Erin West will deliver a session at the Second Annual Financial Threat Summit at Black Hat USA, a one-day forum within the annual conference. The summit brings senior leaders together to explore security challenges shaping the future of finance and how security, fraud prevention, and resilience strategies must evolve to keep pace. Gain insight into the future threat landscape, including the convergence of cyber risk, fraud, and financial crime.

In her August 4 session, Inside the Machine: A Field Report and a Target List, Erin will share her experiences walking through two scam compounds on the Cambodia–Vietnam border and observing evidence of an organized-crime industry operating without fear of consequences. The reason it operates without fear is simple: the people who could dismantle it technically have never been pointed toward it. Her talk will take you from the ground floor of a trafficking-fueled fraud operation to the AI tooling now scaling it — and then hands you the reins, because disruption doesn't require a badge.

• What firsthand investigation reveals about how the operation is wired

• The hand-off from human scripts to synthetic, scalable deception

• Specific pressure points where this community can do damage that law enforcement can’t

Black Hat Summits offer a focused forum for in-depth exploration of pressing cybersecurity challenges through an industry-specific lens. These gatherings bring together senior practitioners and industry leaders for candid, peer-driven discussions within a trusted environment. Designed to encourage collaboration, Summits emphasize interactive dialogue and practical problem-solving. Participants dive deeply into critical issues and leave with actionable perspectives.