- Attackers are using greater sophistication to gain access to high-yield targets like executives, and company-wide security measures can easily miss these subtle, personal attacks.
- Executive Threat Detection offers protection for up to 10 principals, with monthly custom threat hunts and reports relevant to those principals’ corporate systems.
- Proactive attention from incident response experts gives executives peace of mind by detecting and stopping long-term, stealthy adversary access.
In our previous exploration of proactive threat hunting, Cisco Talos discussed how the modern security landscape requires a shift from "waiting for the blinky light" to actively searching for the quietest whispers of an adversary. Since then, the threat landscape has only become more personalized. Today, we are seeing a significant surge in whaling and highly targeted campaigns where the objective is the leadership team, not the average user.
To meet this evolving challenge, Cisco Talos Incident Response (Talos IR) is proud to announce the launch of Executive Threat Detection (ETD). This new proactive service joins our suite of retainer offerings, providing a dedicated, intelligence-led hunting cadence specifically for your organization’s most high-value IT assets.
The executive vulnerability gap
For a sophisticated threat actor, an executive is not only a high-ranking employee, but also a high-yield target. Leadership accounts often hold the keys to the kingdom, possessing elevated access to sensitive financial data, intellectual property, and strategic roadmap communications. Furthermore, an executive’s digital footprint often extends beyond the traditional corporate perimeter, making them a prime target for bespoke social engineering and advanced persistent threats (APTs).
While enterprise-wide endpoint detection and response (EDR) is a critical foundation, it is often tuned for the average user profile. The subtle, low-and-slow techniques used to compromise a CEO or CFO can easily be lost in the noise of a 10,000-endpoint environment. ETD closes this gap by applying a magnifying glass to the systems that matter most.
Introducing Executive Threat Detection
ETD is a specialized, ongoing proactive service that provides monthly, human-led threat hunting and intelligence analysis. Unlike automated tools, ETD is powered by a dedicated team of Talos IR experts who become intimately familiar with your executive environment.
Our goal is simple: to detect the compromise of executive-associated assets before they can be leveraged for a larger breach.
An intelligence-led methodology
One of the things that sets ETD apart from standard managed services is the integration of Talos’ world-class threat intelligence. Our methodology follows a rigorous monthly cycle:
The OSINT advantage
Every month, our Incident Commanders and Intelligence Analysts perform a deep-dive open-source intelligence (OSINT) review, searching for emerging cybersecurity threats specifically targeted at or relevant to executive personas. Whether it’s a new phishing kit designed to bypass multi-factor authentication (MFA) for high-profile targets or a zero-day exploit being sold on the dark web, we find the “huntable” indicators of the latest campaigns.
Specialized hunting cadence
Once the intelligence is gathered, our IR Consultants go to work. We perform two distinct types of hunts:
- Baseline Threat Hunting: We conduct a deep-dive review of events and telemetry to identify anomalies that automated alerts might overlook. This includes searching for living-off-the-land (LoTL) techniques where attackers use legitimate system tools to hide their tracks.
- Emerging Threat Hunting: We apply the specific atomic and pattern-based indicators identified during our monthly OSINT review. If a new threat is trending globally, we are hunting for it on your executive systems.
Corporate information monitoring
Our Threat Intelligence Analysts provide an "outside-in" perspective, monitoring for specific indications that an executive’s corporate information may have been compromised or leaked. This layer of intelligence ensures that we are watching the data just as closely as we are watching the devices.
Visibility without friction
Talos IR understands that for an executive, productivity is paramount. Security measures that cause system lag or accidental file quarantines are both an inconvenience and a business risk.
To solve this, ETD is designed to be compatible with your existing security stack. Talos IR typically gains the visibility we need with your existing security tools, not requiring any changes to your executives’ systems. We hunt silently while your leadership team maintains the performance they require.
Strategic deliverables for informed leadership
Transparency and actionable insights are the cornerstones of the ETD service. Every month, subscribers receive a comprehensive package designed for both technical and executive audiences:
- The Monthly ETD Report: A technical document detailing our hunting notes, final dispositions, and observations. We report on everything from high-priority threats to "mundane" but critical risks, such as vulnerable browser versions or outdated software.
- Executive threat news: A high-level summary of the global threat landscape, providing context on why specific hunts were performed and what leadership should be aware of in the coming month.
- Strategic recommendations: Every finding comes with a clear path to remediation, helping your internal teams harden the executive environment against future attacks.
A seamless part of the Talos IR ecosystem
ETD is not a siloed service; it is a proactive extension of your Talos IR relationship. Because the service is delivered through our standard retainer, customers have the flexibility to pivot. If a monthly hunt uncovers a critical incident, you can immediately transition those hours to an Emergency Response engagement, letting Talos IR immediately investigate and help remediate the breach.
In an era where the C-suite is more heavily targeted than ever before, standard security is no longer enough. With ETD, Talos IR provides the specialized focus, elite intelligence, and proactive hunting required to protect your organization’s most critical leaders.
To learn more about securing your executive team with ETD, contact your Cisco account representative or visit the Talos IR portal.