Protecting major events: An incident response blueprint

Ensuring the cybersecurity of major events -- whether it's sports, professional conferences, expos, inter-government meetings or other gatherings -- is a complex and time-intensive task. It requires a comprehensive approach and collaboration among various stakeholders, including vendors,...

What kind of summer has it been?

Hello Talos followers. I'm back for my annual takeover of the Threat Source newsletter. First, an update on that killer sloth movie I was so excited about in August 2023. "Slotherhouse" debuted with an impressive $137,133 at the box office, with critics hailing its various set pieces such as "dea...

Inside the ransomware playbook: Analyzing attack chains and mapping common TTPs

Given the recent slate of massive ransomware attacks that have disrupted everything from hospitals to car dealerships, Cisco Talos wanted to take a renewed look at the top ransomware players to see where the current landscape stands. Based on a comprehensive review of more than a dozen prominent...

Talos IR trends: BEC attacks surge, while weaknesses in MFA persist

Business email compromise BEC was the top threat observed by Cisco Talos Incident Response Talos IR in the first quarter of 2024, accounting for nearly half of engagements, which is more than double what was observed in the previous quarter. The most observed means of gaining initial access was t...

Heather Couk is here to keep your spirits up during a cyber emergency, even if it takes the “Rocky” music

"Gotta Fly Now" is more closely associated with corporate hype videos or conferences with thousands of attendees in a mid-market citys convention center than it is from its origins in the "Rocky" movies. But Heather Couk thinks its useful in incident response calls, too. Couk, an incident respons...

Why is the cost of cyber insurance rising?

I just bought an electric car last week, so Ive been shopping for new car insurance policies that could offer me a discount for ditching gas. Were all familiar with the boring process of entering the same information 10 times over into 10 different companies websites trying to see who comes out t...

7 common mistakes companies make when creating an incident response plan and how to avoid them

Cisco Talos recently covered the basics of NIS2, a new set of requirements for cybersecurity and security incident disclosures set to take effect next year in the European Union. As part of these new guidelines, organizations with operations in the EU must have up-to-date "incident handling"...

Attacks on web applications spike in third quarter, new Talos IR data shows

Quarterly threat report: Telecommunications and education are most-targeted verticals There was a notable increase in threats to web applications, accounting for 30 percent of the engagements Cisco Talos Incident Response Talos IR responded to in the third quarter of 2023, compared to 8 percent t...

What Old is New Again and What's Old is Me?

Welcome to this weeks edition of the Threat Source newsletter. Whats old is new again and whats old is still old. The fact that we are seeing a comeback of this USB thumb drive nonsense is giving me heartburn, and a headache, and my left eye is twitching … and maybe numbness in my legs? Yes, I am...

Quarterly Report: Incident Response Trends in Q3 2022

Ransomware and pre-ransomware engagements make up 40 percent of threats seen this quarter For the first time since compiling these reports, Cisco Talos Incident Response saw an equal number of ransomware and pre-ransomware engagements, making up nearly 40 percent of threats this quarter. It can b...