Talos Takes

Hosted by Cisco Talos

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Episodes

241

Latest episode

Oct 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

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.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

October 7, 202621 min

Honey, I Trapped the Adversary

It’s time to start having fun and messing with your attackers. For Cybersecurity Awareness Month, Martin Lee joins Amy to discuss the fine art of making life on your network a complete nightmare for adversaries. Simple, low-maintenance decoys — like fake credentials, empty honeypots, and ghost systems — can turn your infrastructure into a minefield that keeps attackers guessing and wastes their resources. Join us to learn how to turn the tables, gain threat intel on who is trying to get into your network, and have a bit of a laugh at their expense. (And trust us, you don't want to miss Martin's Winston Churchill impression.)

September 23, 202618 min

ClickFix, EtherHiding, and the rise of malicious code in the blockchain

In this episode of Talos Takes, Amy sits down with researcher Vanja Svajcer to break down a sophisticated, multi-stage infection chain that leverages a combination of ClickFix social engineering, WebDAV, and decentralized infrastructure. Vanja walks us through how threat actors are repurposing legitimate user behaviors — like solving CAPTCHAs — to gain unauthorized access, and how they utilize blockchain smart contracts as bulletproof storage for malicious code. We also explore the divergence in final payloads, ranging from remote access tools to crypto-stealing malware. Tune in for actionable behavioral patterns that your security teams can monitor to detect these incidents before they progress. Vanja's blog: https://blog.talosintelligence.com/clearfake-webdav-infection-chain/

September 9, 202626 min

Browser betrayal: When your tabs turn against you

Ah, the crisp fall air, brand-new books and backpacks, and the quiet irony of cybercriminals turning on each other to steal a few extra bucks. Security Engineer Sean Gallagher joins Amy to break down a scam where threat actors are weaponizing greed to turn amateur cybercriminals against themselves. This browser-based attack tricks targets into injecting malicious code into their own sessions under the guise of exploiting a fictional vulnerability to earn crypto-profits. While this current operation mostly targets the amateur dark-web circuit, the underlying use of the Google Visualization API as a command-and-control channel is a red flag for the future of web security. Tune in to hear why it’s only a matter of time before these techniques turn from petty crypto-scams toward our enterprise supply chains, and how to protect your organization. Blog: https://blog.talosintelligence.com/clickfix-moves-into-the-browser/

August 26, 202623 min

Back-to-school cybersecurity: Protecting education networks from ransomware and threats

As the new academic year begins, school districts face a surge in cybersecurity threats, from phishing attacks and ransomware to student experimentation with network devices. In this episode, Amy sits down with Cisco Talos expert Pierre Cadieux to discuss practical strategies for IT practitioners. How do you strengthen your defenses while managing the delicate balance between security and classroom usability? Here are the most high-priority steps to keep your district safe this semester. Prioritizing patches episode: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2018149/episodes/19360999

August 12, 202622 min

Don't scan that! QR code phishing and cloud-native threats

What happens when a QR code leads to a major security incident? In this episode, Amy sits down with Senior Incident Response Consultant Terryn Valikodath to break down a recent, high-stakes breach at an Australian medical center. Attackers are ditching traditional malware for "cloud-native" tactics — using personalized QR code phishing to bypass corporate defenses and operate entirely within the cloud. Beyond the technical details, Amy and Terryn chat about the pressure of defending environments where patient care is on the line and why a blameless culture is a great defense. Take a listen for some practical, down-to-earth advice on how to audit your own logs and keep your team prepared for when things go sideways. Talos IR Trends Q2 2026: https://blog.talosintelligence.com/ir-trends-q2-2026/

July 29, 202615 min

Q2 Talos IR Trends: Phishing and authentication abuse spike

In this episode, Amy and analyst Lexi DiScola unpack the trends Talos IR saw on the frontlines in Q2 2026. From creative phishing lures that slip past email gateways to the weaponization of legitimate remote management tools, we explore why traditional defenses are falling short and the practical things you can do to reclaim the advantage. What configuration changes and visibility gaps could be the difference between a minor incident and a full-scale breach? How can you harden your environment with limited resources? Tune into this episode to stay one step ahead of an evolving threat landscape. Talos IR Quarterly Trends Report: https://blog.talosintelligence.com/ir-trends-q2-2026 Find Talos at Black Hat: https://blog.talosintelligence.com/preview-cisco-talos-at-black-hat-usa-2026/

July 15, 202618 min

ARToken: How attackers are bypassing MFA and maintaining access

MFA and password resets aren't always enough. That’s terrifying for security teams today. In this episode of Talos Takes , we dive deep into ARToken, a sophisticated phishing/BEC-as-a-service platform that steals credentials, bypasses MFA entirely, and leverages primary refresh tokens (PRTs) to maintain persistence in your environment long after a password reset. This turns a simple phishing click into a long-term breach. It’s time to rethink your defenses. Join us as Cisco Talos Threat Researcher Michael Kelley breaks down how this new breed of automated attack works and, more importantly, how you can spot it. From hunting for suspicious device authorization grants to securing your cloud infrastructure, don't miss this critical look at the new frontier of business email compromise. Blog: https://blog.talosintelligence.com/artoken-inside-an-eviltokens-affiliate-panel-targeting-microsoft-365/

July 2, 202618 min

From evasion to detection: A guide to analyzing COM-based threats

While the Component Object Model (COM) is a fundamental Windows technology that allows software to communicate and function, it's also a powerful tool for threat actors looking to move laterally, maintain persistence, and evade traditional security measures. Joining us is Vanya Svajcer, who shares his expertise on how to cut through the noise and identify malicious signals within COM-based binaries. Whether you are a seasoned researcher or just starting your journey into reverse engineering and malware analysis, here's some practical advice on how to start hunting for COM-based threats and making your next investigation a little more effective. Vanja's blog: https://blog.talosintelligence.com/introduction-to-com-usage-by-windows-threats

June 18, 202623 min

Patching in the dark: Managing unknown threats in complex environments

If you're tired of being told to "just patch," we understand. The threat landscape is evolving at breakneck speed, with AI-driven tools enabling adversaries to uncover and exploit vulnerabilities before defenders even know they exist. In this episode of Talos Takes, Amy sits down with Threat Intelligence Lead Pierre Cadieux to discuss how to defend against these unknown threats. We move past the simplified advice of "just patch everything" to explore the logistical, technical, and business realities that make patching a complex, high-stakes operation rather than a simple button click. From the necessity of testing your patches to the importance of building strong partnerships between security teams and business leadership, this episode breaks down the things defenders often miss that build true resilience in organizations.

June 3, 202619 min

When synthetic logs don’t lie: Generating coherent attack stories for better detection

Are your detection rules failing because your test data lacks the nuance of a real-world network? In this episode of Talos Takes, Amy sits down with David Bianco to discuss why traditional synthetic data often falls short and how his new open-source project, EvidenceForge, is changing the game. Synthetic datasets often look like telemetry but lack the critical causal links and realistic background noise that define actual adversary activity. EvidenceForge solves this by creating data that tells a coherent, causal story. From simulating complex attack chains to modeling realistic, "bursty" human behavior, this tool helps threat hunters and detection engineers to sharpen their skills with reproducible, high-quality telemetry. EvidenceForge blog: https://blog.talosintelligence.com/introducing-evidenceforge-synthetic-security-logs-that-dont-look-as-fake/ PEAK Threat Hunting Assistant episode: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2018149/episodes/18825324