LIVE from Black Hat 2025 at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas — CyberRisk TV brings you a powerful conversation between Doug White and Mickey Bresman, CEO of Semperis, diving deep into the evolution of ransomware and the alarming rise of cyber extortion tactics.
From the early days of encryption-only attacks to today's ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) operations and hybrid threats blending digital and physical intimidation, this interview unpacks the growing sophistication of organized cybercrime.
Mickey shares firsthand insights from Semperis’ recent ransomware report, including a chilling real-world example where a photo of a child was used to threaten an IT professional — illustrating how far threat actors are willing to go.
Key topics covered: How ransomware evolved into an industrialized criminal enterprise Why paying the ransom often doesn’t guarantee safety The vital importance of incident response planning, disaster recovery testing, and cyber insurance What businesses must do now to survive modern cyber threats
If you’ve ever said “We’ll call Steve if something goes wrong,” this video is your wake-up call.
Stay prepared. Stay protected. And if you don’t have a tested response plan… it’s already too late.
This segment is sponsored by Semperis. Visit https://securityweekly.com/semperisbh to download the 2025 Global Ransomware Report!
- 0:00 - Live from Black Hat 2025 Intro
- 01:00 - Meet Mickey Bresman, CEO of Semperis
- 01:45 - The Evolution of Ransomware
- 03:00 - From Encryption to Data Theft and Extortion
- 04:30 - Organized Crime Enters Cybersecurity
- 06:00 - Real-World Threats: Blending Digital and Physical
- 08:00 - Should You Ever Pay the Ransom?
- 10:00 - The Importance of Disaster Recovery Planning
- 13:00 - Common Mistakes in Incident Response
- 15:00 - Final Advice & Cybersecurity Takeaways
Mickey Bresman is CEO and co-founder of Semperis, the identity-driven cyber resilience and crisis response company.
Beginning his technical career in the Navy, Mickey’s comfort zone is on the front lines helping organizations thwart and respond to cyberattacks. The long-time cybersecurity expert and entrepreneur has an extensive track record of driving revenue growth and scaling organizations across the globe. Prior to founding Semperis, Mickey held the position of CTO at YouCC Technologies, a Microsoft Gold Partner integration company. As a cybersecurity thought leader, Mickey has been quoted or featured in many major publications, including Forbes, Fortune, Wall Street Journal and others.
Semperis recently surpassed $150M in annual recurring revenue, a milestone that fewer than one in every 1,000 venture-backed enterprise software companies achieves. The company was recently recognized by Cohesity as its 2025 Security Partner of the Year, one of Dun’s 100 Best HighTech Companies, recognized by Inc. Magazine as one of its Best Workplaces for four consecutive years and has been named to Deloitte’s Technology’s Fast 500 for the sixth consecutive years.
