Live from Black Hat: Ransomware, Responsible Disclosure, and the Rise of AI

Aug 27, 2025

Tom Gallagher, VP of Engineering at Microsoft's Security Response Center, discusses the importance of responsible disclosure in cybersecurity and the exciting $5 million Zero Day Quest initiative. Eric Olson, Principal Security Researcher, dives into the explosive evolution of ransomware and social engineering tactics. He highlights the drastic reduction in ransomware dwell times to mere minutes and the emerging threat of AI-enhanced phishing attacks. Together, they emphasize the need for collaboration between researchers and security teams to combat these growing threats.

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INSIGHT

Coordinated Vulnerability Disclosure Protects Customers

MSRC coordinates disclosure so researchers report vulnerabilities to Microsoft first and then jointly disclose after mitigations.
This protects customers while letting researchers publicly share findings to advance community learning.

INSIGHT

Diversity Drives Bug Research

Microsoft's bug bounty community is globally diverse, spanning 59 countries and contributors from high schoolers to PhDs.
That variety brings different perspectives and techniques that improve overall security discoveries.

ANECDOTE

Zero Day Quest: In-Person Research Sprint

Zero Day Quest invited top researchers to Redmond for an in-person contest focused on cloud and AI vulnerabilities.
Engineers and researchers worked side-by-side to triage, explain architectures, and accelerate fixes.

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In this episode of the Microsoft Threat Intelligence Podcast, host⁠ ⁠⁠Sherrod DeGrippo is live from Black Hat 2025 with a special lineup of Microsoft security leaders and researchers.

First, Sherrod sits down with Tom Gallagher, VP of Engineering and head of the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC). Tom shares how his team works with researchers worldwide, why responsible disclosure matters, and how programs like Zero Day Quest (ZDQ) are shaping the future of vulnerability research in cloud and AI security. He also announced the next iteration of ZTQ with $5 million up for grabs.

Next, Sherrod is joined by Eric Baller (Senior Security Researcher) and Eric Olson (Principal Security Researcher) to unpack the fast-changing ransomware landscape. From dwell time collapsing from weeks to minutes, to the growing role of access brokers, they explore how attackers operate as organized ecosystems and how defenders can respond.

Finally, Sherrod welcomes Travis Schack (Principal Security Researcher) alongside Eric Olson to examine the mechanics of social engineering. They discuss how attackers exploit urgency, trust, and human curiosity, why AI is supercharging phishing campaigns, and how defenders can fight back with both training and technology.

In this episode you’ll learn:

How MSRC partners with researchers across 59 countries to protect customers
Why Zero Day Quest is accelerating vulnerability discovery in cloud and AI
How ransomware dwell times have shrunk from days to under an hour

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