por ¿What is Cyber Kill Chain And why is it important to learn about this process in cybersecurity?
Protecting a computer system from cyberattacks requires a series of complex tasks and, in fact, is an entire area of specialization within cybersecurity. Therefore, to defend a corporate system or a highly relevant web application, it is necessary to have a group of experts dedicated to the detection and elimination of cyber threats.
Blue Team It is the term from military jargon that is used in cybersecurity to refer to the group of experts that is responsible for the defense of a system.. The tasks carried out by the blue team are so varied that there are different functions and specialties for the members of these teams. For example, some of them hunt down threats before they become security breaches, while others analyze the traces of attackers or take charge of counterattacking them.
Of course, it is possible for a member of the blue team to execute two or more of the tasks we mentioned in the previous paragraph. Nevertheless, There are protocols that define the order in which all Blue Team functions are executed.. Therefore, in this post, we will talk about the process that a defense team follows to chase, detect and block cyber threats. Next, we will explain what Cyber Kill Chain is.
What is Cyber Kill Chain?
Cyber Kill Chain is a computer defense protocol that establishes the steps to eliminate a threat. In fact, it is worth highlighting that one of the main objectives of the Blue Team is to eliminate the danger in the shortest time possible. Therefore, it is expected that the phases that we will explain below will be carried out before the cyberattack planned by the intruder is completed.
To understand what Cyber Kill Chain is, we will see what are its stages.
Information gathering
When talking about the Cyber Kill Chain, it is good to keep in mind that its stages are directly related to those of a cyber attack. That’s why, begins with a process of collecting information about possible threats, to block them before they reach the system. Likewise, it is necessary to understand what the vulnerabilities of the network or application to be protected are and apply all the corresponding security measures to mitigate potential security breaches.
Threat detection
Threat detection consists of an automatic monitoring system that allows cybersecurity researchers to see, in real time, the status of devices connected to a network or application servers. For it, tools such as Snort, Suricata or YARA rules are used, which compare the behavior of systems with databases developed by experts and personalized rules.
Alert system
By studying what Cyber Kill Chain is, we will find that It is always necessary to have a system to centralize the alerts produced with the detection of threats. That is, when the behaviors of a device or a server coincide with the rules we mentioned above, it is important that an automatic report be given to a central office. For it, There are tools, such as SIEMswhich serve to automate these processes.
Triage
The triage phase of the Cyber Kill Chain consists of determining the level of risk that threats represent to the system. It is important that the data in this phase is accurate, as it will be used to classify and prioritize events. Thus, it is necessary to take into account that there are margins of error, such as false positives or, on the contrary, malware elaborate that go unnoticed.
Planning
Planning is a phase in which the Blue Team determines security measures to eliminate the threat. Depending on whether the attack is based on the exploitation of zero-day vulnerabilities or not, responses may be automated or, on the contrary, may require planning time.
For example, It is also common for the blue team to try to counterattack malicious hackers who violate their systems to know the threat and block it at its roots. Therefore, the planning phase can take a long time.
Execution
Finally, The execution phase of what is Cyber Kill Chain consists of applying the chosen security measures, including automated responses and counterattacks against hackers.. However, to reach this stage, it is necessary to have gone through all the previous ones.
How to learn more?
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