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While modern cybersecurity still must deal with poorly configured firewalls and potentially damaging malware, the battle goes far beyond such simple things. Modern cybersecurity is a daily battle between threat actors and defenders. Whoever wins determines the fate of reams of data that can be used for either good or bad.
Security analysts and their teams need every tool they can get their hands on. One such tool is threat actor profiling. By engaging in a systematic pattern of tracking threat actors, security teams can peel back the layers of anonymity to find out who they are truly dealing with. Analysts unmask their adversaries through six key things that threat actor profiling reveals.
1. Motivations and Intentions
DarkOwl is a leading provider of threat intelligence and threat actor profiling. They explain that the heart and soul of every profile is the actor’s primary motivation. Experts recognize five primary motivations:
- Financial gain
- General disruption
- Ideology
- Revenge
- Espionage
A threat actor motivated by financial gain is usually more predictable than one motivated by espionage. He might be deterred if the costs of hacking get too high. But a threat actor driven by ideology or state-sponsored espionage tends to be more persistent. He requires a defense-in-depth strategy that will dog him until he eventually gives up.
2. Tactics, Techniques, And Procedures (TTPs)
Profiling gives analysts the opportunity to document each threat actor’s digital methodology footprint. Analysts can identify and track:
- Attack vectors – Does a threat actor typically exploit unpatched VPNs or prefer spear-phishing employees?
- Malware preferences – Is a threat actor utilizing commodity malware or developing his own bespoke product?
- Phishing techniques – How sophisticated is a threat actor’s level of phishing? Is he utilizing other social engineering techniques?
Analysts capable of recognizing the specific TTPs in real time can categorize threats just as quickly. This offers the opportunity to switch from a general emergency response to a more targeted one.
3. Behavioral Patterns
Threat actor profiling leans heavily on the reality that hackers are creatures of habit. Tracking them often reveals distinct behavioral patterns. For example, some threat actors operate on a standard 9-to-5 schedule, similar to workers in legitimate industries. Others show clear escalation patterns as they progress through an attack. By understanding behavioral preferences, analysts can better defend against threats.
4. Capabilities and Resources
As an analyst builds a profile on a particular threat actor, he becomes more familiar with that actor’s skill level and resources. The analysis helps separate casual users of leaked tools from Telegram from elite hacking syndicates possessing substantial resources. Assessing capabilities and resources is critical to understanding threat severity.
5. History and Connections
Rather than working in isolated vacuums, threat actors are part of a larger community. Therefore, analysts find it extremely helpful to track historical activity and make connections between individuals and groups. Finding those connections paints a clearer picture of what a known actor might be up to.
6. Proactive Defensive Strategies
The ultimate goal of threat actor profiling is to move beyond reactionary responses and toward proactive defense. The information a solid profile offers reveals the types of strategies security teams can use to stop threats as they are emerging. Because they know who and what they are dealing with, analysts can come up with the most effective strategies to stop their adversaries.
Threat actor profiling and tracking is proving to be an extremely valuable tool in the fight against cybercrime. Tools like DarkOwl’s platform make both profiling and tracking easier with advanced technologies and automation. Why would a security team not want to utilize something like it?
