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Introducing Unit 42 Managed XSIAM 2.0

17 February 2026 at 12:01

24/7 Managed SOC Built for Tomorrow's Threats

The window for defense has collapsed, and most SOCs werenโ€™t built for the speed of todayโ€™s attacks. According to the 2026 Unit 42ยฎ Global Incident Response Report, some end-to-end attacks now unfold in under an hour. Attacks that used to take days or weeks now happen in minutes.

Most traditional SOC models are trapped in a cycle of alert overload, fragmented tools and limited engineering capacity that slow investigations and delay response. Traditional SIEM and MDR models were designed to react to alerts. They were not designed to continuously improve detections, correlations and response with threats that move at machine speed. Over time, that gap between attacker speed and defender capability keeps widening, and itโ€™s exactly why we built Unit 42 Managed XSIAM 2.0 (MSIAM).

Today marks the availability of the next evolution of our managed SOC offering โ€“ one that reflects how modern security operations must run in todayโ€™s threat landscape. MSIAM 2.0 is built on Cortex XSIAMยฎ, Palo Alto Networks SOC transformation platform, and operated by Unit 42 analysts, threat hunters, responders and SOC engineers who handle the most complex incidents in the world. With this solution, Unit 42 provides organizations with a 24/7 managed SOC that delivers continuous detection, investigation and full-cycle remediation across the entire attack surface while improving operations over time.

We donโ€™t just manage alerts. Unit 42 continuously engineers detections, correlations and response playbooks within XSIAM, refining them as attacker behavior evolves. This ongoing engineering ensures defenses improve over time, driven by real-world incidents and frontline threat intelligence, not static rules that quickly fall behind.

Why Managed XSIAM 2.0 Is Different

Elite SOC on Day One

We want SOC teams up and running as fast as possible. Experts lead onboarding, data mapping and configuration, and then your managed SOC team takes responsibility for operating and optimizing XSIAM on a day-to-day basis. The result is a SOC that improves over time without adding operational burden.

Every Threat Exposed

Unit 42 goes beyond reactive monitoring with continuous, proactive threat hunting across the entire attack surface. When a new threat is found in the wild, we produce threat impact reports that show how those techniques apply to each customerโ€™s environment. We then translate those insights into custom detections and automated response actions, while also monitoring and investigating the correlation rules your team creates. Both the global threat intelligence and your unique use cases are backed by our 24/7 analysis, closing gaps quickly and strengthening defenses over time.

We also now support both native and third-party EDR telemetry, so organizations can benefit from Unit 42 expertise and Cortexยฎ AI-driven analytics, regardless of the security technologies they use today. This enables customers to receive the strongest possible managed defense now, while creating a natural, low-friction path toward deeper platform consolidation as their environment evolves.

Machine-Speed Response

When incidents escalate, we donโ€™t just hand you a ticket; we take ownership. Collaborating with your team, we establish pre-authorized workflows to execute immediate responses across your entire environment, from endpoints and firewalls to identity and cloud. We pair the platformโ€™s native speed with expert oversight. By validating threat context and business impact, every response action is precise and safe, giving you the confidence to unleash full-cycle remediation. This allows MSIAM 2.0 to move seamlessly from detection to resolution with both velocity and precision.

And we stand behind our solution with a Breach Response Guarantee. If a complex incident strikes, you have the worldโ€™s best responders in your corner with up to 250 hours of Unit 42 Incident Response included. This built-in coverage removes the administrative hurdles of crisis response, enabling our experts to immediately transition from monitoring to deep forensic investigation and complete eradication, so you can focus on recovery.ย 

Proven in the Real World with the Green Bay Packers

Working with Unit 42 and the Cortex XSIAM platform, the Green Bay Packers modernized their security across a complex hybrid environment, demonstrating what Unit 42's managed services deliver in real-world operations. By consolidating telemetry and accelerating investigation and response, they reduced response times from hours to minutes, investigated 54% more alerts and saved over 120 hours of analyst time without adding headcount.

These outcomes reflect the key benefits of MSIAM: Unit 42 experts working to apply frontline intelligence as new attacker behavior emerges, translating it into reporting and tailored detections that improve response where it matters most. When a machine-speed platform is operated by experts handling real incidents every day, defenses continuously strengthen as threats evolve.

The Future of the SOC

Unit 42 MSIAM 2.0 helps your SOC operate as it should by combining AI-driven analytics and automation with expert-led operations and engineering. This combination provides teams with the confidence that their defenses are always on, always improving and ready when it matters most. Thatโ€™s the SOC that security leaders need today, and the one weโ€™re building for tomorrow.

MSIAM is now delivered through two service tiers, Pro and Premium. Organizations can start where they are and grow at their own pace. Pro provides AI-driven managed SOC operations with continuous detection, investigation and response. Premium extends into full-lifecycle SOC engineering, with designated experts and customized detections, automation and tailored response playbooks as your security maturity grows.

To learn more about Managed XSIAM 2.0, join us at Symphony 2026, a Palo Alto Networks premier virtual SOC event, where Unit 42 and Cortexยฎ experts will share frontline threat intelligence from the new 2026 Unit 42 Incident Response Report alongside real-world SOC transformation insights from organizations operating at machine speed.

The post Introducing Unit 42 Managed XSIAM 2.0 appeared first on Palo Alto Networks Blog.

The Human Element: Turning Threat Actor OPSEC Fails into Investigative Breakthroughs

13 February 2026 at 20:09

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The Human Element: Turning Threat Actor OPSEC Fails into Investigative Breakthroughs

In this post, we explore how the psychological traps of operational security can unmask even the most sophisticated actors.

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February 13, 2026
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The threat intelligence landscape is often dominated with talks of sophisticated TTPs (tactics, tools, and procedures), zero-day vulnerabilities, and ransomware. While these technical threats are formidable, they are still managed by human beings, and it is the human element that often provides the most critical breakthroughs in attributing these attacks and de-anonymizing the threat actors behind them.

In our latest webinar, โ€œOPSEC Fails: The Secret Weapon for People-Centric OSINTโ€,ย  Flashpoint was joined by Joshua Richards, founder of OSINT Praxis. Josh shared an intriguing case study where an attackerโ€™s digital breadcrumbs led to a life-saving intervention.ย 

Here is how OSINT techniques, leveraged by Flashpointโ€™s expansive data capabilities, can dismantle illegal threat actor campaigns by turning a technical investigation into a human one.

Leveraging OPSEC as a Mindset

In a technical context, OPSEC is a risk management process that identifies seemingly innocuous pieces of information that, when gathered by an adversary, could be pieced together to reveal a larger, sensitive picture.

In the webinar, we break down the OPSEC mindset into three core pillars that every practitioner, and threat actor, must navigate. When these pillars fail, the investigation begins.

  • Analyzing the Signature: Every human has a digital signature, such as the way they type (stylometry), the times they are active, and the tools they prefer.
  • Identity Masking & Persona Management: This involves ensuring that your investigative identity has zero overlap with your real life. A common failure includes using the same browser for personal use and investigative research, which allows cookies to bridge the two identities.
  • Traffic Obfuscation: Even with a VPN, certain behaviors such as posting on a dark web forum and then using that same connection to check personal banking can expose an IP address, linking it to a practitioner or threat actor.

โ€œEffective OPSEC isnโ€™t about the tools you use; itโ€™s about what breadcrumbs you are leaving behind that hackers, investigation subjects, or literally anyone could find about you.โ€

Joshua Richards, founder of Osint Praxis

Leveraging the Mindset for CTI

Understanding the OPSEC mindset allows security teams to think like the target. When we know the psychological traps attackers fall in, we know exactly where to look for their mistakes.

AssumptionThe Mindset TrapThe Investigative Reality
Insignificantโ€œIโ€™m not a high-value target; no one is looking for me.โ€Automated Aggression: Hackers use scripts to scan millions of accounts. You arenโ€™t โ€œchosenโ€; you are โ€œdiscoveredโ€ via automation.
Invisibleโ€œI donโ€™t have a LinkedIn or X account, so I donโ€™t have a footprint.โ€Shadow Data: Public birth records, property taxes, and historical data breaches create a footprint you didnโ€™t even build yourself.
Invincibleโ€œI have 2FA and complex passwords; Iโ€™m unhackable.โ€Session Hijacking: Infostealer malware steals โ€œsession tokensโ€ (cookies). This allows an actor to be you in a browser without ever needing your 2FA code.

During the webinar, Joshua shares a masterclass in how leveraging these concepts can turn a vague dark web threat into a real-world arrest. Check out the on-demand webinar to see exactly how the investigation started on Torum, a dark web forum, and ended with an arrest that saved the lives of two individuals.

Turn the Tables Using Flashpoint

The insights shared in this session powerfully illustrate that even the most dangerous threat actors are rarely as anonymous as they believe. Their downfall isnโ€™t usually a failure of their technical prowess, but a failure of their mindset. By understanding these OSINT techniques, intelligence practitioners can transform a sea of digital noise into a clear path toward attribution.

The most effective way to dismantle threats is to bridge the gap between technical indicators and human behavior. Whether your teams are conducting high-stakes OSINT or protecting your own organizationโ€™s digital footprint, every breadcrumb counts. By leveraging Flashpointโ€™s expansive threat intelligence collections and real-time data, you can stay one step ahead of adversaries. Request a demo to learn more.

Request a demo today.

The post The Human Element: Turning Threat Actor OPSEC Fails into Investigative Breakthroughs appeared first on Flashpoint.

Why Outbound email control is critical

Outbound Email Security Matters for Deliverability and Routing. Especially for organizations that need to deliver a large set of emails, and frequently (Transactional Emails) regarding, for instance, transaction receipts and payment notifications.

When the SOC Goes to Deadwood: A Night to Rememberย 

By: BHIS
4 February 2026 at 15:00

Hear a tale about the time the BHIS SOC team conducted a 14-hour overnight incident response... from the Wild West Hackin' Fest conference in Deadwood, South Dakota.

The post When the SOC Goes to Deadwood: A Night to Rememberย  appeared first on Black Hills Information Security, Inc..

Burner phones and lead-lined bags: a history of UK security tactics in China

Starmerโ€™s team is wary of spies but such fears are not new โ€“ with Theresa May once warned to get dressed under a duvet

When prime ministers travel to China, heightened security arrangements are a given โ€“ as is the quiet game of cat and mouse that takes place behind the scenes as each country tests out each otherโ€™s tradecraft and capabilities.

Keir Starmerโ€™s team has been issued with burner phones and fresh sim cards, and is using temporary email addresses, to prevent devices being loaded with spyware or UK government servers being hacked into.

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ยฉ Photograph: Simon Dawson/Simon Dawson/10 Downing Street

ยฉ Photograph: Simon Dawson/Simon Dawson/10 Downing Street

ยฉ Photograph: Simon Dawson/Simon Dawson/10 Downing Street

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