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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.
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Recent Episodes
Holding the line: Service provider security
Service providers are the backbone of modern connectivity — but why are they such attractive targets for cyber actors, and what happens when critical networks go down? In this episode, Martin Lee…
IR Trends Q4 2025: Ransomware chills and phishing heats up
What separates organizations that successfully fend off ransomware from those that don’t? What were the top threats facing organizations? Can we (pretty please) get a sneak peek into the 2025 Year in…
Cracking the code: What encryption can (and can’t) do for you
Step into the fascinating world of cryptography. Host Amy Ciminnisi sits down with Yuri Kramarz from Cisco Talos Incident Response and Tim Wadhwa-Brown from Cisco Customer Experience to learn what…
Cybersecurity certifications and you
Get ready for a brand-new era of Talos Takes! In the first episode of the year, Amy Ciminnisi, Talos’ Content Manager and new podcast host, steps up to the mic with Joe Marshall to explore…
2015 vs 2025: What the Last Decade of Threats Taught Us
In this special, end-of-year episode (and Hazel’s final show as host) Talos Takes goes on a time-travel adventure: What would a defender from 2015 think of the cybersecurity realities of 2025? Joined…
When You’re Told “No Budget”: The Blueprint for Staying Secure
What happens when your to-do list keeps growing but your budget doesn’t? Hazel is joined by three Cisco Talos Incident Response experts to talk about the reality many organizations face: rising…
How Attackers Use Your Own Tools Against You (IR trends Q3 2025)
In this episode of Talos Takes Hazel sits down with Talos' Bill Largent and Craig Jackson to discuss the latest Cisco Talos Incident Response Quarterly Trends Report (Q3 2025). From a wave of…
Passwordless Security: Debunking the Biggest Myths
On this episode of Talos Takes, Hazel welcomes Cisco Duo experts Steven Leung and Tess Mishoe to bust the most common myths around passwordless security and multi-factor authentication (MFA).…
You Can't Patch Burnout: When Cybersecurity Takes a Toll
Every October, Cybersecurity Awareness Month brings a wave of tips: update your software, enable MFA, use strong passwords. But what good is any of that if the people behind the defenses are feeling…
Tampered Chef: When Malvertising Serves Up Infostealers
Imagine downloading a PDF Editor tool from the internet that works great...until nearly two months later, when it quietly steals your credentials. That’s the reality of “Tampered Chef,” a…
Inside the Black Hat NOC: Lessons in Securing One of the Wildest Networks
How do you build and defend a network where attacks are not just expected-they're part of the curriculum? In this episode, Hazel talks with Jessica Oppenheimer, Director of Security Operations at…
Breaking Down Chaos: Tactics and Origins of a New RaaS Operation
Hazel is joined by threat intelligence researcher James Nutland to discuss Cisco Talos’ latest findings on the newly emerged Chaos ransomware group. Based on real-world incident response engagements,…
Why Attackers Love Your Remote Access Tools
Attackers are increasingly abusing the same remote access tools that IT teams rely on every day. In this episode, Hazel sits down with Talos security researcher Pierre Cadieux to unpack why these…
Teaching LLMs to spot malicious PowerShell scripts
Hazel welcomes back Ryan Fetterman from the SURGe team to explore his new research on how large language models (LLMs) can assist those who work in security operations centers to identify malicious…
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.…
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…
Follow the motive: Rethinking defense against Initial Access Groups
In this episode, Hazel welcomes Talos researcher Ashley Shen to discuss the evolution of initial access brokers (IABs) and the importance of distinguishing between different types of IABs. We talk…
Year in Review special pt. 4: How AI is influencing the threat landscape?
A jam packed episode of guests means a slightly longer Talos Takes for your feed today! We welcome Amy Chang and Omar Santos from Cisco, Vitor Ventura from Talos, and Ryan Fetterman from Splunk.…
Year in Review special part 3: Identity and MFA attacks
Steven Leung from Cisco Duo joins Hazel to discuss the prevalence of identity-based attacks, why they're happening, and the various methods attackers are using to circumvent MFA (Multi-Factor…
Year in Review special part 2: The biggest ransomware trends
Azim Khodjibaev and Lexi DiScola join Hazel to discuss some of the most prolific ransomware groups (and why LockBit may end this year very differently to how they ended 2024). They also discuss the…
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Talos Takes has published 226 episodes since August 2022, covering topics in Technology.
Talos Takes is currently highly active with new episodes every 2 weeks. Average episode length is 10m.
