When emerging threats are detected, network security experts are expected to launch effective countermeasures. But threats are increasingly difficult to detect. Therefore, it is getting harder to develop effective countermeasures. Enter threat actor profiling. It is a simple concept that gives security experts the upper hand in proactively disrupting threat actor operations.
In-depth threat actor profiling is one of the specialties at DarkOwl. Their profiling tools make it possible to examine an adversary’s tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) alongside:
Conducting such deep dives into known threat actors facilitates proactive and tailored countermeasures that go above and beyond simple indicators of compromise (IOC) blocking. Where IOCs typically focus on static artifacts, profiling reveals persistent behaviors that can be addressed proactively.
Significant Profiling Advantages
Threat actor profiling is not a substitute for IOCs. It is an enhancement thereof. As such, there are significant advantages to combining threat actor profiles with known IOCs. For example, profiling reveals actor handoffs, outsourcing, and campaign structures. This helps security experts by giving them the opportunity to prioritize threats based on motivation.
Financial gain might motivate one threat actor. Another might be a state-sponsored group or individual attempting to steal sensitive government information. By understanding motive, security experts can predict future moves. That makes for better threat prioritization.
Profiling also supports threat modeling by integrating TTPs with context. This translates into reactive blocking becoming proactive hunting.
Put it all together and you have an approach that bridges the gaps so often found in generic defense strategies. Threat-actor profiling enhances attribution and understanding. It keeps stakeholders in the loop. It encourages security customizations capable of protecting even high-risk areas of a network.
Higher on the Pyramid of Pain
In cybersecurity, we have a framework known as the Pyramid of Pain. This framework categorizes different types of IOCs based on the amount of disruption they cause when blocked and how difficult they are for attackers to change. The goal for security experts is to hit attackers as far up the pyramid as possible.
IOCs offer immediate containment benefits by blocking known indicators. Unfortunately, they sit rather low on the pyramid. They require constant updates because of their reliance on static artifacts. That makes them largely ineffective for handling evolving attacks. Yet this is where threat actor profiling shines.
Threat actor profiles leverage elements that are much higher on the pyramid. At the top of the list are TTPs, which just happened to be exceptionally painful for attackers to have to change. Going after TTPs makes it easier to facilitate effective behavioral detection during active incidents.
For example, being able to recognize steady reconnaissance by a state actor, as opposed to short-term sales among access brokers, provides plenty of insight into how a threat actor might escalate an attack. This enhances a security team’s ability to devise countermeasures and potential recovery strategies.
Getting Into the Mind of an Adversary
IOC blocking is both important and necessary. It offers effective and immediate defense against ongoing attacks. But in and of itself, it is inadequate to fend off increasingly sophisticated attacks from a growing number of highly advanced threat actors.
On the flip side, threat actor profiling allows security experts to get inside the minds of their adversaries. Although threat actors may modify what they do from time to time, inherent human behaviors are hard to change. So once a security expert understands how his adversary thinks, he is better able to defend against whatever that adversary throws at him. Therein lies the power of threat actor profiling.
