According to the recent report from the cybersecurity authorities of the “Five Eyes”, the availability of hacking tools and techniques are not limited to dark web criminals or nation-state hackers.
Christian Elisan, Lead Analyst at Flashpoint, provides his insights below on how organisations can defend against these tools and attacks.
Christian Elisan, Lead Analyst at Flashpoint:
“Aside from the recommendations mentioned by NCSC (National Cyber Security Centre), organisations can take a step further by studying and familiarising themselves with the freely available tools used in the attacks. See how the tools behave in a target system and what changes, if any, are done in the target system to support the tools’ functionalities. These artefacts can serve as indicators of compromise that can be used to detect the presence of the tool. Threat actors can always encrypt and/or pack these tools to make it undetected by traditional security solutions but no matter what type of encryption is used, these tools, like any other software, will be decrypted in memory during runtime. Knowing how the tool looks like in memory will enable detection of its presence during runtime or as it is being loaded in the target system’s memory. This solves the detection of tools such as Powershell Empire that operates mostly in memory.
How can we prevent the development and distribution of these tools?
These types of tools will continue to be developed. The same way malware is being developed. The only difference is that these tools will always have the claim “for research purposes only, use at your own risk, developer is not liable…” I don’t think there is anything we can do to stop it. As for distribution, unless the platforms that are being utilised to host these tools have the capability to audit source code and the files being made available through their service, it will be a challenge to stop or even hinder the distribution of these tools.”
ISBuzz Team embodies the collaborative efforts of the dedicated staff at Information Security Buzz, converging a wide range of skills and viewpoints to present a unified, engaging voice in the information security realm. This entity isn't tied to a single individual; instead, it's a dynamic embodiment of a team diligently working behind the scenes to keep you updated and secure. When you read a post from ISBuzz Team, you're receiving the most relevant and actionable insights, curated and crafted by professionals tuned in to the pulse of the cybersecurity world. ISBuzz Team - your reliable compass in the fast-evolving landscape of information security
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.