# Mapping the malware blast radius a single alert won’t show you

> Source: <https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2026/08/03/mike-wiacek-stairwell-backstory-malware-blast-radius/>
> Published: 2026-08-03 06:00:24+00:00

In this interview with Help Net Security, Mike Wiacek, founder and CTO of Stairwell, explains Backstory, an AI agent that takes a single alert and works outward to map how far a malware campaign spread. He walks through the research behind the claim that each published sample hides an average of 2.4 undocumented variants, describes what counts as a related variant, and explains why Stairwell keeps every executable that runs on customer endpoints. Stairwell has … [More ](https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2026/08/03/mike-wiacek-stairwell-backstory-malware-blast-radius/)

The post [Mapping the malware blast radius a single alert won’t show you](https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2026/08/03/mike-wiacek-stairwell-backstory-malware-blast-radius/) appeared first on [Help Net Security](https://www.helpnetsecurity.com).