T1592: Gather Victim Host Information

Adversaries may gather information about the victim's hosts that can be used during targeting. Information about hosts may include a variety of details, including administrative data (ex: name, assigned IP, functionality, etc.) as well as specifics regarding its configuration (ex: operating system, language, etc.).

Adversaries may gather this information in various ways, such as direct collection actions via Active Scanning or Phishing for Information. Adversaries may also compromise sites then include malicious content designed to collect host information from visitors. Information about hosts may also be exposed to adversaries via online or other accessible data sets (ex: Social Media or Search Victim-Owned Websites). Gathering this information may reveal opportunities for other forms of reconnaissance (ex: Search Open Websites/Domains or Search Open Technical Databases), establishing operational resources (ex: Develop Capabilities or Obtain Capabilities), and/or initial access (ex: Supply Chain Compromise or External Remote Services).

Positive Technologies products that cover the technique

Detection

PT NAD can detect exploitation of the Nmap utility, ZGrab scanner, and other popular tools used for active service scanning. These tools are used to obtain information about software and OS installed on the network hosts.

Examples of PT NAD detection rules

  • SCAN [PTsecurity] Nmap HTTP Probe (sid 10001987)
  • SCAN [PTsecurity] zgrab Banner Grabber User-Agent Detected (sid 10003538)
  • [ANOMALY] [PTsecurity] TCP SYN scan (sid 13000014)

Subtechniques

Detection

IDDS0035Data source and componentInternet Scan: Response ContentDescription

Internet scanners may be used to look for patterns associated with malicious content designed to collect host information from visitors. Much of this activity may have a very high occurrence and associated false positive rate, as well as potentially taking place outside the visibility of the target organization, making detection difficult for defenders. Detection efforts may be focused on related stages of the adversary lifecycle, such as during Initial Access.

Mitigation

IDM1056NamePre-compromiseDescription

This technique cannot be easily mitigated with preventive controls since it is based on behaviors performed outside of the scope of enterprise defenses and controls. Efforts should focus on minimizing the amount and sensitivity of data available to external parties.