Kaspersky SAS 2026 Unveils Pre-OS Espionage, Consumer-Tech Threats and AI-Driven Attacks

Kaspersky’s 18th Security Analyst Summit (SAS 2026) confronts a growing tension: threat actors are increasingly capable of bypassing traditional defenses, while defenders remain fragmented. The conference’s “cyber-anarchy” theme—where attendees act as lone rebels writing a collective manifesto—signals a shift toward coordinated, community-driven threat mitigation. Over 200 participants will convene in Bali, according to the agenda released by Kaspersky here.

Pre-OS espionage and APT evolution

Georgy Kucherin will expose a stealthy UEFI bootkit campaign aimed at diplomatic entities, illustrating how attackers now embed malicious code before operating systems load. Sojun Ryu follows with new intelligence on the Lazarus APT group’s next-level tactics, highlighting a trend of sophisticated, multi-vector operations that evade conventional detection.

Consumer tech under siege

The summit dedicates multiple sessions to malware targeting everyday devices. Dmitry Kalinin will detail a campaign compromising Android-based car head units, while Andy Nguyen explains a PlayStation 5 Linux bypass that subverts console security. Alex Turing will dissect “Kimwolf,” a 31.4 Tbps Android TV botnet, and Alfie CG will break down “Rocket,” an iOS exploit weaponized in the Coruna kit. These presentations collectively map a landscape where gaming consoles, automotive infotainment and smart TVs become attack surfaces.

AI weaponized against AI

Satoki Tsuji will demonstrate zero-click Remote Code Execution chains that sidestep AI-coding guardrails before a large language model (LLM) is invoked. Dr. Zhiniang Peng will showcase an autonomous LLM-driven system that discovered and verified over 100 zero-day vulnerabilities across top Android distributions, proving that AI can both defend and attack at scale.

The event culminates with the SAS Capture The Flag (CTF) 2026 Finals, featuring 13 teams competing for a share of an $18,000 prize pool in an Attack-Defence format.