How are user credentials stolen and used by threat actors?

This Talos report describes the rising prevalence of credential-based intrusions where attackers use stolen or forged valid accounts to gain persistent, stealthy access. It catalogs observed techniques (phishing, fake login portals, keyloggers/infostealers, Kerberos ticket theft, brute force/password spraying, QR-code phishing, targeting dormant accounts), cites 2023 telemetry, and recommends mitigations including MFA, least-privilege access, lateral traffic inspection, account hygiene, zero-trust approaches, and active hunting.