N-Day Vulnerabilities: Minimizing Risk With Self-Learning AI
27
Jul 2022
See how Darktrace PREVENT, a self-learning AI program, can help your security team measure risk & address N-Day vulnerabilities before an attack occurs.
Responding to the latest critical vulnerability has become a regular routine in the daily life of cyber security professionals.
In the last two years, there has been a carousel of patches for vulnerabilities affecting email servers (ProxyLogon), remote working infrastructure (Atlassian Confluence), third party tools (Kaseya), and supply chain software (Log4j).
In the days following the public disclosure of such vulnerabilities, any associated exploit is referred to as an “N-day”. The release of a patch marks day 1, but over the following days any unpatched systems are at risk of attack from exploits which target the vulnerability. This contrasts with zero-day attacks, which exploit vulnerabilities for which no patch is available, often because knowledge of the vulnerability isn’t yet in the public domain.
N-days occupy a unique space in cyber risk analysis. Headline-grabbing zero-day attacks have the potential to be high impact, but in reality such attacks are rare and have a low likelihood. A more common cyber-attack, using commodity malware which has been well documented in the wild, may have a high likelihood but will have a low impact when faced with a mature security stack. But in the hours and days following the publication of a new vulnerability, there is a high likelihood of a high impact attack against an organization which makes use of a new exploit.
After a critical vulnerability is published, security teams battle against time and resourcing constraints to apply the appropriate patch or patches, all the while trying to protect assets without a playbook of what an attack may look like. Darktrace has found that 85% of high-risk vulnerabilities are not patched within one week and 70% remain unpatched after a month. In the meantime, threat groups have become armed with a new attack method: an N-day exploit.
In their latest research, Darktrace’s Inside the SOC team detail how the techniques used by Self-Learning AI to detect zero-day attacks can also be leveraged by organizations to Detect and Respond to N-day attacks.
But with Darktrace PREVENT, defenders can go one step further, enabling security teams to harden defenses before the next attack vector is even published.
The Darktrace PREVENT product family empowers defenders to model likely attack paths, intelligently prioritize critical servers or highly exposed people in the organization, and test vulnerable pathways by emulating real-world attacks. Darktrace PREVENT then feeds data back into Darktrace DETECT + RESPOND to harden defenses around critical attack paths or assets and further enhance cyber resilience. For example, if Darktrace PREVENT discovers that a critical database is serving high-risk users, it can feed that information back into Darktrace DETECT, which in turn increases the level of scrutiny around that asset.
While Darktrace DETECT + RESPOND wrap what amounts to an ‘AI safety blanket’ around vulnerable assets and attack paths, Darktrace PREVENT presents prioritized recommendations for long term risk mitigation. Stretched security teams therefore know, based on Darktrace’s deep and evolving understanding of the entire business, where to focus their time and resources in order to reduce risk to the greatest extent.
As a result, when the next N-day vulnerability comes around, defenders have the confidence that any prospective impact has already been minimized and the potential cyber risk is low.
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Inside the SOC
Darktrace cyber analysts are world-class experts in threat intelligence, threat hunting and incident response, and provide 24/7 SOC support to thousands of Darktrace customers around the globe. Inside the SOC is exclusively authored by these experts, providing analysis of cyber incidents and threat trends, based on real-world experience in the field.
Author
Oakley Cox
Director of Product
Oakley is a Product Manager within the Darktrace R&D team. He collaborates with global customers, including all critical infrastructure sectors and Government agencies, to ensure Darktrace/OT remains the first in class solution for OT Cyber Security. He draws on 7 years’ experience as a Cyber Security Consultant to organizations across EMEA, APAC and ANZ. His research into cyber-physical security has been published by Cyber Security journals and by CISA. Oakley has a Doctorate (PhD) from the University of Oxford.
From Call to Compromise: Darktrace’s Response to a Vishing-Induced Network Attack
What is vishing?
Vishing, or voice phishing, is a type of cyber-attack that utilizes telephone devices to deceive targets. Threat actors typically use social engineering tactics to convince targets that they can be trusted, for example, by masquerading as a family member, their bank, or trusted a government entity. One method frequently used by vishing actors is to intimidate their targets, convincing them that they may face monetary fines or jail time if they do not provide sensitive information.
What makes vishing attacks dangerous to organizations?
Vishing attacks utilize social engineering tactics that exploit human psychology and emotion. Threat actors often impersonate trusted entities and can make it appear as though a call is coming from a reputable or known source. These actors often target organizations, specifically their employees, and pressure them to obtain sensitive corporate data, such as privileged credentials, by creating a sense of urgency, intimidation or fear. Corporate credentials can then be used to gain unauthorized access to an organization’s network, often bypassing traditional security measures and human security teams.
Darktrace’s coverage of vishing attack
On August 12, 2024, Darktrace / NETWORK identified malicious activity on the network of a customer in the hospitality sector. The customer later confirmed that a threat actor had gained unauthorized access through a vishing attack. The attacker successfully spoofed the IT support phone number and called a remote employee, eventually leading to the compromise.
Establishing a Foothold
During the call, the remote employee was requested to authenticate via multi-factor authentication (MFA). Believing the caller to be a member of their internal IT support, using the legitimate caller ID, the remote user followed the instructions and confirmed the MFA prompt, providing access to the customer’s network.
This authentication allowed the threat actor to login into the customer’s environment by proxying through their Virtual Private Network (VPN) and gain a foothold in the network. As remote users are assigned the same static IP address when connecting to the corporate environment, the malicious actor appeared on the network using the correct username and IP address. While this stealthy activity might have evaded traditional security tools and human security teams, Darktrace’s anomaly-based threat detection identified an unusual login from a different hostname by analyzing NTLM requests from the static IP address, which it determined to be anomalous.
Observed Activity
On 2024-08-12 the static IP was observed using a credential belonging to the remote user to initiate an SMB session with an internal domain controller, where the authentication method NTLM was used
A different hostname from the usual hostname associated with this remote user was identified in the NTLM authentication request sent from a device with the static IP address to the domain controller
This device does not appear to have been seen on the network prior to this event.
Darktrace, therefore, recognized that this login was likely made by a malicious actor.
Internal Reconnaissance
Darktrace subsequently observed the malicious actor performing a series of reconnaissance activities, including LDAP reconnaissance, device hostname reconnaissance, and port scanning:
The affected device made a 53-second-long LDAP connection to another internal domain controller. During this connection, the device obtained data about internal Active Directory (AD) accounts, including the AD account of the remote user
The device made HTTP GET requests (e.g., HTTP GET requests with the Target URI ‘/nice ports,/Trinity.txt.bak’), indicative of Nmap usage
The device started making reverse DNS lookups for internal IP addresses.
Lateral Movement
The threat actor was also seen making numerous failed NTLM authentication requests using a generic default Windows credential, indicating an attempt to brute force and laterally move through the network. During this activity, Darktrace identified that the device was using a different hostname than the one typically used by the remote employee.
Cyber AI Analyst
In addition to the detection by Darktrace / NETWORK, Darktrace’s Cyber AI Analyst launched an autonomous investigation into the ongoing activity. The investigation was able to correlate the seemingly separate events together into a broader incident, continuously adding new suspicious linked activities as they occurred.
Upon completing the investigation, Cyber AI Analyst provided the customer with a comprehensive summary of the various attack phases detected by Darktrace and the associated incidents. This clear presentation enabled the customer to gain full visibility into the compromise and understand the activities that constituted the attack.
Darktrace Autonomous Response
Despite the sophisticated techniques and social engineering tactics used by the attacker to bypass the customer’s human security team and existing security stack, Darktrace’s AI-driven approach prevented the malicious actor from continuing their activities and causing more harm.
Darktrace’s Autonomous Response technology is able to enforce a pattern of life based on what is ‘normal’ and learned for the environment. If activity is detected that represents a deviation from expected activity from, a model alert is triggered. When Darktrace’s Autonomous Response functionality is configured in autonomous response mode, as was the case with the customer, it swiftly applies response actions to devices and users without the need for a system administrator or security analyst to perform any actions.
In this instance, Darktrace applied a number of mitigative actions on the remote user, containing most of the activity as soon as it was detected:
Block all outgoing traffic
Enforce pattern of life
Block all connections to port 445 (SMB)
Block all connections to port 9401
Conclusion
This vishing attack underscores the significant risks remote employees face and the critical need for companies to address vishing threats to prevent network compromises. The remote employee in this instance was deceived by a malicious actor who spoofed the phone number of internal IT Support and convinced the employee to perform approve an MFA request. This sophisticated social engineering tactic allowed the attacker to proxy through the customer’s VPN, making the malicious activity appear legitimate due to the use of static IP addresses.
Despite the stealthy attempts to perform malicious activities on the network, Darktrace’s focus on anomaly detection enabled it to swiftly identify and analyze the suspicious behavior. This led to the prompt determination of the activity as malicious and the subsequent blocking of the malicious actor to prevent further escalation.
While the exact motivation of the threat actor in this case remains unclear, the 2023 cyber-attack on MGM Resorts serves as a stark illustration of the potential consequences of such threats. MGM Resorts experienced significant disruptions and data breaches following a similar vishing attack, resulting in financial and reputational damage [1]. If the attack on the customer had not been detected, they too could have faced sensitive data loss and major business disruptions. This incident underscores the critical importance of robust security measures and vigilant monitoring to protect against sophisticated cyber threats.
Credit to Rajendra Rushanth (Cyber Security Analyst) and Ryan Traill (Threat Content Lead)
Appendices
Darktrace Model Detections
Device / Unusual LDAP Bind and Search Activity
Device / Attack and Recon Tools
Device / Network Range Scan
Device / Suspicious SMB Scanning Activity
Device / RDP Scan
Device / UDP Enumeration
Device / Large Number of Model Breaches
Device / Network Scan
Device / Multiple Lateral Movement Model Breaches (Enhanced Monitoring)
Device / Reverse DNS Sweep
Device / SMB Session Brute Force (Non-Admin)
List of Indicators of Compromise (IoCs)
IoC - Type – Description
/nice ports,/Trinity.txt.bak - URI – Unusual Nmap Usage
Introducing real-time multi-cloud detection & response powered by AI
We are delighted to announce the general availability of Microsoft Azure support for Darktrace / CLOUD, enabling real-time cloud detection and response across dynamic multi-cloud environments. Built on Self-Learning AI, Darktrace / CLOUD leverages Microsoft’s new virtual network flow logs (VNet flow) to offer an agentless-first approach that dramatically simplifies detection and response within Azure, unifying cloud-native security with Darktrace’s innovative ActiveAI Security Platform.
As organizations increasingly adopt multi-cloud architectures, the need for advanced, real-time threat detection and response is critical to keep pace with evolving cloud threats. Security teams face significant challenges, including increased complexity, limited visibility, and siloed tools. The dynamic nature of multi-cloud environments introduces ever-changing blind spots, while traditional security tools struggle to provide real-time insights, often offering static snapshots of risk. Additionally, cloud security teams frequently operate in isolation from SOC teams, leading to fragmented visibility and delayed responses. This lack of coordination, especially in hybrid environments, hinders effective threat detection and response. Compounding these challenges, current security solutions are split between agent-based and agentless approaches, with agentless solutions often lacking real-time awareness and agent-based options adding complexity and scalability concerns. Darktrace / CLOUD helps to solve these challenges with real-time detection and response designed specifically for dynamic cloud environments like Azure and AWS.
Darktrace has been at the forefront of real-time detection and response for over a decade, continually pushing the boundaries of AI-driven cybersecurity. Our Self-Learning AI uniquely positions Darktrace with the ability to automatically understand and instantly adapt to changing cloud environments. This is critical in today’s landscape, where cloud infrastructures are highly dynamic and ever-changing.
Built on years of market-leading network visibility, Darktrace / CLOUD understands ‘normal’ for your unique business across clouds and networks to instantly reveal known, unknown, and novel cloud threats with confidence. Darktrace Self-Learning AI continuously monitors activity across cloud assets, containers, and users, and correlates it with detailed identity and network context to rapidly detect malicious activity. Platform-native identity and network monitoring capabilities allow Darktrace / CLOUD to deeply understand normal patterns of life for every user and device, enabling instant, precise and proportionate response to abnormal behavior - without business disruption.
Leveraging platform-native Autonomous Response, AI-driven behavioral containment neutralizes malicious activity with surgical accuracy while preventing disruption to cloud infrastructure or services. As malicious behavior escalates, Darktrace correlates thousands of data points to identify and instantly respond to unusual activity by blocking specific connections and enforcing normal behavior.
Unparalleled agentless visibility into Azure
As a long-term trusted partner of Microsoft, Darktrace leverages Azure VNet flow logs to provide agentless, high-fidelity visibility into cloud environments, ensuring comprehensive monitoring without disrupting workflows. By integrating seamlessly with Azure, Darktrace / CLOUD continues to push the envelope of innovation in cloud security. Our Self-learning AI not only improves the detection of traditional and novel threats, but also enhances real-time response capabilities and demonstrates our commitment to delivering cutting-edge, AI-powered multi-cloud security solutions.
Integration with Microsoft Virtual network flow logs for enhanced visibility Darktrace / CLOUD integrates seamlessly with Azure to provide agentless, high-fidelity visibility into cloud environments. VNet flow logs capture critical network traffic data, allowing Darktrace to monitor Azure workloads in real time without disrupting existing workflows. This integration significantly reduces deployment time by 95%1 and cloud security operational costs by up to 80%2 compared to traditional agent-based solutions. Organizations benefit from enhanced visibility across dynamic cloud infrastructures, scaling security measures effortlessly while minimizing blind spots, particularly in ephemeral resources or serverless functions.
High-fidelity agentless deployment Agentless deployment allows security teams to monitor and secure cloud environments without installing software agents on individual workloads. By using cloud-native APIs like AWS VPC flow logs or Azure VNet flow logs, security teams can quickly deploy and scale security measures across dynamic, multi-cloud environments without the complexity and performance overhead of agents. This approach delivers real-time insights, improving incident detection and response while reducing disruptions. For organizations, agentless visibility simplifies cloud security management, lowers operational costs, and minimizes blind spots, especially in ephemeral resources or serverless functions.
Real-time visibility into cloud assets and architectures With real-time Cloud Asset Enumeration and Dynamic Architecture Modeling, Darktrace / CLOUD generates up-to-date architecture diagrams, giving SecOps and DevOps teams a unified view of cloud infrastructures. This shared context enhances collaboration and accelerates threat detection and response, especially in complex environments like Kubernetes. Additionally, Cyber AI Analyst automates the investigation process, correlating data across networks, identities, and cloud assets to save security teams valuable time, ensuring continuous protection and efficient cloud migrations.
Unified multi-cloud security at scale
As organizations increasingly adopt multi-cloud strategies, the complexity of managing security across different cloud providers introduces gaps in visibility. Darktrace / CLOUD simplifies this by offering agentless, real-time monitoring across multi-cloud environments. Building on our innovative approach to securing AWS environments, our customers can now take full advantage of robust real-time detection and response capabilities for Azure. Darktrace is one of the first vendors to leverage Microsoft’s virtual network flow logs to provide agentless deployment in Azure, enabling unparalleled visibility without the need for installing agents. In addition, Darktrace / CLOUD offers automated Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) that continuously assesses cloud configurations against industry standards. Security teams can identify and prioritize misconfigurations, vulnerabilities, and policy violations in real-time. These capabilities give security teams a complete, live understanding of their cloud environments and help them focus their limited time and resources where they are needed most.
This approach offers seamless integration into existing workflows, reducing configuration efforts and enabling fast, flexible deployment across cloud environments. By extending its capabilities across multiple clouds, Darktrace / CLOUD ensures that no blind spots are left uncovered, providing holistic, multi-cloud security that scales effortlessly with your cloud infrastructure. diagrams, visualizes cloud assets, and prioritizes risks across cloud environments.
The future of cloud security: Real-time defense in an unpredictable world
Darktrace / CLOUD’s support for Microsoft Azure, powered by Self-Learning AI and agentless deployment, sets a new standard in multi-cloud security. With real-time detection and autonomous response, organizations can confidently secure their Azure environments, leveraging innovation to stay ahead of the constantly evolving threat landscape. By combining Azure VNet flow logs with Darktrace’s AI-driven platform, we can provide customers with a unified, intelligent solution that transforms how security is managed across the cloud.