Talos Takes
Every two weeks, host Amy Ciminnisi brings on a new guest from Talos or the broader Cisco Security world to break down a complicated security topic. We cover everything from breaking news to attacker trends and emerging threats.
Episodes
243 episodes
Talos Takes Ep. #20: What is an APT, exactly?
We use the term “APT” in cyber security a lot. But what does it mean, exactly? Does a group have to break a certain threshold to become an APT? Does the term refer to a specific malware family or a group of actors? On this week’s Talos Takes,...
Talos Takes Ep. #19: How to keep your online meetings safe
Everyone is meeting virtually now. Whether it be important business or the average happy hour with friends and family, there’s no shortage of invites to chat rooms, presentations and software you’ve never heard of before you started working f...
Talos Takes Ep. #18: Where do cryptominers stand in 2020?
The value of cryptocurrencies is nowhere near where it was just two years ago. So does that mean cryptominers have gone away as a threat? Jon Munshaw and Nick Biasini sit down in this episode of Talos Takes to discuss where cryptominers stand...
Talos Takes Ep. #17: How MedusaLocker is different than other ransomware
We published our findings on a ransomware family known as MedusaLocker last week. On its surface, it’s just like any other ransomware family — steals your stuff, encrypts it, and asks for some money to get it back. But there are some secret t...
Talos Takes Ep. #16: Inside thew newly discovered PoetRAT
Threat actors all over the place are trying to capitalize on COVID-19. We recently discovered a campaign we’re calling “PoetRAT” using lure documents themed around the pandemic attempting to trick victims into downloading malware. In this wee...
Talos Takes Ep. #15: What is FUD and how adversaries leverage it
Threat researchers like to throw around the acronym “FUD” a lot. But is FUD, exactly? Why should you look out for it? And why do attackers win when they sow FUD? Joe Marshall and Jon Munshaw walk you through fear, uncertainty and doubt and di...
Talos Takes Ep. #14: Summing up our recent research on fingerprint scanners
Earlier this week, we released an in-depth blog post on fingerprint scanners used as physical security gates on devices. To save you a bit of time, and to summ...
Talos Takes Ep. #13: Special precautions to take with VPN and RDP
People across the world are working from home now, and employers are increasingly turning to VPN services and Windows Remote Desktop Protocol to make sure their workers have access to their files. In this Talos Takes episode, we run down some...
Talos Takes Ep. #12: Preparing for the worst with Cisco Talos Incident Response
Now that Cisco Incident Response has been a part of the Talos family for a few months now, we figured it was time to check back in with them. On this episode of Talos Takes, Brad Garnett from CTIR joins the show to talk about his organization...
Talos Takes Ep. #10: The basics of RATs
We’ve been covering several different generic types of malware over the past few weeks. Next up, we’ve got our overview of remote access trojans (or tools), also known as RATs. What goes into a RAT, and how is it different than other types of...
Talos Takes Ep. #11: Avoiding fake news during the times of COVID-19
Don’t attackers know we need a break right now? Alas, they’re doing everything they can to capitalize on the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes spreading fear, uncertainty and doubt with fake news, malicious advertisements and misleading inform...
Talos Takes Ep. #9: The basics of information stealers
Yes, adversaries are always looking for new ways to make money. But what’s their No. 2 priority? Information. In this episode of Talos Takes, Nick Biasini and Earl Carter break down the basics of information-stealers and why they’re so import...
Talos Takes Ep. #4: What's the best way to manage your passwords?
Talos Takes is finally back with its own feed and a new episode. Nick Biasini and Earl Carter discuss the best password practices. Should you use a password manager? What are some best practices? And what does all of this have to do with Disn...
Talos Takes Ep. #30: Spamming from Salfram
On this week’s episode, Edmund Brumaghin joins the show again to talk about a recent blog post on Salfram. This threat actor is spreading lot...
Talos Takes Ep. #8: Decoding the EKANS malware
In this episode of Talos Takes, content manager Jon Munshaw sits down with researcher Joe Marshall to discuss the recently discovered EKANS/SNAKE malware. This is one of the first ransomware strains to specifically target ICS systems. And Joe...
Talos Takes Ep. #7: How attackers are capitalizing on coronavirus fears
With the RSA conference just days away, notable vendors such as IBM and AT&T have withdrawn from the annual event over coronavirus concerns. The fast-spreading disease has captured headlines across the globe, and adversaries are trying to...
Talos Takes Ep. #6: Big Game Hunting
With the Equifax attack back in the headlines, we take a closer look at Big Game Hunting this week on Talos Takes. Why do threat actors look at these massive targets, and what do they hope to get out of it? Is there anything smaller organizat...
Talos Takes Ep. #5: The evolution of ransomware
2019 was a huge year for ransomware. Cities across the U.S. had their government services attacked, and adversaries changed up their techniques in the hopes of making a larger profit and infecting more users. What other changes do we see comi...
Talos Takes Ep. #2: How to keep your fancy new IoT toy secure
The holidays have come and gone, and so have the sales. Maybe you got a new drone, or a home AI assistant. So what should you do to make sure those new toys don’t turn against you? Nick Biasini and Earl Carter have some tips for you.<...
Talos Takes Ep. #3: The basics of malvertising
We’ve all seen the supposed stories online that promise to give you “The one secret to weight loss doctors WON’T tell you about.” Or “You won’t believe who Kim Kardashian is talking about now.” So how harmful are these malicious ads? Why do s...
Talos Takes Ep. #1: How to avoid common holiday shopping scams
We first brought you this episode in the Beers with Talos feedback in December. We’re uploading this to the Talos Takes feed for posterity now, and let’s face it, these holiday shopping reminders can apply to any time you’re shopping online.<...
Talos Takes Ep. #31: Diving even deeper into Cobalt Strike
Snort researcher and rule-writer Nick Mavis takes time out of his busy schedule to join us again this week. Nick recently published a research...
Talos Takes Ep. #108 (XL Edition): On Air with Cisco Talos Incident Response
This week’s episode of Talos Takes is a special extra large edition. We’ve got the audio version of our recent Cisco Talos Incident Response On Air stream where some of our responders got together to...
Talos Takes Ep. #107: Infostealers 101
It’s been a while since we re-visited our Malware 101 series. So we’re going back to class to learn about information-stealers. Aliza Johnson from the Talos Threat Intelligence & Interdiction team joins the show to talk about her recent <...
Talos Takes Ep. #106: The top attacker trends from the past quarter
Nate Pors joins the show this week to recap the recently released Cisco Talos Incident Response Quarterly Report. He and Jon recap the top attacker trends from the past quarter, including highlighting which types of attacks CTIR saw in the fi...