Intelligence Center

Threat Research

Spam campaign targeting Brazil abuses Remote Monitoring and Management tools

A new spam campaign is targeting Brazilian users with a clever twist — abusing the free trial period of trusted remote monitoring tools and the country’s electronic invoice system to spread malicious agents. Learn More

Unmasking the new XorDDoS controller and infrastructure

Cisco Talos observed the ongoing global spread of the XorDDoS malware, predominantly targeting the United States, with evidence suggesting Chinese-speaking operators are using sophisticated tools to orchestrate widespread attacks. Learn More

Unraveling the U.S. toll road smishing scams

Cisco Talos has observed a widespread and ongoing financial theft SMS phishing (smishing) campaign since October 2024 that targets toll road users in the United States of America.   Learn More

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Latest Talos Takes Podcast Episodes

June 5, 2025 | Ep.
How cybercriminals are camouflaging threats as fake AI tool installers

Chetan Raghuprasad joins Hazel to discuss his threat hunting research into fake AI tool installers, which criminals are using to distribute ransomware, RATS, stealers and other destructive malware. He discusses the attack chain of three different campaigns, including one which even tries to justify its ransom as "humanitarian aid."For the full research, read Chetan's blog at https://blog.talosintelligence.com/fake-ai-tool-installers/

May 22, 2025 | Ep.
Inside the attack chain: A new methodology for tracking compartmentalized threats

Edmund Brumaghin joins Hazel to discuss how threat actors (including state sponsored attackers), are increasingly compartmentalizing their attacks i.e they're bringing in specialist skillsets from other groups to handle different aspects of the attack chain. Edmund discusses why this is happening, and the challenges this poses for defenders when it comes to attribution and reporting. He then discusses several solutions which seek to evolve traditional threat modelling, and help provide clarity to defenders.More details can be found in this blog https://blog.talosintelligence.com/compartmentalized-threat-modeling/If you're interested in our other blog on initial access groups, that can be found at https://blog.talosintelligence.com/redefining-initial-access-brokers/

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