Advacned Attribution

So, what is Fingerprinting in the context of Threat Intelligence?

Think of it as creating a unique signature for a threat actor.

This signature is built from patterns, behaviors, and technical artifacts that repeatedly show up in their operations.

These "fingerprints" link malicious activities to known APT groups.

It can be from actual payloads to defense evasion techniques, spanning the entire cyber kill and software supply chains.

Fingerprinting in Threat Intelligence is similar to Active & Passive Fingerprinting,

like how vulnerability scanners enumerate system information, identify keys, and recognize potential vulnerabilities.

Where this can get difficult, let’s first talk about TTP:

• TTP:

  APTs often have distinct methods for achieving their objectives, campaigns, scripts, targets, similarities in staging, etc.

• Code Reuse:

  Adversaries often recycle code across campaigns for familiarity. These are hallmark components.

• Infrastructure Patterns:

  Known malicious address space, typosquatting, webpages, CDNs.

• Metadata Attribution:

  Metadata embedding can reveal developer environment clues.

• Behavioral Characteristics:

  Payload clues, beaconing, and detonation signals can reveal similarities.

But... doesn’t that summarize a LOT of APTs?

Yes, at the surface it does. However:

• Historical Correlation:

  We already have years of vast data sets for correlation and modeling.

• Geopolitical Context:

  Nation-state sponsoring reveals motivations and targets.

• Human Intelligence (HUMINT):

  Signaling and intelligence collaboration can provide insight into APT activity for patterning.

• Artifact Collection:

  We can readily build a comprehensive profile of a system through enumeration and sniffing.

Fingerprinting adversaries for patterning and identification.