Cyberattacks

Anatomy of a Cyberattack #

Classifying cyber actors #

  • What can they do? (skill)
  • Who are they? (attribution)
  • Why? (goals)
    • Money
    • Political motivations
    • Anarchy

Leads to the question of: How can we deter them?

Types of state cyber actors #

  • Superpowers: Five Eyes (US, UK, AU, CA, NZ); CH (Mandiant APT 1, APT 17); RU (Mandiant APT 28, APT 29); IL; FR, DE, NL (?)
    • Large, well-funded professional organizations
    • Full-spectrum operations including HUMINT
    • Advanced, self-driving malware with 0-days
    • Careful operational security (ability to not get caught)
  • Rapid Risers: IR, KP, VE, SK
    • Rapidly improving via investment and foreign help
    • Often using cyber to level playing field
    • Might have 0-day, often new malware
    • Learn quickly from the superpowers
  • The Peleton (IN, PK, SA, BR, TR)
    • Cyber capabilities seen as part of national power
    • Skilled, but perhaps smaller, teams
    • Often dependent on private groups, superpowres
    • Poised to break out with right investment
  • Ambitious buyers (MX, ET, AE)
    • Purchasing both software and often operations
    • Limited in-house development
    • Likely to use cyber power domestically

Nation-state control #

  • Most control: US, UK
    • Offensive operations under direct control with legal guidelines
    • Non-authorized hacking prosecuted
  • More control: IN, SK
    • Pro-government operations carriedout by independent group with tight controls
  • Mixture: CH, TR, IL
    • Mixture of first and third-party operations
    • Independent groups allowed to operate but tightly controlled
  • Less control: RU, VE
    • Mixture of first and third-party operations
    • Independent groups encouraged to go rogue, internal politics can be dangerous
  • Lawless: NG, RO
    • Hackers operate for pure profit motive, government cannot/will not intervene

Cyber Kill Chain #

  1. Reconnaissance: Planning phase of operation; research on targets
  2. Weaponization: Preparation and staging phase of operation; automated generation of malware; weaponizer couples malware and exploit into a deliverable payload
  3. Delivery: Adversaries convey malware to the target
  4. Exploitation: Adversaries must exploit vulnerability to gain access (0-days)
  5. Installation: Adversaries install persistent backdoor in victim environment to maintain extended access
  6. Command and Control (C2): Malware opens a command channel to enable adversary to remotely manipulate the victim
  7. With hands-on keyboard access, intruders accomplish the mission’s goal

Social engineering is much simpler: can accomplish goals (information theft) with only first 4 steps; phishing payload is easy to create.