In short: Cisco Talos Incident Response (Talos IR) is Cisco's incident response service, delivered by the Talos team. Its retainer is a flexible subscription covering emergency response to active incidents and proactive services such as readiness assessments, IR plans and playbooks, tabletop exercises, threat hunting, compromise assessments, cyber range training and purple team exercises.
What is Cisco Talos Incident Response?
When ransomware, a business email compromise or a data breach hits, most organisations do not have digital forensics and incident response specialists on the payroll. Talos IR provides them. It is part of Cisco Talos, Cisco's threat intelligence and research group, so responders work with the same intelligence that protects Cisco Secure products.
Emergency response covers incident coordination, investigative analysis, digital forensics and remediation guidance. Responders can only investigate what your logs and tools record, so telemetry from Cisco XDR, Secure Endpoint or your existing security tools, and a sound logging set-up, make a real difference to how quickly they can scope an incident.
The Talos IR retainer
Cisco describes the retainer as a flexible, subscription-based service with a range of options. You agree a retainer up front, then use it for emergency response when you need it and for proactive services the rest of the time, so the investment is not wasted in a quiet year.
Reactive services - Emergency incident response: incident coordination, investigation, digital forensics and remediation guidance during an active incident - Intel on demand: Talos research into specific indicators, such as domains, IP addresses or account names - Emerging threat information: information on new and relevant threats
Proactive services
| Service | What it gives you |
|---|---|
| IR readiness assessment | A review of your security foundations and how well your teams can communicate and respond during an incident |
| IR plan | A tailored plan for coordinated response and communications, or a review of the plan you already have |
| IR playbooks | Step-by-step guides for the threats most relevant to you, such as ransomware or business email compromise |
| Log architecture assessment | A review of your logging set-up for incident response and threat hunting, showing visibility gaps |
| Tabletop exercises | Realistic scenarios in a controlled setting that test your plan, playbooks and people |
| Threat hunting | A targeted search of your environment based on an intelligence-led hypothesis |
| Compromise assessment | A wide review for signs of current or past attacker activity |
| Cyber range training | Hands-on training for responders based on real-world incidents |
| Purple team exercise | Talos's offensive team tests your detection and response against real attacker tradecraft, working with your defenders |
| Executive threat detection | Ongoing hunting and risk intelligence focused on attacks against executives and other high-profile staff |
Response commitments and how retainer time can be used are set out in Cisco's current service description. We will take you through them for your contract rather than quote figures that may change.
Talos IR in Cisco suites and XDR
- Breach Protection Suite Premier includes Talos Incident Response alongside Cisco Managed XDR and a Technical Security Assessment
- Cisco XDR Premier includes Talos Incident Response and technical security assessment services as part of the managed XDR offer
- Standalone retainer: the Talos IR retainer can also be bought on its own, outside a suite
If you are already considering Breach Protection Premier, check what IR entitlement it includes before buying a separate retainer.
UK reporting duties during an incident
An incident response retainer helps you meet legal and regulatory duties, not just technical ones. In the UK:
- UK GDPR: personal data breaches that pose a risk to individuals must be reported to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) without undue delay and, where feasible, within 72 hours of becoming aware of them; high-risk breaches must also be communicated to the people affected
- NIS Regulations: operators of essential services and relevant digital service providers must report significant incidents to their competent authority (or, for digital service providers, the ICO). The Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill, which would update these rules and widen their scope, was at third reading in the House of Lords in late October 2026 and is not yet law, so watch for changes
- NCSC: the National Cyber Security Centre runs an incident reporting service for significant cyber incidents affecting UK organisations
- Sector rules and contracts: financial services, healthcare, public sector and your customer contracts may add their own notification duties
- Cyber insurance: policies may require prompt notification or the use of the insurer's approved responders, so check yours before an incident
Evidence gathered during the response, such as the timeline, data affected and containment steps, is what these reports depend on. A rehearsed IR plan makes the 72-hour window far more achievable.
Who it suits
- Organisations without in-house forensics or incident response specialists
- Regulated organisations that must show they have tested incident response arrangements
- Boards and insurers asking for evidence of preparedness, such as a current IR plan and recent tabletop exercise
- Security teams that want independent threat hunting, compromise assessments or purple team testing
Incident response sits on top of good basics. Cyber Essentials and security awareness training reduce the number of incidents you need to respond to.
How we help
- Assess your current incident response arrangements, insurance requirements and regulatory duties
- Recommend a standalone Talos IR retainer, Breach Protection Premier or XDR Premier, based on what else you need
- Plan proactive time so retainer services are used across the year, starting with a readiness assessment and tabletop exercise
- Align your tooling so responders have the telemetry they need, through XDR, Secure Endpoint and logging
Ask us for a quote. If you have an active incident, contact us using the form and mark it as urgent.
How Forever Systems supplies and supports Cisco Secure
We supply and support the whole Cisco security portfolio for UK organisations, alongside Cisco Meraki networking and Cisco voice.
- Architecture and sizing: the right mix of firewall, secure access, identity, endpoint, email, detection and response and OT security for your estate, whether as individual products or a Cisco security suite
- Licensing: Smart Accounts, subscription tiers, Enterprise Agreements and renewals, explained in plain English
- Deployment and migration, including ASA to Secure Firewall Threat Defense, AnyConnect to Secure Client, and Umbrella to Secure Access
- Integration across Cisco XDR, Splunk, Duo, ISE and Secure Access so products share telemetry and response actions
- Ongoing support: upgrades, policy reviews, end-of-life planning, licence management and renewals
Forever Systems Ltd is an independent IT and cyber security provider. We will always recommend what fits, Cisco or otherwise.
Want help choosing, licensing or migrating Cisco security products?
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Contact usFrequently asked questions
What is Cisco Talos Incident Response?
It is Cisco's incident response service, delivered by Cisco Talos. It provides emergency response to active incidents and proactive services such as readiness assessments, IR plans, tabletop exercises, threat hunting and compromise assessments.
What does the Talos IR retainer include?
Cisco describes it as a flexible subscription. It covers emergency incident response and intel on demand, plus proactive services including IR readiness assessments, IR plans and playbooks, log architecture assessments, tabletop exercises, threat hunting, compromise assessments, cyber range training and purple team exercises.
Is Talos Incident Response included in any Cisco suite?
Yes. It is included in the Premier tier of the Cisco Breach Protection Suite and in Cisco XDR Premier. It is also sold as a standalone retainer.
What is a compromise assessment?
A compromise assessment is a broad review of your environment for signs of current or past attacker activity. Talos IR offers it as a proactive retainer service, and it is a sensible step after a merger, a suspicious event or a change of IT provider.
When must a UK organisation report a data breach?
Under UK GDPR, personal data breaches that pose a risk to individuals must be reported to the ICO without undue delay and, where feasible, within 72 hours of becoming aware of them. Other duties may apply under the NIS Regulations, sector rules and contracts.