December 6, 2023

How Darktrace Triumphed Over MyKings Botnet

Darktrace has provided full visibility over the MyKings botnet kill chain from the beginning of its infections to the eventual cryptocurrency mining activity.

Written by

Oluwatosin Aturaka

Analyst Team Lead, Cambridge

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.

Written by

Oluwatosin Aturaka

Analyst Team Lead, Cambridge

Dec 2023

Botnets: A persistent cyber threat

Since their appearance in the wild over three decades ago, botnets have consistently been the attack vector of choice for many threat actors. The most prevalent of these attack vectors are distributed denial of service (DDoS) and phishing campaigns. Their persistent nature means that even if a compromised device in identified, attackers can continue to operate by using the additional compromised devices they will likely have on the target network. Similarly, command and control (C2) infrastructure can easily be restructured between infected systems, making it increasingly difficult to remove the infection.

MyKings Botnet

One of the most prevalent and sophisticated examples in recent years is the MyKings botnet, also known as Smominru or DarkCloud. Darktrace has observed numerous cases of MyKings botnet compromises across multiple customer environments in several different industries as far back as August 2022. The diverse tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) and sophisticated kill chains employed by MyKings botnet may prove a challenge to traditional rule and signature-based detections.

However, Darktrace’s anomaly-centric approach enabled it to successfully detect a wide-range of indicators of compromise (IoCs) related to the MyKings botnet and bring immediate awareness to customer security teams, as it demonstrated on the network of multiple customers between March and August 2023.

Background on MyKings Botnet

MyKings has been active and spreading steadily since 2016 resulting in over 520,000 infections worldwide.^[1] Although verified attribution of the botnet remains elusive, the variety of targets and prevalence of crypto-mining software on affected devices suggests the threat group behind the malware is financially motivated. The operators behind MyKings appear to be highly opportunistic, with attacks lacking an obvious specific target industry. Across Darktrace’s customer base, the organizations affected were representative of multiple industries such as entertainment, mining, education, information technology, health, and transportation.

Given its longevity, the MyKings botnet has unsurprisingly evolved since its first appearance years ago. Initial analyses of the botnet showed that the primary crypto-related activity on infected devices was the installation of Monero-mining software. However, in 2019 researchers discovered a new module within the MyKings malware that enabled clipboard-jacking, whereby the malware replaces a user's copied cryptowallet address with the operator's own wallet address in order to siphon funds.^[2]

Similar to other botnets such as the Outlaw crypto-miner, the MyKings botnet can also kill running processes of unrelated malware on the compromised hosts that may have resulted from prior infection.^[3] MyKings has also developed a comprehensive set of persistence techniques, including: the deployment of bootkits, initiating the botnet immediately after a system reboot, configuring Registry run keys, and generating multiple Scheduled Tasks and WMI listeners.^[4] MyKings have also been observed rotating tools and payloads over time to propagate the botnet. For example, some operators have been observed utilizing PCShare, an open-source remote access trojan (RAT) customized to conduct C2 services, execute commands, and download mining software^[5].

Darktrace Coverage

Across observed customer networks between March and August 2023, Darktrace identified the MyKings botnet primarily targeting Windows-based servers that supports services like MySQL, MS-SQL, Telnet, SSH, IPC, WMI, and Remote Desktop (RDP). In the initial phase of the attack, the botnet would initiate a variety of attacks against a target including brute-forcing and exploitation of unpatched vulnerabilities on exposed servers. The botnet delivers a variety of payloads to the compromised systems including worm downloaders, trojans, executable files and scripts.

This pattern of activity was detected across the network of one particular Darktrace customer in the education sector in early March 2023. Unfortunately, this customer did not have Darktrace RESPOND™ deployed on their network at the time of the attack, meaning the MyKings botnet was able to move through the cyber kill chain ultimately achieving its goal, which in this case was mining cryptocurrency.

Initial Access

On March 6, Darktrace observed an internet-facing SQL server receiving an unusually large number of incoming MySQL connections from the rare external endpoint 171.91.76[.]31 via port 1433. While it is not possible to confirm whether these suspicious connections represented the exact starting point of the infection, such a sudden influx of SQL connection from a rare external endpoint could be indicative of a malicious attempt to exploit vulnerabilities in the server's SQL database or perform password brute-forcing to gain unauthorized access. Given that MyKings typically spreads primarily through such targeting of internet-exposed devices, the pattern of activity is consistent with potential initial access by MyKings.^[6]

Initial Command and Control

The device then proceeded to initiate a series of repeated HTTP connections between March 6 and March 10^, to the domain www[.]back0314[.]ru (107.148.239[.]111). These connections included HTTP GET requests featuring URIs such as ‘/back.txt', suggesting potential beaconing and C2 communication. The device continued this connectivity to the external host over the course of four days, primarily utilizing destination ports 80, and 6666. While port 80 is commonly utilized for HTTP connections, port 6666 is a non-standard port for the protocol. Such connectivity over non-standard ports can indicate potential detection evasion and obfuscation tactics by the threat actors. During this time, the device also initiated repeated connections to additional malicious external endpoints with seemingly algorithmically generated hostnames such as pc.pc0416[.]xyz.

Darktrace UI image — Figure 1: Model breach showing details of the malicious domain generation algorithm (DGA) connections.

Tool Transfer

While this beaconing activity was taking place, the affected device also began to receive potential payloads from unusual external endpoints. On April 29, the device made an HTTP GET request for “/power.txt” to the endpoint 192.236.160[.]237, which was later discovered to have multiple open-source intelligence (OSINT) links to malware. Power.txt is a shellcode written in PowerShell which is downloaded and executed with the purpose of disabling Windows Defenders related functions.^[7] After the initial script was downloaded (and likely executed), Darktrace went on to detect the device making a series of additional GET requests for several varying compressed and executable files. For example, the device made HTTP requests for '/pld/cmd.txt' to the external endpoint 104.233.224[.]173. In response the external server provided numerous files, including ‘u.exe’, and ‘upsup4.exe’ for download, both of which share file names with previously identified MyKings payloads.

MyKings deploys a diverse array of payloads to expand the botnet and secure a firm position within a compromised system. This multi-faceted approach may render conventional security measures less effective due to the intricacies of and variety of payloads involved in compromises. Darktrace, however, does not rely on static or outdated lists of IoCs in order to detect malicious activity. Instead, DETECT’s Self-Learning AI allows it to identify emerging compromise activity by recognizing the subtle deviations in an affected device’s behavior that could indicate it has fallen into the hands of malicious actors.

Figure 2: External site summary of the endpoint 103.145.106[.]242 showing the rarity of connectivity to the external host.

Achieving Objectives – Crypto-Mining

Several weeks after the initial payloads were delivered and beaconing commenced, Darktrace finally detected the initiation of crypto-mining operations. On May 27, the originally compromised server connected to the rare domain other.xmrpool[.]ru over port 1081. As seen in the domain name, this endpoint appears to be affiliated with pool mining activity and the domain has various OSINT affiliations with the cryptocurrency Monero coin. During this connection, the host was observed passing Monero credentials, activity which parallels similar mining operations observed on other customer networks that had been compromised by the MyKings botnet.

Although mining activity may not pose an immediate or urgent concern for security unauthorized cryptomining on devices can result in detrimental consequences, such as compromised hardware integrity, elevated energy costs, and reduced productivity, and even potential involvement in money laundering.

Figure 3: Event breach log showing details of the connection to the other.xmrpool[.]ru endpoint associated with cryptocurrency mining activity.

Conclusion

Detecting future iterations of the MyKings botnet will likely demand a shift away from an overreliance on traditional rules and signatures and lists of “known bads”, instead requiring organizations to employ AI-driven technology that can identify suspicious activity that represents a deviation from previously established patterns of life.

Despite the diverse range of payloads, malicious endpoints, and intricate activities that constitute a typical MyKing botnet compromise, Darktrace was able successfully detect multiple critical phases within the MyKings kill chain. Given the evolving nature of the MyKings botnet, it is highly probable the botnet will continue to expand and adapt, leveraging new tactics and technologies. By adopting Darktrace’s product of suites, including Darktrace DETECT, organizations are well-positioned to identify these evolving threats as soon as they emerge and, when coupled with the autonomous response technology of Darktrace RESPOND, threats like the MyKings botnet can be stopped in their tracks before they can achieve their ultimate goals.

Credit to: Oluwatosin Aturaka, Analyst Team Lead, Cambridge, Adam Potter, Cyber Analyst

Appendix

IoC Table

IoC - Type - Description + Confidence

162.216.150[.]108- IP - C2 Infrastructure

103.145.106[.]242 - IP - C2 Infrastructure

137.175.56[.]104 - IP - C2 Infrastructure

138.197.152[.]201 - IP - C2 Infrastructure

139.59.74[.]135 - IP - C2 Infrastructure

pc.pc0416[.]xyz - Domain - C2 Infrastructure (DGA)

other.xmrpool[.]ru - Domain - Cryptomining Endpoint

xmrpool[.]ru - Domain - Cryptomining Endpoint

103.145.106[.]55 - IP - Cryptomining Endpoint

ntuser[.]rar - Zipped File - Payload

/xmr1025[.]rar - Zipped File - Payload

/20201117[.]rar - Zipped File - Payload

wmi[.]txt - File - Payload

u[.]exe - Executable File - Payload

back[.]txt - File - Payload

upsupx2[.]exe - Executable File - Payload

cmd[.]txt - File - Payload

power[.]txt - File - Payload

ups[.]html - File - Payload

xmr1025.rar - Zipped File - Payload

171.91.76[.]31- IP - Possible Initial Compromise Endpoint

www[.]back0314[.]ru - Domain - Probable C2 Infrastructure

107.148.239[.]111 - IP - Probable C2 Infrastructure

194.67.71[.]99 - IP- Probable C2 Infrastructure

Darktrace DETECT Model Breaches

Device / Initial Breach Chain Compromise
Anomalous File / Masqueraded File Transfer (x37)
Compromise / Large DNS Volume for Suspicious Domain
Compromise / Fast Beaconing to DGA
Device / Large Number of Model Breaches
Anomalous File / Multiple EXE from Rare External Locations (x30)
Compromise / Beacon for 4 Days (x2)
Anomalous Server Activity / New User Agent from Internet Facing System
Anomalous Connection / New User Agent to IP Without Hostname
Anomalous Server Activity / New Internet Facing System
Anomalous File / EXE from Rare External Location (x37)
Device / Large Number of Connections to New Endpoints
Anomalous Server Activity / Server Activity on New Non-Standard Port (x3)
Device / Threat Indicator (x3)
Unusual Activity / Unusual External Activity
Compromise / Crypto Currency Mining Activity (x37)
Compliance / Internet Facing SQL Server
Device / Anomalous Scripts Download Followed By Additional Packages
Device / New User Agent

MITRE ATT&CK Mapping

ATT&CK Technique - Technique ID

Reconnaissance – T1595.002 Vulnerability Scanning

Resource Development – T1608 Stage Capabilities

Resource Development – T1588.001 Malware

Initial Access – T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application

Command and Control – T15568.002 Domain Generated Algorithms

Command and Control – T1571 Non-Standard Port

Execution – T1047 Windows Management Instrumentation

Execution – T1059.001 Command and Scripting Interpreter

Persistence – T1542.003 Pre-OS Boot

Impact – T1496 Resource Hijacking

References

^[1] https://www.binarydefense.com/resources/threat-watch/mykings-botnet-is-growing-and-remains-under-the-radar/

^[2] https://therecord.media/a-malware-botnet-has-made-more-than-24-7-million-since-2019

^[3] https://www.darktrace.com/blog/outlaw-returns-uncovering-returning-features-and-new-tactics

^[4] https://www.sophos.com/en-us/medialibrary/pdfs/technical-papers/sophoslabs-uncut-mykings-report.pdf

^[5] https://www.antiy.com/response/20190822.html

^[6] https://ethicaldebuggers.com/mykings-botnet/

^[7] https://ethicaldebuggers.com/mykings-botnet/

Written by

Oluwatosin Aturaka

Analyst Team Lead, Cambridge

Inside the SOC

Written by

Oluwatosin Aturaka

Analyst Team Lead, Cambridge

•

April 7, 2026

Nathaniel Bill

Malware Research Engineer

Director of Product Management | Darktrace

Watch the NIS2 Webinar

Blog

Cloud

April 9, 2026

Bringing Together SOC and IR teams with Automated Threat Investigations for the Hybrid World

The investigation gap: Why incident response is slow, fragmented and reactive

Modern investigations often fall apart the moment analysts move beyond an initial alert. Whether detections originate in cloud or on-prem environments, SOC and Incident Response (IR) teams are frequently hindered by fragmented tools and data sources, closed ecosystems, and slow, manual evidence collection just to access the forensic context they need. SOC analysts receive alerts without the depth required to confidently confirm or dismiss a threat, while IR teams struggle with inconsistent visibility across cloud, on‑premises, and contained endpoints, creating delays, blind spots, and incomplete attack timelines.

This gap between SOC and Digital Forensics and Incident Response (DFIR) slows response and forces teams into reactive and inefficient investigation patterns. Security teams struggle to collect high‑fidelity forensic data during active incidents, particularly from cloud workloads, on‑prem systems, and XDR‑contained endpoints where traditional tools cannot operate without deploying new agents or disrupting containment. The result is a fragmented response process where investigations slow down, context gets lost, and critical attacker activity can slip through the cracks.

What’s new at Darktrace

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Helping teams move from detection to root cause faster, more efficiently, and with greater confidence

The latest update to Darktrace / Forensic Acquisition & Investigation eliminates the traditional handoff between the SOC and IR teams, enabling analysts to seamlessly pivot from alert into forensic investigation. It also brings on-demand and automated data capture through Darktrace / ENDPOINT as well as third-party detection platforms, where investigators can safely collect critical forensic data from network contained endpoints, preserving containment while accelerating investigation and response.

Together, this solidifies / Forensic Acquisition & Investigation as an investigation-first platform beyond the cloud, fit for any organization that has adopted a multi-technology infrastructure. In practice, when these various detection sources and host‑level forensics are combined, investigations move from limited insight to complete understanding quickly, giving security teams the clarity and deep context required to drive confident remediation and response based on the exact tactics, techniques and procedures employed.

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Integrated forensic context inside every incident workflow

SOC analysts now have seamless access to forensic evidence at the exact moment they need it. There is a new dedicated Forensics tab inside Cyber AI Analyst™ incidents, allowing users to move instantly from detection to rich forensic context in a single click, without the need to export data or get other teams involved.

For investigations that previously required multiple tools, credentials, or intervention by a dedicated team, this change represents a shift toward truly embedded incident‑driven forensics – accelerating both decision‑making and response quality at the point of detection.

Figure 1: The forensic investigation associated with the Cyber AI Analyst™ incident appears in a dedicated ‘Forensics’ tab, with the ability to pivot into the / Forensic Acquisition & Investigation UI for full context and deep analysis workflows.

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Reliable automated and manual hybrid evidence capture across any environment

Across cloud, on‑premises, and hybrid environments, analysts can now automate or request on‑demand forensic evidence collection the moment a threat is detected via Darktrace / ENDPOINT. This allows investigators to quickly capture high-fidelity forensic data from endpoints already under protection, accelerating investigations without additional tooling or disrupting systems. Especially in larger environments where the ability to scale is critical, automated data capture across hybrid environments significantly reduces response time and enables consistent, repeatable investigations.

Unlike EDR‑only solutions, which capture only a narrow slice of activity, these workflows provide high‑quality, cross‑environment forensic depth, even on third‑party XDR‑contained devices that many vendor ecosystems cannot reach.

The result is a single, unified process for capturing the forensic context analysts need no matter where the threat originates, even in third-party vendor protected areas.

Figure 2: The ability to acquire, process, and investigate devices with the Darktrace / ENDPOINT agent installed using the ‘Darktrace Endpoint’ import provider

Figure 3: A Linux device that has the Darktrace / ENDPOINT agent installed has been acquired and processed by / Forensic Acquisition & Investigation

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Investigation‑first design flexible for hybrid organizations

Luckily, taking advantage of automated forensic data capture of non-cloud assets won’t be subject to those who purely use Darktrace / ENDPOINT. This functionality is also available where CrowdStrike, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, or SentinelOne agents are deployed. In the case of CrowdStrike, Darktrace / Forensic Acquisition & Investigation can also perform a triage capture of a device that has been contained using CrowdStrike’s network containment capability. What’s critical here is the fact that investigators can safely acquire additional forensic evidence without breaking or altering containment. That massively improves investigation and response time without adding more risk factors.

Figure 4: ‘cado.xdr.test2’ has been contained using CrowdStrike’s network containment capability

Figure 5: Successful triage capture of contained endpoint ‘cado.xdr.test2’ using / Forensic Acquisition & Investigation

The benefits of extending forensics to on‑premises and endpoint environments

Despite Darktrace / Forensic Acquisition & Investigation originating as a cloud‑first solution, the challenges of incident response are not limited to the cloud. Many investigations span on‑premises servers, unmanaged endpoints, legacy systems, or devices locked inside third‑party ecosystems.

By extending automated investigation capabilities into on‑premises environments and endpoints, Darktrace delivers several critical benefits:

Unified investigations across hybrid infrastructure and a heterogeneous security stack
Consistent forensic depth regardless of asset type
Faster and more accurate root-cause analysis
Stronger incident response readiness

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Figure 6: Unified alerts from cloud and on-prem environments, grouped into incident-centric investigations with forensic depth

Simplifying deep investigations across hybrid environments

These enhancements move Darktrace / Forensic Acquisition & Investigation closer to a vision out of reach for most security teams: seamless, integrated, high‑fidelity forensics across cloud, on‑prem, and endpoint environments where other solutions usually stop at detection. Automated forensics as a whole is fueling faster outcomes with complete clarity throughout the end-to-end investigation process, which now takes teams from alert to understanding in minutes compared to days or even weeks. All without added agents, disruptions, or specialized teams. The result is an incident response lifecycle that finally matches the reality of modern infrastructure.

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Ready to see Darktrace / Forensic Acquisition & Investigation in your environment? Request a demo.

Hear from industry-leading experts on the latest developments in AI cybersecurity at Darktrace LIVE. Coming to a city near you.

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About the author

Paul Bottomley

Director of Product Management | Darktrace

Blog

AI

April 9, 2026

How to Secure AI and Find the Gaps in Your Security Operations

secuing AI testing gaps security operations

What “securing AI” actually means (and doesn’t)

Security teams are under growing pressure to “secure AI” at the same pace which businesses are adopting it. But in many organizations, adoption is outpacing the ability to govern, monitor, and control it. When that gap widens, decision-making shifts from deliberate design to immediate coverage. The priority becomes getting something in place, whether that’s a point solution, a governance layer, or an extension of an existing platform, rather than ensuring those choices work together.

At the same time, AI governance is lagging adoption. 37% of organizations still lack AI adoption policies, shadow AI usage across SaaS has surged, and there are notable spikes in anomalous data uploads to generative AI services.

First and foremost, it’s important to recognize the dual nature of AI risk. Much of the industry has focused on how attackers will use AI to move faster, scale campaigns, and evade detection. But what’s becoming just as significant is the risk introduced by AI inside the organization itself. Enterprises are rapidly embedding AI into workflows, SaaS platforms, and decision-making processes, creating new pathways for data exposure, privilege misuse, and unintended access across an already interconnected environment.

Because the introduction of complex AI systems into modern, hybrid environments is reshaping attacker behavior and exposing gaps between security functions, the challenge is no longer just having the right capabilities in place but effectively coordinating prevention, detection, investigation, response, and remediation together. As threats accelerate and systems become more interconnected, security depends on coordinated execution, not isolated tools, which is why lifecycle-based approaches to governance, visibility, behavioral oversight, and real-time control are gaining traction.

From cloud consolidation to AI systems what we can learn

We have seen a version of AI adoption before in cloud security. In the early days, tooling fragmented into posture, workload/runtime, identity, data, and more. Gradually, cloud security collapsed into broader cloud platforms. The lesson was clear: posture without runtime misses active threats; runtime without posture ignores root causes. Strong programs ran both in parallel and stitched the findings together in operations.

Today’s AI wave stretches that lesson across every domain. Adversaries are compressing “time‑to‑tooling” using LLM‑assisted development (“vibecoding”) and recycling public PoCs at unprecedented speed. That makes it difficult to secure through siloed controls, because the risk is not confined to one layer. It emerges through interactions across layers.

Keep in mind, most modern attacks don’t succeed by defeating a single control. They succeed by moving through the gaps between systems faster than teams can connect what they are seeing. Recent exploitation waves like React2Shell show how quickly opportunistic actors operationalize fresh disclosures and chain misconfigurations to monetize at scale.

In the React2Shell window, defenders observed rapid, opportunistic exploitation and iterative payload diversity across a broad infrastructure footprint, strains that outpace signature‑first thinking.

You can stay up to date on attacker behavior by signing up for our newsletter where Darktrace’s threat research team and analyst community regularly dive deep into threat finds.

Ultimately, speed met scale in the cloud era; AI adds interconnectedness and orchestration. Simple questions — What happened? Who did it? Why? How? Where else? — now cut across identities, SaaS agents, model/service endpoints, data egress, and automated actions. The longer it takes to answer, the worse the blast radius becomes.
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The case for a platform approach in the age of AI

Think of security fusion as the connective tissue that lets you prevent, detect, investigate, and remediate in parallel, not in sequence. In practice, that looks like:

Unified telemetry with behavioral context across identities, SaaS, cloud, network, endpoints, and email—so an anomalous action in one plane automatically informs expectations in others. (Inside‑the‑SOC investigations show this pays off when attacks hop fast between domains.)

Pre‑CVE and “in‑the‑wild” awareness feeding controls before signatures—reducing dwell time in fast exploitation windows.

Automated, bounded response that can contain likely‑malicious actions at machine speed without breaking workflows—buying analysts time to investigate with full context. (Rapid CVE coverage and exploit‑wave posts illustrate how critical those first minutes are.)

Investigation workflows that assume AI is in the loop—for both defenders and attackers. As adversaries adopt “agentic” patterns, investigations need graph‑aware, sequence‑aware reasoning to prioritize what matters early.

This isn’t theoretical. It’s reflected in the Darktrace posts that consistently draw readership: timely threat intel with proprietary visibility and executive frameworks that transform field findings into operating guidance.

The five questions that matter (and the one that matters more)

When alerted to malicious or risky AI use, you’ll ask:

What happened?

Who did it?

Why did they do it?

How did they do it?

Where else can this happen?

The sixth, more important question is: How much worse does it get while you answer the first five? The answer depends on whether your controls operate in sequence (slow) or in fused parallel (fast).

What to watch next: How the AI security market will likely evolve

Security markets tend to follow a familiar pattern. New technologies drive an initial wave of specialized tools (posture, governance, observability) each focused on a specific part of the problem. Over time, those capabilities consolidate as organizations realize the new challenge is coordination.

AI is accelerating the shift of focus to coordination because AI-powered attackers can move faster and operate across more systems at once. Recent exploitation waves show exactly this. Adversaries can operationalize new techniques and move across domains, turning small gaps into full attack paths.

Anticipate a continued move toward more integrated security models because fragmented approaches can’t keep up with the speed and interconnected nature of modern attacks.

Building the Groundwork for Secure AI: How to Test Your Stack’s True Maturity

AI doesn’t create new surfaces as much as it exposes the fragility of the seams that already exist.

Darktrace’s own public investigations consistently show that modern attacks, from LinkedIn‑originated phishing that pivots into corporate SaaS to multi‑stage exploitation waves like BeyondTrust CVE‑2026‑1731 and React2Shell, succeed not because a single control failed, but because no control saw the whole sequence, or no system was able to respond at the speed of escalation.

Before thinking about “AI security,” customers should ensure they’ve built a security foundation where visibility, signals, and responses can pass cleanly between domains. That requires pressure‑testing the seams.

Below are the key integration questions and stack‑maturity tests every organization should run.
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1. Do your controls see the same event the same way?

Integration questions

When an identity behaves strangely (impossible travel, atypical OAuth grants), does that signal automatically inform your email, SaaS, cloud, and endpoint tools?
Do your tools normalize events in a way that lets you correlate identity → app → data → network without human stitching?

Why it matters

Darktrace’s public SOC investigations repeatedly show attackers starting in an unmonitored domain, then pivoting into monitored ones, such as phishing on LinkedIn that bypassed email controls but later appeared as anomalous SaaS behavior.

If tools can’t share or interpret each other's context, AI‑era attacks will outrun every control.

Tests you can run

Shadow Identity Test

Create a temporary identity with no history.
Perform a small but unusual action: unusual browser, untrusted IP, odd OAuth request.
Expected maturity signal: other tools (email/SaaS/network) should immediately score the identity as high‑risk.

Context Propagation Test

Trigger an alert in one system (e.g., endpoint anomaly) and check if other systems automatically adjust thresholds or sensitivity.
Low maturity signal: nothing changes unless an analyst manually intervenes.

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2. Does detection trigger coordinated action, or does everything act alone?

Integration questions

When one system blocks or contains something, do other systems automatically tighten, isolate, or rate‑limit?
Does your stack support bounded autonomy — automated micro‑containment without broad business disruption?

Why it matters

In public cases like BeyondTrust CVE‑2026‑1731 exploitation, Darktrace observed rapid C2 beaconing, unusual downloads, and tunneling attempts across multiple systems. Containment windows were measured in minutes, not hours.

Tests you can run

Chain Reaction Test

Simulate a primitive threat (e.g., access from TOR exit node).
Your identity provider should challenge → email should tighten → SaaS tokens should re‑authenticate.
Weak seam indicator: only one tool reacts.

Autonomous Boundary Test

Induce a low‑grade anomaly (credential spray simulation).
Evaluate whether automated containment rules activate without breaking legitimate workflows.

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3. Can your team investigate a cross‑domain incident without swivel‑chairing?

Integration questions

Can analysts pivot from identity → SaaS → cloud → endpoint in one narrative, not five consoles?
Does your investigation tooling use graphs or sequence-based reasoning, or is it list‑based?

Why it matters

Darktrace’s Cyber AI Analyst and DIGEST research highlights why investigations must interpret structure and progression, not just standalone alerts. Attackers now move between systems faster than human triage cycles.

Tests you can run

One‑Hour Timeline Build Test

Pick any detection.
Give an analyst one hour to produce a full sequence: entry → privilege → movement → egress.
Weak seam indicator: they spend >50% of the hour stitching exports.

Multi‑Hop Replay Test

Simulate an incident that crosses domains (phish → SaaS token → data access).
Evaluate whether the investigative platform auto‑reconstructs the chain.

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4. Do you detect intent or only outcomes?

Integration questions

Can your stack detect the setup behaviors before an attack becomes irreversible?
Are you catching pre‑CVE anomalies or post‑compromise symptoms?

Why it matters

Darktrace publicly documents multiple examples of pre‑CVE detection, where anomalous behavior was flagged days before vulnerability disclosure. AI‑assisted attackers will hide behind benign‑looking flows until the very last moment.

Tests you can run

Intent‑Before‑Impact Test

Simulate reconnaissance-like behavior (DNS anomalies, odd browsing to unknown SaaS, atypical file listing).
Mature systems will flag intent even without an exploit.

CVE‑Window Test

During a real CVE patch cycle, measure detection lag vs. public PoC release.
Weak seam indicator: your detection rises only after mass exploitation begins.

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5. Are response and remediation two separate universes?

Integration questions

When you contain something, does that trigger root-cause remediation workflows in identity, cloud config, or SaaS posture?
Does fixing a misconfiguration automatically update correlated controls?

Why it matters

Darktrace’s cloud investigations (e.g., cloud compromise analysis) emphasize that remediation must close both runtime and posture gaps in parallel.

Tests you can run

Closed‑Loop Remediation Test

Introduce a small misconfiguration (over‑permissioned identity).
Trigger an anomaly.
Mature stacks will: detect → contain → recommend or automate posture repair.

Drift‑Regression Test

After remediation, intentionally re‑introduce drift.
The system should immediately recognize deviation from known‑good baseline.

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6. Do SaaS, cloud, email, and identity all agree on “normal”?

Integration questions

Is “normal behavior” defined in one place or many?
Do baselines update globally or per-tool?

Why it matters

Attackers (including AI‑assisted ones) increasingly exploit misaligned baselines, behaving “normal” to one system and anomalous to another.

Tests you can run

Baseline Drift Test

Change the behavior of a service account for 24 hours.
Mature platforms will flag the deviation early and propagate updated expectations.

Cross‑Domain Baseline Consistency Test

Compare identity’s risk score vs. cloud vs. SaaS.
Weak seam indicator: risk scores don’t align.

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Final takeaway

Security teams should ask be focused on how their stack operates as one system before AI amplifies pressure on every seam.

Only once an organization can reliably detect, correlate, and respond across domains can it safely begin to secure AI models, agents, and workflows.

About the author

Nabil Zoldjalali

VP, Field CISO

Your data. Our AI.

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Check out this article by Darktrace: How Darktrace Triumphed Over MyKings Botnet

How Darktrace Triumphed Over MyKings Botnet

Botnets: A persistent cyber threat

MyKings Botnet

Background on MyKings Botnet

Darktrace Coverage

Initial Access

Initial Command and Control

Tool Transfer

Achieving Objectives – Crypto-Mining

Conclusion

Appendix

IoC Table

Darktrace DETECT Model Breaches

MITRE ATT&CK Mapping

References

Darktrace Identifies New Chaos Malware Variant Exploiting Misconfigurations in the Cloud

Bringing Together SOC and IR teams with Automated Threat Investigations for the Hybrid World

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Reliable automated and manual hybrid evidence capture across any environment

Investigation‑first design flexible for hybrid organizations

The benefits of extending forensics to on‑premises and endpoint environments

Simplifying deep investigations across hybrid environments

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AI

April 9, 2026

How to Secure AI and Find the Gaps in Your Security Operations

What “securing AI” actually means (and doesn’t)

From cloud consolidation to AI systems what we can learn

The case for a platform approach in the age of AI

What to watch next: How the AI security market will likely evolve

Building the Groundwork for Secure AI: How to Test Your Stack’s True Maturity

1. Do your controls see the same event the same way?

2. Does detection trigger coordinated action, or does everything act alone?

3. Can your team investigate a cross‑domain incident without swivel‑chairing?

4. Do you detect intent or only outcomes?

5. Are response and remediation two separate universes?

6. Do SaaS, cloud, email, and identity all agree on “normal”?

Final takeaway