cyberstrikeus T0865 Spearphishing Attachment
High-Level Description
Adversaries may use a spearphishing attachment, a variant of spearphishing, as a form of a social engineering attack against specific targets. Spearphishing attachments are different from other forms of spearphishing in that they employ malware attached to an email. All forms of spearphishing are electronically delivered and target a specific individual, company, or industry. In this scenario, adversaries attach a file to the spearphishing email and usually rely upon User Execution to gain execution and access.
A Chinese spearphishing campaign running from December 9, 2011 through February 29, 2012, targeted ONG organizations and their employees. The emails were constructed with a high level of sophistication to convince employees to open the malicious file attachments.
Kill Chain Phase
- Initial Access (TA0108)
Platforms: ICS
What to Check
- Identify if Spearphishing Attachment technique is applicable to target ICS environment
- Check ICS/SCADA systems for indicators of Spearphishing Attachment
- Verify mitigations are bypassed or absent (4 known mitigations)
- Assess detection coverage (1 detection strategies)
How to Test
Identify Attack Surface
Determine if the target ICS/SCADA environment is susceptible to Spearphishing Attachment by examining operational technology systems and network architecture.
Assess Existing Defenses
Review whether mitigations for T0865 are in place. If defenses are absent or misconfigured, this technique may be exploitable in the ICS environment.
Remediation Guide
M0917 User Training
Users can be trained to identify social engineering techniques and spearphishing emails.
M0931 Network Intrusion Prevention
Network intrusion prevention systems and systems designed to scan and remove malicious email attachments can be used to block activity.
M0949 Antivirus/Antimalware
Deploy anti-virus on all systems that support external email.
M0921 Restrict Web-Based Content
Consider restricting access to email within critical process environments. Additionally, downloads and attachments may be disabled if email is still necessary.
Detection
Detection of Spearphishing Attachment
Risk Assessment
| Finding | Severity | Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Spearphishing Attachment technique applicable | Low | Initial Access |
CWE Categories
| CWE ID | Title |
|---|---|
| CWE-20 | Improper Input Validation |