ANALYST · DOSSIER
Marwa Okonkwo
Director · Threat Intelligence
Twelve years tracking nation-state operations across the EMEA region. Prior posting at the UK National Cyber Security Centre. Author of the 2024 "Persistence Without Privilege" framework now adopted by three NATO member CERTs.
- UK NCSC · Operations Lead
- Mandiant · Senior Researcher
Marwa Okonkwo spent twelve years tracking nation-state cyber operations across the EMEA region before joining SCRYER. Her work at the UK National Cyber Security Centre placed her at the intersection of offensive capability attribution and defensive strategy at a moment when both disciplines were being fundamentally redefined.
At Mandiant, she led the team that developed the Persistence Without Privilege framework, a methodology now formally adopted by three NATO member CERTs. The framework upended conventional assumptions about how advanced persistent threat actors operate in low-privilege environments, shifting the defensive calculus for critical infrastructure operators worldwide.
Her publications in Foreign Affairs and peer-reviewed intelligence journals have made her one of the most cited practitioners in the field. She joined SCRYER as Director of Threat Intelligence in 2023, bringing with her a network of institutional relationships that no press release could adequately describe.
“Persistence without privilege is the signature of a disciplined state actor. You don't need root if you can wait long enough.”
RECENT BRIEFINGS
Selected work by this analyst.
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