Shows
Talos TakesTime to catch up on the wide-reaching Snowflake incidentOver 160 companies have been affected by a data breach at data storage company Snowflake, including Ticketmaster, Nieman Marcus and more. But the issue wasn't a security vulnerability or some sophisticated malware — it was just someone who exposed their login credentials at a different company. Host Jon Munshaw got Pierre Cadieux from Talos IR and Nick Biasini from Talos Outreach to discuss the follow-on breaches that have resulted from this and the lessons we can learn about making our login credentials more secure. 2024-06-2816 minTalos TakesHow much has AI helped bad actors who spread disinformation?Inspired by his quotes in a recent CNBC article, Jon Munshaw wanted to have Martin Lee on the show this week to discuss AI and how adversaries can use these tools to create deepfakes and disinformation. Martin shares why he thinks the threats of increasing fake news with the advent of AI tools are a bit overblown, and how the dangers in spreading fake news come more from text-based posts than any deepfake video or audio. If you'd like to learn more about how to detect potential deepfake videos or fake news articles, check out the additional resources here...2024-05-3119 minTalos TakesRecapping RSANicole Hoffman, fresh off her trip to the RSA Conference, joins host Jon Munshaw this week to talk about her major takeaways from the week in San Francisco. Nicole talks about how most of the discussions on the floor centered around AI, and what lessons other defenders are learning from some of our past mistakes. If you'd like to check out Nicole's other work, buy her children's cybersecurity books on Amazon. 2024-05-1712 minTalos TakesHow to defend against brute force attacksAfter a recent spike in brute force attempts targeting SSH and VPN services, we felt it was a good time to give listeners a lesson on brute force attacks. Nick Biasini joins host Jon Munshaw this week to discuss the basics of these methods, how administrators can protect their accounts, and other potential defense mechanisms (or whether to just take passwords out of the equation entirely). 2024-04-2607 minTalos TakesWhy we need to stop calling as-a-service group takedowns "takedowns"Hazel Burton and Thorsten Rosendahl join Jon Munshaw on this week's episode to discuss the problem with threat actor "hydras." They recently wrote about the topic for the Talos blog, highlighting how law enforcement takedowns of these groups are closer to just disruptions or setbacks for these massive actors. They talk about what really needs to be done to stop ransomware actors and why RaaS is a breeding ground for "hydras."2024-04-1212 minTalos TakesWhy are "identity attacks" on the rise?Now more than ever, adversaries are logging in, not breaking in. They're stealing legitimate user credentials to hide undetected on a targeted network after acquiring said credentials in a variety of ways. Hazel Burton joins Jon Munshaw this week to discuss identity attacks, recommendations for avoiding them, and how QR code phishing plays into these tactics. 2024-03-0111 minTalos TakesReading 2023's cybersecurity tarot cardsHazel Burton and Jon Munshaw use this week to look back on the top threats and cybersecurity trends so far in 2023 and the rest of the year. Hazel recently compiled Talos' Half-Year in Review, recapping the top stories that Talos has been following so far this year. She and Jon talk about what stood out from the report, what our researchers have been thinking about up to this point, and what we'll be discussing come December. 2023-08-0411 minTalos TakesThe dangers of "Mercenary" groups and the spyware they createAsheer Malhotra is back to talk to Jon Munshaw about spyware and mercenary groups. Asheer recently helped publish Talos research on Mercenary Groups and why they're so dangerous in particular. We briefly touched on this topic in a past episode on the Predator/Alien spyware tag team, but this time we're getting into the broader field of what Mercenary groups are, exactly, and what makes them so dangerous. Asheer talks about recent steps governments have taken to curb the sale of spyware and why the "average" user should care about this topic, even though they're unlikely to ever be...2023-07-1408 minTalos TakesWhat we know so far about the MOVEit zero-day making the roundsAliza Johnson from Talos Threat Intelligence and Interdiction team joins Jon Munshaw this week for a Talos Takes episode on the MOVEit zero-day vulnerability (that's since been patched) making headlines recently. Talos published an advisory last week on everything we know so far about the exploitation of this vulnerability and the group behind it, Clop. Aliza discusses where things stand right now, what Clop is doing once they gain access via this vulnerability and what Talos recommends for mitigation strategies for potentially affected customers. 2023-06-2306 minTalos TakesTips for kickstarting your cybersecurity careerTo celebrate National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, two one-time "security noobs" talk about their career trajectories and how they've grown to see themselves in cyber. Sammi Seaman and Jon Munshaw talk about their previous careers in library services and journalism, respectively, and how they applied some of those skills to cybersecurity. Other talking points include:Cybersecurity "ah ha!" moments.Not being afraid to ask questions.Free ways to expand one's cybersecurity knowledge.The importance of getting involved in local cybersecurity conferences and non-profits.2022-10-1414 minTalos TakesTalos Takes Ep. #8: Decoding the EKANS malwareIn 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, who has experiencing protecting the ICS space, discusses what’s unique about this family and what it means for the future of cyber security in the infrastructure field.2022-08-1205 minTalos TakesTalos Takes Ep. #94: Everything you need to know about the BlackCat ransomware groupBlackCat, BlackMatter, DarkSide, BlackByte…it’s too hard to keep up with all these ransomware group names these days. So we’re here to break down one of these groups, BlackCat, for you so you can figure out what makes them actually memorable. Aliza Berk from our Talos Threat Intelligence & Interdiction team joins Jon Munshaw this week to talk about BlackCat and their ransomware that’s recently become a major player on the malware landscape. Aliza recently compiled our latest Threat Assessment Report on this group and assisted in our research around the group. Jon and Aliza discuss how the use of t...2022-08-1208 minTalos TakesTalos Takes Ep. #91: The tax scams comethIt’s tax season! You know what that means — sadness, frustration and scams. Host Jon Munshaw sat down with Nick Biasini from the Talos Outreach team to talk about common tactics adversaries use around this “holiday” to try and spread malware, steal personal information and take users’ money. We talk about free security tools you can deploy to block these types of threats, common spam tactics to keep an eye out for and other services that can help you prepare for a worst-case scenario.2022-08-1206 minTalos TakesTalos Takes Ep. #83: The latest on the cybersecurity situation in UkraineJon Munshaw and Nick Biasini sit down for a few minutes to discuss the latest on the ongoing cyber attacks and security concerns in Ukraine. They discuss how a recent set of attacks against government-run websites compares to past attacks like NotPetya, and provide guidance for any companies who may be based in, or do business in, Ukraine. For more of Talos’ insight on this, please continue to check back on our blog post here.2022-08-1206 minTalos TakesTalos Takes Ep. #82: Log4j followed us into 2022We thought it was usually all about “New year, new me,” heading into 2022, but turns out it’s the same cybersecurity problems. Join host Jon Munshaw as he welcomes on threat researcher JJ Cummings to discuss how the Log4j vulnerability event evolved over the holiday break. JJ, who you may recognized from our recent live Beers with Talos episode, discusses the new CVE that popped up the week after Christmas, and then discusses what things he and his team will be looking into regarding Log4shell in 2022.2022-08-1209 minTalos TakesTalos Takes Ep. #58: It's time to get serious about protecting critical infrastructureWith 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 partnerships between those who manage critical infrastructure, government and the private cybersecurity sector.Talos recently outlined what this may look like in America. One of the authors of that post, Joe Marshall, joins Jon Munshaw this week on Talos Takes to talk about public-private partnerships to defend critical infrastructure.2022-08-1208 minTalos TakesTalos Takes Ep. #57: What's in it for both sides of the ransomware-as-a-service model?How much is ransomware-as-a-service like a McDonald’s franchise? More similar than you’d think! The RaaS model has entered the mainstream over the past few months with groups such as DarkSide attacking the Colonial Pipeline.In these transactions, what’s in it for the original ransomware creator? And what do the operators themselves get out of it? Nick Biasini joins Jon Munshaw this week to talk about this business model, what it means for the rise in ransomware attacks, and how you can stay protected.2022-08-1205 minTalos TakesTalos Takes Ep. #54: Incident response is really just the friends we made along the wayWelcome to the unofficial incident response week at Talos! As part of the RSA Conference, we’ve released two new case studies detailing some malware cases Cisco Talos Incident Response helped resolve. Brad Garnett, this week’s guest, also released a new blog post where he wrote about why incident response is “the ultimate team sport.” Brad joins host Jon Munshaw this week to take a deeper dive into one of these engagements, in which an attacker tried to use Cobalt Strike to infect a target with ransomware (hint: this would have been really bad!) Brad talks about how the strong p...2022-08-1208 minTalos TakesTalos Takes Ep. #33: How to talk to your parents about cyber securityIt’s National Cyber Security Awareness Month! And you know what that means? It’s time to make everyone more aware! Since we all have that special someone in our lives who could use a refresher on internet hygenie, we figured it was time to talk about bringing up the topic of security to your friends and family who may not be as computer literate as you are. Jon Munshaw and Nick Biasini talk about basic tips to give even your oldest family members and user-friendly programs and services that can improve everyone’s security.2022-08-1208 minTalos TakesTalos Takes Ep. #21: What's really hiding inside the dark webThe dark web sounds scary — and it is. But what exactly does this dark web consist of? Despite what the name may suggest, it’s actually not people selling organs or stolen video games that happened to fall off the back of a truck. But what is actually on these forums? Azim Khodjibaev joins Jon Munshaw this week to discuss his experience with the dark web.2022-08-1209 minTalos TakesTalos 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, Jon Munshaw talks to Azim from Talos’ Threat Intelligence team about this very topic.2022-08-1206 minTalos TakesTalos Takes Ep. #19: How to keep your online meetings safeEveryone 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 from home. And, of course, this software comes with its own set of security concerns and vulnerabilities. So Matt Valites joins Jon Munshaw this week to talk about the basics of securing your next friendly meetup or presentation to the board.2022-08-1205 minTalos TakesTalos 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 in 2020. Why aren’t we reading about them as much? And why is being hit with one a sign of worse things to come?2022-08-1206 minTalos TakesTalos Takes Ep. #15: What is FUD and how adversaries leverage itThreat 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 discuss why panic and misinformation play right into attackers’ hands.2022-08-1207 minTalos TakesTalos Takes Ep. #14: Summing up our recent research on fingerprint scannersEarlier 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 summarize it for those non-technical folks out there, Nick Biasini and Jon Munshaw dedicate this episode to breaking down Talos’ research. What was the endgame of our research? And can you rely only on your fingerprint to keep your device secure?2022-08-1205 minTalos TakesTalos Takes Ep. #11: Avoiding fake news during the times of COVID-19Don’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 information. In this Talos Takes episode, former journalist Jon Munshaw and researcher Nick Biasini discuss best practices for fact-checking, avoiding fake news and intaking the correct information during this trying time.2022-08-1206 min
Q&A with LCM: Interviews with Library of Congress MagazineMy Job: Director of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically HandicappedKaren Keninger, newly-appointed director of the National Library Service for the Blind & Physically Handicapped at the Library of Congress, discusses with Jon Munshaw her work managing the Library’s free library program of braille and audio materials circulated to eligible borrowers in the United States by postage-free mail.2014-11-1213 minQ&A with LCM: Interviews with Library of Congress MagazineMy Job: Director of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically HandicappedKaren Keninger, newly-appointed director of the National Library Service for the Blind & Physically Handicapped at the Library of Congress, discusses with Jon Munshaw her work managing the Library's free library program of braille and audio materials circulated to eligible borrowers in the United States by postage-free mail.2014-11-1200 min