InSideCopy: How this APT continues to evolve its arsenal

By Asheer Malhotra and Justin Thattil. Cisco Talos is tracking an increase in SideCopy's activities targeting government personnel in India using themes and tactics similar to APT36 aka Mythic Leopard and Transparent Tribe.SideCopy is an APT group that mimics the Sidewinder APT's infection... Thi...

REvil ransomware actors attack Kaseya in supply chain attack

Updated on July 6, 2021: As analysis of the ransomware attack affecting organizations using Kaseya VSA has continued, we are sharing an update containing additional information. As new details are identified, this information may be updated as needed. This event consisted of two separate, but...

Threat Roundup for June 25 to July 2

Today, Talos is publishing a glimpse into the most prevalent threats we've observed between June 25 and July 2. As with previous roundups, this post isn't meant to be an in-depth analysis. Instead, this post will summarize the threats we've observed by highlighting key behavioral...

Talos Takes Ep. #59: How to secure the devices that secure your home network

By Jon Munshaw. As consumers start having more “smart” devices connected to their home network, they may want an easy solution to keeping those devices safe. But what if that device gets owned? Carl Hurd of our vulnerability research team recently discovered several vulnerabilities in Trend...

Threat Source newsletter (July 1, 2021)

Newsletter compiled by Jon Munshaw.Good afternoon, Talos readers. There's been a lot of talk recently around how to address America's infrastructure cybersecurity. After attacks like Colonial Pipeline and JBS, everyone across the public and private sectors are wondering what... This is only the...

Vulnerability Spotlight: Memory corruption vulnerability in PowerISO’s DMG handler

Piotr Bania of Cisco Talos discovered this vulnerability. Blog by Jon Munshaw. Cisco Talos recently discovered a memory corruption vulnerability in PowerISO’s handler that deals with DMG files. PowerISO is a CD/DVD/BD image file processing tool, which allows users to open, extract,... This is onl...

Threat Roundup for June 18 to June 25

Today, Talos is publishing a glimpse into the most prevalent threats we've observed between June 18 and June 25. As with previous roundups, this post isn't meant to be an in-depth analysis. Instead, this post will summarize the threats we've observed by highlighting key behavioral...

Talos Takes Ep. #58: How to approach the partnerships it will take to defend critical infrastructure

By Jon Munshaw. With major cyber attacks in recent years against major U.S. critical infrastructure suppliers like Norsk Hydro and Colonial Pipeline, we’re in a new world of CI cybersecurity. New threats require new approaches to defense. And in the U.S., this is likely going to include... This i...

Beers with Talos, Ep. #106: Is more than executive action in order?

Beers with Talos BWT Podcast episode No. 106 is now available. Download this episode and subscribe to Beers with Talos: Apple Podcasts Google PodcastsSpotify StitcherIf iTunes and Google Play aren't your thing, click here. By Mitch Neff. Recorded May 20, 2021. Craig wins... This is only the...

Threat Source newsletter (June 24, 2021)

Newsletter compiled by Jon Munshaw.Good afternoon, Talos readers. Even though spam emails asking for gift cards may seem like the oldest trick in the book, they're still effective in 2021. The FBI estimates that business email compromise cost victims around $1.8 billion in 2020,... This is only t...

Attackers in Executive Clothing - BEC continues to separate orgs from their money

By Nick Biasini. In today's world of threat research, the focus tends to be on the overtly malicious practice of distributing and installing malware on end systems. But this is far from the complete picture of what threats organizations face. One of the most, if not the most, costly is something...

Vulnerability Spotlight: EIP Stack Group OpENer information disclosure vulnerability

Martin Zeiser of Cisco Talos discovered this vulnerability. Blog by Jon Munshaw. Cisco Talos recently discovered an exploitable information disclosure vulnerability in EIP Stack Group OpENer’s Ethernet/IP UDP handler. OpENer is an Ethernet/IP stack for I/O adapter devices that... This is only the...

Talos Takes Ep. #57: A ransomware-as-a-service explainer

By Jon Munshaw. The latest episode of Talos Takes is available now. Download this episode and subscribe to Talos Takes using the buttons below, or visit the Talos Takes page. How much is ransomware-as-a-service like a McDonald’s franchise? More similar than you’d think! The RaaS model has... This...

Threat Roundup for June 11 to June 17

Today, Talos is publishing a glimpse into the most prevalent threats we've observed between June 11 and June 17. As with previous roundups, this post isn't meant to be an in-depth analysis. Instead, this post will summarize the threats we've observed by highlighting key behavioral...

Threat Source newsletter (June 17, 2021)

Newsletter compiled by Jon Munshaw.Good afternoon, Talos readers. Although the Colonial Pipeline attack is largely behind us now, its potential repercussions are not. This was just the latest in a string of attacks against American critical infrastructure over the past few years, and we... This i...

What’s past is prologue – A new world of critical infrastructure security

By Caitlin Huey, Joe Marshall and Thomas Pope. Attackers have targeted American critical infrastructure several times over the past few years, putting at risk U.S. electrical grids, oil pipelines and water supply systems. However, we collectively have not responded in a meaningful way to these...

Threat Roundup for June 4 to June 11

Today, Talos is publishing a glimpse into the most prevalent threats we've observed between June 4 and June 11. As with previous roundups, this post isn't meant to be an in-depth analysis. Instead, this post will summarize the threats we've observed by highlighting key behavioral...

Talos Takes Ep. #56: The first security steps you should take when you return to the office

By Jon Munshaw. The latest episode of Talos Takes is available now. Download this episode and subscribe to Talos Takes using the buttons below, or visit the Talos Takes page. We started out the COVID-19 pandemic by thinking we'd be away from the office for a month — maybe two. More than 12... Thi...

Threat Source newsletter (June 10, 2021)

Newsletter compiled by Jon Munshaw.Good afternoon, Talos readers. We seriously can't escape from ransomware. It's in the headlines constantly and has now drawn the full attention of the federal government. But we at Talos recognize that is going to take far more than just words to... This is only...

Quarterly Report: Incident Response trends from Spring 2021

By David Liebenberg and Caitlin Huey. While the security community made a great effort to warn users of the exploitation of several Microsoft Exchange Server zero-day vulnerabilities, it was still the biggest threat Cisco Talos Incident Response CTIR saw this past quarter. These... This is only t...

Vulnerability Spotlight: Code execution vulnerability in Google Web Audio API

Piotr Bania of Cisco Talos discovered these vulnerabilities. Blog by Jon Munshaw. Cisco Talos recently discovered two use-after-free vulnerabilities in Google’s Web Audio API that an adversary could exploit to execute remote code on the victim machine. Web Audio API is a high-level JavaScript...

Microsoft Patch Tuesday for June 2021 — Snort rules and prominent vulnerabilities

By Jon Munshaw, with contributions from Edmund Brumaghin. Microsoft released its monthly security update Tuesday, disclosing 51 vulnerabilities across its suite of products, breaking last month’s 16-month record of the fewest vulnerabilities disclosed in a month by the company. There... This is...

Vulnerability Spotlight: Use-after-free vulnerability in WebKit

Marcin Towalski of Cisco Talos discovered these vulnerabilities. Blog by Jon Munshaw. The WebKit browser engine contains a use-after-free vulnerability in its GraphicsContext function. A malicious web page code could trigger a use-after-free error, which could lead to a potential information...

Necro Python bot adds new exploits and Tezos mining to its bag of tricks

By Vanja Svajcer, with contributions from Caitlin Huey and Kendall McKay. News summarySome malware families stay static in terms of their functionality. But a newly discovered malware campaign utilizing the Necro Python bot shows this actor is adding new functionality and improving its chances...

Intelligence-driven disruption of ransomware campaigns

By Neil Jenkins and Matthew Olney. Note: Our guest co-author, Neil Jenkins, is the Chief Analytic Officer at the Cyber Threat Alliance. He leads the CTA's analytic efforts, focusing on the development of threat profiles, adversary playbooks and other analysis using the threat intelligence in the...

Threat Roundup for May 28 to June 4

Today, Talos is publishing a glimpse into the most prevalent threats we've observed between May 28 and June 4. As with previous roundups, this post isn't meant to be an in-depth analysis. Instead, this post will summarize the threats we've observed by highlighting key behavioral characteristics,...

Threat Source newsletter (June 3, 2021)

Newsletter compiled by Jon Munshaw.Good afternoon, Talos readers. If you didn't catch us live yesterday, we've uploaded the full version of our stream on Discord and Slack malware to our YouTube page. Chris Neal from Talos Outreach walked through his recent research into these campaigns... This i...

Vulnerability Spotlight: A deep dive into macOS SMB server

By Aleksandar Nikolich.Executive summary Cisco Talos recently discovered multiple vulnerabilities in macOS’s implementation of SMB server. An adversary could exploit these vulnerabilities to carry out a variety of malicious actions, including revealing sensitive information on the server,...

Vulnerability Spotlight: Multiple vulnerabilities in Accusoft ImageGear

Emmanuel Tacheau of Cisco Talos discovered these vulnerabilities. Blog by Jon Munshaw. Cisco Talos recently discovered multiple vulnerabilities in Accusoft ImageGear. The ImageGear library is a document-imaging developer toolkit that allows users to create, edit, annotate and convert various...

Threat Roundup for May 21 to May 28

Today, Talos is publishing a glimpse into the most prevalent threats we've observed between May 21 and May 28. As with previous roundups, this post isn't meant to be an in-depth analysis. Instead, this post will summarize the threats we've observed by highlighting key behavioral characteristics,...

Talos Takes Ep. #55: How Transparent Tribe could evolve in the future

By Jon Munshaw. The latest episode of Talos Takes is available now. Download this episode and subscribe to Talos Takes using the buttons below, or visit the Talos Takes page. We recently covered how the Transparent Tribe APT added another RAT to its arsenal. Where might they go from here? In...

Threat Source newsletter (May 27, 2021)

Newsletter compiled by Jon Munshaw. Good afternoon, Talos readers. We're used to referring to attackers as either APTs or not APTs. And when something is an APT, it sounds a lot scarier and sexier. But it's our belief that that isn't going to cut it anymore. Therefore, we propose in a... This is...

Elizabethan England has nothing on modern-day Russia

This post was authored by Warren Mercer and Vitor Ventura The threat landscape is changing. Organizations need to defend against an ever-evolving tranche of threat actors. For a long time, the lines that distinguish state-sponsored and crimeware groups were well-defined. We believe this is... Thi...

Vulnerability Spotlight: Multiple vulnerabilities in Trend Micro Home Network Security Station

Carl Hurd and Kelly Leuschner of Cisco Talos discovered this vulnerability. Blog by Jon Munshaw. Cisco Talos recently discovered multiple vulnerabilities in Trend Micro’s Home Network Security Station. The Home Network Security Station is a device that monitors and protects home... This is only t...

Threat Roundup for May 14 to May 21

Today, Talos is publishing a glimpse into the most prevalent threats we've observed between May 14 and May 21. As with previous roundups, this post isn't meant to be an in-depth analysis. Instead, this post will summarize the threats we've observed by highlighting key behavioral characteristics,...

Talos Takes Ep. #54: Incident response is just as much about the relationships as anything else

By Jon Munshaw. The latest episode of Talos Takes is available now. Download this episode and subscribe to Talos Takes using the buttons below, or visit the Talos Takes page. Brad Garnett, Cisco Talos Incident Response's fearless leader, joins the show this week to expound more on his recent...

Threat Source newsletter (May 20, 2021)

Newsletter compiled by Jon Munshaw. Good afternoon, Talos readers. We know a lot of you may be tired of "content" after RSA week. But we have some more for you! And specifically related to RSA, Cisco Talos Incident Response has new case studies out detailing a few recent engagements... This is on...

Vulnerability Spotlight: Heap-based buffer overflow in Google Chrome could lead to code execution

Marcin “Icewall” Noga of Cisco Talos discovered this vulnerability. Blog by Jon Munshaw. Cisco Talos recently discovered an exploitable heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in Google Chrome. Google Chrome is a cross-platform web browser — and Chromium is the open-source... This is only the...

Vulnerability Spotlight: Information disclosure vulnerability in macOS SMB server

Aleksandar Nikolic of Cisco Talos discovered this vulnerability. Blog by Jon Munshaw. Cisco Talos recently discovered an exploitable integer overflow vulnerability in Apple macOS’ SMB server that could lead to information disclosure. Server Message Block SMB is a network... This is only the...

Talos is hiring for several positions — Join our world-class security organization

Cisco Talos continues to build an elite threat intelligence and research group, and we are looking for driven, innovative and diverse security enthusiasts to join us. We are currently hiring for several positions, including multiple security engineer roles and a senior vulnerability... This is on...

Beers with Talos Ep. #104: Supply chain has Matt hopping mad like a kangaroo

Beers with Talos BWT Podcast episode No. 104 is now available. Download this episode and subscribe to Beers with Talos:Apple Podcasts Google PodcastsSpotify StitcherIf iTunes and Google Play aren't your thing, click here. By Mitch Neff. Recorded March 30,... This is only the beginning! Please vis...

Case Study: Incident Response is a relationship-driven business

Proof that incident response is "the ultimate team sport" By Brad Garnett. Introduction As a seasoned incident responder, and now IR business leader here at Cisco Talos Incident Response CTIR, I have always said that incident response is the ultimate team sport. People are... This is only the...

Threat Roundup for May 7 to May 14

Today, Talos is publishing a glimpse into the most prevalent threats we've observed between May 7 and May 14. As with previous roundups, this post isn't meant to be an in-depth analysis. Instead, this post will summarize the threats we've observed by highlighting key behavioral characteristics,...

Talos Takes Ep. #53: The broader lesson of those air fryer vulnerabilities

By Jon Munshaw. The latest episode of Talos Takes is available now. Download this episode and subscribe to Talos Takes using the buttons below, or visit the Talos Takes page. It seemed like everyone on security Twitter had a joke when we disclosed a vulnerability in a WiFi-connected air fryer...

Threat Source Newsletter (May 13, 2021)

Newsletter compiled by Jon Munshaw. Good afternoon, Talos readers. In case you missed the Friday news drop last week, we have an update on the Lemon Duck cryptocurrency miner. It's not as eye-catching as the ransomware attacks that make the news, but Lemon Duck's... This is only the beginning!...

Transparent Tribe APT expands its Windows malware arsenal

By Asheer Malhotra, Justin Thattil and Kendall McKay. Transparent Tribe, also known as APT36 and Mythic Leopard, continues to create fake domains mimicking legitimate military and defense organizations as a core component of their operations. Cisco Talos' previous research has mainly linked this...

Vulnerability Spotlight: Code execution vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Reader

Aleksandar Nikolic of Cisco Talos discovered this vulnerability. Blog by Jon Munshaw. Cisco Talos recently discovered an arbitrary code execution vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Reader. Adobe Acrobat Reader is one of the most popular and feature-rich PDF readers on the market.... This is only the...

Microsoft Patch Tuesday for May 2021 — Snort rules and prominent vulnerabilities

By Jon Munshaw, with contributions from Chris Neal. Microsoft released its monthly security update Tuesday, disclosing 55 vulnerabilities across its suite of products, the fewest in any month since January 2020. There are only three critical vulnerabilities patched in this month, while... This is...

Lemon Duck spreads its wings: Actors target Microsoft Exchange servers, incorporate new TTPs

By Caitlin Huey and Andrew Windsor with contributions from Edmund Brumaghin. Lemon Duck continues to refine and improve upon their tactics, techniques and procedures as they attempt to maximize the effectiveness of their campaigns.Lemon Duck remains relevant as the operators begin to target... Th...

Threat Roundup for April 30 to May 7

Today, Talos is publishing a glimpse into the most prevalent threats we've observed between April 30 and May 7. As with previous roundups, this post isn't meant to be an in-depth analysis. Instead, this post will summarize the threats we've observed by highlighting key behavioral...