Welcome to this week’s edition of the Threat Source newsletter.
For my fianceé’s 30th birthday, I took her on a weekend trip to Shenandoah National Park – a favorite of ours since we went to a wedding there several years back. We’ve done several incredible hikes over the years, but one in particular had always loomed over my head: Old Rag, a 9.3 mile circuit hike that’s largely considered the most difficult in Virginia.
I've always been warned that at the beginning and end, you hate Old Rag. For the first 2.6 miles, you’re hiking a steep climb on a dirt road, with lots of switchbacks, and plenty of places where you turn a corner and groan, because there’s an even steeper section ahead. This part was pretty torturous, because 1) I felt like my heart was going to explode out of my chest, 2) I couldn’t breathe, and 3) several times, there was a family we passed as they were taking a break, then WE took a break and THEY passed US, and so on and so forth. So awkward.
Finally, we reached the fun part: a mile-long rock scramble, where you're squeezing through (and down) narrow rock crevices, cramming your boots to desperately find any leverage to propel yourself upward, and using all your upper body strength to control your descent. This was definitely the most fun part, although my hands and knees were sore by the end.
After hiking for hours, you reach the top and realize it was all worth it, because the summit has a a spectacular vie—
... That’s what we get for being excited to hike in overcast weather. Well, at least the way back down is fun— oh wait, four miles downward on a fire trail, crushing your toes in the front of your hiking boots? Yike.
It may sound like I’m complaining a lot about this hike, but it was genuinely the most fun one that I’ve done to date. By the time I was freshly showered and drinking an iced coffee in Culpeper, I was gushing about when we’d go back.
There’s a really good tie-in to cybersecurity somewhere here. Ah, got it.
Everyone has had those uphill hike phases with the endless documentation, patching, and alerts that keep you up at night. You’re waiting for the misery to end and hoping that around the next corner, you’ll see a sign that you’re almost out of the woods. Bruised and out of breath, you finally arrive at the exciting parts: a complex project that finally comes together, the thrill of stopping an attack, or a feeling of pride when someone you're mentoring gets a new certification. Maybe the payoff is something completely unexpected.
Those moments definitely don’t erase the exhaustion — you're still sore and bruised, and will be for days — but they do remind you why you started in the first place.
The one big thing
Talos released our Q2 2026 Incident Response Trends report, which showed a massive spike in authentication abuse and sophisticated phishing tactics. Phishing drove over half of all engagements, with attackers leveraging QR codes and advanced platforms like ARToken to bypass multi-factor authentication (MFA). Additionally, ransomware operators are increasingly weaponizing legitimate remote management tools like MeshAgent and Zoho Assist to establish stealthy, persistent access.
Why do I care?
Standard email gateways and basic MFA are no longer enough to stop adversaries from bypassing traditional defenses. By abusing legitimate administrative tools and trusted cloud infrastructure, threat actors can easily blend malicious traffic with normal network activity to remain undetected before deploying ransomware. Furthermore, the continued targeting of health care and public administration highlights a deliberate focus on organizations with zero tolerance for downtime.
So now what?
Organizations must transition from push- and SMS-based MFA to phishing-resistant methods like FIDO2 or hardware security keys. Defenders should also shift to behavior-based monitoring, specifically hunting for unauthorized instances of administrative tools. Finally, configure centralized logging with at least 90 days of retention, enforce strict outbound email thresholds, and prioritize patching internet-exposed infrastructure.
Read the full report for a deeper dive into this quarter's trends and observed MITRE ATT&CK techniques.
Top security headlines of the week
Authorities investigating a coordinated cyber attack against Minnesota water systems
Federal and state authorities are investigating what they call a coordinated cyberattack over two days against operational technology at more than 30 community water systems in Minnesota. (Cybersecurity Dive)
Hacked public Wi-Fi gateways used to harvest corporate credentials
As part of the attacks, the hackers modified the DNS configurations of the compromised small office/home office (SOHO) routers to redirect users to attacker-controlled infrastructure for credential theft. (SecurityWeek)
Default Azure Automation setting enables cross-tenant identity takeover
Microsoft addressed a public-by-default configuration and chain of code flaws in Azure Automation that could have let attackers seize another tenant's identity and access others' data, credentials, and cloud workloads. (DarkReading)
Public proof-of-concept released for exploited Check Point SmartConsole authentication bypass
The vulnerability is an authentication bypass in the SmartConsole login process that allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to obtain an application login token and use it to authenticate with full administrative privileges. (The Hacker News)
Can’t get enough Talos?
The TTP: Built for IT. Used by attackers
In this episode of The Talos Threat Perspective, Hazel, Craig and Joe explore how attackers are abusing legitimate Remote Monitoring and Management software, trusted services and compromised identities to evade detection. Based on trends revealed in the latest Talos Incident Response Quarterly Trends report, the discussion covers ransomware groups using remote tools to maintain access, phishing platforms that have evolved into complete attack ecosystems, and an ongoing QR code phishing campaign targeting Microsoft 365 accounts.
Talos Takes: Q2 Talos IR Trends: Phishing and authentication abuse
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.
Preview: Cisco Talos at Black Hat USA 2026
We have a presence within the Cisco and Splunk booth (2633) during Black Hat where you can chat to us about our latest threat research, incident response, and how Talos powers the Cisco portfolio with our intelligence. Or, feel free to pretend to want to talk to us about those things while grabbing a new multicolored Snorty. That’s fine, too.
Chaos ransomware's msaRAT: Living off the browser to build a covert C2 channel
The Chaos ransomware group uses new malware "msaRAT" that hijacks browsers. The malware doesn't communicate directly with C2 but connects through the browser. It enables arbitrary command execution while hiding the attacker's IP from victims via WebRTC over TURN.
Upcoming events where you can find Talos
- Black Hat USA (Aug. 1 – 6) Las Vegas, NV
- DEF CON 34 (Aug. 6 – 9) Las Vegas, NV
- .conf26 (Sept. 14 – 17) Denver, CO
Most prevalent malware files from Talos telemetry over the past week
SHA256: 9f1f11a708d393e0a4109ae189bc64f1f3e312653dcf317a2bd406f18ffcc507
MD5: 2915b3f8b703eb744fc54c81f4a9c67f
Talos Rep: https://talosintelligence.com/talos_file_reputation?s=9f1f11a708d393e0a4109ae189bc64f1f3e312653dcf317a2bd406f18ffcc507
Example Filename: VID001.exe
Detection Name: Win.Worm.Coinminer::1201
SHA256: a31f222fc283227f5e7988d1ad9c0aecd66d58bb7b4d8518ae23e110308dbf91
MD5: 7bdbd180c081fa63ca94f9c22c457376
Talos Rep: https://talosintelligence.com/talos_file_reputation?s=a31f222fc283227f5e7988d1ad9c0aecd66d58bb7b4d8518ae23e110308dbf91
Example Filename: d4aa3e7010220ad1b458fac17039c274_62_Exe.exe
Detection Name: Win.Dropper.Miner::95.sbx.tg**
SHA256: 9896a6fcb9bb5ac1ec5297b4a65be3f647589adf7c37b45f3f7466decd6a4a7f
MD5: 38de5b216c33833af710e88f7f64fc98
Talos Rep: https://talosintelligence.com/talos_file_reputation?s=9896a6fcb9bb5ac1ec5297b4a65be3f647589adf7c37b45f3f7466decd6a4a7f
Example Filename: SECOH-QAD.exe
Detection Name: Win.Tool.Procpatcher::1201
SHA256: fc18d4060c6dad3057c0b5a70a2081473e066951720cafbd2aa159d3aaccf2e1
MD5: ded73d04bb3e3525226de64c38a332e3
Talos Rep: https://talosintelligence.com/talos_file_reputation?s=fc18d4060c6dad3057c0b5a70a2081473e066951720cafbd2aa159d3aaccf2e1
Example Filename: f_000177.exe
Detection Name: W32.Trojan.29jq.1201
SHA256: 90b1456cdbe6bc2779ea0b4736ed9a998a71ae37390331b6ba87e389a49d3d59
MD5: c2efb2dcacba6d3ccc175b6ce1b7ed0a
Talos Rep: https://talosintelligence.com/talos_file_reputation?s=90b1456cdbe6bc2779ea0b4736ed9a998a71ae37390331b6ba87e389a49d3d59
Example Filename:tmp00055df5.dll
Detection Name: Auto.90B145.282358.in02