackers — they’re organized groups running multi-million dollar operations in the shadows.
In the Masked Actors podcast, cyber threat expert and former soldier turned hacker Gary Ruddell joins forces with Nick Palmer, a seasoned financial crime fighter, to investigate the top 10 most dangerous cybercriminal groups of 2025 — drawn from Group-IB’s High-Tech Crime Trends Report.
Each episode explores the tactics, motivations, and impact of major cybercrime groups, uncovering their role in the latest cybercrime, RaaS, and financial crime trends. You’ll learn how these actors exploit vulnerabilities, fuel geopolitical tension, and affect businesses and consumers alike.
Tune in to Masked Actors — and stay one step ahead of cybercrime.
Masked Actors
Latest Episodes
Team TNT: Could you be unknowingly mining for crypto?
Cryptocurrency promised huge potential for investors. But it’s cybercriminals who are reaping the benefits. From multimillion-dollar ransomware payouts to borderless money laundering, cryptocurrency has quietly become the fuel powering a global...
Boolka: The evolution of a cybercriminal enterprise
If evolution has taught humanity anything, it’s that adaptation is key to survival. As prey develop camouflage techniques, predators get faster, sturdier, and better at detection. Now this game of cat and mouse is taking over the digital world....
Brain Cipher: What happens when national infrastructure comes under strike?
Indonesia, June 2024 - 210 critical government agencies were crippled in one fell swoop. Immigration services were in disarray; customs officers locked out of critical systems and travellers left stranded in airport and ferry terminals facing d...
Ajina: Can you really trust that app?
Cyber criminals are masters at exploiting human vulnerability and trust. In Uzbek folklore, there's a creature known for causing chaos, preying on humans, lurking in the dark and changing its face to trick its victims before it pounces. <...
MuddyWater & OilRig: The cyber espionage playbook
As digital infrastructure becomes the backbone of global economies, cyber espionage has quietly evolved into one of the most powerful tools in modern statecraft. Behind the scenes, nation-backed threat groups like MuddyWater and Oi...
