What is the Cyber Kill Chain?
The Cyber Kill Chain is a model developed by Lockheed Martin to describe the main phases of a cyber attack. This framework is widely used in cybersecurity to analyze, detect, and disrupt intrusions at each stage.
Why is it important to know it?
Understanding the Cyber Kill Chain allows cybersecurity professionals to take targeted countermeasures, identifying defense vulnerabilities and blocking attacks before they reach critical targets.
The 7 Phases of the Cyber Kill Chain
1. Reconnaissance
Objective : Gather information about the victim.
Attackers collect public data such as email addresses, employee names, network configurations, and technical details. Common techniques: OSINT, social engineering, port scanning.
Countermeasures : Minimize publicly exposed information, use honeypots and behavioral detection systems.
2. Armament (Weaponization)
Objective : Payload creation.
The attacker prepares malware, exploits, or malicious documents to send to the victim, often combining exploits and backdoors.
Countermeasures : Use sandboxing, behavioral analysis, and threat intelligence to identify new weapons.
3. Distribution (Delivery)
Objective : Malware delivery to the target.
Common means: phishing emails, drive-by downloads, watering hole attacks, or compromised USB devices.
Countermeasures : Staff training, anti-phishing filters, email security.
4. Exploitation
Objective : Payload activation.
The malicious code exploits a vulnerability to execute code on the victim’s machine.
Countermeasures : Regular updates, patch management, mitigations such as ASLR and DEP.
5. Installation
Objective : Establish a persistent presence.
Malware or a backdoor is installed that allows continuous control of the system.
Countermeasures : System file monitoring, EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response), application whitelisting.
6. Command and Control (C2)
Objective : Communication with the attacker’s infrastructure.
The malware contacts a remote server to receive commands.
Countermeasures : Network traffic analysis, blocking known IPs/domains, DNS sinkhole.
7. Actions on Objectives
Objective : Achieve the final goal (data theft, sabotage, espionage).
In this phase, the attacker acts according to their intentions, such as exfiltrating data or encrypting files (ransomware).
Countermeasures : Data Loss Prevention (DLP), network segmentation, continuous monitoring.
Cyber Kill Chain and Mitre ATT&CK: Complementarity
While the Cyber Kill Chain provides a linear view of the attack, the MITRE ATT&CK framework enriches it by detailing the techniques used at each stage. Using both allows for a more comprehensive and thorough defense.
Conclusion
Incorporating the Cyber Kill Chain into your cybersecurity strategy is essential to anticipate and disrupt cyber attacks . Understanding the stages of an intrusion allows you to respond proactively, protecting systems and data.
