Palo Alto Networks Unit 42

🛡️ CISOs, your secret weapon for staying ahead is here: The Unit 42 Retainer. Tour the retainer to see how it gives you 24/7 visibility into your services and one-click access to elite IR experts. Seamlessly schedule proactive services, generate insightful reports, and more. 💪 Ready to move from reactive to resilient? Take the tour to see how. https://bit.ly/45WEggZ

In response to a ransomware attack that severely disrupted government operations, Unit 42 promptly sprang into action. The #IncidentResponse experts determined the extent of the damage, identified the threat actor, and implemented a plan to recover, restoring critical services and helping rebuild citizen trust. https://bit.ly/4caO4Dw

Attributing a cyber incident is a critical, high-stakes process focused on identifying a threat and understanding the motivation, capability, and intent behind the attack. Relying on anecdotal methods can lead to flawed assessments and misguide strategic decisions. To address this challenge, our team developed and tested the Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 Attribution Framework, a data-driven methodology that provides a structured, repeatable approach. This framework allows security teams to build defensible intelligence assessments that stand up to scrutiny and inform critical decisions. The framework is built on three distinct levels of attribution that ensure a methodical progression from raw data to a high-confidence assessment: - Activity Clusters: Foundational level where observed activities are grouped by shared indicators or TTPs. - Temporary Threat Groups: An activity cluster can be elevated to this level once a single actor is confidently involved. - Named Threat Actors: Highest level of attribution, assigned only when there is sufficient visibility from multiple reliable sources. Having used this internally for over a year, we have seen its effectiveness in providing clear, actionable context. Thank you Andy Piazza for your efforts driving and sharing our work here. https://lnkd.in/gRGMyhjy

⏱️ Data gets stolen faster every year. Defenders are up against machine-speed attacks, and human-speed responses just can’t keep up. 🔐 The answer? Automation + a platform approach that cuts through the noise and helps teams respond fast. Dive into the latest insights from the front lines in the 2025 Unit 42 Global Incident Response Report and stay ahead of the attackers. https://bit.ly/447J6H2

What is Threatflation? Answer below! Imagine this: Your business just got hit with ransomware. You think paying up will make it go away, but then—your systems stay down. Your reputation takes a hit and the damage goes far beyond the ransom itself. In 86% of incidents Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 responded to in 2024, attackers didn’t stop at ransomware or extortion, they shut down operations, wrecked reputations, or both. Cybercrime is evolving. So, what do you think Threatflation means? Drop your thoughts in the comments! ⬇️ https://bit.ly/4iV2Ly7

Today, we launched our 2025 Unit 42 Global Incident Response Report. Inside this 38-page report you’ll find key trends that businesses need to be aware of to defend against cybercrime: intentional business disruption, increasing attack speed, insider threats, cloud and supply chain attacks, AI-assisted attacks and more… And we dive into the common mistakes we see when we’re responding: overly complex environments, gaps in visibility, too much trust. But what you won’t see in the report is the relentless work behind these insights. Our Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 Incident Response team operates 24/7, 365 days a year responding to attacks in real time. When a client calls, we don’t hesitate. We drop everything, and in many cases fly across the country or even the world, to help them recover as quickly as possible. The trends in this report are critical, but so is the team behind them. I’m proud of their dedication and the impact we continue to make. More thoughts on these trends coming soon. For now, enjoy diving into the full report here: https://lnkd.in/gziuzCNP Wendi Whitmore Michael Sikorski Tim Erridge Philippa Cogswell André Reichow-Prehn Sankara Shanmugam Daniel Sergile Brock Bell Christi M. Donnie Tindall Erica Naone Dan O'Day Alfred Sivathondan Christopher Scott Matt Armstrong Ross W. Preston Miller Mike Savitz 🔍 Adrian Taylor Chris George Eric Semaan Roland Eid Helen Teixeira Stefan Vömel Nicolas Koller Ruben C. Aditi Adya Jim Barber Richard Emerson Evan Gordenker Michael J. Graven Eva Dudzik Mehlert Lysa Myers Prashil P. Laury R. R. Doel Santos Samantha Stallings Jamie Williams ..and many more