[
  {
    "Title": "Malware Analysis: Steps & Examples - CrowdStrike",
    "URL": "https://www.crowdstrike.com/en-us/cybersecurity-101/malware/malware-analysis/",
    "Query": "cyber threats malware analysis",
    "Content cleaned": "Yes (reduced from 35418 to 23279 chars)",
    "Content": "# Malware Analysis Explained\n## What is malware analysis?\n**Malware analysis** is the process of understanding the behavior and purpose of a suspicious file or URL. The output of the analysis aids in the detection and mitigation of the potential threat.\nThe key benefit of malware analysis is that it helps incident responders and security analysts:\n- Pragmatically triage incidents by level of severity\n- Uncover hidden indicators of compromise (IOCs) that should be blocked\n- Improve the efficacy of IOC alerts and notifications\n- Enrich context when threat hunting\n## Types of malware analysis\nThe analysis may be conducted in a manner that is static, dynamic or a hybrid of the two.\n### Static analysis\nBasic static analysis does not require that the code is actually run. Instead, **static analysis examines the file for signs of malicious intent**. It can be useful to identify malicious infrastructure, libraries or packed files.\nTechnical indicators are identified such as file names, hashes, strings such as IP addresses, domains, and file header data can be used to determine whether that file is malicious. In addition, tools like disassemblers and network analyzers can be used to observe the malware without actually running it in order to collect information on how the malware works.\n## CrowdStrike 2025 Global Threat Report\n## CrowdStrike 2025 Global Threat Report\nGet your copy of the must-read cybersecurity report of the year.\nDownload\nHowever, **since static analysis does not actually run the code, sophisticated malware can include malicious runtime behavior that can go undetected**. For example, if a file generates a string that then downloads a malicious file based upon the dynamic string, it could go undetected by a basic static analysis. Enterprises have turned to dynamic analysis for a more complete understanding of the behavior of the file.\n### Dynamic analysis\n**Dynamic malware analysis executes\u00a0 suspected malicious code in a safe environment called a _sandbox_.** This closed system enables security professionals to watch the malware in action without the risk of letting it infect their system or escape into the enterprise network.\nDynamic analysis provides threat hunters and incident responders with deeper visibility, allowing them to uncover the true nature of a threat. As a secondary benefit, automated sandboxing eliminates the time it would take to reverse engineer a file to discover the malicious code.\nThe challenge with dynamic analysis is that adversaries are smart, and they know sandboxes are out there, so they have become very good at detecting them. To deceive a sandbox, adversaries hide code inside them that may remain dormant until certain conditions are met. Only then does the code run.\n### Hybrid analysis (includes both of the techniques above)\nBasic static analysis isn\u2019t a reliable way to detect sophisticated malicious code, and sophisticated malware can sometimes hide from the\u00a0 presence of sandbox technology. **By combining basic and dynamic analysis techniques, hybrid analysis provide security team the best of both approaches \u2013** primarily because it can detect malicious code that is trying to hide, and then can extract many more indicators of compromise (IOCs) by statically and previously unseen code. Hybrid analysis helps detect unknown threats, even those from the most sophisticated malware.\nFor example, one of the things hybrid analysis does is apply static analysis to data generated by behavioral analysis \u2013 like when a piece of malicious code runs and generates some changes in memory. Dynamic analysis would detect that, and analysts would be alerted to circle back and perform basic static analysis on that memory dump. As a result, more IOCs would be generated and zero-day exploits would be exposed.\n#### Learn More\nFalcon Sandbox enables cybersecurity teams of all skill levels to increase their understanding of the threats they face and use that knowledge to defend against future attacks.\nLearn more about Falcon Sandbox here.\n## Malware analysis use cases\n### Malware detection\nAdversaries are employing more sophisticated techniques to avoid traditional detection mechanisms. By providing deep behavioral analysis and by identifying shared code, malicious functionality or infrastructure, threats can be more effectively detected. In addition, an output of malware analysis is the extraction of IOCs. The IOCs may then be fed into SEIMs, threat intelligence platforms (TIPs) and security orchestration tools to aid in alerting teams to related threats in the future.\n### Threat alerts and triage\nMalware analysis solutions provide higher-fidelity alerts earlier in the attack life cycle. Therefore, teams can save time by prioritizing the results of these alerts over other technologies.\n### Incident response\nThe goal of the incident response (IR) team is to provide root cause analysis, determine impact and succeed in remediation and recovery. The malware analysis process aids in the efficiency and effectiveness of this effort.\n### Threat hunting\nMalware analysis can expose behavior and artifacts that threat hunters can use to find similar activity, such as access to a particular network connection, port or domain. By searching firewall and proxy logs or SIEM data, teams can use this data to find similar\u00a0 threats.\n### Malware research\nAcademic or industry malware researchers perform malware analysis to gain an understanding of the latest techniques, exploits and tools used by adversaries.\n## Stages of malware analysis\n### Static properties analysis\nStatic properties include strings embedded in the malware code, header details, hashes, metadata, embedded resources, etc. This type of data may be all that is needed to create IOCs, and they can be acquired very quickly because there is no need to run the program in order to see them. Insights gathered during the static properties analysis can indicate whether a deeper investigation using more comprehensive techniques is necessary and determine which steps should be taken next.\n### Interactive behavior analysis\nBehavioral analysis is used to observe and interact with a malware sample running in a lab. Analysts seek to understand the sample\u2019s registry, file system, process and network activities. They may also conduct memory forensics to learn how the malware uses memory. If the analysts suspect that the malware has a certain capability, they can set up a simulation to test their theory.\nBehavioral analysis requires a creative analyst with advanced skills. The process is time-consuming and complicated and cannot be performed effectively without automated tools.\n### Fully automated analysis\nFully automated analysis quickly and simply assesses suspicious files. The analysis can determine potential repercussions if the malware were to infiltrate the network and then produce an easy-to-read report that provides fast answers for security teams. Fully automated analysis is the best way to process malware at scale.\n### Manual code reversing\nIn this stage, analysts reverse-engineer code using debuggers, disassemblers, compilers and specialized tools to decode encrypted data, determine the logic behind the malware algorithm\u00a0 and understand any hidden capabilities that the malware has not yet exhibited. Code reversing is a rare skill, and executing code reversals takes a great deal of time. For these reasons, malware investigations often skip this step and therefore miss out on a lot of valuable insights into the nature of the malware.\n#### Learn More\nLearn about the largest online malware analysis community that is field-tested by tens of thousands of users every day.\nDownload: Falcon Sandbox Malware Analysis Data Sheet.\n## The world\u2019s most powerful malware sandbox\nSecurity teams can use the CrowdStrike Falcon\u00ae Sandbox to understand sophisticated malware attacks and strengthen their defenses. Falcon Sandbox\u2122 performs deep analyses of evasive and unknown threats, and enriches the results with threat intelligence.\n**Key benefits of Falcon Sandbox**\n- Provides in-depth insight into all file, network and memory activity\n- Offers leading anti-sandbox detection technology\n- Generates intuitive reports with forensic data available on demand\n- Supports the MITRE ATT&CK\u00ae framework\n- Orchestrates workflows with an extensive application programming interface (API) and pre-built integrations\n### Detect unknown threats\nFalcon Sandbox extracts more IOCs than any other competing sandbox solution by using a unique hybrid analysis technology to detect unknown and zero-day exploits. All data extracted from the hybrid analysis engine is processed automatically and integrated into Falcon Sandbox reports.\nFalcon Sandbox has anti-evasion technology that includes state-of-the-art anti-sandbox detection. File monitoring runs in the kernel and cannot be observed by user-mode applications. There is no agent that can be easily identified by malware, and each release is continuously tested to ensure Falcon Sandbox is nearly undetectable, even by malware using the most sophisticated sandbox detection techniques. The environment can be customized by date/time, environmental variables, user behaviors and more.\n### Identify related threats\nKnow how to defend against an attack by understanding the adversary. Falcon Sandbox provides insights into who is behind a malware attack through the use of malware search a unique capability that determines whether a malware file is related to a larger campaign, malware family or threat actor. Falcon Sandbox will automatically search the largest malware search engine in the cybersecurity industry to find related samples and, within seconds, expand the analysis to include all files. This is important because it provides analysts with a deeper understanding of the attack and a larger set of IOCs that can be used to better protect the organization.\n### Achieve complete visibility\nUncover the full attack life cycle with in-depth insight into all file, network, memory and process activity. Analysts at every level gain access to easy-to-read reports that make them more effective in their roles. The reports provide practical guidance for threat prioritization and response, so IR teams can hunt threats and forensic teams can drill down into memory captures and stack traces for a deeper analysis. Falcon Sandbox analyzes over 40 different file types that include a wide variety of executables, document and image formats, and script and archive files, and it supports Windows, Linux and Android.\n### Respond faster\nSecurity teams are more effective and faster to respond thanks to Falcon Sandbox\u2019s easy-to-understand reports, actionable IOCs and seamless integration. Threat scoring and incident response summaries make immediate triage a reality, and reports enriched with information and IOCs from CrowdStrike Falcon\u00ae MalQuery\u2122 and CrowdStrike Adversary Intelligence provide the context needed to make faster, better decisions.\nFalcon Sandbox integrates through an easy REST API, pre-built integrations, and support for indicator-sharing formats such as Structured Threat Information Expression\u2122 (STIX), OpenIOC, Malware Attribute Enumeration and Characterization\u2122 (MAEC), Malware Sharing Application Platform (MISP) and XML/JSON (Extensible Markup Language/JavaScript Object Notation). Results can be delivered with SIEMs, TIPs and orchestration systems.\nCloud or on-premises deployment is available. The cloud option provides immediate time-to-value and reduced infrastructure costs, while the on-premises option enables users to lock down and process samples solely within their environment. Both options provide a secure and scalable sandbox environment.\n### Automation\nFalcon Sandbox uses a unique hybrid analysis technology that includes automatic detection and analysis of unknown threats. All data extracted from the hybrid analysis engine is processed automatically and integrated into the Falcon Sandbox reports. Automation enables Falcon Sandbox to process up to 25,000 files per month and create larger-scale distribution using load-balancing. Users retain control through the ability to customize settings and determine how malware is detonated."
  },
  {
    "Title": "What is Malware Analysis? - Xcitium",
    "URL": "https://www.xcitium.com/knowledge-base/malware-analysis/",
    "Query": "cyber threats malware analysis",
    "Content cleaned": "Yes (reduced from 11661 to 10541 chars)",
    "Content": "# Malware Analysis\nMalware analysis is the process of dissecting malicious software to understand its behavior, impact, and potential threats. Security professionals use advanced techniques to identify, detect, and mitigate cyber risks before they can cause damage. Whether combating ransomware, spyware, or trojans, malware analysis plays a crucial role in strengthening cybersecurity defenses. Explore the key methods, tools, and strategies used to analyze and neutralize modern cyber threats.\n## What is Malware Analysis\nMalware analysis is the process of examining malicious software to understand its origin, functionality, and impact. It is a crucial aspect of cybersecurity that helps experts detect, mitigate, and prevent cyber threats. Malware can take many forms, including viruses, trojans, ransomware, worms, and spyware, all of which can cause significant damage to individuals, businesses, and government organizations. The goal of malware analysis is to determine how a particular piece of malware operates, what vulnerabilities it exploits, and how it can be neutralized or removed from an infected system.\nThere are several key techniques used in malware analysis, each serving a specific purpose. Static analysis is one of the most common methods and involves examining the malware\u2019s code without executing it. This allows analysts to extract valuable information such as file hashes, IP addresses, domain names, and embedded strings that might indicate malicious behavior. Static analysis is typically faster and safer since it does not require running the malware, but it may not always provide deep insights into how the malware behaves when executed.\nDynamic analysis, on the other hand, involves running the malware in a controlled environment, such as a sandbox, to observe its behavior in real-time. This technique allows analysts to track system modifications, network communications, and any attempts to exploit vulnerabilities. Dynamic analysis is particularly useful for identifying evasive malware that can detect when it is being analyzed and attempt to alter its behavior.\nAnother advanced technique used in malware analysis is reverse engineering, where security experts decompile the malware\u2019s code to gain a deeper understanding of its inner workings. This method requires extensive knowledge of programming languages, assembly code, and debugging tools, making it more complex and time-consuming. However, reverse engineering can reveal hidden functionalities, encryption methods, and command-and-control (C2) servers used by cybercriminals to manage malware infections.\nMalware analysis is essential for cybersecurity teams, incident response professionals, and threat intelligence researchers. It helps in creating effective detection rules, developing security patches, and strengthening overall defenses against cyber threats. Many organizations rely on automated malware analysis tools that use artificial intelligence and machine learning to detect patterns and identify new malware variants.\nBy understanding how malware operates, cybersecurity experts can better anticipate and counteract evolving threats. As cyberattacks become more sophisticated, malware analysis remains a critical component of modern cybersecurity strategies, ensuring that businesses and individuals stay protected from the growing risks posed by malicious software.\n### Key Techniques Used in Malware Analysis\nMalware analysis involves several key techniques that cybersecurity professionals use to examine and understand malicious software. These techniques help identify malware behavior, detect potential vulnerabilities, and develop effective countermeasures to mitigate cyber threats. The choice of technique depends on the complexity of the malware and the depth of analysis required. The main techniques used in malware analysis include static analysis, dynamic analysis, and reverse engineering.\nStatic analysis is the process of examining a malware sample without executing it. This technique involves analyzing the code, file structure, and metadata to extract useful information about the malware's functionality. Security researchers use tools to decompile or disassemble the malware\u2019s code, allowing them to inspect embedded strings, API calls, encryption methods, and network connections. Static analysis is a quick and safe way to detect known malware signatures, but it has limitations when dealing with obfuscated or polymorphic malware that can change its code to evade detection.\nDynamic analysis, also known as behavioral analysis, involves executing the malware in a controlled environment, such as a sandbox, to observe its real-time behavior. By monitoring how the malware interacts with the operating system, network, and files, analysts can detect malicious activities, including unauthorized data access, registry modifications, and network communications with external servers. This technique is highly effective in identifying new malware strains and zero-day threats that might bypass traditional static analysis. However, some sophisticated malware can detect when it is being analyzed in a sandbox and alter its behavior to evade detection.\nReverse engineering is a more advanced technique that involves decompiling the malware\u2019s code to understand its logic and structure. Security experts use debugging tools to step through the code and analyze how the malware executes its functions. Reverse engineering is often used to uncover hidden payloads, encryption algorithms, and command-and-control mechanisms that cybercriminals use to control infected systems. This technique requires deep knowledge of programming languages, assembly code, and debugging tools, making it one of the most challenging yet rewarding methods in malware analysis.\nOther techniques used in malware analysis include memory forensics, which involves examining a system\u2019s memory to identify malicious processes, and network analysis, which tracks network traffic to detect signs of malware communication with external servers. These methods help security teams gain deeper insights into how malware spreads, how it communicates, and how it can be neutralized effectively.\nBy combining these key techniques, cybersecurity professionals can develop stronger defenses against malware threats, enhance threat intelligence, and create better security solutions to protect individuals and organizations from cyberattacks.\n### Static vs Dynamic Malware Analysis: What\u2019s the Difference?\nStatic and dynamic malware analysis are two fundamental techniques used by cybersecurity professionals to examine and understand how malicious software operates. Each method has its own strengths, weaknesses, and use cases, making them complementary in the process of malware detection and mitigation. While static analysis focuses on examining the malware\u2019s code without executing it, dynamic analysis involves running the malware in a controlled environment to observe its behavior in real-time. Understanding the differences between these approaches helps security analysts determine the most effective strategy for analyzing and neutralizing cyber threats.\nStatic malware analysis is a method where analysts examine a malware sample without executing it. This technique involves inspecting the file structure, code, and metadata to gather information about the malware\u2019s purpose and functionality. Analysts use tools like disassemblers and decompilers to break down the executable file and extract useful insights, such as embedded strings, function calls, API references, and cryptographic routines. One of the biggest advantages of static analysis is its speed and safety, as it does not require executing potentially harmful code. Additionally, static analysis is effective in detecting known malware signatures and identifying code patterns associated with malicious behavior. However, this method has limitations, especially when dealing with obfuscated, encrypted, or polymorphic malware, which can change its code structure to evade detection.\nDynamic malware analysis, also known as behavioral analysis, takes a different approach by executing the malware in a controlled environment, such as a sandbox or virtual machine. This technique allows analysts to observe the malware\u2019s real-time behavior, including system modifications, file changes, network communications, and attempts to exploit vulnerabilities. By monitoring the malware\u2019s activities, analysts can identify how it spreads, what commands it executes, and how it interacts with external servers. Dynamic analysis is particularly useful for detecting new and unknown malware that may not be identifiable through static analysis alone. However, some advanced malware strains are designed to detect sandbox environments and modify their behavior to avoid detection, making dynamic analysis more challenging. Additionally, running malware samples in a live environment carries some risk if not properly isolated.\nWhile static and dynamic analysis each have their own strengths, they are most effective when used together. Static analysis provides quick insights and helps identify known threats, while dynamic analysis reveals real-time behaviors and detects evasive malware. Combining these techniques allows cybersecurity professionals to build a comprehensive understanding of malware threats, improve detection mechanisms, and develop effective countermeasures against cyberattacks.\n#### Why Choose Xcitium?\nXcitium\u2019s advanced malware analysis solutions leverage real-time threat intelligence and Zero Trust architecture to ensure that every file, application, or executable is verified before execution, preventing unknown threats from causing harm. With industry-leading containment technology and automated malware analysis, Xcitium provides organizations with proactive protection against evolving cyber threats, ensuring business continuity and data security."
  },
  {
    "Title": "Malware analysis for beginners (step-by-step) - HackTheBox",
    "URL": "https://www.hackthebox.com/blog/malware-analysis-guide",
    "Query": "cyber threats malware analysis",
    "Content cleaned": "Yes (reduced from 22229 to 17533 chars)",
    "Content": "## What is malware?\nMalware, short for malicious software, is a term for various types of software designed to infiltrate, exploit, or damage computer systems, networks, and data.\nAlthough all malware is used for malicious purposes, the specific objectives of malware can vary among different threat actors. These objectives commonly fall into several categories:\n- Disrupting host system operations.\n- Stealing critical information, including personal and financial data.\n- Gaining unauthorized access to systems.\n- Conducting espionage activities.\n- Sending spam messages.\n- Using the victim's system for Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks.\n- Locking up the victim's files on their host and demanding ransom (also called Ransomware).\n##### Intro To Malware Analysis\nThis HTB module guides you into the world of malware analysis with a particular focus on Windows-based threats. Leveraging industry-standard tools and methodologies, it provides hands-on experience in identifying, understanding, and detecting malware.\nTake the malware analysis course\n## The different types of malware\nIn the fast-paced world of cyber threats, we find ourselves up against a broad spectrum of complex and varied malware forms.\nIn recent years, governments, judicial systems, hospitals, schools, and companies have been attacked by malware and ransomware, such as Stuxnet and WannaCry\nLet's peel back the layers of some commonly seen types of malware:\n#### Viruses\nThese notorious forms of malware are designed to infiltrate and multiply within host files, transitioning from one system to another. They latch onto credible programs, springing into action when the infected files are triggered.\nTheir destructive powers can range from corrupting or altering data to disrupting system functions, and even spreading through networks, inflicting widespread havoc.\n#### Worms\nWorms are autonomous malware capable of multiplying across networks without needing human intervention. They exploit network weaknesses to infiltrate other systems without permission.\nOnce inside, they can either deliver damaging payloads or keep multiplying to other vulnerable devices. Worms can initiate swift and escalating infections, resulting in enormous disruption and even potential denial of service (DoS) attacks.\n#### Trojans\nAlso known as Trojan Horses, these are disguised as genuine software to trick users into running them. After entering a system, these programs craft backdoors, allowing attackers to gain unauthorized control remotely.\nTrojans can be weaponized to pilfer sensitive data, such as passwords or financial information, and to orchestrate other harmful activities on the compromised system.\n#### Ransomware\nThis type of malware encrypts files on the target's system, making them unreachable. Attackers then demand a ransom in return for the decryption key, effectively holding the victim's data to ransom.\nThe impacts of ransomware attacks can debilitate organizations and individuals alike, leading to severe financial and reputational harm.\n#### Spyware\nThis type of malware stealthily gathers sensitive data and user activities without the user\u2019s consent. It can track online browsing habits, record keystrokes, and capture login credentials, posing a severe risk to privacy and security. The pilfered data is often sent to remote servers for further attacks.\n#### Adware\nThough not as destructive, adware can still be an annoyance and a security threat. It shows uninvited and invasive advertisements on infected systems, often resulting in a poor user experience. Adware can also be used to track user behavior and collect data for targeted advertising.\n#### Botnets\nThese are networks of compromised devices, often referred to as bots or zombies, controlled by a central command-and-control (C2) server.\nBotnets can be exploited for a variety of harmful activities, including launching DDoS attacks, spreading spam, or disseminating other malware.\n#### Rootkits\nThese are stealthy forms of malware designed to gain unauthorized access and control over the fundamental components (the \"Root\") of an operating system (OS).\nThey alter system functions to conceal their presence, making them extremely challenging to spot and eliminate. Attackers can utilize rootkits to maintain prolonged access and dodge security protocols.\n#### Backdoors and RATs (Remote Access Trojans)\nBackdoors and RATs are crafted to offer unauthorized access and control over compromised systems from remote locations. Attackers can leverage them to retain prolonged control, extract data, or conduct additional attacks.\n#### Droppers\nThese are a kind of malware used to transport and install extra malicious payloads onto infected systems. They serve as a conduit for other malware, ensuring the covert installation and execution of more sophisticated threats.\n#### Information stealers\nThese are tailored to target and extract sensitive data, like login credentials, personal information, or intellectual property, for harmful purposes. This includes identity theft or selling the data on the dark web.\n## Types of malware analysis\n**Note**: This blog post will cover the basics of static and dynamic malware analysis, but you can learn more about the other types in the _Introduction to Malware Analysis_\nLoading Preview...\nmodule.\n### Static malware analysis\nStatic malware analysis is an approach to scrutinizing malware code without executing it.\nAn analyst will examine the file structure, identify strings, search for known signatures, and study metadata to gain preliminary insights into the malware's characteristics.\n### Dynamic malware analysis\nDynamic analysis entails executing the malware within a controlled environment, such as a sandbox or virtual machine, to observe its behavior and capture its runtime activities.\nThis includes monitoring network traffic, system calls, file system modifications, and other interactions.\n### Malware code analysis\nCode analysis (which includes reverse engineering) involves disassembling or decompiling the malware's code to understand its logic, functions, algorithms, and employed techniques.\nThis helps in identifying concealed functionalities, exploitation methods, encryption methods, details about the C2 infrastructure, and techniques used for obfuscation and evasion.\n**Note**: Code analysis can also help analysts infer ways to discover potential indicators of compromise (IOC).\n### Memory analysis\nAnalyzing the malware's interactions with system memory helps identify injected code, hooks, or other runtime manipulations.\nThis can be instrumental in detecting rootkits, analyzing anti-analysis techniques, or identifying malicious payloads.\n### Malware unpacking\nThis technique refers to the process of extracting and isolating the hidden malicious code within a piece of malware that uses packing techniques to evade detection.\nMalware authors may use packers to compress, encrypt, or obfuscate their malicious code, making it harder for antivirus software and other SOC analyst tools\nLoading Preview...\nto identify the threat.\nUnpacking involves reverse-engineering these packing techniques to reveal the original, unobfuscated code for further analysis.\nThis can allow researchers to understand the malware's functionality, behavior, and potential impact.\n## Malware analysis steps\nNow, we\u2019ll look at the different steps involved in static malware analysis.\n### How to conduct static malware analysis\nIn malware analysis, we exercise a method called static analysis to study malware without necessitating its execution. This involves the meticulous investigation of malware's code, data, and structural components, serving as a vital precursor for further, more detailed analysis.\nThis helps us extract important information like:\n- File type.\n- File hash.\n- Strings.\n- Embedded elements.\n- Packer information.\n- Imports.\n- Exports.\n- Assembly code.\n#### Step 1: Identifying the file type\nOur first port of call in this stage is to understand the basic information about the malware specimen to lay the groundwork for our investigation.\nGiven that file extensions can be manipulated and changed, our task is to find a way to identify the _actual_ file type we are encountering.\nEstablishing the file type plays an integral role in static analysis, because it ensures that the procedures we apply are appropriate and the results obtained are accurate.\nLet's use a Windows-based malware named Ransomware.wannacry.exe residing in the /home/htb-student/Samples/MalwareAnalysis directory of this module\u2019s\nLoading Preview...\ntarget as an illustration.\n`The command for checking the file type of this malware would be the following:`\n`/home/htb-student/Samples/MalwareAnalysis/Ransomware.wannacry.exe`\n`/home/htb-student/Samples/MalwareAnalysis/Ransomware.wannacry.exe: PE32 executable (GUI) Intel 80386, for MS Windows`\nFrom this, we would learn that it is a Portable Executable32 file:\n#### Step 2: Malware fingerprinting\nIn this stage, our mission is to create a unique identifier for the malware sample. This typically takes the form of a cryptographic hash\u2014MD5, SHA1, or SHA256.\nTo do this, we will employ Fingerprinting techniques. Fingerprinting allows us to perform a variety of tasks, including:\n- Identification and tracking of malware samples.\n- Scanning an entire system for the presence of identical malware.\n- Confirmation of previous encounters and analyses of the same malware.\n- Sharing with stakeholders as IoC (Indicators of Compromise) or as part of threat intelligence reports.\nTo check the MD5 file hash of our example malware, we use the following command, which returns the following results:\n`md5sum /home/htb-student/Samples/MalwareAnalysis/Ransomware.wannacry.exe`\n`db349b97c37d22f5ea1d1841e3c89eb4\u00a0 /home/htb-student/Samples/MalwareAnalysis/Ransomware.wannacry.exe`\n`Algorithm \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Hash \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Path`\n`--------- \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 ---- \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 ----`\n`MD5 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 DB349B97C37D22F5EA1D1841E3C89EB4 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 C:\\Samples\\MalwareAnalysis\\Ra...`\nTo check the SHA256 file hash of the abovementioned malware, we use the following command and receive the following results:\n`PS C:\\Users\\htb-student> Get-FileHash -Algorithm SHA256 C:\\Samples\\MalwareAnalysis\\Ransomware.wannacry.exe`\n`Algorithm \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Hash \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Path`\n`--------- \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 ---- \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 ----`\n`SHA256\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 24D004A104D4D54034DBCFFC2A4B19A11F39008A575AA614EA04703480B1022C \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 C:\\Samples\\MalwareAnalysis\\Ra..`\n#### Step 3: File hash lookup\nThis next step involves checking the file hash produced in the prior step against online malware scanners and sandboxes, like VirusTotal\nLoading Preview...\nIt\u2019s an online malware scanning engine that collaborates with various antivirus vendors and allows us to search for the file hash. This step aids us in comparing our results with existing knowledge about the malware sample.\nThe following image shows the results from VirusTotal after the SHA256 file hash of the aforementioned malware we submitted.\nEven though a file hash like MD5, SHA1, or SHA256 is valuable for identifying identical samples with disparate names, it doesn\u2019t help us as much with identifying similar malware samples.\nThis is primarily because a malware author can alter the file hash value by making minor modifications to the code and recompiling it.\n#### Step 4: String analysis\nIn this phase, our objective is to extract ASCII & Unicode strings from a binary.\nStrings can provide us with clues and valuable insight into the functionality of the malware.\nOccasionally, we can unearth unique embedded strings in a malware sample, such as:\n- Embedded filenames (e.g., dropped files).\n- IP addresses or domain names.\n- Registry paths or keys.\n- Windows API functions.\n- Command-line arguments.\n- Unique information that might hint at a particular threat actor.\nThe following command will reveal strings for a ransomware sample named dharma\\_sample.exe residing in the /home/htb-student/Samples/MalwareAnalysis directory of this module\u2019s\nLoading Preview...\ntarget.\n`strings -n 15 /home/htb-student/Samples/MalwareAnalysis/dharma_sample.exe`\n`!This program cannot be run in DOS mode.`\n`@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@>@@@?456789:;<=@@@@@@@`\n`!\"#$%&'()*+,-./0123@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789+/`\n`WaitForSingleObject`\n`InitializeCriticalSectionAndSpinCount`\n`LeaveCriticalSection`\n`EnterCriticalSection`\n`C:\\crysis\\Release\\PDB\\payload.pdb`\n`0123456789ABCDEF`\n**Note**: The -n flag specifies to print a sequence of at least the number specified\u2014in our case, 15.\nOccasionally, string analysis can facilitate the linkage of a malware sample to a specific threat group if significant similarities are identified.\nFor\u00a0example\nLoading Preview...\n, we can use a string containing a PDB path to link the malware sample to the Dharma/Crysis family of ransomware.\n## The use cases for malware analysis in cybersecurity\nMalware analysis is the process of understanding the behavior and inner workings of malware. It is a crucial aspect of cybersecurity that aids in grasping the threat posed by malicious software and devising effective countermeasures.\nMalware analysis serves several use cases:\n- **Detection and classification:** Through analyzing malware, we can identify and categorize different types of threats based on their unique characteristics, signatures, or patterns. This helps us develop detection rules and understand the nature of the malware we encounter.\n- **Reverse engineering:** Malware analysis often involves the intricate process of reverse engineering the malware's code to discern its underlying operations and employed techniques. This can unveil concealed functionalities, encryption methods, details about the command-and-control (C2) infrastructure, and techniques used for obfuscation and evasion.\n- **Behavioral analysis:** Studying the behavior of malware during execution gives us insights into its actions. Such as modifications to the file system, network communications, changes to the system registry, and attempts to exploit vulnerabilities. This information about the impact of the malware on infected systems and assists in devising potential countermeasures.\n- **Threat intelligence:** Through malware analysis, threat researchers can amass critical intelligence about attackers, their tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), and the malware's origins. This valuable intelligence can be shared with the wider security community to enhance detection, prevention, and response capabilities."
  },
  {
    "Title": "Why Prevention-First Security Is the Only Solution to Ransomware",
    "URL": "https://www.morphisec.com/blog/prevention-first-security-is-the-solution-to-ransomware/",
    "Query": "ransomware attack prevention",
    "Content cleaned": "Yes (reduced from 54892 to 37774 chars)",
    "Content": "## The Evolution of Ransomware and the Failure of Reactive Security\n### Ransomware\u2019s Growing Sophistication\nRansomware isn\u2019t just about encrypting files anymore. Modern ransomware attacks are highly sophisticated, leveraging advanced techniques like:\n- **Double Extortion**: Attackers not only encrypt data but also exfiltrate it, threatening to leak sensitive information unless a ransom is paid.\n- **Fileless Attacks**: Ransomware now hides within legitimate processes, bypassing traditional antivirus tools.\n- **Lateral Movement**: Attackers spread ransomware across networks, impacting multiple endpoints and servers simultaneously.\nThese advancements render detection-based tools increasingly ineffective, as they rely on identifying known signatures or behaviors. According to industry research, **60% of ransomware attacks bypass traditional detection tools**, leaving businesses vulnerable.\n### The Problem with Detection and Response\nMost cybersecurity solutions focus on detecting ransomware after it has entered the environment. While this approach may limit the extent of the damage, it\u2019s far from ideal. Here\u2019s why detection and response often fail:\n1. **Delayed Detection**: Many tools only identify ransomware after it has already encrypted files or exfiltrated data.\n2. **Signature Dependency**: Detection tools rely on recognizing known ransomware variants, leaving businesses exposed to zero-day and unknown threats.\n3. **Resource-Intensive**: Responding to ransomware requires significant time, resources, and expertise\u2014something many organizations, especially those with lean IT teams, simply cannot afford.\nReactive solutions address the symptoms of ransomware attacks, not the root cause. Businesses need a shift in mindset: **stop ransomware before it starts**.\n## The Case for Prevention-First Security\n### What Is Prevention-First Security?\nPrevention-first security focuses on stopping ransomware and other advanced threats before they can execute. Instead of relying on detection, prevention-first solutions proactively eliminate vulnerabilities, block malicious actions, and prevent attacks from succeeding.\nThis approach aligns with the **Gartner-defined Preemptive Cyber Defense** category, which is projected to dominate the cybersecurity landscape by 2030. Gartner predicts that **75% of security solutions will adopt preemptive approaches within the next five years** 1, reflecting the growing recognition that prevention is the only way to stay ahead of evolving threats.\n### Why Prevention Is the Only Effective Solution\nPrevention-first security offers several key advantages over traditional detection and response:\n1. **Stops Threats Before Damage Occurs**: By eliminating vulnerabilities and blocking malicious actions, prevention-first solutions ensure ransomware never gets the chance to encrypt files or exfiltrate data.\n2. **Reduces Complexity**: Prevention-focused tools require less manual intervention, making them ideal for lean IT teams that need simple, effective protection.\n3. **Minimizes False Positives**: Unlike detection tools that flag suspicious behaviors, prevention-first solutions directly stop malicious actions, reducing false alarms.\n4. **Future-Proofs Against Ransomware Evolution**: Prevention-first security is not reliant on signatures or known behaviors, making it effective against zero-day and fileless attacks.\n### Morphisec: Leading the Prevention-First Revolution\nMorphisec has been at the forefront of prevention-first security, offering businesses unparalleled protection through its **Anti-Ransomware Assurance Suite**. Unlike traditional tools, Morphisec\u2019s solutions are designed to stop ransomware at every stage of the attack lifecycle.\n## How Morphisec Prevents Ransomware\nMorphisec\u2019s prevention-first approach is built on three critical layers of protection:\n### 1\\. Pre-Execution: Stopping Threats Before They Start\nMorphisec eliminates vulnerabilities and reduces the attack surface, ensuring ransomware cannot gain a foothold. Key features include:\n- **Monitoring Security Gaps**: Identifying misconfigurations and weaknesses in the IT environment.\n- **Detecting Vulnerabilities**: Preventing exploitation of unpatched systems or outdated applications.\n- **Exposing Shadow Network Services**: Discovering unauthorized or hidden services that attackers could exploit.\nBy addressing threats before they can execute, Morphisec ensures that businesses are always one step ahead of ransomware.\n### 2\\. During-Execution: Blocking Malicious Actions\nIf ransomware attempts to execute, Morphisec\u2019s advanced capabilities block it in real time. These include:\n- **Preventing Encryption and Data Destruction**: Stopping ransomware from locking critical files.\n- **Halting Credential Theft and Privilege Escalation**: Blocking attempts to gain elevated permissions.\n- **Detecting and Blocking Lateral Movement**: Preventing ransomware from spreading across networks.\nMorphisec\u2019s solutions ensure that even the most sophisticated ransomware variants are neutralized before they can cause damage.\n### 3\\. Post-Execution: Ensuring Rapid Recovery\nIn the rare event of a ransomware breach, Morphisec enhances recovery with tools like:\n- **Encryption Key Recovery**: Restores access to locked files without paying a ransom.\n- **Restoration of Hidden Recovery Points**: Recovers secure backups even when ransomware attempts to delete them.\nThis comprehensive approach ensures minimal downtime and operational disruption.\n## How Morphisec Stands Out\nMorphisec is more than just another cybersecurity vendor\u2014it\u2019s the **go-to solution for Anti-Ransomware Protection**. Here\u2019s how Morphisec differentiates itself:\n- **Prevention-First Approach**: Unlike competitors that focus on detection, Morphisec proactively prevents ransomware attacks.\n- **Signatureless Technology**: Morphisec\u2019s solutions are not reliant on known behaviors or signatures, making them effective against zero-day threats.\n- **Comprehensive Protection**: Morphisec delivers protection across pre, during-, and post-execution phases, ensuring end-to-end security.\nThese capabilities make Morphisec the trusted choice for over 7,000 organizations worldwide, protecting more than 9 million endpoints every day.\n## Prevention in Action: Real-World Success Stories\nMorphisec\u2019s prevention-first approach has proven its effectiveness in real-world scenarios. Here are just a few examples:\n- **Houston Eye Associates**: Prevented a ransomware attack and achieved a 40% reduction in cybersecurity costs.\n- **TruGreen**: Strengthened its cybersecurity posture by 10x with Morphisec\u2019s solutions.\n- **Fortune 500 Manufacturer**: Leveraged Morphisec to fill gaps in its extended detection and response (XDR) strategy.\nThese success stories demonstrate why businesses across industries trust Morphisec to deliver real results.\n### Why Businesses Need Prevention-First Security Now\nThe rise of ransomware shows no signs of slowing down. Businesses that rely on outdated, reactive tools are putting their data, operations, and reputations at risk. The time to adopt a prevention-first approach is now.\nWith solutions like Morphisec\u2019s **Anti-Ransomware Assurance Suite**, businesses can:\n- Prevent ransomware before it executes.\n- Reduce complexity and operational overhead.\n- Achieve greater peace of mind with the **Ransomware-Free Guarantee**."
  },
  {
    "Title": "Five Ways to Prevent and Protect Against Ransomware Attacks",
    "URL": "https://www.akamai.com/blog/security/five-ways-to-protect-against-ransomware-attacks",
    "Query": "ransomware attack prevention",
    "Content cleaned": "Yes (reduced from 22940 to 16083 chars)",
    "Content": "Ransomware is a pervasive type of malware that encrypts and restricts access to an enterprise\u2019s data, including files, documents, and images. Cybercriminals then demand a ransom payment \u2014 often in a cryptocurrency like bitcoin \u2014 in exchange for restoring the data. If the ransom isn\u2019t fulfilled within the specified period, the attacker either destroys or publicly releases that data to the internet, often via sites on the dark web.\nRansomware incidents pose a significant threat, especially for enterprises with large volumes of proprietary and customer data. Not only is there the upfront cost of paying off a ransom, but ransomware cyberattacks can also damage brand reputation and put organizations at risk of violating data privacy laws and regulations.\nProactive, holistic ransomware protection and prevention measures are crucial to your enterprise\u2019s continued success \u2014 especially considering the following statistics:\n- The share of global organizations affected by ransomware attacks increased from 55.1% in 2018 to 72.7% in 2023.\n- The estimated cost of cybercrime attacks is projected to increase to US$13.82 trillion by 2028.\n- Network downtime, critical data loss, and brand/reputation damage are three of the biggest issues for organizations after a ransomware attack.\nRead on to learn how ransomware infects target devices and the five steps you can take to protect your digital systems from cybercriminals.\n## How is ransomware delivered?\nRansomware is often delivered through compromised websites or phishing emails that appear to have been sent from a legitimate, trusted source. These emails entice users to click malicious links or open attachments that automatically download the ransomware to the user\u2019s device without their consent \u2014 and often without their knowledge.\nThe ransomware may also run after download and without any interaction. Once executed, the ransomware may encrypt the data on that device, but it\u2019s more likely that the attacker will use the compromised device as the means to move throughout the network to discover high-value targets, such as customer lists or company confidential data.\n## How to prevent ransomware attacks\nNow that you understand how ransomware infections occur, you can apply the security measures needed to protect your organization from these devastating attacks. The following five ways can help you prevent these attacks:\n1. Assess your ransomware risk\n2. Update your organization\u2019s endpoint devices\n3. Create frequent and thorough offline data backups\n4. Educate employees to recognize potential ransomware attacks\n5. Reduce the attack surface by minimizing the use of VPNs\n## 1\\. Assess your ransomware risk\nBefore putting ransomware prevention and protection measures into place, try to analyze the specific ways that your organization may be at risk \u2014 evaluate potential vulnerabilities, system misconfigurations, attack vectors, and potentially malicious network activity. Document this information in a ransomware risk report, so your team can choose the most appropriate ransomware prevention and attack mitigation measures for your organization.\nWondering where to start? The Center for Internet Security\u2019s Ransomware Business Impact Analysis Tool can help you quantify the likelihood and potential impacts of a ransomware attack on your enterprise so you can craft a sound incident response plan against hackers.\n## 2\\. Update your organization\u2019s endpoint devices\nSoftware and operating system vendors frequently release new security and antivirus updates \u2014 called patches \u2014 for their products. These updates are often designed to address newly discovered security vulnerabilities and emerging malware types \u2014 including new ransomware variants. By frequently auditing organization-wide devices, your IT team can discover and address outdated operating systems and applications.\nContemporary operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and others, offer frequent, proactive patches designed to help bolster endpoint security and protect your devices against ransomware. Applications may automatically update when new updates get released, or they may require a manual update via a web page.\nHowever, in some cases, when a vulnerability is discovered and reported, it may take time for the source code creators to develop and distribute a patch \u2014 leaving devices at risk. In these cases, you can apply microsegmentation along with monitoring solutions like Akamai Hunt to protect the vulnerable asset until a patch has been created, filling the critical time gap between when a vulnerability is detected and a patch is issued.\n## 3\\. Create frequent and thorough offline data backups\nAt the outset of a successful ransomware attack, the attacker encrypts an organization\u2019s proprietary and customer data and makes it inaccessible to the organization. If the organization neglects to pay the attacker\u2019s ransom demands, their compromised data may be affected in the way specified by the attacker. In some cases, this can mean that sensitive data will be publicly released via sites on the dark web. In other cases, the data will be outright destroyed.\nIn the latter scenario, having up-to-date backup files for all your organization\u2019s data can help you recover your data. Of course, if your backups are part of the impacted dataset, they\u2019ll be inaccessible. It is best practice to store backup files on devices that are strictly segmented away from the main network or the internet so they can\u2019t be remotely targeted by attackers.\nCloud services that retain previous file versions allow you to roll your compromised data back to an unencrypted version to alleviate the effects of a ransomware attack. Be sure to verify that your backups weren\u2019t infected because of an unknown internet or intranet connection before rolling back so you don\u2019t risk further compromising your data and devices.\nAlternatively, you can externally offload your organization\u2019s data to the cloud. Look for cloud storage solutions that offer dependable, easily accessible storage and management functionality you can use to automatically create daily, weekly, or biweekly data backups for your entire organization.\n## 4\\. Educate employees to recognize potential ransomware attacks\nFirewalls can only do so much to protect your organization from external cyberthreats. Malicious software can make its way to unsuspecting organization members in the form of suspicious emails. So the onus is on everyone within your organization, not just those on security teams, to practice strong email security and help stop ransomware attacks from occurring. It\u2019s good practice to mandate ransomware awareness training and education that focuses on:\n- Email senders\n- Links\n- Email attachments\n- Remote desktop protocol and credential abuse\n### Email senders\nWhen employees receive an email from an unfamiliar sender, or if the content of the email seems suspicious, they should forward that email to your organization\u2019s IT department or help desk. Experts can assess the sender\u2019s legitimacy by inspecting the domain name \u2014 for example, official email correspondence from Akamai always contains \u201c@akamai.com\u201d in the sender address \u2014 or by referring to a list of approved addresses.\n### Links\nIt\u2019s essential that employees exercise caution when faced with a link to an unknown page, since sending malicious links is a primary ransomware distribution strategy. Educate employees to first inspect a link to verify its validity before clicking on it.\nFor example, if a link reads \u201cakamai.net,\u201d they can type \u201cAkamai\u201d into a search engine to discover that Akamai\u2019s official website is \u201cakamai.com\u201d \u2014 thereby discovering that the link may be malicious in nature. In cases like these, employees should forward the correspondence containing the potentially malicious link to your organization's IT department or help desk to determine its safety and legitimacy.\n### Email attachments\nTeach your employees to exercise caution when presented with an email that contains an attachment, even when it\u2019s sent by a verified sender. Ransomware executables may be directly embedded in malicious emails, but are often disguised as other files \u2014 particularly compressed files with .zip or .rar extensions \u2014 which, once opened, will automatically begin encrypting the infected device\u2019s data. No matter the situation, your employees should always alert your organization\u2019s IT department or help desk to confirm an email attachment\u2019s safety before opening it.\n### Remote desktop protocol and credential abuse\nRemote desktop protocol (RDP) is a secure, interoperable protocol that establishes secure connections among clients, servers, and virtual machines, enabling users to remotely access servers and desktops. RDP can be abused, however. With credentials purchased off the dark web, cyberattackers can use brute-force or credential stuffing attacks to remotely log in to organizational systems while posing as a legitimate user \u2014 then infect the network with malware.\nThis approach works in tandem with other ransomware attack approaches like malicious email and link attacks because those tactics are used to procure user credential information that gets sold and used in RDP attacks. Always ensure that your employees understand the risks that can come with opening a link or email from an unknown user.\nOf course, educating your organization\u2019s employees to recognize potential ransomware attacks is only possible when your organization\u2019s leaders are educated themselves. The Akamai Ransomware Threat Report by Akamai\u2019s anti-malware security experts contains information on new and emerging ransomware toolkits as well as trends and mitigation techniques you can refer to in the event of a ransomware attack.\n## 5\\. Reduce the attack surface by minimizing the use of VPNs\nAttackers are continuously looking for ways to gain an initial foothold into an organization. One very common approach is to exploit any security vulnerabilities or misconfigurations in virtual private networks (VPNs), which are used to provide employees with remote access to resources such as business applications. Since a VPN provides network-level access, once an attacker has gained VPN access then they are free to move laterally to find high-value targets.\nZero Trust Network Access ( ZTNA) solutions, such as Akamai Enterprise Application Access, are alternatives to VPNs. Based on Zero Trust principles, access is only provided once a user is authenticated and authorized to access specific resources based on the user\u2019s security policy. In addition, access can be allowed or denied based on the context of the request; for example, Where is the user connecting from? What is the security posture of their device?; Does the device have the latest security patches applied?\nMost important, network-level access is eliminated and users only have access to the resources that they need. In addition, inbound firewall ports can be closed because all application connections are made outbound through the firewall, which makes the applications undiscoverable by attackers. The elimination of network-level access, closing inbound firewall access, and hiding resources from the public internet can significantly reduce an organization's attack surface.\nTo ensure strong authentication for users, deploying a phish-proof multi-factor authentication (MFA) service such as Akamai MFA, in conjunction with ZTNA, eliminates the use of stolen or compromised employee login credentials to take over employee accounts.\n## Prevent enterprise ransomware attacks and strengthen cybersecurity with Akamai solutions\nBy partnering with an experienced cloud security provider, your enterprise can prevent ransomware from infecting your network and impacting your reputation.\nIf you\u2019re struck by a ransomware attack, it\u2019s crucial to minimize the attack surface by preventing lateral movement of the ransomware across your organization\u2019s devices. Akamai Guardicore Segmentation offers granular controls that make it fast, easy, and intuitive to protect your organization and critical assets from lateral movement in on-premises and multi-cloud environments during a ransomware attack.\nThis solution enables process-level visibility of your organization\u2019s asset communications and dependencies, as well as robust threat detection capabilities \u2014 all so you can more proactively assess risk, prevent ransomware attacks, and protect your organization while receiving real-time notifications on your organization\u2019s security posture."
  },
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    "Title": "Steps to Help Prevent & Limit the Impact of Ransomware",
    "URL": "https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware",
    "Query": "ransomware attack prevention",
    "Content cleaned": "Yes (reduced from 52515 to 45625 chars)",
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This is beneficial for the website, in order to make valid reports on the use of their website.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 1 day**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n- [cisecurity.org\\\\\n1](https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware#)\n**laravel\\_session** This cookie is used internally by the website\u2019s owners, when uploading or renewing website content.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 1 day**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n- [cookiebot.com\\\\\nresources.cisecurity.org\\\\\n6](https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware#)\n**CookieConsent\u00a0\\[x6\\]** Stores the user's cookie consent state for the current domain\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 1 year**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n- [enroll.cisecurity.org\\\\\n1](https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware#)\n**XSRF-TOKEN** Ensures visitor browsing-security by preventing cross-site request forgery. This cookie is essential for the security of the website and visitor.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 1 day**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n- [pi.pardot.com\\\\\nlearn.cisecurity.org\\\\\n6](https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware#)\n**visitor\\_id#-hash\u00a0\\[x6\\]** Used to encrypt and contain visitor data. This is necessary for the security of the user data.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 10 years**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n- [www.cisecurity.org\\\\\n6](https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware#)\n**sxa\\_site\u00a0\\[x2\\]** Improves website speed and implements content through a Content Delivery Network (CDN).\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n**ARRAffinity** Used to distribute traffic to the website on several servers in order to optimise response times.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n**ARRAffinitySameSite** Used to distribute traffic to the website on several servers in order to optimise response times.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n**ASP.NET\\_SessionId** Preserves the visitor's session state across page requests.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n**ngen#lang** Pending\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n- Preferences 6\nPreference cookies enable a website to remember information that changes the way the website behaves or looks, like your preferred language or the region that you are in.\n- [Cookiebot\\\\\n1](https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware#) Learn more about this provider\n**CookieConsentBulkSetting-#** Enables cookie consent across multiple websites\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Persistent**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n- [Issuu\\\\\n2](https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware#) Learn more about this provider\n**isFirstSession** Pending\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n**orionV3#identity** Pending\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Persistent**Type**: IndexedDB\n- [LinkedIn\\\\\n1](https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware#) Learn more about this provider\n**lidc** Registers which server-cluster is serving the visitor. This is used in context with load balancing, in order to optimize user experience.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 1 day**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n- [Qualtrics\\\\\n1](https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware#) Learn more about this provider\n**QSI\\_SI\\_#\\_intercept** Pending\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n- [www.cisecurity.org\\\\\n1](https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware#)\n**wistia-video-progress-#** Contains a timestamp for the website\u2019s video-content. This allows the user to resume watching without having to start over, if the user leaves the video or website.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Persistent**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n- Statistics 47\nStatistic cookies help website owners to understand how visitors interact with websites by collecting and reporting information anonymously.\n- [Google\\\\\n3](https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware#) Learn more about this provider\nSome of the data collected by this provider is for the purposes of personalization and measuring advertising effectiveness.\n**\\_ga** Registers a unique ID that is used to generate statistical data on how the visitor uses the website.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 2 years**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n**\\_ga\\_#** Used by Google Analytics to collect data on the number of times a user has visited the website as well as dates for the first and most recent visit.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 2 years**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n**\\_gat** Used by Google Analytics to throttle request rate\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n- [Hotjar\\\\\n11](https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware#) Learn more about this provider\n**\\_hjAbsoluteSessionInProgress** This cookie is used to count how many times a website has been visited by different visitors - this is done by assigning the visitor an ID, so the visitor does not get registered twice.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n**\\_hjFirstSeen** This cookie is used to determine if the visitor has visited the website before, or if it is a new visitor on the website.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n**\\_hjIncludedInPageviewSample** Used to detect whether the user navigation and interactions are included in the website\u2019s data analytics.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n**\\_hjIncludedInSessionSample\\_#** Collects statistics on the visitor's visits to the website, such as the number of visits, average time spent on the website and what pages have been read.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n**\\_hjRecordingLastActivity** Sets a unique ID for the session. This allows the website to obtain data on visitor behaviour for statistical purposes.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n**\\_hjSession\\_#** Collects statistics on the visitor's visits to the website, such as the number of visits, average time spent on the website and what pages have been read.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 1 day**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n**\\_hjSessionUser\\_#** Collects statistics on the visitor's visits to the website, such as the number of visits, average time spent on the website and what pages have been read.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 1 year**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n**\\_hjTLDTest** Registers statistical data on users' behaviour on the website. Used for internal analytics by the website operator.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n**hjViewportId\u00a0\\[x2\\]** Sets a unique ID for the session. This allows the website to obtain data on visitor behaviour for statistical purposes.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n**hjActiveViewportIds** This cookie contains an ID string on the current session. This contains non-personal information on what subpages the visitor enters \u2013 this information is used to optimize the visitor's experience.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Persistent**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n- [Issuu\\\\\n5](https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware#) Learn more about this provider\n**SESSION\\_STORAGE\\_ID\\_pico\\_ssid** Pending\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n**spidersense#event** Pending\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Persistent**Type**: IndexedDB\n**spidersense#setup\\_response** Pending\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Persistent**Type**: IndexedDB\n**spidersense#user\\_info** Pending\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Persistent**Type**: IndexedDB\n**spidersense:user\\_id:v1\\_issuu\\_web** Pending\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Persistent**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n- [LinkedIn\\\\\n1](https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware#) Learn more about this provider\n**AnalyticsSyncHistory** Used in connection with data-synchronization with third-party analysis service.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 1 month**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n- [NewsCred\\\\\n2](https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware#) Learn more about this provider\n**\\_gd#** Pending\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n**nc-previous-guid** Pending\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 1 day**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n- [Optimizely\\\\\n12](https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware#) Learn more about this provider\n**optimizelyEndUserId** Used to measure how selected users react to targeted changes to the website's content and functionality, in order to determine what variation is most efficacious in terms of converting users to customers.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 180 days**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n**optimizelySession** Pending\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 180 days**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n**#/#$#** Pending\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Persistent**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n**https://#\\_oeu#.#$event\\_queue** Pending\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Persistent**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n**https://#\\_oeu#.#$layer\\_states** Pending\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Persistent**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n**https://#\\_oeu#.#$session\\_state** Pending\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Persistent**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n**https://#\\_oeu#.#$tracker\\_optimizely** Pending\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Persistent**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n**https://#\\_oeu#.#$variation\\_map** Pending\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Persistent**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n**https://#\\_oeu#.#$visitor\\_profile** Pending\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Persistent**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n**https://www.cisecurity.org\\_pending\\_events** Pending\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Persistent**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n**optimizely\\_data$#$#$contextual\\_mab** Pending\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Persistent**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n**optimizely\\_data$pending\\_events** This cookie is set to make split-tests on the website, which optimizes the website's relevance towards the visitor \u2013 the cookie can also be set to improve the visitor's experience on a website.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Persistent**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n- [Qualtrics\\\\\n3](https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware#) Learn more about this provider\n**Q\\_INTER** Collects statistics on the visitor's visits to the website, such as the number of visits, average time spent on the website and what pages have been read.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Persistent**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n**QSI\\_ActionSetHistory** Assigns a specific ID to the visitor. This allows the website to determine the number of specific user-visits for analysis and statistics.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n**QSI\\_HistorySession** This cookie is used to determine when the visitor last visited the different subpages on the website.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n- [Quantcast\\\\\n3](https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware#) Learn more about this provider\n**\\_\\_qca** Collects data on the user's visits to the website, such as the number of visits, average time spent on the website and what pages have been loaded with the purpose of generating reports for optimising the website content.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n**\\_dlt\u00a0\\[x2\\]** Sets a unique ID for the session. This allows the website to obtain data on visitor behaviour for statistical purposes.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 1 day**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n- [Twitter Inc.\\\\\n1](https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware#) Learn more about this provider\n**personalization\\_id** This cookie is set by Twitter - The cookie allows the visitor to share content from the website onto their Twitter profile.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 400 days**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n- [cisecurity.org\\\\\n1](https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware#)\n**SC\\_ANALYTICS\\_GLOBAL\\_COOKIE** Used by Sitecore Engagement Analytics to identify the visitor on repeat visits to the website.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 400 days**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n- [enroll.cisecurity.org\\\\\n1](https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware#)\n**A/N{39}** Pending\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 1 day**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n- [pixel.newscred.com\\\\\npixel.welcomesoftware.com\\\\\n2](https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware#)\n**px.gif\u00a0\\[x2\\]** This cookie is used to determine if the visitor has any adblocker software in their browser \u2013 this information can be used to make website content inaccessible to visitors if the website is financed with third-party advertisement.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: Pixel Tracker\n- [www.cisecurity.org\\\\\n1](https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware#)\n**wistia** Used by the website to track the visitor's use of video-content - The cookie roots from Wistia, which provides video-software to websites.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Persistent**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n- [www.googleoptimize.com\\\\\n1](https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware#)\n**\\_gid** Registers a unique ID that is used to generate statistical data on how the visitor uses the website.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 2 days**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n- Marketing 86\nMarketing cookies are used to track visitors across websites. The intention is to display ads that are relevant and engaging for the individual user and thereby more valuable for publishers and third party advertisers.\n- [Amazon\\\\\n2](https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware#) Learn more about this provider\n**ad-id** Used by Amazon Advertising to register user actions and target content on the website based on ad clicks on a different website.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 241 days**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n**ad-privacy** Used by Amazon Advertising to register user actions and target content on the website based on ad clicks on a different website.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 400 days**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n- [Google\\\\\n10](https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware#) Learn more about this provider\nSome of the data collected by this provider is for the purposes of personalization and measuring advertising effectiveness.\n**\\_gcl\\_au** Used by Google AdSense for experimenting with advertisement efficiency across websites using their services.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 3 months**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n**IDE** Used by Google DoubleClick to register and report the website user's actions after viewing or clicking one of the advertiser's ads with the purpose of measuring the efficacy of an ad and to present targeted ads to the user.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 400 days**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n**pagead/landing\u00a0\\[x2\\]** Collects data on visitor behaviour from multiple websites, in order to present more relevant advertisement - This also allows the website to limit the number of times that they are shown the same advertisement.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: Pixel Tracker\n**pagead/viewthroughconversion/855211744** Pending\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: Pixel Tracker\n**ads/ga-audiences** Used by Google AdWords to re-engage visitors that are likely to convert to customers based on the visitor's online behaviour across websites.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: Pixel Tracker\n**NID** Pending\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 6 months**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n**pagead/1p-conversion/#** Collects data on visitor behaviour from multiple websites, in order to present more relevant advertisement - This also allows the website to limit the number of times that they are shown the same advertisement.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: Pixel Tracker\n**pagead/1p-conversion/#/** Pending\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: Pixel Tracker\n**pagead/1p-user-list/#** Tracks if the user has shown interest in specific products or events across multiple websites and detects how the user navigates between sites. This is used for measurement of advertisement efforts and facilitates payment of referral-fees between websites.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: Pixel Tracker\n- [Hotjar\\\\\n1](https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware#) Learn more about this provider\n**\\_hjRecordingEnabled** This cookie is used to identify the visitor and optimize ad-relevance by collecting visitor data from multiple websites \u2013 this exchange of visitor data is normally provided by a third-party data-center or ad-exchange.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n- [Issuu\\\\\n1](https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware#) Learn more about this provider\n**iutk** Recognises the user's device and what Issuu documents have been read.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n- [LinkedIn\\\\\n3](https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware#) Learn more about this provider\n**bcookie** Used in order to detect spam and improve the website's security.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 1 year**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n**bscookie** Used by the social networking service, LinkedIn, for tracking the use of embedded services.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 1 year**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n**UserMatchHistory** Ensures visitor browsing-security by preventing cross-site request forgery. This cookie is essential for the security of the website and visitor.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 1 month**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n- [Microsoft\\\\\n8](https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware#) Learn more about this provider\n**\\_uetsid** Used to track visitors on multiple websites, in order to present relevant advertisement based on the visitor's preferences.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Persistent**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n**\\_uetsid\\_exp** Contains the expiry-date for the cookie with corresponding name.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Persistent**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n**\\_uetvid** Used to track visitors on multiple websites, in order to present relevant advertisement based on the visitor's preferences.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Persistent**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n**\\_uetvid\\_exp** Contains the expiry-date for the cookie with corresponding name.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Persistent**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n**MSPTC** This cookie registers data on the visitor. The information is used to optimize advertisement relevance.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 1 year**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n**MUID** Used widely by Microsoft as a unique user ID. The cookie enables user tracking by synchronising the ID across many Microsoft domains.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 1 year**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n**\\_uetsid** Collects data on visitor behaviour from multiple websites, in order to present more relevant advertisement - This also allows the website to limit the number of times that they are shown the same advertisement.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 1 day**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n**\\_uetvid** Used to track visitors on multiple websites, in order to present relevant advertisement based on the visitor's preferences.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 1 year**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n- [NewsCred\\\\\n1](https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware#) Learn more about this provider\n**\\_\\_ncuid** Pending\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 1 year**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n- [Optimizely\\\\\n10](https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware#) Learn more about this provider\n**optimizelyDomainTestCookie\u00a0\\[x2\\]** Tracks the conversion rate between the user and the advertisement banners on the website - This serves to optimise the relevance of the advertisements on the website.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 180 days**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n**optimizelyOptOut\u00a0\\[x2\\]** Collects visitor data related to the user's visits to the website, such as the number of visits, average time spent on the website and what pages have been loaded, with the purpose of displaying targeted ads.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n**optimizely\\_data$#$event\\_queue** Pending\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Persistent**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n**optimizely\\_data$#$layer\\_states** Pending\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Persistent**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n**optimizely\\_data$#$session\\_state** Pending\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Persistent**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n**optimizely\\_data$#$tracker\\_optimizely** Pending\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Persistent**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n**optimizely\\_data$#$variation\\_map** Pending\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Persistent**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n**optimizely\\_data$#$visitor\\_profile** Pending\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Persistent**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n- [Pardot\\\\\n1](https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware#) Learn more about this provider\n**lpv#** Used in context with behavioral tracking by the website. The cookie registers the user\u2019s behavior and navigation across multiple websites and ensures that no tracking errors occur when the user has multiple browser-tabs open.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 1 day**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n- [Quantcast\\\\\n2](https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware#) Learn more about this provider\n**\\_qcses\\_p-5cvC4NOeGmtNA** Pending\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Persistent**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n**mc** Collects data on the user's visits to the website, such as what pages have been loaded. The registered data is used for targeted ads.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 13 months**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n- [Tealium\\\\\n1](https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware#) Learn more about this provider\n**utag\\_main** Used by Tealium Tag Manager to store a unique visitor ID, a session ID and to persist data about the visitor's interaction with the website, e.g. last page viewed.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 1 year**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n- [The Trade Desk\\\\\n1](https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware#) Learn more about this provider\n**track/pxl/** Collects information on user behaviour on multiple websites. This information is used in order to optimize the relevance of advertisement on the website.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: Pixel Tracker\n- [Twitter Inc.\\\\\n9](https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware#) Learn more about this provider\n**1/i/adsct\u00a0\\[x2\\]** Collects data on user behaviour and interaction in order to optimize the website and make advertisement on the website more relevant.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: Pixel Tracker\n**i/adsct\u00a0\\[x2\\]** The cookie is used by Twitter.com in order to determine the number of visitors accessing the website through Twitter advertisement content.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: Pixel Tracker\n**muc\\_ads** Collects data on user behaviour and interaction in order to optimize the website and make advertisement on the website more relevant.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 400 days**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n**guest\\_id** Collects data related to the user's visits to the website, such as the number of visits, average time spent on the website and which pages have been loaded, with the purpose of personalising and improving the Twitter service.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 400 days**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n**guest\\_id\\_ads** Collects information on user behaviour on multiple websites. This information is used in order to optimize the relevance of advertisement on the website.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 400 days**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n**guest\\_id\\_marketing** Collects information on user behaviour on multiple websites. This information is used in order to optimize the relevance of advertisement on the website.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 400 days**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n**i/jot/embeds** Sets a unique ID for the visitor, that allows third party advertisers to target the visitor with relevant advertisement. This pairing service is provided by third party advertisement hubs, which facilitates real-time bidding for advertisers.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: Pixel Tracker\n- [YouTube\\\\\n19](https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware#) Learn more about this provider\n**#-#** Used to track user\u2019s interaction with embedded content.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n**\\_\\_Secure-ROLLOUT\\_TOKEN** Pending\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 180 days**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n**iU5q-!O9@$** Registers a unique ID to keep statistics of what videos from YouTube the user has seen.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n**LAST\\_RESULT\\_ENTRY\\_KEY** Used to track user\u2019s interaction with embedded content.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n**LogsDatabaseV2:V#\\|\\|LogsRequestsStore** Used to track user\u2019s interaction with embedded content.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Persistent**Type**: IndexedDB\n**remote\\_sid** Necessary for the implementation and functionality of YouTube video-content on the website.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n**ServiceWorkerLogsDatabase#SWHealthLog** Necessary for the implementation and functionality of YouTube video-content on the website.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Persistent**Type**: IndexedDB\n**TESTCOOKIESENABLED** Used to track user\u2019s interaction with embedded content.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 1 day**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n**VISITOR\\_INFO1\\_LIVE** Tries to estimate the users' bandwidth on pages with integrated YouTube videos.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 180 days**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n**YSC** Registers a unique ID to keep statistics of what videos from YouTube the user has seen.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n**ytidb::LAST\\_RESULT\\_ENTRY\\_KEY** Stores the user's video player preferences using embedded YouTube video\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Persistent**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n**YtIdbMeta#databases** Used to track user\u2019s interaction with embedded content.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Persistent**Type**: IndexedDB\n**yt-remote-cast-available** Stores the user's video player preferences using embedded YouTube video\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n**yt-remote-cast-installed** Stores the user's video player preferences using embedded YouTube video\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n**yt-remote-connected-devices** Stores the user's video player preferences using embedded YouTube video\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Persistent**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n**yt-remote-device-id** Stores the user's video player preferences using embedded YouTube video\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Persistent**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n**yt-remote-fast-check-period** Stores the user's video player preferences using embedded YouTube video\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n**yt-remote-session-app** Stores the user's video player preferences using embedded YouTube video\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n**yt-remote-session-name** Stores the user's video player preferences using embedded YouTube video\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n- [learn.cisecurity.org\\\\\npardot.com\\\\\nresources.cisecurity.org\\\\\n3](https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware#)\n**pardot\u00a0\\[x3\\]** Used in context with Account-Based-Marketing (ABM). The cookie registers data such as IP-addresses, time spent on the website and page requests for the visit. This is used for retargeting of multiple users rooting from the same IP-addresses. ABM usually facilitates B2B marketing purposes.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Session**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n- [learn.cisecurity.org\\\\\nresources.cisecurity.org\\\\\nwww.googletagmanager.com\\\\\n3](https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware#)\n**\\_gcl\\_ls\u00a0\\[x3\\]** Tracks the conversion rate between the user and the advertisement banners on the website - This serves to optimise the relevance of the advertisements on the website.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: Persistent**Type**: HTML Local Storage\n- [ml314.com\\\\\nlearn.cisecurity.org\\\\\nresources.cisecurity.org\\\\\n4](https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware#)\n**\\_ccmsi\u00a0\\[x4\\]** Used to track which users have shown interest in what job postings. 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ABM usually facilitates B2B marketing purposes.\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 401 days**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n- [www.cisecurity.org\\\\\n1](https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/7-steps-to-help-prevent-limit-the-impact-of-ransomware#)\n**SC\\_TRACKING\\_CONSENT** Pending\n**Maximum Storage Duration**: 400 days**Type**: HTTP Cookie\n- Unclassified 0\nUnclassified cookies are cookies that we are in the process of classifying, together with the providers of individual cookies.\nWe do not use cookies of this type.\nCross-domain consent4 Your consent applies to the following domains:\nList of domains your consent applies to:downloads.cisecurity.orgenroll.cisecurity.orglearn.cisecurity.orgcisecurity.org\nCookie declaration last updated on 5/24/25 by Cookiebot\n\\[#IABV2\\_TITLE#\\]\n\\[#IABV2\\_BODY\\_INTRO#\\]\n\\[#IABV2\\_BODY\\_LEGITIMATE\\_INTEREST\\_INTRO#\\]\n\\[#IABV2\\_BODY\\_PREFERENCE\\_INTRO#\\]\n\\[#IABV2\\_LABEL\\_PURPOSES#\\]\n\\[#IABV2\\_BODY\\_PURPOSES\\_INTRO#\\]\n\\[#IABV2\\_BODY\\_PURPOSES#\\]\n\\[#IABV2\\_LABEL\\_FEATURES#\\]\n\\[#IABV2\\_BODY\\_FEATURES\\_INTRO#\\]\n\\[#IABV2\\_BODY\\_FEATURES#\\]\n\\[#IABV2\\_LABEL\\_PARTNERS#\\]\n\\[#IABV2\\_BODY\\_PARTNERS\\_INTRO#\\]\n\\[#IABV2\\_BODY\\_PARTNERS#\\]\nCookies are small text files that can be used by websites to make a user's experience more efficient.\nThe law states that we can store cookies on your device if they are strictly necessary for the operation of this site. For all other types of cookies we need your permission.\nThis site uses different types of cookies. Some cookies are placed by third party services that appear on our pages.\nYou can at any time change or withdraw your consent from the Cookie Declaration on our website.\nLearn more about who we are, how you can contact us and how we process personal data in our Privacy Policy.\n**Do not sell or share my personal information**\nAllow AllCustomize\nAllow SelectionDeny\nStay aware of emerging cyber, physical, and information threats with ThreatWA\u2122 \\| Subscribe Now\nHome Insights Blog Posts Steps to Help Prevent & Limit the Impact of Ransomware\n# Steps to Help Prevent & Limit the Impact of Ransomware\nFrom small local government entities to large organizations, ransomware attacks are everywhere. It's up to all of us to help prevent these attacks from being successful.\nRansomware is a type of malware that encrypts files on a system or device in an attempt to coerce the victim to pay a ransom. Threat Actors (TAs) can also warn of files being leaked, erased, or inaccessible. TAs will drop ransom notes claiming responsibility and encourage a response from the victim through the medium they dictate, through encrypted chat or email (for example). Ransomware can be particularly harmful when it targets hospitals, emergency call centers, and other critical infrastructure, as a successful infection could disrupt access to systems and data necessary for delivering life-saving medical treatment and upholding public safety.\nTo protect against ransomware, you need a holistic, all-hands-on-deck, defense-in-depth approach\u00a0that brings together your entire organization. Below are four ways you can get started in your efforts to stop attacks and limit the effects of ransomware. We've mapped each step to the applicable security best practices of the CIS Critical Security Controls\u00ae (CIS Controls\u00ae) so that you can learn more on each topic.\n## 1\\. Develop Policies and Procedures\nCreate a scalable and practical incident response plan\u00a0so you and your staff understand their responsibilities and communication protocols both during and after a cyber incident. Teams to include in your incident response plan include (but aren't limited to) IT, legal, and administrative teams. You should also include a list of contacts such as any partners, insurance providers, or vendors that would need to be notified. These plans should be run through a test process or \" tabletop exercise\" to assess the implementation, identify any gaps, and then refine plans accordingly. We recommend reviewing the plan on a quarterly basis to account for organizational growth and changes such as end-users/staff or IT assets and infrastructure.\n**View **CIS Control 17**\u00a0for more on incident response management.**\n## 2\\. Maintain Backups\nBacking up important data is the single most effective way of recovering from a ransomware infection. There are some things to consider, however. Your backup files should be appropriately protected and stored offline or out-of-band so they can't be targeted by attackers. You can use cloud services to help mitigate a ransomware infection, as many of these services retain previous versions of files that allow you to roll back to an unencrypted version. Be sure to routinely test backups for efficacy. In the case of an attack, verify that your backups aren't infected and secure your backups immediately following the attack. It is also important to ensure that the integrity of said backups are maintained, and it is also important to confirm before rolling back.\n****Control 11** provides more information about how to make a data recovery plan.**\n## 3\\. Know Your Attack Surface and Harden Your Network\nYou can't defend what you don't know about, so your first step here is developing asset inventories for your enterprise assets and software. You can do so using Control 1\u00a0and Control 2. Once you understand your attack surface, you can then move on ensuring your systems are configured with security in mind. Secure configuration settings can help limit your organization's threat surface and close security gaps left over from default configurations. Toward that end, you can use the secure recommendations of the CIS Benchmarks\u2122, industry-leading, consensus-developed configurations which are freely available to all. Keep reading to explore several examples of effective hardening methods you can consider when reviewing the current security posture of your organization.\n### Review Port Settings\nMany ransomware variants take advantage of Remote Desktop Protocol\u00a0(RDP) port 3389 and Server Message Block (SMB) port 445. Consider whether your organization needs to leave these ports open and consider limiting connections to only trusted hosts. Be sure to review these settings for both on-premises and cloud environments, working with your cloud service provider to disable unused RDP ports.\n**Control 4 describes different ways your organization can control network ports, protocols, and services.**\n### Keep Systems up to Date\nMake sure all of your organization\u2019s operating systems, applications, and software are updated regularly. By applying the latest updates, you'll make progress in closing security gaps that attackers are looking to exploit. Where possible, turn on auto-updates so you\u2019ll automatically have the latest security patches. In some environments, out-of-date software is necessary to utilize based on operational need. Strongly consider addressing those systems that contain particularly vulnerable software and deprecate/update as soon as possible.\n**Additional information about updating and vulnerability management is available in Control 7.**\n### Network Visibility\nPrior to an incident, it is important to consider the overall visibility of your network and user accounts. You can improve your visibility by maintaining up-to-date network diagrams and storing them so they can be retrieved from secure containers. This also includes visibility of your end-user accounts. Review Active Directory for accounts that can be removed or no longer needed while implementing a strict naming convention and heavily discouraging the use of shared accounts, which would generate a system of accountability when assigning vendor accounts.\n**Check out Control 5\u00a0for more details about managing your organization's accounts.**\n### Access Control\nTo gauge your organization's overall security posture, review your access control policy and implementation. Specifically, review how your end-users connect to your network and resources, both internally and externally, and implement safeguards such as multi-factor authentication (MFA) on solutions such as your virtual private network (VPN) client and any portals or resources that can be accessed remotely by end-users. Other things you can consider include lockout policy, password age and complexity requirements, and security challenge questions.\n### Implement an IDS\nAn Intrusion Detection System (IDS) looks for malicious activity by comparing network traffic logs to signatures that detect known malicious activity. A robust IDS will update signatures often and alert your organization quickly if it detects potential malicious activity.\nThe Center for Internet Security\u00ae (CIS\u00ae) has developed Albert Network Monitoring Management, an IDS solution tailored to U.S. State, Local, Tribal, Territorial (SLTT) government organizations. It uses a custom set of signatures that are updated daily to help SLTTs detect malicious activity that precedes a ransomware infection.\n### Defend Your Endpoints\nYou can add an additional layer to your ransomware defenses by investing in endpoint protection. Ransomware is constantly evolving, which means you can't rely solely on signatures alone for your defense. You also need to monitor your endpoints to quickly identify and block malicious activity, even in instances where no one else has seen that exact activity before.\nThat's the logic behind CIS Endpoint Security Services\u00a0(ESS). CIS ESS uses Next Generation Antivirus (NGAV), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR), and more to protect your endpoints against both known (signature-based) and unknown (behavior-based) malicious activity. ESS can also kill or quarantine files effectively stopping a ransomware attempt before it develops into an infection.\n## 4\\. Train the Team\nSecurity awareness training is key to stopping ransomware in its tracks. When your employees can spot and avoid malicious emails, everyone plays a part in protecting the organization. Security awareness training\u00a0can teach team members what to look for in an email before they click on a link or download an attachment. However, keep in mind that not all security awareness training solutions are created equal. Cost doesn\u2019t drive effectiveness. You can model campaigns after real-world samples and challenge end-users to identify where improvements can be made.\n****Control 8** describes the maintenance, monitoring, and analysis of audit logs that are managed by most commercial IDS solutions.**\n## Don't Give Ransomware Actors a Time Advantage\nWhen ransomware strikes, your organization needs to learn of an infection and investigate quickly so that you can protect your systems and data. Most organizations struggle to contain incidents quickly, however. In its 2023 Cost of a Data Breach Report, IBM found that organizations took 204 days to identify a breach and 73 days to contain them. That's plenty of time for TAs to encrypt your files.\nIt doesn't have to be that way. Through\u00a0Albert Network Monitoring and Management,\u00a0analysts in the 24x7x365 CIS Security Operations Center (SOC) perform initial investigation by confirming malicious threat activity, reviewing any historical activity from the impacted host, gathering security recommendations for the affected organization, and notifying the affected entity with expert security analysis and guidance. The process takes an average of six minutes between event detection and notification, thus complementing your other ransomware defense measures with timely insights into malicious activity.\nAnalysts in the CIS Cyber Incident Response Team (CIRT) are also\u00a0available if your incident meets the criteria for appropriate casework at no cost to SLTTs with services that include incident response, forensic analysis, and malware analysis. You can complete a request for CIS CIRT assistance by contacting the CIS SOC 24x7x365 at soc@cisecurity.org."
  },
  {
    "Title": "How to Prevent Ransomware & Minimize Its Impact - Commvault",
    "URL": "https://www.commvault.com/learn/ransomware-prevention",
    "Query": "ransomware attack prevention",
    "Content cleaned": "Yes (reduced from 12376 to 10291 chars)",
    "Content": "##### Overview\n## How to Prevent Ransomware & Minimize Its Impact\nRansomware is a harsh reality in today\u2019s world of digital business, and the damage it can inflict on an organization continues to worsen.\nThere were 2,321 reported ransomware attacks globally between January and June 2024, which represents an increase from the number recorded during the first six months of 2023 and about half the total number tracked for the entire year, according to the Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center. Security Intelligence reports that ransomware payments in 2024 reached record highs, with victims paying nearly $460 million to cyber criminals.\nThe largest single ransom payment also occurred in 2024, when an undisclosed Fortune 50 company paid $75 million to the Dark Angels ransomware group. The median ransom, which was less than $199,000 in early 2023, also dramatically surged to $1.5 million in June 2024, and the average ransom demand in 2024 rose to $2.73 million, nearly $1 million more than in 2023.\nThe threat of ransomware is both undeniable and constant. While it\u2019s nearly impossible for organizations to prevent all malicious ransomware attacks, they can adopt best practices and strengthen their defenses to significantly mitigate the risk of major damage. With a solid backup and recovery approach, businesses can prevent significant damage during a ransomware attack and enable a fast recovery and return to normal following any disruption. Comprehensive data protection and recovery processes will help you secure your data and prevent ransomware from bringing down your business.\n##### 6 Prevention Must-Haves\n## Ransomware Prevention Must-Haves\nRansomware prevention and protection requires a multi-layer approach that involves best practices and processes, empowers people with education, and takes advantage of the latest technologies to arm an organization against bad actors. A multi-layer security strategy is paramount recovery readiness is critical.\n**1\\. Educate and train employees regularly.**\nBusinesses can protect against ransomware by providing regular training to employees to help them identify malicious attacks. For instance, phishing attempts often rely on social engineering approaches that attempt to trick end users into revealing sensitive information. Train employees, partners, and customers on the signs of such social engineering attempts to avoid them falling victim to an attack.\nTeach employees about safe browsing habits and explain why it is important to not click on suspicious links, reinforcing them with knowledge on how to spot and avoid potential threats. Education will empower employees to act as the first line of defense against ransomware attacks by making smarter decisions online \u2013 and avoiding known pitfalls.\n**2\\. Enforce an immutable backup strategy.**\nBackup strategies need to be as sophisticated as the bad actors\u2019 best attempt at ransomware. A widely accepted data protection practice involves maintaining three copies of data, storing it on two different types of media, and keeping one copy safely stored off-site.\nThis 3-2-1 approach mitigates data loss risks in the face of ransomware by diversifying storage locations and media types. Create three copies of critical data, including the original data on the primary system and two backup copies. Store the backup copies on two distinct types of storage media, such as a local hard drive and cloud storge, to prevent a single point of failure.\nExperts recommend that businesses store a copy of their data in a secondary storage such as a hyperscale appliance, tape, or on cloud storage. This type of media can help in storing data in ransomware protection mode, which is not easily accessible to ransomware attacks. Be certain one of the backup copies is stored in a remote location, separate from the primary data center, to prevent against local natural disasters.\nIt is also critical to invest in immutable backup. An immutable backup is a file or data copy that cannot be altered or modified in any way, meaning it remains unchanged even by administrators or malicious actors. Immutable backup protects against data deletion and provides that secure backup that can be restored even if the primary system is compromised by ransomware. Once the backup is made immutable, it cannot be deleted, overwritten, or modified in any way \u2013 which is valuable for safeguarding ransomware attacks.\n**3\\. Utilize isolation, segmentation, and air gap techniques.**\nIsolation and air gap techniques refer to a security strategy in which backup data is stored separated and physically isolated from the primary network. This creates a gap that prevents unauthorized access to backup copies, shielding them from any potential malware or ransomware attacks that might infect the primary system. Backup data is separated into isolated storage targets using virtual LANs (VLAN), firewalls, or other network segmentation methods to restrict access. Segmenting the network also will prevent east-west or lateral movement by attackers if they have been able to penetrate perimeter defenses.\nDeploy the isolated backup storage to be physically disconnected from the primary network, preventing direct access to the data. Replicate the data to this isolated environment to be sure the backup copies are security transferred to the air-gapped storage. By isolating backup data, air gap techniques significantly reduce the risk of ransomware, encrypting backup copies, as the malware cannot reach them on the isolated network.\n**4\\. Implement access controls, user privileges, and intrusion detection systems (IDS).**\nTo better understand the state of an organization\u2019s entire security posture, it is critical to review access control policies and implementation. Review how end users connect to the network internally and externally, and put safeguards in place from password protections to multi-factor authentication on VPNs or any portals or resources that can be accessed remotely by end users or employees.\nA robust IDS will proactively look for malicious activity by comparing network traffic logs to signatures that detect known malicious activity. The IDS will alert the organization in the event it detects any malicious activity. This type of layered approach to security including IDS, VPN, firewalls, antivirus software, spam filters, and cloud data loss prevention will make accessing your environment and sensitive data more difficult for would-be attackers.\n**5\\. Regularly monitor the environment.**\nMost organizations already regularly monitor their environments, but to thwart ransomware, monitoring is critical to enable early detection of suspicious activity that could be indicative of an attack. Monitoring traffic for suspicious activity will help security teams identify malware or ransomware earlier and take proactive measures to stop the ransomware from spreading.\nWith comprehensive data and traffic monitoring systems in place, security teams also can encrypt data before significant damage occurs. Unusual file access patterns, rapid data encryption, or anomalous network traffic all can point to an attempted ransomware attack and by constantly monitoring system activity, security teams can spot bad actors and act quickly to contain the threat.\n**6\\. Develop an incident response plan.**\nAll these protections will help prevent and detect malicious activity, but in the event an attack happens, an incident response plan will provide the necessary steps to take after discovering an attack \u2013 and reduce the likelihood of future attacks. An incident response plan should detail how to collect data to determine the source, nature, and scope of the ransomware attack. True cyber recovery, which goes beyond incident response, encompasses the ability to quickly restore critical systems and data after an attack.\nOrganizations should regularly test their incident response plan, so that the people involved understand their roles and responsibilities following a ransomware attack. Consistent testing of the incident response plan also will validate its effectiveness and identify areas for improvement. It is critical to invest in a platform that allows for rapid data recovery and restoration in the event of a cyberattack, providing a swift response and minimizing downtime.\nBusinesses must invest in a multi-layered ransomware readiness approach, which highlights the importance of robust data protection to prevent threats, detect suspicious activity early, and provide swift recovery of data even in the event of an attack. Using immutable, air-gapped backups, continuous monitoring, and advanced anomaly detection across various environments, organizations can prioritize proactive protections and rapid restoration capabilities to minimize business disruption.\n### What is a Data Cleanroom?\nCleanroom recovery provides security teams with an isolated environment to perform investigations, find gaps in defenses, and safely recover data without risk of contamination.\nLearn more\n### What is a 3-2-1 Backup Plan?\nThe 3-2-1 backup rule is a cornerstone of modern data protection and digital resilience. Facing an intensifying threat landscape, organizations rely on the 3-2-1 rule so that a clean copy of critical data will be available in the event of a cyberattack, natural disaster, or hardware failure.\nLearn more\n### What is Disaster Recovery?\nDisaster recovery (DR) is the process of restoring an organization\u2019s IT infrastructure and operations after a major disruption or disaster."
  },
  {
    "Title": "Understanding Social Engineering Tactics: 8 Attacks to Watch Out For",
    "URL": "https://www.tripwire.com/state-of-security/5-social-engineering-attacks-to-watch-out-for",
    "Query": "phishing social engineering defense",
    "Content cleaned": "Yes (reduced from 13290 to 10430 chars)",
    "Content": "Social engineering is a dangerous weapon many cybercriminals use to achieve their nefarious goals. It leverages psychological manipulation to deceive individuals into divulging confidential or personal information. Unlike traditional hacking, which relies on exploiting software vulnerabilities, social engineering targets human vulnerabilities.\nHere are the most common types of social engineering attacks in 2024 and real-world examples to highlight their impact.\n## Phishing: Hook, Line, and Sinker\nPhishing\u00a0is one of the most common social engineering attacks. It involves sending fraudulent communications, usually emails, that appear to come from a legitimate source. The goal is to trick recipients into providing sensitive information, such as login credentials or financial details.\n**Example:** In 2022,\u00a0a sophisticated phishing attack\u00a0aimed at stealing Office 365 credentials, where attackers impersonated the US Department of Labor (DoL). This scam exemplifies the increasing sophistication and convincing nature of modern phishing attempts.\n## Spear Phishing: Precision Social Engineering\nSpear phishing is a more targeted version of phishing.\u00a0While phishing attacks are often sent to many recipients with a \u201cmud-against-the-wall\u201d approach, spear phishing targets specific individuals or firms. The malicious actor customizes the message based on information about the target, making it more convincing.\n**Example:** As world leaders deliberated on the best response to the escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine, Microsoft issued a warning in February 2022 about a new\u00a0spear phishing campaign by a Russian hacking group targeting Ukrainian public sector entities and NGOs.\nThe group, known as Gamaredon and tracked by Microsoft as ACTINIUM, had reportedly targeted \u201corganizations critical to emergency response and ensuring the security of Ukrainian territory\u201d since 2021.\n## Pretexting: Mastering the Art of Social Engineering\nPretexting is another form of social engineering involving creating a fabricated scenario to steal information. These scams use the same social engineering techniques that con artists have used for centuries to manipulate their victims, such as deception, validation, flattery, and intimidation. The attacker pretends to need the information to confirm the victim\u2019s identity or to help with a supposed emergency.\nAt the organizational level, a pretexting actor may take extensive measures to impersonate trusted figures such as managers, coworkers, or customers. This could involve fabricating identities through fraudulent email addresses, websites, or social media profiles.\nIn more elaborate scenarios, the attacker might arrange face-to-face meetings with targets. For instance, a hacker masquerading as a vendor representative might schedule a meeting to gain access to confidential customer data. The attacker aims to appear credible during these encounters and build rapport with the target. By establishing trust, the attacker increases the likelihood that the target will comply with requests for sensitive information, believing them to be legitimate.\n## Deepfakes: Seeing Isn\u2019t Believing\nDeepfakes, which use artificial intelligence (AI) to create realistic but fake audio, video, or images that impersonate real people, are increasingly used in various social engineering attacks to create compelling but fraudulent scenarios. They leverage manipulated audio and video to deceive targets into disclosing sensitive information or performing actions they otherwise would not.\n**Example:** In 2019, a\u00a0deepfake attack targeted a UK-based energy firm. Bad actors used AI-generated audio to impersonate the voice of the parent company's chief executive. They called the target company\u2019s CEO, instructing him to transfer around $243,000 to a Hungarian supplier urgently. The voice was so convincing that the executive complied with the request.\n## Not So\u00a0Quid Pro Quo\nAnother type of social engineering is quid pro quo attacks, which involve offering a service or benefit in exchange for information. Attackers may promise tech support, free software, or other services to persuade victims to reveal confidential information.\n**Examples:** One of the most prevalent quid pro quo attacks involves fraudsters posing as representatives of the US Social Security Administration (SSA). These fraudsters contact individuals randomly, requesting confirmation of their Social Security Numbers under false pretenses, enabling identity theft.\nAlternatively, malicious actors identified by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) create counterfeit SSA websites to obtain personal information illicitly. Frighteningly, attackers don\u2019t need to be that cunning, as previous incidents have demonstrated that office employees are willing to divulge their passwords in exchange for inexpensive items like pens or chocolate bars.\n## Honeytraps: Love, Lies, and Larceny\nHoneytraps involve creating fake online personas to establish romantic relationships with victims. The goal is to gain and exploit the victim\u2019s trust for financial gain or access to sensitive information.\n**Example:** According to police reports, a man from Vancouver Island lost $150,000 in\u00a0a romance scam. Over several months, the scammer requested money for plane tickets, medical bills, and various other expenses.\n## Piggybacking: Hitching a Ride\nTwo other widespread threats are tailgating and piggybacking. Tailgating, in essence, is unauthorized access to secured spaces, which malefactors gain by exploiting the trust of real users.\u00a0It involves gaining physical access to a restricted area by following someone with legitimate access and exploiting the courtesy of others to gain entry without proper authorization. It can also involve badge cloning, using unattended devices, or impersonation. Piggybacking happens when someone attempts to piggyback onto a hacker's attempted extortion.\n**Example:** In 2018, an individual admitted guilt in England's Reading Crown Court for\u00a0unauthorized computer access and blackmail while working at Oxford Biomedica, a gene therapy company. There was an incident where the company faced a ransom demand of $370,000 in Bitcoin after an attack.\nAn employee (ironically part of the response team) altered ransom notes to redirect payments to his cryptocurrency wallet, effectively launching a separate attack against his employer.\n## Business Email Compromise: The Impersonation Game\nBusiness email compromise (BEC) is a sophisticated cyberattack where criminals meticulously gather information about an organization's structure and key executives. Using this knowledge, they exploit the trust associated with high-ranking positions, like the CFO, to\u00a0manipulate employees into transferring funds or divulging sensitive information.\nBy gaining access to an executive's email account, attackers\u00a0impersonate them to request urgent financial transactions, such as paying fraudulent invoices. They exploit the time-sensitive nature of these transactions to minimize the chances of detection.\nBEC is one of the most common attacks and one of the most costly types of cybercrime. Between 2013 and 2022, the FBI says BEC attacks caused roughly $50.8 billion in losses worldwide.\n## Fighting the Exploitation\nSocial engineering attacks are a growing scourge in today's digital landscape. They exploit human psychology rather than technological weaknesses, making them particularly challenging to defend against. Awareness and education are crucial in combating these attacks.\nCompanies should integrate the following recommendations into their security awareness training:\n- Exercise caution with emails from unfamiliar sources. If you receive a suspicious email, verify its legitimacy by contacting the sender directly via phone or in person.\n- Be skeptical of unsolicited offers. If something appears too good to be true, it likely is.\n- Always lock your laptop when stepping away from your workstation to prevent unauthorized access.\n- Invest in antivirus software. While no antivirus solution offers foolproof protection, it can significantly bolster defenses against social engineering tactics.\n- Familiarize yourself with your company\u2019s privacy policy to understand protocols regarding access permissions for external individuals.\n- Validate urgent requests from internal contacts before taking action, primarily involving financial transactions or sensitive information.\n- Foster a culture of risk awareness to keep employees vigilant. Social engineering thrives on human error, so embedding security awareness into the organizational mindset is crucial. Employees should know how to recognize and report potential incidents promptly.\nBy understanding the common types of social engineering attacks and recognizing their real-world implications, individuals and organizations can\u00a0better protect themselves from these pervasive threats."
  },
  {
    "Title": "6 Types of Social Engineering Attacks and How to Prevent Them",
    "URL": "https://www.mitnicksecurity.com/blog/types-of-social-engineering-attacks",
    "Query": "phishing social engineering defense",
    "Content cleaned": "Yes (reduced from 18273 to 13244 chars)",
    "Content": "- Security Services\n  - Penetration Testing\\|The Ultimate Tool for Cyber Security Assessment\n  - Internal Network Penetration Testing\\| Are You Protected Against Internal Security Threats?\n  - Incident Response\\|Comprehensive Expert Help After a Security Incident\n  - Computer Forensics\\|Arm Your Legal Team with Digital Evidence\n  - Expert Witness Services\\|Build Your Case with Kevin's Expertise\n  - Security Awareness Training\\|Your Comprehensive Security Training Library\n  - Vulnerability Assessment\\|See Your System Through the Eyes of a Hacker\n  - Product Claims Testing\\|Get Unbiased Proof From the Best in the Business\n  - Red Team Operations\\|Evaluate Your Response to An Active Data Breach\n  - Social Engineering Strength Testing\\|Safeguarding Your Security From Human Manipulation\n# 6 Types of Social Engineering Attacks and How to Prevent Them\nPosted by Mitnick Security on Nov 7, 2024 9:05:50 AM\nSocial engineering attacks account for a massive portion of all cyber-attacks.\nIn fact, as many as 90% of successful hacks and data breaches start with some form of social engineering. And if you think you\u2019re immune, consider this: 84% of businesses have fallen victim to a social engineering attack. So, even if it hasn\u2019t happened to you, you\u2019re at risk.\nThe rise of generative AI has led to a significant increase in sophisticated social engineering attacks. Hackers are leveraging AI tools to improve their attacks and results. AI use is enabling hackers with limited technical skills to employ advanced strategies like data scraping to deliver highly targeted attacks that mimic the tone, voice, and style of brands.\nBusiness email compromise \u2014 a scam typically driven by social engineering \u2014 is \u201cone of the most financially damaging online crimes,\u201d according to the FBI, netting more than $55 billion in losses.\nHow do you prevent social engineering? You need a strong cybersecurity plan.\nIn this article, we\u2019ll explore what social engineering is, then take a closer look at the six types of common attacks and provide some best practices to protect your organization.\n## What Is a Social Engineering Attack?\nSocial engineers are clever threat actors who use manipulative tactics to deceive their victims into performing a desired action or disclosing private information. The social engineer exploits vulnerability to carry out the rest of their plans.\nMany threat actors targeting organizations will use social engineering tactics on the employees to gain a foothold in the internal networks and systems, where the real damage is done.\n## Social Engineering Attack Types\nLet\u2019s take a look at the six most common types of social engineering attacks.\n### 1\\. Phishing\nPhishing is a social engineering technique in which an attacker sends fraudulent emails, claiming to be from a reputable and trusted source.\nFor example, a social engineer might send an email that appears to come from a customer success manager at your bank. They might claim to have important information about your account but require you to reply with your full name, birth date, social security number, and account number first so that they can verify your identity. Ultimately, the person emailing is not a bank employee. It's a person trying to steal private data.\nPhishing, in general, casts a wide net and tries to target as many individuals as possible. However, there are a few types of phishing that hone in on particular targets.\nSpear phishing is a more targeted type of email phishing. In a spear phishing attack, the social engineer will have done their research and set their sights on a particular user. By scouring through the target's public social media profiles and using Google to find information about them, the attacker can create a compelling, targeted attack.\nImagine that an individual regularly posts on social media and is a member of a particular gym. In that case, the attacker could create a spear phishing email that appears to come from their local gym. The victim is more likely to fall for the scam since they recognized their gym as the supposed sender.\n#### What Type of Social Engineering Targets Senior Officials?\nWhaling is another targeted phishing scam, similar to spear phishing.\nHowever, in whaling, rather than targeting an average user, social engineers focus on targeting higher-value targets like CEOs and CFOs. Whaling gets its name due to the targeting of the so-called \"big fish\" within a company.\n### 2\\. Vishing and Smishing\nWhile phishing is used to describe fraudulent email practices, similar manipulative techniques are practiced using other communication methods, such as phone calls and text messages.\nVishing (short for voice phishing) occurs when a fraudster attempts to trick a victim into disclosing sensitive information or giving them access to the victim's computer over the telephone. The caller often threatens or tries to scare the victim into giving them personal information or compensation.\nSmishing (short for SMS phishing) is similar to and incorporates the same social engineering techniques as email phishing and vishing, but it is done through SMS/text messaging.\n### 3\\. Pretexting\nPretexting is a type of social engineering technique where the attacker creates a scenario where the victim feels compelled to comply under false pretenses.\nPretexting is often used against corporations that retain client data, such as banks, credit card companies, utilities, and the transportation industry.\nDuring pretexting, the threat actor will often impersonate a client or a high-level employee of the targeted organization.\n### 4\\. Baiting\nBaiting puts something enticing or curious in front of the victim to lure them into the social engineering trap. A baiting scheme could offer a free music download or gift card in an attempt to trick the user into providing credentials.\nFor example, a social engineer may hand out free USB drives to users at a conference. The user may believe they are just getting a free storage device, but the attacker could have loaded it with remote access malware which infects the computer when plugged in.\n### 5\\. Tailgating and Piggybacking\nTailgating is a simplistic social engineering attack used to gain physical access to access to an unauthorized location.\nTailgating is achieved by closely following an authorized user into the area without being noticed by the authorized user. An attacker may tailgate another individual by quickly sticking their foot or another object into the door right before the door is completely shut and locked.\nPiggybacking is similar to tailgating; but in a piggybacking scenario, the authorized user is aware and allows the other individual to \"piggyback\" off their credentials.\nAn authorized user may feel compelled by kindness to hold a secure door open for a woman holding what appears to be heavy boxes or for a person claiming to be a new employee who has forgotten his access badge.\n### 6\\. Quid Pro Quo\nQuid pro quo (Latin for \u201csomething for something\u201d) is a type of social engineering tactic in which the attacker attempts a trade of service for information.\nA quid pro quo scenario could involve an attacker calling the main lines of companies pretending to be from the IT department, attempting to reach someone who was having a technical issue.\nOnce the attacker finds a user who requires technical assistance, they would say something along the lines of, \"I can fix that for you. I'll just need your login credentials to continue.\" This is a simple and unsophisticated way of obtaining a user's credentials.\n## How To Mitigate Risks With Penetration Testing\nA penetration test performed by cyber security experts can help you see where your company stands against threat actors. Pentesting simulates a cyber attack against your organization to identify vulnerabilities.\nSocial engineering testing is a form of penetration testing that uses social engineering tactics to test your employees\u2019 readiness without risk or harm to your organization.\nThis type of pentest can be used to understand what additional cybersecurity awareness training may be required to transform vulnerable employees into proactive security assets.\n## How to Prevent Social Engineering Attacks\nSocial engineering is one of the most effective ways threat actors deceive employees and managers alike into exposing private information.\nThe landscape has changed dramatically over the past few years. An ever-escalating number of endpoints and remote workers have made cybersecurity more complex than ever. CISOs have a big job protecting it all.\nYou need to take proactive steps to avoid falling victim.\nSystem monitoring, multi-factor authentication, next-generation firewalls, and real-time threat intelligence have become mandatory. Security awareness training helps your employees understand the risks and identify threats.\nHowever, preparing your organization starts with understanding your current state of cybersecurity.\nThe Global Ghost Team at Mitnick Security performs full-scale simulated attacks to show you where and how real threat actors can infiltrate, extort, or compromise your organization. We deploy our senior engineering testers with at least 10 years of experience to test your systems.\nThink you\u2019re safe? We have a 100% success rate for breaching systems using social engineering among small to multi-million-dollar corporations. We can show you your vulnerabilities and help you shore up your defenses.\nYou need social engineering testing to keep your organization safe. Contact Mitnick Security today to fortify your cyber defenses with our penetration testing services."
  },
  {
    "Title": "Social Engineering Beyond Phishing: New Tactics and ... - AuditBoard",
    "URL": "https://auditboard.com/blog/social-engineering-beyond-phishing-new-tactics-and-how-to-combat-them",
    "Query": "phishing social engineering defense",
    "Content cleaned": "Yes (reduced from 15619 to 11512 chars)",
    "Content": "# Social Engineering Beyond Phishing: New Tactics and How to Combat Them\nSocial engineering is a manipulation technique that exploits human psychology to gain unauthorized access to systems, networks, or data, unlike cyberattacks that rely on technical vulnerabilities, social engineering preys on trust, fear, urgency, and other emotional triggers to deceive individuals into compromising security protocols. It remains one of the most effective tools in a cybercriminal\u2019s arsenal, evolving constantly to stay ahead of traditional defenses.\nIn its simplest form, social engineering takes advantage of the weakest link in any security system: people. No matter how sophisticated an organization\u2019s technical defenses might be, they can be rendered ineffective if employees are manipulated into granting access or divulging sensitive information. Understanding social engineering mechanisms and adopting robust countermeasures is essential for today\u2019s cybersecurity landscape.\n### **Emerging Social Engineering Tactics**\nWhile some methods, like smishing and pretexting, have been around for years, their use continues to adapt to changing technologies and societal behaviors. Here, we focus on newer tactics that pose a significant threat to organizations, especially in the context of audit, risk, and compliance challenges.\n### **Deepfake Impersonation**\nDeepfake technology leverages artificial intelligence to create hyper-realistic audio and video of individuals, making it nearly impossible to discern authenticity without advanced tools. For instance, a deepfake of a company\u2019s CEO may be used to instruct an employee to authorize a fraudulent transaction under the guise of a \u201cconfidential\u201d matter. Deepfake technology has progressed rapidly, with cybercriminals deploying it to bypass traditional verification processes. These attacks often exploit trust within organizations, particularly when employees are conditioned to comply with authority figures. In one case, a finance department wired significant funds to an external account following instructions from what appeared to be their CEO on a video call.\n**The Key Risk**\nEmployees in siloed departments, who may not have direct relationships with executive leadership, are especially vulnerable. Additionally, industries with high turnover rates may struggle to establish the rapport necessary for employees to question the authenticity of such interactions.\n### **AI-Powered Chatbots**\nCybercriminals are deploying AI-driven chatbots to simulate authentic conversations. These bots can engage with individuals over extended periods, gradually building trust to extract sensitive information or credentials. These bots\u2014trained to mimic conversational patterns\u2014often pose as customer support agents or recruiters. By simulating familiarity and professionalism, they can manipulate targets into sharing passwords, account details, or even personal identifiers. Organizations with decentralized customer support systems are particularly at risk.\n**The Key Risk** Customer-facing teams, such as support staff, may unknowingly provide sensitive data to these bots, thinking they are assisting legitimate users. In larger enterprises, this risk multiplies due to the volume of interactions and the potential for oversight.\n### **Augmented Reality (AR) Scams**\nEmerging AR technologies are being used to create immersive environments that deceive individuals. For example, an attacker might simulate an IT troubleshooting session through AR glasses, convincing employees to disclose login details or plug in compromised hardware. The sophistication of AR scams lies in their ability to blend the virtual with the physical. Attackers can exploit unfamiliarity with AR devices to create convincing scenarios. For example, an attacker might claim to be an external consultant troubleshooting a system failure, leveraging AR visuals to build credibility.\n**The Key Risk**\nOrganizations leveraging AR for training or operations are particularly susceptible, as attackers can exploit unfamiliarity with this technology. Employees in technical roles, such as IT support, are at the forefront of such risks.\n### **IoT Exploitation**\nAs Internet of Things (IoT) devices proliferate, they become attractive targets for social engineers. For example, attackers may impersonate a smart device technician to gain physical or network access. With IoT devices often lacking robust security measures, attackers can exploit weak entry points to infiltrate broader networks. This tactic becomes particularly concerning in industries like healthcare, where IoT devices are used for critical functions.\n**The Key Risk**\nFacilities management or IT teams tasked with maintaining IoT devices may inadvertently grant access, believing they are working with legitimate vendors. The interconnected nature of IoT networks means a single compromised device can have far-reaching consequences.\n### **Defending Against Social Engineering**\nOrganizations can mitigate the risk of social engineering by implementing robust defenses and fostering a security-first culture. Below are actionable steps tailored for audit, risk, and compliance professionals:\n**Conduct specialized training** and go beyond generic awareness programs to include:\n- Real-life case studies demonstrating the impact of newer tactics.\n- Role-specific training for departments like finance, HR, and IT to address their unique risks.\n- Simulation exercises, such as mock deepfake calls or phishing drills.\n**Effective training programs** should also incorporate behavioral psychology principles to make employees more aware of their susceptibility to manipulation. For example, highlighting common emotional triggers\u2014such as urgency and fear\u2014can help employees recognize and resist such tactics.\n**Adopt multi-layered authentication** to ensure that sensitive processes require more than just passwords. MFA has proven to be a robust countermeasure, significantly reducing the likelihood of successful credential theft. However, organizations must ensure that employees understand its importance and consistently adhere to authentication protocols.\n- Use multi-factor authentication (MFA) with biometric or hardware-based tokens.\n- Implement voice recognition software to counteract vishing and deepfake audio threats.\n- Require physical confirmation for high-value transactions, such as two-party verification.\n**Establish verification protocols** to create clear, enforceable policies for verifying identities. Verification protocols are particularly effective when coupled with tools that flag anomalies, such as unusual request patterns or deviations from standard communication channels.\n- Require employees to cross-check any urgent or unusual requests with an independent channel.\n- Maintain an internal directory with verified contact methods for key personnel.\n- Develop escalation procedures for high-risk scenarios.\n**Building a cohesive security culture** requires active participation from leadership. When executives prioritize cybersecurity, it sets a tone that permeates the organization, making it harder for attackers to exploit gaps in responsibility.Social engineers often exploit silos where security and compliance are perceived as \u201cnot my job.\u201d Overcome this by:\n- Encouraging cross-departmental communication and collaboration.\n- Embedding security liaisons within non-technical teams to foster local accountability.\n- Conducting regular interdepartmental reviews of security practices.\n**Leverage advanced technology** and deploy tools designed to detect and mitigate social engineering attempts. Technology can complement human vigilance, providing a safety net that catches threats employees might overlook. However, tools are only as effective as the policies and training that support them.\n- AI-driven software that flags anomalies in communication patterns.\n- Endpoint detection systems capable of recognizing spoofed devices or links.\n- Real-time monitoring tools for social media to identify potential reconnaissance activities.\n**Audit social media practices**, as many attacks originate from overshared personal or organizational information. Social media hygiene should be a core component of any security strategy, as attackers often rely on publicly available information to craft convincing pretexts.\n- Conduct regular audits of employees\u2019 public-facing profiles.\n- Provide guidance on limiting exposure, such as setting profiles to private and avoiding posts about internal projects.\n- Monitor organizational social media channels for signs of impersonation."
  },
  {
    "Title": "[PDF] Preventing Social Engineering | LACOE",
    "URL": "https://www.lacoe.edu/content/dam/lacoeedu/documents/technologyservices/cybersecurity/cybersecurity-awareness-articles/Preventing%20Social%20Engineering.pdf",
    "Query": "phishing social engineering defense",
    "Content cleaned": "Yes (reduced from 19094 to 15406 chars)",
    "Content": "# PREVENTING SOCIAL ENGINEERING\n# Introduction\n\"At its core, social engineering is not a cyber-attack. Instead, social engineering is all about the psychology of persuasion: It targets the mind like your old school grifter on con man.\" When it comes to cyber-attacks on organizations or individuals, $98%$ of those attacks rely on social engineering. So, what is social engineering?\nWhen we think about cyber-security, most of us think about defending ourselves against hackers who use technological weaknesses to attack data networks. But there is another way into organizations and networks, and that's taking advantage of human weakness. This is known as social engineering, which involves tricking someone into divulging information or enabling access to data networks.\nThere are several types of social engineering attacks. So, it's important to understand the definition of social engineering, as well as, how it works. Once the basic modus operandi is understood, it's much easier to spot these attacks.\nSocial engineering attacks can be particularly difficult to counter because they're expressly designed to play on natural human characteristics, such as curiosity, respect for authority, and the desire to help one's friends.\nPut simply, social engineering is the use of deception to manipulate individuals into enabling access or divulging information or data, but armed with knowledge, you can protect yourself.\n# Common Types of Social Engineering Attacks\nSocial engineering attacks are diverse with each subset of attacks having their own subsets of attacks. To better protect yourself, its critical to understand the common tactics that can be used against you.\n# Phishing\nThis is the most well-known type of social engineering attack. There are many subsets of phishing attacks, but they all have one goal in mind: compromise your data. Phishing attacks use email, phone calls, and SMS/text messages to deceive an individual into divulging sensitive information. Common phishing attacks are vishing, smishing, spear phishing, whaling, impersonation, and clone phishing.\n# Scareware\nScareware attacks use pop-ups and/or ads to scare people into visiting a malicious website, install malware onto their devices, contact the attacker, or send money to the attacker. Common examples include fake virus popups, fake tech support, malvertising, and law enforcement scams.\n# Tailgating & Shoulder-Surfing\nTailgating involves an unauthorized person closely following another authorized person into a secured area. This can also involve waiting for a person to leave their computer unattended, but logged in. This commonly occurs due to kindness and ignorance, respectively.\nShoulder-surfing involves an attacker discretely observing a user accessing or typing sensitive information.\n# Honeytrap\nA honey trap is an attack where the social engineer assumes the identity of an attractive person. They then lure the target into false relationships to eventually steal money or their sensitive information. This is commonly used in social media such as e-dating services.\n# Deep Faking\nAdvancements in AI have granted attackers access to the most sophisticated type of social engineering attack we\u2019ve seen thus far. AI now allows attackers to mimic voices, swap faces, and even create fake videos. Though this used to be uncommon, these types of technology have become more accessible and usable for the public. Attackers have already successfully used deep faking to extort millions on dollars.\n# Baiting\nBaiting is a tactic in which an attacker uses a trap or bait to trick an individual into installing malware or divulging sensitive information. The most common baiting tactic is leaving a malicious USB somewhere unattended in the hopes that a person will plug in the USB to see what is inside. These USBs may have software that can automatically run and compromise a device and the network.\n# Psychology of Social Engineering\nSocial engineering at its core is the manipulation of trust. If we were to create an equation that determines our trust, $\\\\mathsf{A}\\\\mathbf{+}\\\\mathsf{B}\\\\mathbf{+}\\\\mathsf{C}\\\\mathbf{+}\\\\mathsf{D}\\\\mathbf{+}\\\\mathsf{E}\\\\mathbf{+}\\\\mathsf{F}\\\\mathbf{+}\\\\mathsf{G}=$ Trust, social engineers work the variables that dictate trust by plugging in varying values that affect our sense of fear, authority, reciprocity, urgency, consensus, connection, scarcity, and consistency. To prevent these attackers from solving the equation, it is crucial to understand the aspects of human behavior that can be manipulated.\n# Authority\nAttackers understand people are naturally inclined to trust and follow authority. Whether it's a lawyer, professor, police officer, or significant other, these types of individuals command respect and trust. This trust can be easily manipulated. By impersonating someone of authority, attackers put themselves in a strong position to successfully exploit their target.\n# Reciprocity\nWhen someone does something nice for you, there's a tendency to want to repay the kindness. Cybercriminals exploit this instinct by offering something small, like a gift card, to gain your trust. Once you've accepted their \"gift,\" you might feel more obligated to follow through on their request, such handing over some information.\n# Urgency\n\u201cFight or flight\u201d responses are meant to protect us, but attackers see the latter as a powerful tool. Often used with authority, attackers will attempt to pressure the target with fear, causing them to act without considering the consequences.\n# Consensus\nThis concept is grounded in the social norm that individuals tend to act based on what they perceive others would or have. Attackers may exploit this by claiming that your coworker has already clicked this link to complete the survey last week or flooding a malicious website with fake testimonials suggesting legitimacy.\n# Connection\nWe\u2019re naturally more receptive to people we like or share a rapport with. Shared interests, compliments, and cooperation strengthen this sense of connection. The more we feel a connection with someone, the more likely we are to lower our defenses. Attackers exploit this feeling by either building a relationship with you or impersonating someone you already trust.\n# Scarcity\nScarcity, often combined with urgency, is a widely used marketing trick\u2014when something seems limited, people are more likely to believe it\u2019s valuable or worth acting on. Attackers utilize scarcity by claiming that a product is running out or only available for a short time. This sense of urgency drives targets to quickly click on a malicious link before they \"miss out\" on the opportunity.\n# Consistency\nWith integrity in mind, people generally strive to be consistent with their actions and commitments. Studies show that once someone makes a small commitment, they are more likely to stick to it. Attackers exploit this by having you agree to something minor, only to follow up with a larger request, hoping your sense of consistency will lead you to comply.\n# Preventing Social Engineering\nNow that you understand the common types of social engineering attacks and the psychology behind them, you can more easily recognize and prevent them. Here are some tips to identify and stop social engineers in their tracks.\n# Patience Is a Virtue\nAttackers often rely on psychological tactics to manipulate targets into making decisions without evaluation. It\u2019s important to cultivate a mindset that is patient. This grants you time to evaluate the situation, review the details, and then make a well-informed decision. It is rare that you don\u2019t have the time to consider the situation, despite what others may say. Whether it is an email, phone call, text message, or in-person talk, take a pause and ask yourself questions like below:\nIs the language used trying to appeal to an emotion? Is it driving a sense of urgency or are they building a connection? If there is a connection, is there a request that follows soon after?\nShould this person be sending me something? Is that the correct sender or caller? Why is this person requesting something and at this time?\nIs this link malicious? Is this attachment malicious?\nTaking the time to ask yourself questions and thinking through the answer will help you create a strong defense against social engineers.\n# Check the Source and Content\nTake a moment to think about where the communication is coming from and what is in that communication; do not trust it blindly. A USB stick turns up on your desk and you do not know what it is. An out of the blue phone call says you've inherited $$5$ million. An email from your CEO asking you to buy gift cards at 3 AM. Your CEO video calls you saying you must transfer funds immediately. These sound suspicious and should be treated as such. Consider the following tips for each scenario.\n# For Emails and Messages:\nLook at the email header, sender name, or phone number for sender information. Review the content for typos, errors, vagueness, psychological manipulation, and incorrect alerts. Hover over hyperlinks, scan the attachments, and preview QR code links. Consider the context of message, such as the time of receipt, sender information, whether you\u2019re expecting this message and/or the links/attachments in the message. To be safe, contact the person the sender claims to be through a confirmed legitimate number such as on an official website.\n# For In-Person:\nDo not allow others to tailgate you into a secured area. Lock your devices if you need to leave them unattended. Listen for psychological tactics. Do not plug in any unknown devices into your own device. Store and dispose of sensitive properly Before accessing sensitive data, be sure only authorized personnel can view it.\n# For Callers:\nCheck to see if the caller number is correct. However,\nremember hackers can spoof the phone number.\nListen to see if the caller is utilizing psychological tactics. Consider the context of the call, such as the time of call, caller information, and if the content of the call makes sense.\nTest for AI voice replication by having the caller replicate emotions, watch for delays in responses, and whether they can be interrupted.\nTest for AI video replication and face swapping by having the caller move their head around in wide motions, looking for clipping or distortions, and watching for correct lighting. To be safe, hang up and go to the official website and get in contact with an official representative, as they will be able to confirm if the email/message is official or fake.\n# Secure Your Devices\nIt's also important to secure devices so that a social engineering attack, even if successful, is limited in what it can achieve. The basic principles are the same, whether it's a smartphone, a basic home network or a major enterprise system.\nKeep your anti-malware and anti-virus software up to date. This can help prevent malware that comes through phishing emails from installing itself. Use a package like Kaspersky's Antivirus to keep your network and data secure. Keep software and firmware regularly updated, particularly security patches. Don't run your phone rooted, or your network or PC in administrator mode. Even if a social engineering attack gets your user password for your \u201cuser\u201d account, it won't let them reconfigure your system or install software on it. Don't use the same password for different accounts. If a social engineering attack gets the password for your social media account, you don't want them to be able to unlock all of your other accounts too. Use multi-factor authentication (MFA) so that just having your password isn't enough to access the account. That might involve voice recognition, use of a security device, fingerprinting, or SMS confirmation codes. If you just gave away your password to an account and think you may have been \u201cengineered,\u201d change the password right away. Keep yourself informed about new cybersecurity risks by becoming a regular reader of our Resource Center. You'll then know all about new methods of attack as they emerge, making you much less likely to become a victim\n# Think About Your Digital Footprint\nYou might also want to give some thought to your digital footprint. Over-sharing personal information online, such as through social media, can help attackers. For instance, many banks have \u201cname of your first pet\u201d as a possible security question \u2014 did you share that on Facebook? If so, you could be vulnerable! In addition, some social engineering attacks will try to gain credibility by referring to recent events you may have shared on social networks.\nWe recommend you turn your social media settings to \u201cfriends only\u201d and be careful what you share. You don't need to be paranoid, just be careful.\nThink about other aspects of your life that you share online. If you have an online resum\u00e9, for instance, you should consider redacting your address, phone number and date of birth - all useful information for anyone planning a social engineering attack. While some social engineering attacks don't engage the victim deeply, others are meticulously prepared - give these criminals less information to work with.\nSocial engineering is very dangerous because it takes perfectly normal situations and manipulates them for malicious ends. However, by being fully aware of how it works, and taking basic precautions, you'll be far less likely to become a victim of social engineering.\n# Closing Tips\nBy following the rules below, you can ensure that you are creating a security-conscious culture at work and home.\nTake your time to review the details of an interaction or message before acting. Be suspicious of unsolicited phone calls, visits, or individuals asking about employees or other internal information. Be conscious of psychological manipulation tactics. Do not provide personal information or information about your organization, including its structures or networks unless you have confirmed it is needed and the recipient is legitimate. Do not reveal personal or financial information in an email. If you plan to send this information, make sure it's encrypted. Be conscious of your digital footprint. The information you put out to the world can be used against you. If you must send sensitive information over the Internet, always check a website's security. Ensure the URLs begin with an \"https,\" which indicates a secure site, not an \"HTTP.\" Always use MFA, although some may see it as a nuisance. MFA adds an extra layer of security, ensuring that the person signing in is the one authorized to sign in. If you are unsure whether an email or message is legitimate, look at the markers of illegitimacy such as headers, errors and typos, false hyper-links, etc. When in doubt, look to contact the sender or caller through information listed on official documentation or websites outside of the original call, email, or message. Keep your devices updated and ensure that antimalware software is installed. Shred or dispose of properly any documentation that may contain Personally Identifiable Information (PII) or Personal Health Information (PHI), such as addresses, SSNs, and other personal information that is not public knowledge.\nMaintaining a security-conscious culture where security is ingrained in daily practices enhances resilience against malicious tactics and cultivates a proactive mindset to cybersecurity in the workplace and at home."
  },
  {
    "Title": "Defending Against Social Engineering: What You Need to Know",
    "URL": "https://www.dataprise.com/resources/blog/defending-against-social-engineering/",
    "Query": "phishing social engineering defense",
    "Content cleaned": "Yes (reduced from 15427 to 9541 chars)",
    "Content": "# Defending Against Social Engineering: What You Need to Know\n## The Basics: What\u2019s Social Engineering?\nSocial engineering isn\u2019t your usual hack job\u2014it\u2019s all about playing on human nature. Instead of breaking into your system, these attackers trick you into opening the door for them. They might pose as someone you trust, create a sense of urgency, or use other psychological tricks to get what they want.\n## Common Tricks Social Engineers Use\nLet\u2019s break down some of the most common tactics:\n- **Phishing**: Those sketchy emails asking for your login info or trying to get you to click a weird link? Classic phishing.\n- **Pretexting**: The attacker makes up a convincing story to get you to spill private info.\n- **Baiting**: Ever seen a free download that\u2019s too good to be true? That\u2019s baiting, and it usually comes with a side of malware.\n- **Quid Pro Quo**: Someone offers you something in return for your info\u2014like a \u201cfree\u201d service that actually costs you your security.\n- **Tailgating**: Picture someone sneaking in behind you at the office, pretending they belong. That\u2019s tailgating, and it\u2019s an easy way to bypass physical security.\n## How They Get Inside Your Head\nSocial engineers are pros at playing on emotions:\n- **Urgency**: \u201cAct now, or else!\u201d They\u2019ll push you to make quick decisions, which is when mistakes happen.\n- **Authority**: \u201cThis is your boss speaking\u2026\u201d They might pose as someone important to get you to comply without thinking.\n- **Social Proof**: \u201cEveryone else is doing it\u2026\u201d They\u2019ll use peer pressure to get you to follow along.\n- **Scarcity**: \u201cLast chance!\u201d FOMO is a powerful motivator, and they know how to use it.\n- **Familiarity**: \u201cRemember me?\u201d They might drop details they\u2019ve learned about you to seem trustworthy.\n## Real-Life Social Engineering Hits\nThese aren\u2019t just made-up scenarios. Check out some infamous examples:\n- **Kevin Mitnick\u2019s Motorola Hack (1994)**: Mitnick pretended to be an employee and tricked Motorola staff into giving him sensitive info.\n- **DNC Spear Phishing Attack (2016)**: Personalized emails led to a massive breach, showing that even top officials can be fooled.\n- **Bangladesh Bank Heist (2016)**: A simple spear-phishing email opened the door to one of the biggest bank heists ever.\n- **Twitter Account Takeovers (2020)**: Hackers targeted Twitter employees via LinkedIn, eventually taking over high-profile accounts.\nThese examples show just how varied and dangerous social engineering attacks can be\u2014and why you should always be on your toes.\n## Spotting the Red Flags\n### Email Warning Signs\nEmails are a go-to for social engineers. Here\u2019s what to watch out for:\n- Unexpected attachments or links\n- Requests that seem off or out of the blue\n- Messages that push you to act fast\n- Offers that seem too good to be true\n- Generic greetings like \u201cDear User\u201d\n- Weird sender addresses\n- Poor grammar and spelling\nAlways double-check before clicking on anything. If something feels off, trust your gut and verify the request another way.\n### Suspicious Phone Calls\nSocial engineers don\u2019t just stick to email\u2014they use the phone too. Be wary of:\n- Calls that pressure you to act fast\n- Requests for sensitive info over the phone\n- Calls from numbers you don\u2019t recognize\nIf a call seems sketchy, hang up and call back using the official number from the company\u2019s website.\n### Social Media Red Flags\nSocial media is another hotspot for scams. Watch out for:\n- Connection requests from people you don\u2019t know\n- Profiles that seem incomplete or weirdly vague\n- Requests for personal or company info\nAlways check out profiles before accepting connection requests. Genuine profiles usually have a detailed work history and real recommendations.\n## Locking Down Your Security\n### Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)\nMFA adds an extra layer of security, but it\u2019s not foolproof. Hackers have figured out ways to get around it, like tricking you into logging into a fake site or spamming you with MFA prompts until you accidentally approve one.\nTo make MFA more effective:\n- Teach your team about these tactics\n- Add extra security layers where possible\n- Keep your authentication systems up-to-date\n### Keep Your Team in the Loop\nYour team is your first line of defense. Regular training sessions (not just once a year!) can keep everyone sharp:\n- Offer short, focused training every few months\n- Highlight specific social engineering tricks\n- Reinforce key points over time\n- Keep security top of mind with newsletters and regular updates\nA well-trained team is a skeptical team, and that\u2019s exactly what you want.\n### Regular Security Checkups\nRegular security audits are key to staying ahead of threats. Unlike a one-time test, these audits look at everything\u2014from system vulnerabilities to user behavior.\nBenefits include:\n- Spotting and fixing vulnerabilities before they\u2019re exploited\n- Strengthening your overall security measures\n- Preparing for potential incidents with a solid response plan\n- Identifying areas where your team might need more training\nWhen you\u2019re planning an audit:\n- Make sure it covers all the bases relevant to your organization\n- Involve staff from different departments for a comprehensive view\n- Prioritize fixing the most critical issues first\n## Wrapping It Up\nSocial engineering is a serious threat, but with a little awareness and the right approach, you can protect yourself. It\u2019s all about recognizing the signs, staying skeptical, and using smart security practices like MFA, regular training, and thorough audits.\nRemember, security isn\u2019t a one-and-done thing\u2014it\u2019s an ongoing process. Keep learning, stay vigilant, and make sure your defenses are always one step ahead of the bad guys. With the right mindset, you can keep both yourself and your organization safe from even the sneakiest social engineering attacks."
  },
  {
    "Title": "What is an Advanced Persistent Threat (APT)? - CrowdStrike",
    "URL": "https://www.crowdstrike.com/en-us/cybersecurity-101/threat-intelligence/advanced-persistent-threat-apt/",
    "Query": "advanced persistent threats APT",
    "Content cleaned": "Yes (reduced from 32683 to 20195 chars)",
    "Content": "## What are the 3 Stages of an APT attack?\nTo prevent, detect and resolve an APT, you must recognize its characteristics. Most APTs follow the same basic life cycle of infiltrating a network, expanding access and achieving the goal of the attack, which is most commonly stealing data by extracting it from the network.\n### Stage 1: infiltration\nIn the first phase, **advanced persistent threats often gain access through social engineering techniques**. One indication of an APT is a phishing email that selectively targets high-level individuals like senior executives or technology leaders, often using information obtained from other team members that have already been compromised. Email attacks that target specific individuals are called \u201cspear-phishing.\u201d\nThe email may seem to come from a team member and include references to an ongoing project. If several executives report being duped by a spear-phishing attack, start looking for other signs of an APT.\n### Stage 2: escalation and lateral movement\nOnce initial access has been gained, attackers insert malware into an organization's network to move to the second phase, expansion. They **move laterally to map the network and gather credentials** such as account names and passwords in order to access critical business information.\nThey may also establish\u00a0 a \u201cbackdoor\u201d \u2014 a scheme that allows them to sneak into the network later to conduct stealth operations. Additional entry points are often established to ensure that the attack can continue if a compromised point is discovered and closed.\n### Stage 3: exfiltration\nTo prepare for the third phase, cybercriminals typically **store stolen information in a secure location** within the network until enough data has been collected. They **then extract, or \u201cexfiltrate\u201d it without detection**. They may use tactics like a denial-of-service (DoS) attack to distract the security team and tie up network personnel while the data is being exfiltrated. The network can remain compromised, waiting for the thieves to return at any time.\n#### Learn More\nWant to stay up to date on recent adversary activities? Stop by the Research and Threat Intel Blog for the latest research, trends, and insights on emerging cyber threats.\nResearch and Threat Intel Blog\n## Characteristics of an APT attack\nSince advanced persistent threats use different techniques from ordinary hackers, they leave behind different signs. In addition to spear-phishing campaigns that target organization leaders, **symptoms of an advanced persistent threat attack include**:\n- Unusual activity on user accounts, such as an increase in high-level logins late at night\n- Widespread presence of backdoor Trojans\n- Unexpected or unusual data bundles, which may indicate that data has been amassed in preparation for exfiltration\n- Unexpected information flows, such as anomalies in outbound data or a sudden, uncharacteristic increase in database operations involving massive quantities of data\n## Advanced persistent threat examples\n**CrowdStrike currently tracks well over 150 adversaries** around the world, including nation-states, eCriminals and hacktivists.\nHere are some notable examples of APTs detected by CrowdStrike:\n- **GOBLIN PANDA** (APT27) was first observed in September 2013 when CrowdStrike discovered indicators of attack (IOAs) in the network of a technology company that operates in multiple sectors. This China-based adversary uses two Microsoft Word exploit documents with training-related themes to drop malicious files when opened. Read our full APT profile on Goblin Panda.\n- **FANCY BEAR** (APT28), a Russia-based attacker, uses phishing messages and spoofed websites that closely resemble legitimate ones in order to gain access to conventional computers and mobile devices. Read our full APT Group Profile on Fancy Bear.\n- **Cozy Bear**(APT29) is an adversary of Russian-origin, assessed as likely to be acting on behalf of the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation. This adversary has been identified leveraging large-volume spear phishing campaigns to deliver an extensive range of malware types as part of an effort to target political, scientific, and national security entities across a variety of sectors. Read our full APT Group Profile on Cozy Bear.\n- **Ocean Buffalo**(APT32) is a Vietnam-based targeted intrusion adversary reportedly active since at least 2012. This adversary is known to employ a wide range of Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs), to include the use of both custom and off-the-shelf tools as well as the distribution of malware via Strategic Web Compromise (SWC) operations and spear phishing emails containing malicious attachments.\n- **HELIX KITTEN** (APT34) has been active since at least late 2015 and is likely Iran-based. It targets organizations in aerospace, energy, financial, government, hospitality and telecommunications and uses well-researched and structured spear-phishing messages that are highly relevant to targeted personnel. Read the full APT Profile on HELIX KITTEN.\n- **Wicked Panda** (APT41) has been one the most prolific and effective China-based adversaries from the mid 2010s into the 2020s. CrowdStrike Intelligence assesses Wicked Panda consists of a superset of groups involving several contractors working in the interests of the Chinese state while still carrying out criminal, for-profit activities, likely with some form of tacit approval from CCP officials. Read the full APT profile on WICKED PANDA.\n## 2024 Threat Hunting Report\nIn the **CrowdStrike 2024 Threat Hunting Report**, CrowdStrike unveils the latest tactics of 245+ modern adversaries and shows how these adversaries continue to evolve and emulate legitimate user behavior. Get insights to help stop breaches here.\nDownload Now\n## How do you protect against APT attacks?\nThere are many cybersecurity and intelligence solutions available to assist organizations in better protecting against APT attacks. Here are some of the best tactics to employ:\n- **Sensor coverage.** Organizations must deploy capabilities that provide their defenders with full visibility across their environment to avoid blind spots that can become a safe haven for cyber threats.\n- **Technical intelligence.** Leverage technical intelligence, such as indicators of compromise (IOCs), and consume them into a security information and event manager (SIEM) for data enrichment purposes. This allows for added intelligence when conducting event correlation, potentially highlighting events on the network that may have otherwise gone undetected.\n- **Service provider.** Partnering with a best-of-breed cybersecurity firm is a necessity. Should the unthinkable happen, organizations may require assistance responding to a sophisticated cyber threat.\n- A **Web application firewall ( WAF)** is a security device designed to protect organizations at the application level by filtering, monitoring and analyzing hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) and hypertext transfer protocol secure (HTTPS) traffic between the web application and the internet.\n- **Threat intelligence.** Threat intelligence assists with threat actor profiling, campaign tracking and malware family tracking. These days, it is more important to understand the context of an attack rather than just knowing an attack itself happened, and this is where threat intelligence plays a vital role.\n- **Threat hunting.** Many organizations will find the need for 24/7, managed, human-based threat hunting to accompany their cybersecurity technology already in place.\n## CrowdStrike's advanced threat protection: the importance of speed\n**The most essential concept in cybersecurity today is speed**. To defend yourself, you must be faster than your adversary. At CrowdStrike, we use breakout time to assess a threat actor\u2019s operational sophistication and estimate the speed with which a response is required.\nBreakout time is how long an intruder takes to start moving laterally within a network after gaining access. It\u2019s a critical metric for tracking how fast adversaries can operate and for evaluating a security team\u2019s detection and response times.\nFalcon Insight endpoint detection and response (EDR), another essential piece of the Falcon platform,\u00a0 looks for IOAs to stop attacks before data is lost. The CrowdStrike Adversary Intelligence\u00a0solution aids incident investigations and speeds breach response by seamlessly integrating automated threat intelligence and custom indicators into endpoint protection. Combined with the expertise of the global CrowdStrike Falcon\u00ae Intelligence\u2122 team, the Falcon platform allows organizations of any size to respond more quickly and get ahead of the next APT attack.\nKurt Baker is the senior director of product marketing for Falcon Intelligence at CrowdStrike. He has over 25 years of experience in senior leadership positions, specializing in emerging software companies. He has expertise in cyber threat intelligence, security analytics, security management and advanced threat protection. Prior to joining CrowdStrike, Baker worked in technical roles at Tripwire and had co-founded startups in markets ranging from enterprise security solutions to mobile devices. He holds a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Washington and is now based in Boston, Massachusetts."
  },
  {
    "Title": "Advanced Persistent Threat (APT): Examples and Prevention",
    "URL": "https://www.legitsecurity.com/aspm-knowledge-base/advanced-persistent-threat-examples",
    "Query": "advanced persistent threats APT",
    "Content cleaned": "Yes (reduced from 14781 to 11276 chars)",
    "Content": "Advanced persistent threats (APTs) use sophisticated tools and techniques to breach systems and maintain access\u2014all while remaining undetected. Unlike other cyberattacks, APTs work over an extended period, using more resources to achieve specific objectives, such as stealing sensitive data or bringing down operations.\nAs technology advances and dependence on it grows, APTs have become more common. Here\u2019s a guide to the stages involved and what strategies you can employ to mitigate these attacks, along with some APT examples that showcase their prevalence and impact.\n## What Is an Advanced Persistent Threat?\nAn APT in cybersecurity is a sustained attack in which a threat actor infiltrates a network and attempts to remain undetected. Well-funded actors, such as organized cybercriminals or hacktivist groups, often orchestrate these invasions to achieve strategic, long-term goals.\nTo gain initial access, hackers often exploit attack vectors like unpatched vulnerabilities. Once inside, the main goal of an APT attack is to establish persistence, sometimes by deploying a backdoor to maintain long-term access.\nThe real danger of APTs lies in their persistence and precision. Unlike traditional cyberattacks, they focus on highly specific organizations or industries, targeting strategic individuals to gain access to high-value systems and data. And once inside, malicious actors move laterally across the network to access more information, carefully evading detection tools. The longer an APT goes unnoticed, the greater the damage\u2014ranging from financial loss to reputational harm and even national security threats.\n## Characteristics of Advanced Persistent Threats\nAPTs differ from typical cyberattacks due to their precision, duration, and sophistication. Here are some other core characteristics of APTs to help you recognize and address them:\n### Persistent and Long-Term Engagement\nAPTs aren\u2019t quick. Attackers embed themselves within the network for weeks, months, or even years. This persistence lets them carefully monitor activity and execute their objectives without detection.\n### Goal-Oriented Attacks\nAPTs have specific, high-value goals, like stealing classified information, intellectual property, or financial records. Unlike less targeted cyberattacks, these campaigns focus on achieving strategic outcomes, often aligning with political or financial motives.\n### Well-Funded Operations\nAPTs require significant financial and technical resources, which means threat actors are rarely acting alone. People behind these attacks often have backing from nation-states, organized cybercriminal groups, or even well-funded organizations. This support enables them to deploy advanced tools and custom malware.\n### Stealth and Evasion Tactics\nAPTs prioritize secrecy. They use sophisticated techniques like encryption, lateral movement, and polymorphic malware to bypass security defenses and evade detection.\n### Targeted and Tailored Campaigns\nAttackers customize APTs for specific organizations or industries. For this strategy to work, it needs to be highly specific, so threat actors must gather intelligence and tailor their approaches over time.\n## APT Attack Stages\nUnderstanding the stages of an APT in security can help you identify and mitigate attacks before they escalate.\n### 1\\. Reconnaissance\nIn this phase, attackers gather intelligence on their target. They identify vulnerabilities, study network architecture, and research employees or third-party partners to find entry points. Techniques often include using open-source intelligence (OSINT) and social engineering.\n### 2\\. Infiltration\nAttackers exploit vulnerabilities to gain initial access to the target\u2019s network. This may involve spear-phishing campaigns, malware deployment, or exploiting unpatched systems. Successful infiltration creates the first foothold, but hackers may also install a backdoor during this phase to ensure continued access.\n### 3\\. Escalation and Lateral Movement\nOnce inside, attackers use privilege escalation to gain administrative rights, moving laterally across systems to identify high-value assets. During this phase, they leverage tools to avoid detection and maintain persistence.\n### 4\\. Data Exfiltration\nIn the final stage, attackers achieve their primary goal\u2014which could be exfiltrating sensitive data, sabotaging critical infrastructure, or deploying ransomware. By this point, the attackers have often embedded themselves deeply enough to execute their plans without detection.\n## APT Attack Examples\nAPTs often come from groups that repeatedly attack different organizations without detection. Here are some examples of APT groups and specific instances to demonstrate their capabilities and widespread impacts.\n### Deep Panda\nDeep Panda, a Chinese APT group, is known for targeting industries like healthcare, defense, and finance. By leveraging advanced spear-phishing campaigns and exploiting system vulnerabilities, Deep Panda exfiltrates sensitive data, such as intellectual property and personally identifiable information (PII).\n### Helix Kitten\nHelix Kitten, sometimes referred to as OilRig or APT34, focuses on infiltrating financial services, energy, and government sectors. This APT uses sophisticated phishing techniques and custom malware to gain long-term network access. Its operations often align with Iran\u2019s geopolitical objectives, so experts suspect Iran is behind its attacks.\n### APT29\nAPT29, also known as Cozy Bear, is a Russian cyber-espionage group linked to high-profile attacks on government agencies and political organizations. Its campaigns often use advanced tactics like supply chain compromises and spear-phishing to access sensitive data. Notable incidents include breaches related to the United States Democratic National Committee.\n## 4 Strategies for Preventing Advanced Persistent Threats\nPreventing APTs requires a multi-layered approach that combines proactive defense and continuous monitoring. Combining technical controls with well-informed users reduces the risk of APT attacks and can improve APT protection within your organization.\nHere are a few strategies to explore:\n### 1\\. Rapid Vulnerability Patching\nRegularly patching known vulnerabilities in the software supply chain prevents attackers from exploiting weaknesses to gain entry. Automated patch management tools also help teams make timely updates and reduce the risk of missing critical fixes.\n### 2\\. Continuous Monitoring and Incident Response Planning\nContinuous monitoring tools detect anomalies and potential threats in real time\u2014no hands-on action necessary. It\u2019s a good idea to pair monitoring with a well-documented incident response plan to contain and mitigate attacks so your team doesn\u2019t need to waste time deciding what to do.\n### 3\\. Network Segmentation\nSegment your network into isolated zones to limit an attacker\u2019s lateral movement. If one part of the network is compromised, segmentation reduces access to other vital systems and data.\n### 4\\. Threat Intelligence Integration\nThese solutions help you identify indicators of compromise (IOCs) and stay informed about new APT techniques. This bolsters defenses against known attack methods and puts you in the best position possible to respond quickly.\n## Protect Your Business From Advanced Persistent Threats With Legit Security\nAPTs represent a persistent and growing risk to organizations across industries. Their sophistication and ability to remain undetected for long periods demand a combination of proactive prevention and effective mitigation strategies\u2014and Legit Security can play an important role here.\nBy offering visibility into application development pipelines, plus continuous vulnerability management, Legit Security equips you with the tools to secure your systems against advanced cyberthreats."
  },
  {
    "Title": "What is an Advanced Persistent Threat (APT)? - Balbix",
    "URL": "https://www.balbix.com/insights/what-is-advanced-persistent-threat-apt/",
    "Query": "advanced persistent threats APT",
    "Content cleaned": "Yes (reduced from 11950 to 10841 chars)",
    "Content": "# What is an Advanced Persistent Threat (APT)?\nAn advanced persistent threat (APT) is a prolonged, targeted cyberattack in which an intruder establishes an undetected presence in a network to steal sensitive data over an extended period. Unlike traditional hit-and-run attacks, APTs are characterized by their stealth, patience, and adaptability.\nAPTs differ from traditional cyberattacks in their complexity, persistence, and the vast resources behind them. Often sponsored by nation-states or well-funded criminal groups, APT attackers employ advanced techniques to gain a foothold in the target network and maintain long-term access.\nAPT attackers are usually sophisticated, well-funded teams with significant resources. These threat actors\u2014often linked to nation-states or organized crime groups\u2014carefully plan their attacks to infiltrate specific high-value targets such as government agencies, defense contractors, or large enterprises.\n### What are the Motives Behind APT Attacks?\nAdvanced persistent threats, or APTs, are complex cyberattacks with big goals. They often involve strategies that steal important secrets, like trade info or tech innovations, to gain power or market advantages.\nAPTs also aim to make money by selling stolen data or demanding ransoms, targeting the systems that keep our society running to cause disruption, and planting themselves deep within networks to stay ahead of future attacks. They can gather useful information and prepare for their next move.\nWhile APTs have traditionally targeted government and defense sectors, the range of potential targets has expanded to include any organization with valuable data or resources. No industry is immune to this threat, from financial institutions to healthcare providers to critical infrastructure operators.\n## How does an Advanced Persistent Threat occur?\nThe primary goal of an APT is to achieve ongoing access to the targeted network rather than execute a quick smash-and-grab attack. By maintaining a persistent presence, the attackers can continuously monitor their target, intercept communications, and exfiltrate sensitive data while remaining undetected.\nExecuting an APT attack requires more time, skill, and resources than a conventional cyberattack. The process typically involves:\n- **Reconnaissance**: Attackers conduct thorough research on the target, identifying weak points such as unpatched systems or exploitable human behaviors. This phase often involves gathering data from public sources or probing the network for vulnerabilities.\n- **Infiltration**: Attackers gain initial access to the network by using spear-phishing emails or exploiting zero-day vulnerabilities. This step may involve tricking employees or bypassing weak security defenses.\n- **Expansion**: Once inside, attackers deploy malware to create backdoors, escalate privileges, and move laterally through the network, gaining deeper access to sensitive systems and data.\n- **Obfuscation**: To avoid detection, attackers use anti-forensic techniques and \u201cliving off the land\u201d (using legitimate tools and processes) to blend in with normal activity, making it difficult for security teams to notice their presence.\n- **Exfiltration**: Attackers gradually collect and transfer valuable data out of the network. This is often done during distraction events like DDoS attacks, which overwhelm defenses and draw attention away from the data theft.\nThe stealthy nature of APTs makes them particularly challenging to detect and defend against. Attackers continually adapt their tactics to circumvent security measures, often leveraging legitimate credentials and built-in system tools to blend in with regular network activity.\n### White Noise Attacks\nA white noise attack is a cybersecurity threat where attackers flood a system with large amounts of random, meaningless data, making it harder for security tools to detect real threats.\nIn an advanced persistent threat (APT), a white noise attack distracts the system by flooding it with irrelevant data and overwhelming security tools and analysts. This \u201cnoise\u201d helps hide the attackers\u2019 activities, allowing them to move undetected, steal data, or establish control.\nWhite noise attacks typically occur during the **Obfuscation** or **Exfiltration** stages to mask lateral movement or distract security teams while data is stolen. This tactic helps APTs stay hidden longer, making it harder for organizations to detect and respond to threats.\n## What are the Key Characteristics of APTs?\nAdvanced persistent threats (APTs) are distinguished by their calculated focus and precision. These threats are not random; they meticulously target specific organizations, with attackers dedicating substantial resources to understanding the intricacies of their intended victim\u2019s network and defenses. The depth of reconnaissance allows attackers to pinpoint weak spots, facilitating a more effective breach.\n### Diverse Attack Vectors\nAPTs employ a sophisticated blend of techniques that extend beyond typical cyber methods. Attackers utilize a combination of digital exploits, physical intrusions, and psychological manipulation to penetrate and maintain their presence within a network.\nCyberattack tactics often involve leveraging zero-day exploits and deploying tailored malware. At the same time, social engineering and physical infiltration add additional layers of complexity, making it difficult for traditional security measures to detect and respond effectively.\n### Persistence and Adaptability\nThe hallmark of an APT is its relentless pursuit of long-term objectives. Attackers do not seek immediate gains; instead, they focus on embedding themselves deeply within the target\u2019s infrastructure. This requires an ability to readjust strategies in response to evolving defensive measures. APT actors continuously refine their tactics to circumvent detection, often using legitimate system tools and credentials to remain inconspicuous.\n### Establishing Footholds\nTo sustain their presence, APTs strategically establish multiple covert points of entry within the network. These entry points are carefully crafted to ensure continuity of access, even if one is compromised.\nAttackers can seamlessly navigate the network by employing a combination of malware and legitimate credentials, enabling them to explore and exploit additional vulnerabilities as opportunities arise. This approach secures persistent access and facilitates undetected lateral movement within the network infrastructure.\n## How Can Organizations Prevent APTs?\nTo keep advanced cyber threats at bay, companies must build a strong security plan that does more than just the basics. It\u2019s like layering up in winter; you need multiple layers of protection working together to stay warm. This way, every part of your security system works together, making it harder for hackers to find a way in.\n### Use Threat Intelligence\nIt\u2019s important to stay updated on the latest hacker tactics using solutions like assimilating and analyzing information on indicators of compromise (IOCs) and the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) used by adversaries so organizations can anticipate and mitigate emerging threats.\n### Enhanced Monitoring and Rigorous Access Controls\nSolutions focused on monitoring network traffic can detect anomalies that suggest attempts at unauthorized data extraction. They help spot anything odd that might mean hackers are trying to sneak in. At the same time, enforcing stringent access controls ensures that users have the minimum access necessary for their functions, helping keep things even safer.\n### Active Threat Hunting and Employee Education\nBy actively probing for signs of APT activity, organizations can expose and address vulnerabilities that might otherwise remain hidden. Furthermore, consistent security awareness training equips employees to identify and counteract social engineering tactics. Educating staff about the latest phishing schemes and other manipulative techniques strengthens the human element of security, decreasing the likelihood of successful breaches.\nHowever, achieving this level of protection requires a comprehensive understanding of your unique risk profile and the implementation of tailored security solutions. That\u2019s where Balbix comes in. Request a demo today to learn more about how our platform can help you defend against APTs and strengthen your overall cybersecurity posture.\n## Frequently Asked Questions\nWhat is an example of an APT?\nAn example of an Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) is the Stuxnet worm, discovered in 2010. It targeted Iran\u2019s nuclear facilities, specifically designed to damage centrifuges used in uranium enrichment.\nStuxnet demonstrated sophisticated techniques, including exploiting multiple zero-day vulnerabilities and being capable of spreading across networks while remaining undetected for a significant period, showcasing the characteristics of an APT. This cyber attack is notable for its complexity and the fact that it targeted industrial control systems.\nWhat is the typical goal of an APT?\nThe typical goal of an Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) is to stealthily infiltrate a targeted network to monitor activity and steal sensitive information over an extended period. Unlike other cyber threats, APTs focus on maintaining long-term access to the target\u2019s environment without being detected rather than causing immediate damage or disruption. This allows attackers to regularly gather valuable data, compromising security and privacy.\nHow Do Most Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) Begin?\nMost Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) typically start with reconnaissance, where attackers carefully gather information about their target\u2019s vulnerabilities. This phase often involves social engineering tactics or the exploitation of public-facing services.\nOnce a weakness is identified, attackers exploit it to gain initial access, setting the stage for further infiltration and establishing a foothold within the network while remaining undetected for as long as possible."
  },
  {
    "Title": "Advanced persistent threat - Wikipedia",
    "URL": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat",
    "Query": "advanced persistent threats APT",
    "Content cleaned": "Yes (reduced from 88692 to 41523 chars)",
    "Content": "Set of stealthy and continuous computer hacking processes\nAn **advanced persistent threat** ( **APT**) is a stealthy threat actor, typically a state \"State (polity)\") or state-sponsored group, which gains unauthorized access to a computer network and remains undetected for an extended period.[\\[1\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-1)[\\[2\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-2) In recent times, the term may also refer to non-state-sponsored groups conducting large-scale targeted intrusions for specific goals.[\\[3\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-:0-3)\nSuch threat actors' motivations are typically political or economic.[\\[4\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-4) Every major business sector has recorded instances of cyberattacks by advanced actors with specific goals, whether to steal, spy, or disrupt. These targeted sectors include government, defense, financial services, legal services, industrial, telecoms, consumer goods and many more.[\\[5\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-:2-5)[\\[6\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-6)[\\[7\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-7) Some groups utilize traditional espionage vectors, including social engineering \"Social engineering (security)\"), human intelligence \"Human intelligence (intelligence gathering)\") and infiltration to gain access to a physical location to enable network attacks. The purpose of these attacks is to install custom malware.[\\[8\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-8)\nAPT attacks on mobile devices have also become a legitimate concern, since attackers are able to penetrate into cloud and mobile infrastructure to eavesdrop, steal, and tamper with data.[\\[9\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-9)\nThe median \"dwell-time\", the time an APT attack goes undetected, differs widely between regions. FireEye reported the mean dwell-time for 2018 in the Americas as 71 days, EMEA as 177 days, and APAC as 204 days.[\\[5\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-:2-5) Such a long dwell-time allows attackers a significant amount of time to go through the attack cycle, propagate, and achieve their objectives.\n## Definition\nDefinitions of precisely what an APT is can vary, but can be summarized by their named requirements below:\n- _Advanced_\u00a0\u2013 Operators behind the threat have a full spectrum of intelligence-gathering techniques at their disposal. These may include commercial and open source computer intrusion technologies and techniques, but may also extend to include the intelligence apparatus of a state. While individual components of the attack may not be considered particularly \"advanced\" (e.g. malware components generated from commonly available do-it-yourself malware construction kits, or the use of easily procured exploit materials), their operators can typically access and develop more advanced tools as required. They often combine multiple targeting methods, tools, and techniques in order to reach and compromise their target and maintain access to it. Operators may also demonstrate a deliberate focus on operational security that differentiates them from \"less advanced\" threats.[\\[3\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-:0-3)[\\[10\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-:1-10)[\\[11\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-11)\n- _Persistent_\u00a0\u2013 Operators have specific objectives, rather than opportunistically seeking information for financial or other gain. This distinction implies that the attackers are guided by external entities. The targeting is conducted through continuous monitoring and interaction in order to achieve the defined objectives. It does not mean a barrage of constant attacks and malware updates. In fact, a \"low-and-slow\" approach is usually more successful. If the operator loses access to their target they usually will reattempt access, and most often, successfully. One of the operator's goals is to maintain long-term access to the target, in contrast to threats who only need access to execute a specific task.[\\[10\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-:1-10)[\\[12\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-12)\n- _Threat_\u00a0\u2013 APTs are a threat because they have both capability and intent. APT attacks are executed by coordinated human actions, rather than by mindless and automated pieces of code. The operators have a specific objective and are skilled, motivated, organized and well funded. Actors are not limited to state sponsored groups.[\\[3\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-:0-3)[\\[10\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-:1-10)\n## History and targets\nWarnings against targeted, socially-engineered emails dropping trojans \"Trojan horse (computing)\") to exfiltrate sensitive information were published by UK and US CERT organisations in 2005. This method was used throughout the early 1990s and does not in itself constitute an APT. The term \"advanced persistent threat\" has been cited as originating from the United States Air Force in 2006[\\[13\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-13) with Colonel Greg Rattray cited as the individual who coined the term.[\\[14\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-14)\nThe Stuxnet computer worm, which targeted the computer hardware of Iran's nuclear program, is one example of an APT attack. In this case, the Iranian government might consider the Stuxnet creators to be an advanced persistent threat.\\ _[citation needed_\\][\\[15\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-15)\nWithin the computer security community, and increasingly within the media, the term is almost always used in reference to a long-term pattern of sophisticated computer network exploitation aimed at governments, companies, and political activists, and by extension, also to ascribe the A, P and T attributes to the groups behind these attacks.[\\[16\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-16) Advanced persistent threat (APT) as a term may be shifting focus to computer-based hacking due to the rising number of occurrences. PC World reported an 81 percent increase from 2010 to 2011 of particularly advanced targeted computer attacks.[\\[17\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-17)\nActors in many countries have used cyberspace as a means to gather intelligence on individuals and groups of individuals of interest.[\\[18\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-18)[\\[19\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-19)[\\[20\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-20) The United States Cyber Command is tasked with coordinating the US military's offensive and defensive cyber operations.[\\[21\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-21)\nNumerous sources have alleged that some APT groups are affiliated with, or are agents of, governments of sovereign states.[\\[22\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-22)[\\[23\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-23)[\\[24\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-24)\nBusinesses holding a large quantity of personally identifiable information are at high risk of being targeted by advanced persistent threats, including:[\\[25\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-Dell_SecureWorks-25)\n- Agriculture[\\[26\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-Cybersecurity:_Current_Writings_on_Threats_and_Protection_2019-26)\n- Energy\n- Financial institutions\n- Health care\n- Higher education[\\[27\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-27)\n- Manufacturing\n- Technology\n- Telecommunications\n- Transportation\nA Bell Canada study provided deep research into the anatomy of APTs and uncovered widespread presence in Canadian government and critical infrastructure. Attribution was established to Chinese and Russian actors.[\\[28\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-28)\n## Life cycle\n\n[](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Advanced_persistent_threat_lifecycle.jpg) A diagram depicting the life cycle staged approach of an advanced persistent threat (APT), which repeats itself once complete.\nActors behind advanced persistent threats create a growing and changing risk to organizations' financial assets, intellectual property, and reputation[\\[29\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-29) by following a continuous process or kill chain \"Kill chain (military)\"):\n1. Target specific organizations for a singular objective\n2. Attempt to gain a foothold in the environment (common tactics include spear phishing emails)\n3. Use the compromised systems as access into the target network\n4. Deploy additional tools that help fulfill the attack objective\n5. Cover tracks to maintain access for future initiatives\nIn 2013, Mandiant presented results of their research on alleged Chinese attacks using APT method between 2004 and 2013[\\[30\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-mandiant-30) that followed similar lifecycle:\n- **Initial compromise**\u00a0\u2013 performed by use of social engineering \"Social engineering (security)\") and spear phishing, over email, using zero-day viruses. Another popular infection method was planting malware on a website that the victim's employees will be likely to visit.[\\[31\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-31)\n- **Establish foothold**\u00a0\u2013 plant remote administration software in victim's network, create net backdoors and tunnels allowing stealth access to its infrastructure.\n- **Escalate privileges**\u00a0\u2013 use exploits \"Exploit (computer security)\") and password cracking to acquire administrator privileges over victim's computer and possibly expand it to Windows domain administrator accounts.\n- **Internal reconnaissance**\u00a0\u2013 collect information on surrounding infrastructure, trust relationships, Windows domain structure.\n- **Move laterally**\u00a0\u2013 expand control to other workstations, servers and infrastructure elements and perform data harvesting on them.\n- **Maintain presence**\u00a0\u2013 ensure continued control over access channels and credentials acquired in previous steps.\n- **Complete mission**\u00a0\u2013 exfiltrate stolen data from victim's network.\nIn incidents analysed by Mandiant, the average period over which the attackers controlled the victim's network was one year, with longest\u00a0\u2013 almost five years.[\\[30\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-mandiant-30) The infiltrations were allegedly performed by Shanghai-based Unit 61398 of People's Liberation Army. Chinese officials have denied any involvement in these attacks.[\\[32\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-32)\nPrevious reports from Secdev had previously discovered and implicated Chinese actors.[\\[33\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-TGN_1-33)\n## Mitigation strategies\n\nThere are tens of millions of malware variations,[\\[34\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-GSEC_GIAC_Security_Essentials_Certification_All_2013-34) which makes it extremely challenging to protect organizations from APT. While APT activities are stealthy and hard to detect, the command and control \"Command and control (malware)\") network traffic associated with APT can be detected at the network layer level with sophisticated methods. Deep log analyses and log correlation from various sources is of limited usefulness in detecting APT activities. It is challenging to separate noises from legitimate traffic. Traditional security technology and methods have been ineffective in detecting or mitigating APTs.[\\[35\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-35) Active cyber defense has yielded greater efficacy in detecting and prosecuting APTs (find, fix, finish) when applying cyber threat intelligence to hunt and adversary pursuit activities.[\\[36\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-36)[\\[37\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-37) Human-Introduced Cyber Vulnerabilities (HICV) are a weak cyber link that are neither well understood nor mitigated, constituting a significant attack vector.[\\[38\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-38)\n## APT groups\nSee also: Cyberwarfare and China, Chinese information operations and information warfare, and Chinese intelligence activity abroad\n- PLA Unit 61398 (also known as APT1)\n- PLA Unit 61486 (also known as APT2)\n- Buckeye\") (also known as APT3)[\\[39\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-Symantec2019-39)\n- Red Apollo (also known as APT10)\n- Numbered Panda (also known as APT12)\n- DeputyDog (also known as APT17)[\\[40\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-40)\n- Dynamite Panda or Scandium (also known as APT18, a unit of the People's Liberation Army Navy)[\\[41\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-:32-41)\n- Codoso Team\") (also known as APT19)\n- Wocao (also known as APT20)[\\[42\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-fox-it2019-42)[\\[43\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-43)\n- APT22 (aka Suckfly)[\\[44\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-44)\n- APT26 (aka Turbine Panda)[\\[45\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-45)\n- APT 27[\\[46\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-46)\n- PLA Unit 78020\") (also known as APT30 and Naikon\"))\n- Zirconium[\\[47\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-47) (also known as APT31 and Violet Typhoon)[\\[48\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-48)[\\[49\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-ms-threat-actors-24-49)[\\[50\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-50)\n- APT40\n- Double Dragon \"Double Dragon (hacking organization)\")[\\[51\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-fireeye2019-51) (also known as APT41, Winnti Group, Barium, or Axiom)[\\[52\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-52)[\\[53\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-:52-53)\n- Spamouflage (also known as Dragonbridge or Storm 1376)[\\[54\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-54)[\\[55\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-55)\n- Hafnium \"Hafnium (group)\")[\\[56\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-56)[\\[57\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-57)\n- LightBasin[\\[58\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-techtarget-lightbasin-58)[\\[59\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-bleeping-computer-lightbasin-59) (Also known as UNC1945)\n- Tropic Trooper[\\[60\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-60)\n- Volt Typhoon[\\[61\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-61)\n- Flax Typhoon[\\[62\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-:6-62)\n- Charcoal Typhoon (also known as CHROMIUM)[\\[63\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-OpenAI-63)[\\[64\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-AIThreatActors-64)\n- Salmon Typhoon (also known as SODIUM)[\\[63\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-OpenAI-63)[\\[64\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-AIThreatActors-64)\n- Salt Typhoon (also known as GhostEmperor or FamousSparrow)[\\[65\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-65)[\\[66\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-66)\n- Liminal Panda[\\[67\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-67)\n- MirrorFace[\\[68\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-68)\n### Iran\n- Charming Kitten (also known as APT35)\n- Elfin Team (also known as APT33)\n- Helix Kitten (also known as APT34)\n- Pioneer Kitten[\\[69\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-69)\n- Remix Kitten (also known as APT39, ITG07, or Chafer)[\\[70\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-70)[\\[71\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-71)\n### North Korea\n- Kimsuky\n- Lazarus Group (also known as APT38)\n- Ricochet Chollima (also known as APT37)\n### Russia\n- Berserk Bear\n- Cozy Bear (also known as APT29)\n- Fancy Bear (also known as APT28)\n- FIN7\n- Gamaredon[\\[72\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-venturebeatFeb2022-72) (also known as Primitive Bear)[\\[a\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-75)\n- Sandworm \"Sandworm (hacker group)\") (also known as APT44)\n- Venomous Bear \"Turla (malware)\")[\\[75\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-76)\n### Turkey\n- StrongPity\") (also known as APT-C-41\") or PROMETHIUM\"))[\\[76\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-PROMETHIUM-77)\n### United States\n- Equation Group[\\[77\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-KasperskyLab2015-78)\n### Uzbekistan\n- SandCat, associated with the State Security Service \"State Security Service (Uzbekistan)\") according to Kaspersky[\\[78\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-79)\n### Vietnam\n- OceanLotus (also known as APT32)[\\[79\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-80)[\\[80\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-81)\n### India\n- Appin \"Appin (company)\")[\\[81\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-82)\n- TAI also known as Team Anonymous India.\\ _[citation needed_\\]\n## Naming\nMultiple organizations may assign different names to the same actor. As separate researchers could each have their own varying assessments of an APT group, companies such as CrowdStrike, Kaspersky, Mandiant, and Microsoft, among others, have their own internal naming schemes.[\\[82\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-threat-group-naming-schemes-83) Names between different organizations may refer to overlapping but ultimately different groups, based on various data gathered.\nCrowdStrike assigns animals by nation-state or other category, such as \"Kitten\" for Iran and \"Spider\" for groups focused on cybercrime.[\\[83\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-cs-2023-gtr-84) Other companies have named groups based on this system \u2014 Rampant Kitten, for instance, was named by Check Point rather than CrowdStrike.[\\[84\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-etda-rk-85)\nDragos bases its names for APT groups on minerals.[\\[82\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-threat-group-naming-schemes-83)\nMandiant assigns numbered acronyms in three categories, APT, FIN, and UNC, resulting in APT names like FIN7. Other companies using a similar system include Proofpoint (TA) and IBM (ITG and Hive).[\\[82\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-threat-group-naming-schemes-83)\nMicrosoft used to assign names from the periodic table, often stylized in all-caps (e.g. POTASSIUM); in April 2023, Microsoft changed its naming schema to use weather-based names (e.g. Volt Typhoon).[\\[85\\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_persistent_threat#cite_note-ms-lambert-23-86)"
  },
  {
    "Title": "Hello 0-Days, My Old Friend: A 2024 Zero-Day Exploitation Analysis",
    "URL": "https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/threat-intelligence/2024-zero-day-trends",
    "Query": "zero-day vulnerabilities",
    "Content cleaned": "Yes (reduced from 39531 to 33318 chars)",
    "Content": "## Executive Summary\nGoogle Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) tracked 75 zero-day vulnerabilities exploited in the wild in 2024, a decrease from the number we identified in 2023 (98 vulnerabilities), but still an increase from 2022 (63 vulnerabilities). We divided the reviewed vulnerabilities into two main categories: end-user platforms and products (e.g., mobile devices, operating systems, and browsers) and enterprise-focused technologies, such as security software and appliances.\nVendors continue to drive improvements that make some zero-day exploitation harder, demonstrated by both dwindling numbers across multiple categories and reduced observed attacks against previously popular targets. At the same time, commercial surveillance vendors (CSVs) appear to be increasing their operational security practices, potentially leading to decreased attribution and detection.\nWe see zero-day exploitation targeting a greater number and wider variety of enterprise-specific technologies, although these technologies still remain a smaller proportion of overall exploitation when compared to end-user technologies. While the historic focus on the exploitation of popular end-user technologies and their users continues, the shift toward increased targeting of enterprise-focused products will require a wider and more diverse set of vendors to increase proactive security measures in order to reduce future zero-day exploitation attempts.\nFor a deeper look at the trends discussed in this report, along with recommendations for defenders, register for our upcoming zero-day webinar.\n## Scope\nThis report describes what Google Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) knows about zero-day exploitation in 2024. We discuss how targeted vendors and exploited products drive trends that reflect threat actor goals and shifting exploitation approaches, and then closely examine several examples of zero-day exploitation from 2024 that demonstrate how actors use both historic and novel techniques to exploit vulnerabilities in targeted products. The following content leverages original research conducted by GTIG, combined with breach investigation findings and reporting from reliable open sources, though we cannot independently confirm the reports of every source. Research in this space is dynamic and the numbers may adjust due to the ongoing discovery of past incidents through digital forensic investigations. The numbers presented here reflect our best understanding of current data.\nGTIG defines a zero-day as a vulnerability that was maliciously exploited in the wild before a patch was made publicly available. GTIG acknowledges that the trends observed and discussed in this report are based on detected and disclosed zero-days. Our analysis represents exploitation tracked by GTIG but may not reflect all zero-day exploitation.\n## Key Takeaways\n- **Zero-day exploitation continues to grow gradually.** The 75 zero-day vulnerabilities exploited in 2024 follow a pattern that has emerged over the past four years. While individual year counts have fluctuated, the average trendline indicates that the rate of zero-day exploitation continues to grow at a slow but steady pace.\n- **Enterprise-focused technology targeting continues to expand.** GTIG continued to observe an increase in adversary exploitation of enterprise-specific technologies throughout 2024. In 2023, 37% of zero-day vulnerabilities targeted enterprise products. This jumped to 44% in 2024, primarily fueled by the increased exploitation of security and networking software and appliances.\n- **Attackers are increasing their focus on security and networking products.** Zero-day vulnerabilities in security software and appliances were a high-value target in 2024. We identified 20 security and networking vulnerabilities, which was over 60% of all zero-day exploitation of enterprise technologies. Exploitation of these products, compared to end-user technologies, can more effectively and efficiently lead to extensive system and network compromises, and we anticipate adversaries will continue to increase their focus on these technologies.\n- **Vendors are changing the game.** Vendor investments in exploit mitigations are having a clear impact on where threat actors are able to find success. We are seeing notable decreases in zero-day exploitation of some historically popular targets such as browsers and mobile operating systems.\n- **Actors conducting cyber espionage still lead attributed zero-day exploitation.** Between government-backed groups and customers of commercial surveillance vendors (CSVs), actors conducting cyber espionage operations accounted for over 50% of the vulnerabilities we could attribute in 2024. People's Republic of China (PRC)-backed groups exploited five zero-days, and customers of CSVs exploited eight, continuing their collective leading role in zero-day exploitation. For the first year ever, we also attributed the exploitation of the same volume of 2024 zero-days (five) to North Korean actors mixing espionage and financially motivated operations as we did to PRC-backed groups.\n## Looking at the Numbers\nGTIG tracked 75 exploited-in-the-wild zero-day vulnerabilities that were disclosed in 2024. This number appears to be consistent with a consolidating upward trend that we have observed over the last four years. After an initial spike in 2021, yearly counts have fluctuated but not returned to the lower numbers we saw in 2021 and prior.\nWhile there are multiple factors involved in discovery of zero-day exploitation, we note that continued improvement and ubiquity of detection capabilities along with more frequent public disclosures have both resulted in larger numbers of detected zero-day exploitation compared to what was observed prior to 2021.\n# Zero-days by year\nHigher than any previous year, 44% (33 vulnerabilities) of tracked 2024 zero-days affected enterprise technologies, continuing the growth and trends we observed last year. The remaining 42 zero-day vulnerabilities targeted end-user technologies.\n## Enterprise Exploitation Expands in 2024 as Browser and Mobile Exploitation Drops\n### End-User Platforms and Products\nIn 2024, 56% (42) of the tracked zero-days targeted end-user platforms and products, which we define as devices and software that individuals use in their day-to-day life, although we acknowledge that enterprises also often use these. All of the vulnerabilities in this category were used to exploit browsers, mobile devices, and desktop operating systems.\n- Zero-day exploitation of browsers and mobile devices fell drastically, decreasing by about a third for browsers and by about half for mobile devices compared to what we observed last year (17 to 11 for browsers, and 17 to 9 for mobile).\n- Chrome was the primary focus of browser zero-day exploitation in 2024, likely reflecting the browser's popularity among billions of users.\n- Exploit chains made up of multiple zero-day vulnerabilities continue to be almost exclusively (~90%) used to target mobile devices.\n- Third-party components continue to be exploited in Android devices, a trend we discussed in last year\u2019s analysis. In 2023, five of the seven zero-days exploited in Android devices were flaws in third-party components. In 2024, three of the seven zero-days exploited in Android were found in third-party components. Third-party components are likely perceived as lucrative targets for exploit development since they can enable attackers to compromise many different makes and models of devices across the Android ecosystem.\n- 2024 saw an increase in the total number of zero-day vulnerabilities affecting desktop operating systems (OSs) (22 in 2024 vs. 17 in 2023), indicating that OSs continue to be a strikingly large target. The proportional increase was even greater, with OS vulnerabilities making up just 17% of total zero-day exploitation in 2023, compared to nearly 30% in 2024.\n- Microsoft Windows exploitation continued to increase, climbing from 13 zero-days in 2022, to 16 in 2023, to 22 in 2024. As long as Windows remains a popular choice both in homes and professional settings, we expect that it will remain a popular target for both zero-day and n-day (i.e. a vulnerability exploited after its patch has been released) exploitation by threat actors.\n# Zero-days in end-user products in 2023 and 2024\n### Enterprise Technologies\nIn 2024, GTIG identified the exploitation of 33 zero-days in enterprise software and appliances. We consider enterprise products to include those mainly utilized by businesses or in a business environment. While the absolute number is slightly lower than what we saw in 2023 (36 vulnerabilities), the proportion of enterprise-focused vulnerabilities has risen from 37% in 2023 to 44% in 2024. Twenty of the 33 enterprise-focused zero-days targeted security and network products, a slight increase from the 18 observed in this category for 2023, but a 9% bump when compared proportionally to total zero-days for the year.\nThe variety of targeted enterprise products continues to expand across security and networking products, with notable targets in 2024 including Ivanti Cloud Services Appliance, Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS, Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance, and Ivanti Connect Secure VPN. Security and network tools and devices are designed to connect widespread systems and devices with high permissions required to manage the products and their services, making them highly valuable targets for threat actors seeking efficient access into enterprise networks. Endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools are not usually equipped to work on these products, limiting available capabilities to monitor them. Additionally, exploit chains are not generally required to exploit these systems, giving extensive power to individual vulnerabilities that can single-handedly achieve remote code execution or privilege escalation.\nOver the last several years, we have also tracked a general increase of enterprise vendors targeted. In 2024, we identified 18 unique enterprise vendors targeted by zero-days. While this number is slightly less than the 22 observed in 2023, it remains higher than all prior years' counts. It is also a stark increase in the proportion of enterprise vendors for the year, given that the 18 unique enterprise vendors were out of 20 total vendors for 2024. 2024's count is still a significant proportional increase compared to the 22 unique enterprise vendors targeted out of a total of 23 in 2023.\n# Number of unique enterprise vendors targeted\nThe proportion of zero-days exploited in enterprise devices in 2024 reinforces a trend that suggests that attackers are intentionally targeting products that can provide expansive access and fewer opportunities for detection.\n### Exploitation by Vendor\nThe vendors affected by multiple 2024 zero-day vulnerabilities generally fell into two categories: big tech (Microsoft, Google, and Apple) and vendors who supply security and network-focused products. As expected, big tech took the top two spots, with Microsoft at 26 and Google at 11. Apple slid to the fourth most frequently exploited vendor this year, with detected exploitation of only five zero-days. Ivanti was third most frequently targeted with seven zero-days, reflecting increased threat actor focus on networking and security products. Ivanti's placement in the top three reflects a new and crucial change, where a security vendor was targeted more frequently than a popular end-user technology-focused vendor. We discuss in a following section how PRC-backed exploitation has focused heavily on security and network technologies, one of the contributing factors to the rise in Ivanti targeting.\nWe note that exploitation is not necessarily reflective of a vendor's security posture or software development processes, as targeted vendors and products depend on threat actor objectives and capabilities.\n### Types of Exploited Vulnerabilities\nThreat actors continued to utilize zero-day vulnerabilities primarily for the purposes of gaining remote code execution and elevating privileges. In 2024, these consequences accounted for over half (42) of total tracked zero-day exploitation.\nThree vulnerability types were most frequently exploited. Use-after-free vulnerabilities have maintained their prevalence over many years, with eight in 2024, and are found in a variety of targets including hardware, low-level software, operating systems, and browsers. Command injection (also at eight, including OS command injection) and cross-site scripting (XSS) (six) vulnerabilities were also frequently exploited in 2024. Both code injection and command injection vulnerabilities were observed almost entirely targeting networking and security software and appliances, displaying the intent to use these vulnerabilities in order to gain control over larger systems and networks. The XSS vulnerabilities were used to target a variety of products, including mail servers, enterprise software, browsers, and an OS.\nAll three of these vulnerability types stem from software development errors and require meeting higher programming standards in order to prevent them from occurring. Safe and preventative coding practices, including, but not limited to code reviews, updating legacy codebases, and utilizing up-to-date libraries, can appear to hinder production timelines. However, patches prove the potential for these security exposures to be prevented in the first place with proper intention and effort and ultimately reduce the overall effort to properly maintain a product or codebase.\n## Who Is Driving Exploitation\n# 2024 attributed zero-day exploitation\nDue to the stealthy access zero-day vulnerabilities can provide into victim systems and networks, they continue to be a highly sought after capability for threat actors. GTIG tracked a variety of threat actors exploiting zero-days in a variety of products in 2024, which is consistent with our previous observations that zero-day exploitation has diversified in both platforms targeted and actors exploiting them. We attributed the exploitation of 34 zero-day vulnerabilities in 2024, just under half of the total 75 we identified in 2024. While the proportion of exploitation that we could attribute to a threat actor dipped slightly from our analysis of zero-days in 2023, it is still significantly higher than the ~30% we attributed in 2022. While this reinforces our previous observation that platforms' investment in exploit mitigations are making zero-days harder to exploit, the security community is also slowly improving our ability to identify that activity and attribute it to threat actors.\nConsistent with trends observed in previous years, we attributed the highest volume of zero-day exploitation to traditional espionage actors, nearly 53% (18 vulnerabilities) of total attributed exploitation. Of these 18, we attributed the exploitation of 10 zero-days to likely nation-state-sponsored threat groups and eight to CSVs.\n### CSVs Continue to Increase Access to Zero-Day Exploitation\nWhile we still expect government-backed actors to continue their historic role as major players in zero-day exploitation, CSVs now contribute a significant volume of zero-day exploitation. Although the total count and proportion of zero-days attributed to CSVs declined from 2023 to 2024, likely in part due to their increased emphasis on operational security practices, the 2024 count is still substantially higher than the count from 2022 and years prior. Their role further demonstrates the expansion of the landscape and the increased access to zero-day exploitation that these vendors now provide other actors.\nIn 2024, we observed multiple exploitation chains using zero-days developed by forensic vendors that required physical access to a device (CVE-2024-53104, CVE-2024-32896, CVE-2024-29745, CVE-2024-29748). These bugs allow attackers to unlock the targeted mobile device with custom malicious USB devices. For instance, GTIG and Amnesty International's Security Lab discovered and reported on CVE-2024-53104 in exploit chains developed by forensic company Cellebrite and used against the Android phone of a Serbian student and activist by Serbian security services. GTIG worked with Android to patch these vulnerabilities in the February 2025 Android security bulletin.\n### PRC-Backed Exploitation Remains Persistent\nPRC threat groups remained the most consistent government-backed espionage developer and user of zero-days in 2024. We attributed nearly 30% (five vulnerabilities) of traditional espionage zero-day exploitation to PRC groups, including the exploitation of zero-day vulnerabilities in Ivanti appliances by UNC5221 (CVE-2023-46805 and CVE-2024-21887), which GTIG reported on extensively. During this campaign, UNC5221 chained multiple zero-day vulnerabilities together, highlighting these actors' willingness to expend resources to achieve their apparent objectives. The exploitation of five vulnerabilities that we attributed to PRC groups exclusively focused on security and networking technologies. This continues a trend that we have observed from PRC groups for several years across all their operations, not just in zero-day exploitation.\n### North Korean Actors Mix Financially Motivated and Espionage Zero-Day Exploitation\nFor the first time since we began tracking zero-day exploitation in 2012, in 2024, North Korean state actors tied for the highest total number of attributed zero-days exploited (five vulnerabilities) with PRC-backed groups. North Korean groups are notorious for their overlaps in targeting scope; tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs); and tooling that demonstrate how various intrusion sets support the operations of other activity clusters and mix traditional espionage operations with attempts to fund the regime. This focus on zero-day exploitation in 2024 marks a significant increase in these actors' focus on this capability. North Korean threat actors exploited two zero-day vulnerabilities in Chrome as well as three vulnerabilities in Windows products.\n- In October 2024, it was publicly reported that APT37 exploited a zero-day vulnerability in Microsoft products. The threat actors reportedly compromised an advertiser to serve malicious advertisements to South Korean users that would trigger zero-click execution of CVE-2024-38178 to deliver malware. Although we have not yet corroborated the group's exploitation of CVE-2024-38178 as reported, we have observed APT37 previously exploit Internet Explorer zero-days to enable malware distribution.\n- North Korean threat actors also reportedly exploited a zero-day vulnerability in the Windows AppLocker driver (CVE-2024-21338) in order to gain kernel-level access and turn off security tools. This technique abuses legitimate and trusted but vulnerable already-installed drivers to bypass kernel-level protections and provides threat actors an effective means to bypass and mitigate EDR systems.\n### Non-State Exploitation\nIn 2024, we linked almost 15% (five vulnerabilities) of attributed zero-days to non-state financially motivated groups, including a suspected FIN11 cluster's exploitation of a zero-day vulnerability in multiple Cleo managed file transfer products (CVE-2024-55956) to conduct data theft extortion. This marks the third year of the last four (2021, 2023, and 2024) in which FIN11 or an associated cluster has exploited a zero-day vulnerability in its operations, almost exclusively in file transfer products. Despite the otherwise varied cast of financially motivated threat actors exploiting zero-days, FIN11 has consistently dedicated the resources and demonstrated the expertise to identify, or acquire, and exploit these vulnerabilities from multiple different vendors.\nWe attributed an additional two zero-days in 2024 to non-state groups with mixed motivations, conducting financially motivated activity in some operations but espionage in others. Two vulnerabilities (CVE-2024-9680 and CVE-2024-49039, detailed in the next section) were exploited as zero-days by CIGAR (also tracked as UNC4895 or publicly reported as RomCom), a group that has conducted financially motivated operations alongside espionage likely on behalf of the Russian government, based partly on observed highly specific targeting focused on Ukrainian and European government and defense organizations.\n## A Zero-Day Spotlight on CVE-2024-44308, CVE-2024-44309, and CVE-2024-49039: A look into zero-days discovered by GTIG researchers\n### Spotlight \\#1: Stealing Cookies with Webkit\nOn Nov. 12, 2024, GTIG detected a potentially malicious piece of JavaScript code injected on https://online.da.mfa.gov\\[.\\]ua/wp-content/plugins/contact-form-7/includes/js/index.js?ver=5.4. The JavaScript was loaded directly from the main page of the website of the Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine, online.da.mfa.gov.ua. Upon further analysis, we discovered that the JavaScript code was a WebKit exploit chain specifically targeting MacOS users running on Intel hardware.\nThe exploit consisted of a WebKit remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability (CVE-2024-44308), leveraging a logical Just-In-Time (JIT) error, succeeded by a data isolation bypass (CVE-2024-44309). The RCE vulnerability employed simple and old JavaScriptCore exploitation techniques that are publicly documented, namely:\n- Setting up addrof/fakeobj primitives using the vulnerability\n- Leaking StructureID\n- Building a fake TypedArray to gain arbitrary read/write\n- JIT compiling a function to get a RWX memory mapping where a shellcode can be written and executed\nThe shellcode traversed a set of pointers and vtables to find and call `WebCookieJar::cookieRequestHeaderFieldValue` with an empty `firstPartyForCookies` parameter, allowing the threat actor to access cookies of any arbitrary website passed as the third parameter to `cookieRequestHeaderFieldValue`.\nThe end goal of the exploit is to collect users' cookies in order to access login.microsoftonline.com. The cookie values were directly appended in a GET request sent to https://online.da.mfa.gov.ua/gotcookie?.\nThis is not the first time we have seen threat actors stay within the browser to collect users' credentials. In March 2021, a targeted campaign used a zero-day against WebKit on iOS to turn off Same-Origin-Policy protections in order to collect authentication cookies from several popular websites. In August 2024, a watering hole on various Mongolian websites used Chrome and Safari n-day exploits to exfiltrate users\u2019 credentials.\nWhile it is unclear why this abbreviated approach was taken as opposed to deploying full-chain exploits, we identified several possibilities, including:\n- The threat actor was not able to get all the pieces to have a full chain exploit. In this case, the exploit likely targeted only the MacIntel platform because they did not have a Pointer Authentication Code (PAC) bypass to target users using Apple Silicon devices. A PAC bypass is required to make arbitrary calls for their data isolation bypass.\n- The price for a full chain exploit was too expensive, especially when the chain is meant to be used at a relatively large scale. This especially includes watering hole attacks, where the chances of being detected are high and subsequently might quickly burn the zero-day vulnerability and exploit.\n- Stealing credentials is sufficient for their operations and the information they want to collect.\nThis trend is also observed beyond the browser environment, wherein third-party mobile applications (e.g., messaging applications) are targeted, and threat actors are stealing the information only accessible within the targeted application.\n### Spotlight \\#2: CIGAR Local Privilege Escalations\n#### CIGAR's Browser Exploit Chain\nIn early October 2024, GTIG independently discovered a fully weaponized exploit chain for Firefox and Tor browsers employed by CIGAR. CIGAR is a dual financial- and espionage-motivated threat group assessed to be running both types of campaigns in parallel, often simultaneously. In 2023, we observed CIGAR utilizing an exploit chain in Microsoft Office ( CVE-2023-36884) as part of an espionage campaign targeting attendees of the Ukrainian World Congress and NATO Summit; however, in an October 2024 campaign, the usage of the Firefox exploit appears to be more in line with the group's financial motives.\nOur analysis, which broadly matched ESET's findings, indicated that the browser RCE used is a use-after-free vulnerability in the Animation timeline. The vulnerability, known as CVE-2024-9680, was an n-day at the time of discovery by GTIG.\nUpon further analysis, we identified that the embedded sandbox escape, which was also used as a local privilege escalation to NT/SYSTEM, was exploiting a newfound vulnerability. We reported this vulnerability to Mozilla and Microsoft, and it was later assigned CVE-2024-49039.\n##### Double-Down on Privilege Escalation: from Low Integrity to SYSTEM\nFirefox uses security sandboxing to introduce an additional security boundary and mitigate the effects of malicious code achieving code execution in content processes. Therefore, to achieve code execution on the host, an additional sandbox escape is required.\nThe in-the-wild CVE-2024-49039 exploit, which contained the PDB string `C:\\etalon\\PocLowIL\\@Output\\PocLowIL.pdb`, could achieve both a sandbox escape and privilege escalation. The exploit abused two distinct issues to escalate privileges from Low Integrity Level (IL) to SYSTEM: the first allowed it to access the WPTaskScheduler RPC Interface (UUID: `{33d84484-3626-47ee-8c6f-e7e98b113be1}`), normally not accessible from a sandbox Firefox content process via the \"less-secure endpoint\" `ubpmtaskhostchannel` created in ubpm.dll; the second stems from insufficient Access Control List (ACL) checks in WPTaskScheduler.dll RPC server, which allowed an unprivileged user to create and execute scheduled tasks as SYSTEM.\nAs detailed in \" How to secure a Windows RPC Server, and how not to.,\" there are three ways to secure an RPC server, and all three were utilized in WPTaskScheduler:\n**1\\. Securing the endpoint:** In `WPTaskScheduler::TsiRegisterRPCInterface,` the third argument to `RpcServerUseProtseq` is a non-NULL security descriptor (SD).\n- This SD should prevent the Firefox \"Content\" process from accessing the WPTaskScheduler RPC endpoint. However, a lesser known \"feature\" of RPC is that RPC endpoints are multiplexed, meaning that if there is a less secure endpoint in the same process, it is possible to access an interface indirectly from another endpoint (with a more permissive ACL). This is what the exploit does: instead of accessing RPC using the ALPC port that the WPTaskScheduler.dll sets up, it resolves the interface indirectly via `upbmtaskhostchannel`. ubpm.dll uses a NULL security descriptor when initializing the interface, instead relying on the `UbpmpTaskHostChannelInterfaceSecurityCb` callback for ACL checks:\n# NULL security descriptor used when creating \"ubpmtaskhostchannel\" RPC endpoint in ubpm.dll::UbpmEnableTaskHostChannelRpcInterface, exposing a less secure endpoint for WPTaskScheduler interface\n**2\\. Securing the interface:** In the same `WPTaskScheduler::TsiRegisterRPCInterface ` function, an overly permissive security descriptor was used as an argument to `RpcServerRegisterIf3`. As we can see on the listing below, the CVE-2024-49039 patch addressed this by introducing a more locked-down SD.\n# Patched WPTaskScheduler.dll introduces a more restrictive security descriptor when registering an RPC interface\n**3\\. Ad-hoc Security:** Implemented in `WPTaskScheduler.dll::CallerHasAccess` and called prior to enabling or executing any scheduled task. The function performs checks on whether the calling user is attempting to execute a task created by them or one they should be able to access but does not perform any additional checks to prevent calls originating from an unprivileged user.\nCVE-2024-49039 addresses the issue by applying a more restrictive ACL to the interface; however, the issue with the less secure endpoint described in \"1. Securing the endpoint\" remains, and a restricted token process is still able to access the endpoint.\n#### Unidentified Actor Using the Same Exploits\nIn addition to CIGAR, we discovered another, likely financially motivated, group using the exact same exploits (albeit with a different payload) while CVE-2024-49039 was still a zero-day. This actor utilized a watering hole on a legitimate, compromised cryptocurrency news website redirecting to an attacker-controlled domain hosting the same CVE-2024-9680 and CVE-2024-49039 exploit.\n## Outlook and Implications\nDefending against zero-day exploitation continues to be a race of strategy and prioritization. Not only are zero-day vulnerabilities becoming easier to procure, but attackers finding use in new types of technology may strain less experienced vendors. While organizations have historically been left to prioritize patching processes based on personal or organizational threats and attack surfaces, broader trends can inform a more specific approach alongside lessons learned from major vendors' mitigation efforts.\nWe expect zero-day vulnerabilities to maintain their allure to threat actors as opportunities for stealth, persistence, and detection evasion. While we observed trends regarding improved vendor security posture and decreasing numbers around certain historically popular products\u2014particularly mobile and browsers\u2014we anticipate that zero-day exploitation will continue to rise steadily. Given the ubiquity of operating systems and browsers in daily use, big tech vendors are consistently high-interest targets, and we expect this to continue. Phones and browsers will almost certainly remain popular targets, although enterprise software and appliances will likely see a continued rise in zero-day exploitation. Big tech companies have been victims of zero-day exploitation before and will continue to be targeted. This experience, in addition to the resources required to build more secure products and detect vulnerabilities in responsible manners, permits larger companies to approach zero-days as a more manageable problem.\nFor newly targeted vendors and those with products in the growing prevalence of targeted enterprise products, security practices and procedures should evolve to consider how successful exploitation of these products could bypass typical protection mechanisms. Preventing successful exploitation will rely heavily on these vendors' abilities to enforce proper and safe coding practices. We continue to see the same types of vulnerabilities exploited over time, indicating patterns in what weaknesses attackers seek out and find most beneficial to exploit. Continued existence and exploitation of similar issues makes zero-days easier; threat actors know what to look for and where exploitable weaknesses are most pervasive.\nVendors should account for this shift in threat activity and address gaps in configurations and architectural decisions that could permit exploitation of a single product to cause irreparable damage. This is especially true for highly valuable tools with administrator access and/or widespread reach across systems and networks. Best practices continue to represent a minimum threshold of what security standards an architecture should demonstrate, including zero-trust fundamentals such as least-privilege access and network segmentation. Continuous monitoring should occur where possible in order to restrict and end unauthorized access as swiftly as possible, and vendors will need to account for EDR capabilities for technologies that currently lack them (e.g., many security and networking products). GTIG recommends acute threat surface awareness and respective due diligence in order to defend against today's zero-day threat landscape. Zero-day exploitation will ultimately be dictated by vendors' decisions and ability to counter threat actors' objectives and pursuits."
  },
  {
    "Title": "What is a Zero Day Attack? - Rapid7",
    "URL": "https://www.rapid7.com/fundamentals/zero-day-attack/",
    "Query": "zero-day vulnerabilities",
    "Content cleaned": "Yes (reduced from 10567 to 9127 chars)",
    "Content": "All Fundamentals\n# Zero Day Attack\nDefending and remediating when there's already no time left.\nExplore Platform\n## What is a Zero Day Attack?\nA zero-day attack is one that is discovered while it is already in progress, meaning a security team has \u201czero days\u201d to prepare or remediate the vector through which the attacker gained entry.\nIndeed, according to the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST), a zero-day attack \u201cexploits a previously unknown hardware, firmware, or software vulnerability.\u201d\n### Zero Day Vulnerability\nA zero-day vulnerability one that was previously unknown to the security organization and for which there is currently no existing patch or remedy. This means it must be developed quickly from the ground up before a threat actor finds it and exploits it. If the vulnerability has not yet been exploited, a\u00a0security operations center (SOC) should consider itself extremely lucky.\nBut if there are signs the vulnerability has been exploited, then it's time to spring into action to try and limit the impact of the attack-in-progress.\n### Zero Day Exploits\nA zero-day exploit is simply the threat actor moving into attack mode, exploiting the discovered vulnerability before any related security personnel have been made aware. From there, an attacker would hope they have a maximum amount of time to move around freely on the target network so they can steal as much data as possible.\nOrganizational reputation can be severely damaged if word of a zero-day exploit becomes public.\n## How Do Zero Day Attacks Work?\nZero-day attacks work by a threat actor implementing a phased attack approach to the target network. A threat actor, of course, begins by looking for vulnerabilities. After encountering one \u2013 and deciding it\u2019s worth their time to attempt exploitation \u2013 the attacker will then deploy code to exploit the vulnerability.\nFrom there, the attacker can pinpoint the vulnerable systems and begin infiltration of the network at that identified entry point. If they\u2019ve gone undetected to this point, the attack can be fully deployed onto the target network so the threat actor can seek out valuable data, hold it for ransom, and/or sell it to the highest bidder.\nA zero-day attack could be perpetrated by a threat actor group, working as a team to steal highly sensitive information from their victims. Or, it could be one highly sophisticated perpetrator, compromising dozens or hundreds of organizations simultaneously by leveraging custom tooling to exploit vulnerabilities.\nAccording to Rapid7\u2019s _2024 Attack Intelligence Report_, vulnerabilities exploited in targeted zero-day attacks often have higher-profile backstories. This is also bound to occur naturally, as it\u2019s never a good thing for any company\u2019s reputation to find out their network has an active attack in progress \u2013 and it might have been happening for quite some time before it was discovered.\nMany cybersecurity researchers now track the time between when vulnerabilities become known to the public and when they are reliably reported as exploited. This window of time is known as \u201ctime to known exploitation,\u201d and it has narrowed considerably in the past few years largely as a result of zero-day attacks.\n## Examples of Zero Day Attacks\nZero-day attack are perhaps the most sensationalized\u00a0cybersecurity stories in the world because defenders have literally no time to prepare for these malicious actions.\nThis means they can cause the ultimate frenzy and adrenaline spikes in an environment that was most likely, and very recently, going about business as usual. Let\u2019s take a look at a few prominent examples of zero-day attacks from the recent past.\n- **Linkedin**: The career-focused social-networking platform was leveraged to send messages containing malicious links to users of the site. The ultimate goal was to gain access to a user\u2019s iPhone to then exploit the version of iOS installed at the time of the attack.\n- **Alibaba**: For nearly eight months, an attacker went undetected in an Alibaba retail environment. They stole customer data in an effort that affected more than one billion users.\n- **SugarCRM**: A remote-code execution was deployed via a vulnerability in the company's platform, allowing threat actors to gain access to instances of customer AWS accounts.\n- **Ivanti Connect Secure**: The popular VPN provider experienced a zero-day attack as a result of the exploitation of two vulnerabilities that were chained together to gain initial access, deploy webshells, backdoor legitimate files, capture credentials and configuration data, and pivot further into a victim's environment.\n- **Sony Pictures**: Let's take a trip to Hollywood: Sony Pictures experienced a zero-day attack that led to the leak/theft of intellectual property, embarrassing company emails, executive salaries, and more.\nTo put a cap on the sheer effectiveness, proliferation, and popularity of zero-day attacks with threat actors, 53% of new widespread threat vulnerabilities through the beginning of 2024 were exploited before software producers could implement fixes.\n## How to Identify Zero Day Attacks\nIdentifying zero-day attacks requires a fundamental shift or addition to a SOC\u2019s practices. Specifically, this means shifting to or incorporating proactive measures that enable security practitioners and analysts to go beyond the network perimeter.\nIn this way, they can actively hunt threats against known telemetry that has been identified in the wider security world as suspicious. With technology like enhanced endpoint telemetry, teams can quickly review logs and gain critical visibility into all endpoint activities. Let\u2019s take a look at some other techniques for identifying zero-day attacks.\n### Vulnerability Management\nManaging vulnerabilities \u2013 or simply becoming aware of them \u2013 is perhaps the single most important thing SOCs can do when it comes to identifying potential zero-day attacks.\nThe overall goal, of course, would be to identify a critical vulnerability before it can be exploited. But if that\u2019s not possible in every instance, then teams can leverage a competent vulnerability management (VM) tool to shrink the amount of time between exploitation and discovery.\n### Network Traffic Analysis\nThis helps monitor network activity so that there is an ever-evolving, real-time record of what\u2019s happening on a network. With network traffic analysis (NTA), a SOC not only gains improved visibility into devices across the network, but also has the ability to respond to investigations faster with rich detail and additional network context.\n### Indicators of Compromise\nObserving and reporting on verified indicators of compromise (IOCs) can help the cybersecurity community as a whole to review these known IOCs so that they can identify them earlier along their own attack surfaces. IOCs are essentially data discovered in forensic analysis that can alert analysts to past/ongoing attacks or breaches.\n## Zero Day Attack Prevention\nPivoting over to the prevention of zero-day attacks, there are several technologies and/or methodologies to aid practioners in what really amounts to seeing in the dark. The goal is to make visible what can be incredibly difficult to see and detect \u2013 so a team can act and take down fast.\n### Digital Forensics and Incident Response\nThe process of collecting forensic evidence of a past attack can help a SOC to understand if there was a historical attack that could still be ongoing. Digital forensics and incident response (DFIR) systems both collect this forensic data, also known as artifacts, and proactively hunt for potential IOCs.\n### External Attack Surface Management\nFor a security organization to monitor the business\u2019 internet-facing assets, leveraging\u00a0external attack surface management (EASM) can be very effective. An EASM platform can monitor for exposed credentials, public-cloud misconfigurations, and other vulnerabilities specific to assets that have a greater inherent exposure risk.\n### Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems\nA system of this type is sort of a catch-all for the most sudden or imminent threats, of which zero-day attacks are most certainly a type. Essentially, intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDPS) work by passively motoring traffic and subsequently blocking suspicious or malicious behavior almost immediately after it\u2019s flagged.\n### Threat Hunting\nWith this ultimate proactive security posture technique, teams can attempt to defend their network before any real damage can come to its perimeter. Maintaining real-time visibility into threat feeds, threat hunters can become extremely familiar with circulating threats and ready their network in case it comes their way."
  }
]