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Irish Information Security Forum

Operation Tackles Misuse of Cobalt Strike Pentesting Tool

Release: July 2024 

 

An international coalition of law enforcement agencies recently took action against hundreds of installations of  Cobalt Strike software. This powerful penetration testing tool has been notoriously abused by both state-sponsored and criminal hackers involved in the ransomware ecosystem¹.

 

Cobalt Strike

Developed in 2012, Cobalt Strike was originally designed to simulate how hackers break into victims' networks. However, its effectiveness led to widespread deployment by malicious actors over the last decade. Pirated versions of the tool have become the "go-to" network intrusion solution for cybercriminals seeking to build cyber attacks and deploy ransomware at scale¹.

Cobalt Strike pentesting tool features screenshot

 

Unlicensed versions of Cobalt Strike are commonly used in spear-phishing emails. These emails aim to install a beacon on the target's device, allowing attackers to profile and remotely access the victim's network. Its multifunctional nature, including managing command and control infrastructure, has earned it the nickname "the Swiss army knife of cybercriminals and nation-state actors".

 

The recent operation coordinated by Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) targeted 690 IP addresses hosting illegal instances of Cobalt Strike across 27 countries. Server takedowns and "abuse notifications" to internet service providers (ISPs) were part of the action. While Cobalt Strike is legitimate software, cybercriminals have exploited it for nefarious purposes¹.

 


References

 

(1) Cobalt Strike: International law enforcement operation tackles illegal .... https://therecord.media/cobalt-strike-law-enforcement-takedown.

(2) Cobalt Strike: International law enforcement operation tackles illegal .... https://thecyberpost.com/news/cobalt-strike-international-law-enforcement-operation-tackles-illegal-uses-of-swiss-army-knife-pentesting-tool/.
(3) Cobalt Strike: International law enforcement operation tackles illegal .... https://www.unsafe.sh/go-248634.html.

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