202406260957 - types of ransomware attacks

Empire, Metasploit, and Cobalt Strike are powerful post-exploitation frameworks that are commonly used by both legitimate security professionals and malicious actors in cyberattacks, including ransomware campaigns. Here's an overview of their relationship to malware and ransomware:

CyberSecurity

Cobalt Strike is a commercial 202503211620 - Penetration Testing tool that has become increasingly popular among cybercriminals and 202503211621 - Ransomware groups[2][4]. It provides a range of capabilities for post-exploitation activities, including:

  • Beacon payload for remote access and control[2]
  • Malleable C2 module for customizing payloads to evade detection[2]
  • Web Drive-By module for conducting drive-by attacks[2]

Numerous malicious campaigns and ransomware groups have utilized Cobalt Strike:

  • APT29 used it to attack the U.S. energy sector in 2018[2]
  • Lazarus group employed it against financial institutions in 2019[2]
  • Trickbot operators used it to deploy the Anchor backdoor and RYUK ransomware[2]
  • LockBit ransomware leveraged it to evade security controls[2]
:

  1. Empire:
    Empire is an open-source post-exploitation framework based on PowerShell[2]. It was commonly used by threat actors until mid-2019 when many began transitioning to Cobalt Strike[3]. Empire allows attackers to create and execute various types of payloads, such as backdoors and keyloggers[2].

  2. Metasploit:
    While not explicitly mentioned in the search results, Metasploit is another popular open-source penetration testing framework often abused by malicious actors. It provides a wide range of exploits and post-exploitation modules.

The transition from tools like Empire and Metasploit to Cobalt Strike has been observed in various threat groups. For example, FIN12, a ransomware-focused group, switched from using Empire almost exclusively to incorporating Cobalt Strike (BEACON) in mid-2019[3].

These tools are attractive to cybercriminals and ransomware operators because they offer:

  1. Advanced capabilities for network infiltration and lateral movement
  2. Evasion techniques to bypass security controls
  3. Flexibility in payload creation and deployment
  4. Ability to blend in with legitimate penetration testing activities

Security teams should implement robust detection mechanisms for these tools, especially Cobalt Strike, given its prevalence in modern attacks. 20220708 - Google's Cloud Threat Intelligence team has released hundreds of unique signatures and YARA rules to help detect various versions of Cobalt Strike[5].

It's important to note that while these tools can be used maliciously, they also serve legitimate purposes in the hands of ethical security professionals for testing and improving network defenses.

Sources
[1] Cobalt Strike Alternative? : r/redteamsec - Reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/redteamsec/comments/zyicr7/cobalt_strike_alternative/
[2] What is Cobalt Strike? - A Comprehensive Guide 101 - SentinelOne https://www.sentinelone.com/cybersecurity-101/what-is-cobalt-strike/
[3] [PDF] FIN12 GROUP PROFILE - Mandiant https://www.mandiant.com/sites/default/files/2021-10/fin12-group-profile.pdf
[4] Cobalt Strike (Malware Family) - Malpedia https://malpedia.caad.fkie.fraunhofer.de/details/win.cobalt_strike
[5] Here is why you should have Cobalt Strike detection in place https://www.csoonline.com/article/574143/here-is-why-you-should-have-cobalt-strike-detection-in-place.html