True Stories From the Hacker Underworld: Highlights from the Autonomous IT Live Show

What if cybersecurity were told like a true-crime story? In the latest Autonomous IT live show, host Landon Miles invited Jason Kikta, Automox’s CTO and CISO, to peel back the curtain on the psychology, methods, and motivations of hackers and attackers.

From the infamous Log4j vulnerability to the blurred lines between curiosity and criminal intent, this live show unpacked what really happens when your network comes under siege — and what IT teams can do to fight back. 

Vulnerabilities Are the Keys Under the Doormat

Landon Miles opened with an analogy: a vulnerability is like a key left under a doormat — harmless until someone knows it’s there.

• Vulnerabilities emerge from human error, design flaws, or malicious intent.

• They follow a loose cycle of introduction → discovery → disclosure → exploitation → patching.

• Each step may happen out of order, proving why rapid detection and patch management are essential.

Hackers vs. Attackers: Intent Is Everything

Jason Kikta drew a sharp line between the two: “A hacker wants to understand how something works. An attacker adds malicious intent.”

• Hackers may explore or fix systems — curiosity first.

• Attackers weaponize that knowledge for profit, espionage, or chaos.

• Understanding this distinction helps security teams see motivation as a diagnostic tool, not just a label.

Knowing Who’s Attacking You and Why Matters

While some argue that identity doesn’t matter during an incident, Kikta disagrees: “At first, focus on stopping the attack. But once the dust settles, understanding who’s attacking and why is critical.”

Why it matters:

• Motives dictate methods. State actors behave differently than ransomware gangs.

• Knowing the attacker profile informs incident response strategy and threat-hunting priorities.

• The first 30 seconds may be chaos, but context soon becomes your best weapon.

Lessons from Log4j — A Global Case Study

The team revisited Log4j, one of the most far-reaching vulnerabilities in modern IT:

• A simple Java logging feature turned into a remote-execution nightmare.

• What began in Minecraft chat logs escalated into worldwide exploitation within hours.

• Even years later, automated scans still probe for Log4j vulnerabilities daily.

Deep dependency chains hide risk. Even the most careful teams can be blindsided when vulnerabilities live several layers deep in third-party software.

Overlooked Weak Points: Recovery and Logging

Jason Kikta emphasized that resilience is more than good backups:

• One firm’s “impenetrable” recovery plan collapsed when restoring thousands of systems took four months. They eventually paid the ransom.

• The missing link: testing recovery at scale.

• Logs also deserve hardening: attackers often delete or alter logs to erase their tracks. Use immutable log storage or off-network replication to preserve forensic data.

• Understand before you react: Motivation reveals methodology.

• Know your network inside-out: Inventory, configuration discipline, and identity protection are foundational.

• Test recovery at scale: A backup that can’t restore quickly is a false sense of security.

• Preserve logs and evidence: Plan for an attacker trying to erase their footprints.

• Practice the attacker mindset: Red teaming and vulnerability disclosure drive resilience.

Adopt continuous improvement: Every day is patch day.

If you missed the live show and want to dig deeper into the attacker mindset, you can watch the full episode here on YouTube! Make sure you subscribe for more real-world examples and strategies you can apply to strengthen your security posture!