Offensive Security: Cyber Threat Intelligence Enrichment With Counterintelligence and Counterattack

Abstract

Cyber-attacks on financial institutions and corporations are on the rise, particularly during pandemics. These attacks are becoming more sophisticated. Reports of hacking activities against government and commercial sector organisations have garnered a lot of attention in the last several years. By design, the focus of Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) is exclusively defensive. This is because most of the CTI-derived analysis output is intended to prevent breaches or facilitate early detection. So, there is a need to have a new mechanism for unmasking the attacker. In this research, we demonstrate cyber threat intelligence enrichment with counterintelligence and counterattack combined with certain new methods to exploit the adversary's vulnerability and fully control the attacker's system. Attackers use a VPN to establish an anonymous connection. A VPN creates a secure "tunnelling" to the internet, with the VPN server acting as a middleman between the attacker and the web. This provides anonymity because the attacker's IP address seems to be that of the VPN rather than his own, masking the IP address. So, hackers used this application to create persistence because it is automatically launched each time a computer is restarted. As a result, we are attempting to eliminate the persistence by removing it from the startup and registry. This research will help firms detect and identify an assault in its earliest phases, allowing them to respond accordingly. This project will develop new and innovative strategies to bypass VPNs and other security measures in order to obtain correct source information. Companies will be able to identify new methods by which their systems are penetrated and rapidly harden them. Using counterattack and counterintelligence, a proposed technique can bypass a VPN and get adversarial intel. The main goal of this research is to find the attacker's footprints or tracks and find out why the attack was planned in the first place.

A Systematic Literature Review on Cyber Threat Intelligence for Organizational Cybersecurity Resilience

“…CTI focuses primarily on defense against these attacks, but there is a need for new methods to unmask attackers. Rana et al [ 38 ] created malicious files as decoys, allowing the authors to gather information from susceptible PCs using honeypots. They used various tools for data analysis, including Visual Studio Code and Python.…”

“…The evaluation method uses counterintelligence techniques such as cyber deception and decoy files to obtain adversary information. Overall, this research focuses on providing better proactive adversarial system intelligence by capturing attackers’ system information through accurate document-based tokens in a proactive defensive environment while executing threat hunting with TTPs (Tactics Techniques Procedures) [ 38 ].…”

Integrating Blockchain and Deep Learning for Enhanced Mobile VPN Forensics: A Comprehensive Framework

“…Port-based classification or flow-based analysis and Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) are frequently used in these techniques [28]. These techniques have, however, a number of drawbacks, such as the requirement for thorough payload inspection, vulnerability to evasion strategies, and reliance on wellknown port numbers [2].…”

“…These countries have enforced laws making VPN use on phones illegal, accompanied by severe fines and potential imprisonment. Such measures underscore the increasing focus on VPN usage globally, particularly when they are employed to circumvent geo-restrictions and access blocked content, raising significant issues regarding cybersecurity and national security [1][2][3].…”

Insights into Cybercrime Detection and Response: A Review of Time Factor

“…Riesco et al [8] suggested using smart contracts and blockchain technology to encourage information sharing and create dynamic risk-management systems that may instantly reduce cyber risks. Using Python and Visual Studio Code for data analysis, Rana et al [9] used malicious files as decoys to extract information from susceptible systems.…”