Available now: 2024 Year in Review

Welcome to Cisco Talos’ 2024 Year in Review, available for download now. This report is powered by threat telemetry from over 46 million global devices across 193 countries and regions, amounting to more than 886 billion security events per day.  

Explore key insights in topics including the top targeted vulnerabilities of the year, network-based attacks, email threats, adversary toolsets, identity attacks, multi-factor authentication (MFA) abuse, ransomware and AI-based attacks. With Talos’ informed analysis and recommendations, you can strategically prioritize your defenses to stay ahead in 2025. 

 

 

2024’s Threat Actor Playbook: Stealth and Simplicity 

This year, cybercriminals leaned heavily on stealth and efficiency, favoring straightforward techniques over complex malware and zero-day exploits. Here’s more that stood out: 

• Identity-based attacks were particularly noteworthy, accounting for 60% of Cisco Talos Incident Response cases. 
• Some of the top-targeted network vulnerabilities affect end-of-life (EOL) devices and therefore have no available patches, despite still being actively targeted by threat actors. 
• Ransomware actors overwhelmingly leveraged valid accounts for initial access in 2024, with this tactic appearing in almost 70% of cases. They also targeted education entities more than any other sector in 2024, a trend in line with previous years.  
• Based on Cisco Duo data, identity and access management (IAM) applications were most frequently targeted in MFA attacks, accounting for nearly a quarter of related incidents.  
• Threat actor use of AI and machine learning largely fell short of industry projections, with actors relying on these technologies to enhance their techniques rather than aid in the creation of new ones. 

Want some quick insights? Here’s a two-minute overview of key findings: 

Stay informed 

Download Talos’ 2024 Year in Review today, and bookmark our landing page to access forthcoming exclusive interviews with Talos experts, videos, podcasts and more. 

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