Cisco Talos Blog: Talos IR ransomware engagements and the significance of timeliness in incident response

Jul 16, 2025

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Source URL: https://blog.talosintelligence.com/talos-ir-ransomware-engagements-and-the-significance-of-timeliness-in-incident-response/
Source: Cisco Talos Blog
Title: Talos IR ransomware engagements and the significance of timeliness in incident response

Feedly Summary: The decision between immediate action and delayed response made the difference between ransomware prevention and complete encryption in these two real-world Talos IR engagements.

AI Summary and Description: Yes

**Summary:** The text emphasizes the critical importance of timely incident response in mitigating the impacts of ransomware attacks, illustrated through case studies from Cisco Talos. It highlights that swift engagement can prevent extensive damage, contrasting timely remediation efforts with delayed reactions where significant data loss occurred.

**Detailed Description:**
The piece sheds light on two ransomware incident responses by Cisco Talos’ Incident Response (Talos IR) team, highlighting the outcomes based on the timing of the victims’ reactions. The analysis reveals the patterns and lessons learned from both engagements, underscoring several key points:

– **Timeliness of Response:**
– Immediate engagement after detection of malicious activity can drastically reduce risks, as seen in the first engagement where Talos IR helped prevent encryption.
– Delays in contacting Talos IR resulted in nearly complete host encryption in the second case, emphasizing the risks of not responding promptly.

– **Dwell Time Concerns:**
– Threat actors are continuously decreasing their dwell time (time from initial access to encryption), increasing the need for quicker responses.
– Talos data indicates that ransomware variants can take complete control of a network within 24-48 hours of access.

– **Exploit Techniques:**
– Both engagements involved threat actors using similar tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), including living-off-the-land binaries (LoLBins) and dual-use tools, which allowed them to navigate and exploit the network.
– Specific tools and techniques employed included social engineering for initial access, and exploitation of legitimate remote monitoring and management (RMM) software for lateral movement.

– **Forensic Analysis Importance:**
– The ability to conduct post-incident forensic analysis is critical to understanding the compromise, identifying weaknesses, and remediating future vulnerabilities.
– In the delayed engagement scenario, the lack of available logs post-encryption inhibited the ability to conduct a thorough analysis.

– **Recommendations:**
– The report includes actionable recommendations based on both engagements:
– Restrict and monitor the use of RMM tools to prevent their abuse by attackers.
– Implement stronger credential management practices, including complete password resets.
– Train employees on phishing awareness and make security logging practices robust.
– Adopt zero trust architecture principles to limit lateral movement of potential threats.

– **Indicators of Compromise (IOCs):**
– The document provides detailed IOCs for related ransomware, including malicious IP addresses and known malware signatures for both Chaos and Medusa ransomware families.

This analysis is particularly significant for security professionals as it outlines the importance of proactive security measures, effective incident response practices, and the integration of lessons learned from past engagements to fortify defenses against future ransomware threats.

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