The “Beacon” is a post-exploitation agent that is installed to gain persistent access to the compromised machine. Once an attacker has found a way to exploit a network machine, Cobalt Strike really begins to show how powerful it is. Both Microsoft Office Documents and Microsoft Windows Programs can be transformed into malicious files that give an attacker persistent code execution on a machine. Cobalt Strike has a proprietary website cloning tool that serves as an “innocent” place for victims to download a malicious file. By hosting a web drive-by attack or transforming a file into a trojan, attackers have a multitude of attack vectors for system takeover. AttacksĬobalt Strike has a slew of options for getting a payload to execute on a target machine.
#What is cobalt strike beacon how to#
The valuable information that is collected can assist an attacker when deciding how to attack a machine.
ReconnaissanceĬobalt Strike has a built in “system profiler.” This tool starts up a web server and fingerprints any machine that visits the rogue site. So how does Cobalt Strike work? The powerful tool uses a multi-stage attack process that allows an attacker to gain quiet, persistent access on network machines. Cobalt Strike has also been used to target government entities in South Asia. During the WastedLocker ransomware attack, Cobalt Strike was used for lateral movement around the internal network.
Unfortunately, that is not the case, as we have seen a rise in Cobalt Strike being used for malicious purposes.
The Cobalt Strike website labels the tool as a “threat emulation software.” This may lead one to believe that the software package is only being used for ethical simulations. With built in tools for reconnaissance, active exploitation, and post exploitation, Cobalt Strike has become one of the go-to tool sets for white hat security companies. Cobalt Strike is a powerful toolset being used by offensive security firms across the globe.
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