![]() Part of the reason why this technique is so popular is because it falls under the Execution tactic, which is a key step in most attacks, and because it’s further split into eight sub-techniques for the various command line and scripting language interpreters that attackers usually abuse across all operating systems. The most prevalent MITRE ATT&CK technique observed was abuse of command and scripting interpreters, used by 31% of the malware samples. Many of the most prevalent MITRE ATT&CK techniques enable lateral movement A third of samples used over 20 TTPs and one in ten used over 30. The company then organized them by MITRE ATT&CK techniques and found that on average each malware included 11 TTPs that mapped to nine ATT&CK techniques. Picus analyzed 556,107 files that were collected from commercial and open-source threat intelligence services, security vendors and researchers, malware sandboxes and malware databases and categorized 507,912 as malicious. ![]() All these services can be exploited in different ways. For example, the Lateral Movement tactic includes the Remote Services technique, which includes sub-techniques such as Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), SMB/Windows Admin Shares, Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM), Secure Shell (SSH), Virtual Network Computing (VNC) and Windows Remote Management (WinRM). Each tactic is further broken down into techniques, which are methods of achieving that goal, and those are further broken down into sub-techniques. The latest version of the framework tracks 14 tactics, 193 techniques and 401 sub-techniques, as well as 135 attack groups and 718 pieces of malicious or dual-use software.Ī tactic is an objective an attacker is trying to achieve with its activities. MITRE ATT&CK is a knowledge base of tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) that provide a framework for cybersecurity professionals to prioritize defenses against malicious campaigns, malware and threat groups. Malware programs now include 11 malicious actions on average Given ransomware’s success, other cybercriminal groups have become adopting similar techniques, making lateral movement a challenge for organizations of all types and sizes, regardless of industry. These hackers-for-hire borrowed all the techniques APTs were using, including exploiting zero-day vulnerabilities, abusing existing operating system utilities and capabilities to reduce their footprint - a tactic known as living off the land - or deploying third-party tools that are commonly used by IT administrators or security teams. ![]() That all changed with the rise of manually operated ransomware groups that use groups of hackers known as “affiliates” to manually break into networks, move laterally, and gain as much access as they can over the systems - sometimes by compromising the domain controllers - before deploying the ransomware for maximum impact. So, companies who didn’t have APTs in their threat models could focus more at blocking threats at the perimeter instead of detecting them inside their networks, which often requires advanced logging, event monitoring and active threat hunting by specialized personnel. To achieve these goals these groups typically take a long time to understand the network environments they infiltrate, establish deep persistence by installing implants on multiple systems, they identify critical servers and sensitive data stores and try to extract credentials that gives them extensive access and privilege escalation.ĪPTs also used to operate in a targeted manner, going to specific companies from specific industries that might have the secrets their handlers are looking for. These sophisticated groups of attackers are often associated with intelligence agencies and governments, whose primary goals are cyberespionage or sabotage. Many years ago lateral movement used to be associated primarily with advanced persistent threats (APTs). “An increase in the prevalence of techniques being performed to conduct lateral movement highlights the importance of enhancing threat prevention and detection both at the security perimeter as well as inside networks,” researchers from cybersecurity firm Picus, said in their report. Several of the most prevalent tactics, as defined by the MITRE ATT&CK framework, that were identified in the dataset aid lateral movement, including three new ones that rose into the top 10. A new study of over a half-million malware samples collected from various sources in 2022 revealed that attackers put a high value on lateral movement, incorporating more techniques that would allow them to spread through corporate networks. ![]()
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