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Joseph Menn on Covering Hackers Without Fear

Commvault
10/12/2026
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when they were no longer, quote unquote, bad hackers, because in my head, if you're writing a book about hackers, aren't you kind of scared that they're gonna turn their attention towards you and sink your entire life? I mean, I've written about Russian organized crime. I've written about Chinese hackers. I've written about Anonymous. I've written about, you know, all kinds of like street punk type criminals. And I've written nasty stuff about the NSA. My threat model is pretty broad. So no, that was not my biggest worry.

TL;DR

  • Cybersecurity journalist Joseph Menn has reported on Russian organized crime, Chinese hackers, Anonymous, and the NSA — giving him an unusually wide personal threat surface.
  • When asked if covering dangerous hackers made him fear retaliation, Menn said his threat model is broad enough that it was never his biggest worry.
  • The clip illustrates how experienced security professionals and journalists alike approach risk with clear-eyed assessment rather than fear-driven avoidance.

Summary

In this brief clip from Commvault's Ready. Or Not. podcast series, host Nathan Macintosh poses a question many would ask of any investigative cybersecurity journalist: doesn't covering dangerous hackers make you a target? Guest Joseph Menn — a veteran journalist and author who has reported on Russian organized crime, Chinese state-sponsored hacking groups, the hacktivist collective Anonymous, and the NSA — responds with candid perspective on personal threat modeling. Rather than expressing fear, Menn notes that his exposure is already so broad across so many adversarial groups that retaliation was never his primary concern. The exchange offers a rare, unguarded glimpse into how a seasoned cybersecurity reporter thinks about personal risk, framing investigative journalism itself as a discipline that requires its own threat assessment. For Commvault's audience of security practitioners and IT leaders, the clip reinforces the broader Ready. Or Not. series theme: understanding risk clearly, rather than reacting to fear, is the foundation of sound security thinking.

Chapters

0:00 - The Question: Fear of Retaliation
0:15 - Menn's Reporting History
0:29 - Threat Modeling as a Journalist

Key Quotes

0:15 "I've written about Russian organized crime."
0:29 "My threat model is pretty broad."
0:29 "My threat model is pretty broad. So no, that was not my biggest worry."

FAQ

Why wasn't Joseph Menn afraid of retaliation from the hackers he covered?

Menn explains that because he has written about so many different adversarial groups — Russian organized crime, Chinese hackers, Anonymous, street criminals, and the NSA — his threat exposure is already so broad that fear of any single group retaliating was never his primary concern.


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  • Threat Intelligence
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  • Cybersecurity threat modeling
  • Russian organized crime
  • Chinese state-sponsored hacking
  • Anonymous hacktivist group
  • NSA reporting
  • Personal risk assessment
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