Was “Black October” really that bad?

October’s wave of vulnerabilities and attacks earned a stark nickname: “Black October.” But was it an unprecedented crisis—or a glimpse of what’s becoming normal?

On this episode of CyberScoop’s Safe Mode, Greg discusses the month’s events with Tom Hegel, distinguished threat researcher and research lead at SentinelOne’s SentinelLabs. Hegel explains why many incidents that surfaced in October began months earlier, how automation and AI tools are lowering the barrier to large-scale attacks, and why defenders may have only minutes to respond once a patch is released.

The conversation also examines the risks of relying on patches alone, the need to assess what an attacker could do after gaining access, and how security teams can avoid letting high-profile vulnerabilities distract from other threats.