Tidal Cyber Appoints Cat Self as Senior Director of Adversary Research to Advance Procedural-Level Threat Intelligence
RESTON, VA – February 19, 2026 – Tidal Cyber, the category creator and global leader in Threat-Led Defense, today announced the appointment of Cat Self as Senior Director of Adversary Research. A recognized expert in cyber threat intelligence and adversary emulation, Cat joins Tidal Cyber to lead its adversary research and content initiatives, with a focus on advancing procedural-level intelligence and testing.
Cat previously served at MITRE as the macOS/Linux Lead of MITRE ATT&CK and founder of the cyber threat intelligence team supporting ATT&CK Evaluations. An adversary research leader with a background spanning U.S. Army military intelligence and enterprise red teaming at Target, she built and led large-scale procedural emulation initiatives that operationalized complex adversary tradecraft into measurable, execution-level assessments for the industry. In parallel, she designed and delivered adversary emulation and CTI programs for U.S.-allied partner nations, translating ATT&CK into operational training and structured capability advancement aligned to real-world threats.
At Tidal Cyber, Cat will lead adversary research and cyber threat intelligence strategy, advancing procedural research that helps organizations prioritize high-risk attacks over generalized signals. Her work aligns defensive investment to real-world attacker execution, enabling organizations to determine not only whether defenses disrupt attacks, but where disruption is most impactful.
“I joined Tidal Cyber because the company is committed to transparency around how defenses perform against real adversary procedures,” said Cat. “In an industry saturated with marketing, those procedures, the exact steps adversaries take, provide clarity. They expose decision points, motivations, and capability. When organizations understand how their defenses hold up at that level, they can move beyond the noise and focus on solving the right problem.”
Cat’s appointment builds on Tidal Cyber’s continued investment in procedural research and testing capabilities, core components of the company’s Threat-Led Defense platform.
“Cat is an exceptional leader in adversary research and threat intelligence,” said Frank Duff, Chief Innovation Officer and Co-Founder of Tidal Cyber. “I had the privilege of hiring Cat during our time at MITRE and saw firsthand her ability to translate complex adversary tradecraft into actionable insight. Her deep expertise in procedural research and evaluations aligns perfectly with our mission to help organizations understand whether their defenses can truly disrupt real attack execution.”
About Tidal Cyber
The foundation of Tidal Cyber’s Threat-Led Defense Platform is built on procedures, delivering the adversary execution specificity organizations need to disrupt attacks and reduce the probability of attacker success and residual risk. Learn more at www.tidalcyber.com.