Jon DiMaggio on LockBit, REvil, and the Rules of Cyberwarfare
September 30, 2026
AI Summary
5 min readJon DiMaggio, chief security strategist at Analyst1 and author of The Art of Cyber Warfare, has spent years doing something most security professionals avoid: talking directly to ransomware gangs. He has applied to become an affiliate of REvil, interviewed LockBit’s leadership on dark web forums, and tracked the human drama behind the malware. His conclusion is that LockBit is not just a prolific ransomware group—it is a strategic business that outmaneuvered its rivals through smarter payment models, aggressive marketing, and a relentless focus on making attacks easy enough for anyone to execute.
The Difference Between a Breach and an Espionage Campaign
Most people assume nation-state hackers only target other governments. DiMaggio explains that this is dangerously wrong. Using the 2015 Anthem breach as an example, he shows how a single data theft—initially appearing as routine cybercrime—was actually part of a Chinese espionage campaign. The same group that hit Anthem also breached the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which holds security clearance records for U.S. intelligence employees. Anthem, at the time, was the healthcare provider for many of those same workers.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (02:16) **Guest Introduction & Book Background** - David Morrow introduces Jon DiMaggio, chief security strategist at Analyst1 and author of *The Art of Cyber Warfare*.
- 2 (07:05) **Why Jon Writes Public Research** - Jon shares his motivation for publishing open-source research, even while working for government intelligence agencies.
- 3 (11:59) **Nation-State vs. Cybercrime: The Anthem Breach** - Jon explains the critical difference between nation-state espionage and regular cybercrime using the Anthem data breach.
- 4 (15:34) **Research Methodology: Infiltrating Cybercrime Gangs** - Jon describes his unique approach to researching ransomware groups by going directly to the source.
- 5 (17:17) **The Business of Initial Access Brokers (IABs)** - Jon explains how the ransomware ecosystem relies on specialized criminal roles.
- 6 (18:43) **LockBit Origins: From ABC to RaaS** - Jon traces LockBit's evolution from a simple gang to the most prolific ransomware-as-a-service operation.
- 7 (19:58) **LockBit 2.0: The Game Changer** - Jon details how LockBit 2.0 in June 2021 revolutionized the ransomware business model.
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Guests on this episode
Show Notes
Latest Analysis on LOCKBIT. What to know with expert Jon DiMaggio, Chief Security Strategist at ANALYST 1 on cyberwarfare, LOCKBIT RANSOMWARE GANG and REVIL.
VIDEO EPISODE HERE
Jon is the best-selling author of The ART of CYBERWARFARE. Grab your copy here.
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