Weaponization, the second phase of the cyber kill chain, involves creating malicious payloads designed to exploit identified vulnerabilities. Upon successful delivery and execution, these weaponized payloads deploy malware, leading to system compromise.
Types of Weaponization
Attackers can carry out the weaponization stage of the cyber kill chain in various ways, depending on their objectives and the vulnerabilities they aim to exploit. Some common examples include:
- Weaponized documents: Files – like PDFs, Word documents, or Excel spreadsheets – that attackers have modified to contain malicious code.
- Weaponized phishing emails: Emails designed to trick users into performing actions that would compromise their security, like clicking malicious links that lead to fake websites designed to steal credentials or downloading attachments containing malware.
- Weaponized exploits: Purpose-made or modified code that can take advantage of known software vulnerabilities. These exploits can target various software and hardware, making them a versatile attack vector.
- Weaponized malware: Malware made or modified to bypass security measures. For example, code obfuscation or polymorphism can make malware more challenging to detect.
How to Prevent Weaponization
Mitigating the weaponization stage of the cyber kill chain is crucial for thwarting cybercriminals before they can launch attacks. Here are some best practices:
Implement advanced email authentication protocols
Use tools like Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC) to authenticate incoming emails.
Deploy comprehensive email security solutions
Cloud-based email security services offer real-time protection against phishing, malware, and business email compromise (BEC) attacks by intercepting threats before they reach user inboxes.
Utilize threat intelligence and AI-driven detection
AI-powered tools and threat intelligence feeds can help identify and block emerging phishing tactics.
Monitor and analyze email traffic
Monitor email traffic for unusual patterns or anomalies that could indicate weaponization.
How Fortra Can Help
Fortra offers all the solutions you need to prevent the weaponization stage of the cybersecurity kill chain and protect your organization from threats. We’re your one-stop shop for weaponization prevention. Here’s how we can help:
Domain protection
DMARC authentication and monitoring, which comes as part of Fortra’s Agari DMARC Protection solution, automates the process of DMARC authentication and enforcement to stop phishing and protect against cyber-attacks. It provides features including:
- Authentication: Offering visibility into all legitimate email sources and ensuring that only authorized emails are sent from your domain.
- Conformance: Ensures all third-party senders adhere to an organization’s email standards.
- Reporting and analytics: Utilizes AI and data science to aggregate DMARC data, offering insights into email traffic and potential threats.
Cloud email security
Fortra Cloud Email Protection combines data science, global inbox threat intelligence, and automated remediation into a single cloud-native platform that stops threats that bypass traditional defenses and prevent weaponization. Key features include:
- Advanced threat detection: Machine learning and behavioral analysis help identify anomalies and detect phishing attempts, malware, and other threats.
- Automated remediation: Automatically removes malicious emails from user inboxes.
- Comprehensive visibility: Provides insight into email traffic and threats.
Secure gateways
Fortra’s Secure Gateways monitor emails coming into and out of an organization before they reach an email inbox to protect them from malicious content, including spam, viruses, phishing, and malware.
Don’t let weaponization compromise your defenses. Fortra’s comprehensive suite of cybersecurity solutions is designed to protect your organization across the entire cyber kill chain, including weaponization.
From advanced email security that neutralizes weaponized phishing and documents to domain protection that authenticates your communications, Fortra empowers you with best-in-class threat intelligence, unrivaled security expertise, and cutting-edge technology.
Secure your organization against evolving threats. Explore Fortra’s solutions today and discover how we can help you break the attack chain.
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Start at the beginning and master the basics: What Is the Cyber Attack Chain?
