The present invention relates to systems and methods for penetration testing of networked systems, and for reliably determining whether given user credentials can be used to compromise a network node. In particular, the present invention is suitable for penetration testing of networked systems in which network nodes may be compromisable by using user credentials which provide the necessary access rights for compromising a network node.
There is currently a proliferation of organizational networked computing systems. Every type of organization, be it a commercial company, a university, a bank, a government agency or a hospital, heavily relies on one or more networks interconnecting multiple computing nodes. Failures of the networked computing system of an organization or even of only a portion of it might cause a significant damage, up to completely shutting down all operations. Additionally, all data of the organization exists somewhere on its networked computing system, including all confidential data comprising its “crown jewels” such as prices, details of customers, purchase orders, employees' salaries, technical formulas, etc. Loss of such data or leaks of such data to outside unauthorized entities might be disastrous for the organization.
As almost all organizational networks are connected to the Internet at least through one computing node, they are subject to attacks by computer hackers or by hostile adversaries. Quite often the newspapers are reporting incidents in which websites crashed, sensitive data was stolen or service to customers was denied, where the failures were the results of hostile penetration into an organization's networked computing system.
As a result, many organizations invest a lot of efforts and costs in preventive means designed to protect their computing networks against potential threats. There are many defensive products offered in the market claiming to provide protection against one or more known modes of attack, and many organizations arm themselves to the teeth with multiple products of this kind.
However, it is difficult to tell how effective such products really are in achieving their stated goals of blocking hostile attacks, and consequently most CISO's (Computer Information Security Officers) will admit (maybe only off the record), that they don't really know how well they can withstand an attack from a given adversary. The only way to really know how strong and secure a system is, is by trying to attack it as a real adversary would. This is known as red-teaming or penetration testing (pen testing, in short), and is a very common approach that is even required by regulation in some developed countries.
Penetration testing requires highly talented people to man the red team. Those people should be familiar with each and every publicly known vulnerability and attacking method and should also have a very good familiarity with networking techniques and multiple operating systems implementations. Such people are hard to find and therefore many organizations give up establishing their own red teams and resort to hiring external expert consultants for carrying out that role (or completely give up penetration testing). But external consultants are expensive and therefore are typically called in only for brief periods separated by long intervals in which no such testing is done. This makes the penetration testing ineffective as vulnerabilities caused by new attacks that appear almost daily are discovered only months after becoming serious threats to the organization.
Additionally, even rich organizations that can afford hiring talented experts as in-house red teams do not achieve good protection. Testing for vulnerabilities of a large network containing many types of computers, operating systems, network routers and other devices is both a very complex and a very tedious process. The process is prone to human errors of missing testing for certain threats or misinterpreting the damages of certain attacks. Also, because a process of full testing against all threats is quite long, the organization might again end with a too long discovery period after a new threat appears.
Because of the above difficulties several vendors are proposing automated penetration testing systems. Such systems automatically discover and report vulnerabilities of a networked system, potential damages that might be caused to the networked system, and potential trajectories of attack that may be employed by an attacker.
A penetration testing process involves at least the following main functions: (i) a reconnaissance function, (ii) an attack function, and (ii) a reporting function. The process may also include additional functions, for example a cleanup function that restores the tested networked system to its original state as it was before the test. In an automated penetration testing system, at least one of the above three functions is at least partially automated, and typically two or three of them are at least partially automated.
A reconnaissance function is the function within a penetration testing system that handles the collection of data about the tested networked system. The collected data may include internal data of networks nodes, data about network traffic within the tested networked system, business intelligence data of the organization owning the tested networked system, etc. The functionality of a reconnaissance function can be implemented, for example, by software executing in a server that is not one of the network nodes of the tested networked system, where the server probes the tested networked system for the purpose of collecting data about it.
An attack function is the function within a penetration testing system that handles the determination of whether security vulnerabilities exist in the tested networked system based on data collected by the reconnaissance function. The functionality of an attack function can be implemented, for example, by software executing in a server that is not one of the nodes of the tested networked system, where the server attempts to attack the tested networked system for the purpose of verifying that it can be compromised.
A reporting function is the function within a penetration testing system that handles the reporting of results of the penetration testing system. The functionality of a reporting function may be implemented, for example, by software executing in the same server that implements the functionality of the attack function, where the server reports the findings of the attack function to an administrator or a CISO of the tested networked system.
Penetration testing systems can be characterized as doing either an “actual attack penetration testing” or as doing a “simulated penetration testing”.
An actual attack penetration testing system does its penetration testing by attempting to attack the tested networked system. Such a system accesses the tested networked system during the test and is not limiting itself to simulation or evaluation. This includes verifying that the tested networked system can be compromised by actively attempting to compromise it and then checking if it was indeed compromised. This implies that a possible side-effect of executing an actual attack penetration test might be the compromising of the tested networked system.
A simulated penetration testing system does its penetration testing while avoiding disturbance to the tested networked system and specifically while avoiding any risk of compromising it. This implies that whenever there is a need to verify that the tested networked system can be compromised by an operation or a sequence of operations, the verification is done by simulating the results of that operation or sequence of operations or by otherwise evaluating them, without taking the risk of compromising the tested networked system.
An actual attack penetration testing system operates by iteratively compromising network nodes of the tested networked system. At each iteration during the testing process some of the network nodes of the tested networked system are considered to be already compromised by the potential attacker, and the penetration testing system is attempting to compromise an additional network node (not yet compromised) by utilizing the already-compromised network nodes that are operating under the control of the attacker. Once an additional network node is compromised, it is added to the group of already-compromised network nodes and a new iteration of the testing begins.
A simulated penetration testing system operates by iteratively determining the compromisability of network nodes of the tested networked system. At each iteration during the testing process some of the network nodes of the tested networked system are considered to be already known to be compromisable by the potential attacker, and the penetration testing system is attempting to determine the compromisability of an additional network node (not yet known to be compromisable) by utilizing the already-known-to-be-compromisable network nodes that are assumed to operate under the control of the attacker. Once an additional network node is determined to be compromisable, it is added to the group of already-known-to-be-compromisable network nodes and a new iteration of the testing begins.
Each iteration of compromising a new network node or determining the compromisability of a new network node includes verifying the success of the compromising or the determining under current conditions in the tested networked system. As explained above, in actual attack penetration testing systems the verifying is achieved by actively attempting to compromise the new network node, while in simulated penetration testing systems the verifying is achieved by simulating or evaluating of the compromising step.
One of the common steps performed by an attacker as part of compromising a networked system is a step that logs into a target network node using user credentials of a legitimate user, which user credentials were obtained as a result of a previous step by the attacker. For example, an attacker may obtain the user name and the password of a certain user by stealing a passwords file that includes them, or by trying a list of guessed passwords that are known to be commonly selected by uncareful users (after obtaining the user name by other means).
As for every iteration of a penetration testing campaign attempting to compromise a network node, an iteration which is attempting to compromise a new node by using user credentials for logging into the new node should also be validated for success.
Actual attack penetration testing systems that validate vulnerabilities by actually attacking the tested networked system face a problem in validating the ability of an attacker to log into a target network node using user credentials. Failure in one or more successive login attempts might cause the target node to lock and thus might change the state of the tested networked system. While actual attack penetration testing systems are expected to sometimes change the state of the tested networked system, this is acceptable as long as the penetration testing system can undo the state changes at the end of a penetration testing campaign. In the locking case, undoing the state change might not be possible.
A common solution adopted by actual attack penetration testing systems is to predict when a failing login attempt might cause locking, and when locking is possible—to avoid further attempts to login. For example, if a given service is known to use a protocol in which three login failures within two hours cause locking, the penetration testing system will wait for two hours after two successive failures before making another attempt. In another example, a Microsoft Active Directory service is the target of the logging-in attempt, and the penetration testing system makes use of the badPwdCount and badPasswordTime attributes of the service for deciding when a risk of locking exists. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to know the locking logic used by the target node, and consequently locking events may happen during actual-attack campaigns, even when using this solution.
Penetration testing systems that use simulation or other types of non-intruding evaluation for validating vulnerabilities during a campaign do not suffer from the locking problem. However, they still have to answer the question “are we sure that network node X is compromisable by logging into it using given credentials?”.
Simulated penetration testing systems are not allowed to attempt to log into network nodes in order to answer the above question, at least because of the locking risk. Therefore, they usually operate under the assumption that once the credentials of a user (e.g. his/her username and password) are believed to be available to the attacker, the attacker can log into any network node to which that user has access rights. No further proof is required.
An example of applying the above assumption by a simulated reconnaissance agent penetration testing system (see the Definitions section for the definition of “reconnaissance agent penetration testing system”) may operate as follows:
1. The penetration testing system concludes that the attacker can compromise node A and consequently can get full control of its operation.
2. The reconnaissance agent installed in node A detects a login operation event, which was done by user X. The detection may be done by looking for login events in the security events log of node A.
3. Once a log-in event occurred, it is expected that the RAM of node A contains an explicit (non-hashed) copy of the credentials of user X which were used for the logging-in operation. Therefore, a memory dump of node A is obtained by the agent of node A in response to detecting the logging-in event.
4. The credentials of user X can be identified in the memory dump and extracted out (there are open source tools that can do this task). This means that an attacker controlling node A could obtain the credentials of user X.
5. Once the credentials of user X are determined to be available to the attacker, it is assumed that the attacker could also take control of node B to which user X was determined to have access rights (e.g. it was determined that user X is included in the local admin list of node B), and consequently node B is concluded to be compromisable by the attacker.
However, the above method of determining compromisability of node B is not fully reliable, and in some cases may be too pessimistic. In the real world, the fact that user X, whose user credentials are known to the attacker, is included in the local admin list of node B (i.e. user X has access rights to node B using credentials known to the attacker), does not guarantee that the attacker can log into node B. This is so because it may be the case that node B is not currently reachable from node A (and from any other already-known-to-be-compromisable node). For example, node A (and all other already-known to-be-compromisable nodes) may be located in a first sub-network, while node B is located in a second sub-network. A router connecting the first and second sub-networks may currently be configured to block access from nodes of the first sub-network to nodes of the second sub-network. In other words, having theoretical access rights to a given node does not necessarily imply having actual access rights to the given node because the given node may not be accessible.
The implications of the above assumption are that in many cases the conclusions reached by a penetration testing campaign might be too pessimistic. The campaign may conclude that a specific node is compromisable by an attacker, but in reality, that node may be completely safe. Such too-pessimistic results might cause an organization to invest extensive efforts and precious resources in protecting segments of its networked system that do not really require protection.
It is possible to address the above problem by actually transmitting messages to the node in question and finding out if they reached their destination. For example, in a reconnaissance agent penetration testing system, the agents in all already-known-to-be-compromisable nodes may each send a test message addressed to the agent of node B. If the agent in node B receives one such test message, it reports this fact to the central server of the penetration testing system, which can then conclude that it is possible to compromise node B by using user credentials for logging into node B from the node from which the successful test message was received. However, this solution suffers from some drawbacks—it generates a lot of extra traffic in the tested networked system, which traffic may be between nodes that have no reason to communicate during normal operation. This is highly undesirable, as it might (i) interfere with the normal operation of the tested networked system, and (ii) trigger alerts from defensive security applications that will find such test messages to be unusual and therefore suspicious.
There is thus a need to find a way for a penetration testing system to validate the success of a logging-in operation using given user credentials that is both safe and fully reliable.
A method is disclosed, according to embodiments of the present invention, for carrying out a penetration testing campaign in a networked system by a penetration testing system. Carrying out the penetration testing campaign is for determining a way for an attacker to compromise the networked system. The method comprises: (a) determining that the attacker can obtain user credentials of a first user; (b) determining that, when using the user credentials, the first user has access rights to a first network node of the networked system; (c) determining that a second network node of the networked system, different from the first network node, is compromisable by the attacker during the penetration testing campaign; (d) determining that the first network node was accessed from the second network node; (e) based on (i) the determining that the attacker can obtain the user credentials of the first user, (ii) the determining that, when using the user credentials, the first user has access rights to the first network node, (iii) the determining that the second network node is compromisable by the attacker, and (iv) the determining that the first network node was accessed from the second network node, determining that the first network node is compromisable by the attacker during the penetration testing campaign; (f) determining the way for the attacker to compromise the networked system, the way for the attacker to compromise the networked system including a step of compromising the first network node using the user credentials of the first user; and (g) reporting the determined way for the attacker to compromise the networked system, the reporting comprising at least one operation selected from the group consisting of (i) causing a display device to display a report including information about the determined way to compromise the networked system, (ii) recording the report including the information about the determined way to compromise the networked system in a file, and (iii) electronically transmitting the report including the information about the determined way to compromise the networked system.
In some embodiments, the determining that the attacker can obtain the user credentials of the first user can comprise determining that the attacker can obtain a passwords file which contains the user credentials of the first user.
In some embodiments, the determining that the attacker can obtain the user credentials of the first user can comprise determining that, subsequent to the first user logging into a third network node of the networked system which is already known to be compromisable by the attacker, the attacker can extract the user credentials of the first user from a memory dump of the third network node.
In some embodiments, the determining that the attacker can obtain the user credentials of the first user can comprise determining that the attacker can obtain a password of the first user by trying multiple guessed passwords that are known to be commonly used as passwords by users.
In some embodiments, the determining that, when using the user credentials, the first user has access rights to the first network node can comprise determining that the first user is included in a list of local administrators of the first network node.
In some embodiments, the determining that, when using the user credentials, the first user has access rights to the first network node can comprise determining that the first user had logged into the first network node.
In some embodiments, the determining that the first network node was accessed from the second network node can comprise (i) extracting, from a memory dump of the first network node, a network address from which the first network node was accessed and (ii) identifying the network address to be associated with the second network node.
In some embodiments, the determining that the first network node was accessed from the second network node can be done during the carrying out of the penetration testing campaign.
In some embodiments, the determining that the first network node was accessed from the second network node can be carried out prior to the carrying out of the penetration testing campaign.
In some embodiments, the determining that the first network node was accessed from the second network node can comprise determining that the first network node was accessed from the second network node using user credentials of a second user that is different from the first user.
In some embodiments, the determining that the first network node was accessed from the second network node can comprise determining that the first network node was accessed from the second network node using the user credentials of the first user.
In some embodiments, the determining that the first network node was accessed from the second network node can comprise determining that a file in a shared folder in the first network node was read by the second network node.
In some embodiments, the penetration testing system can comprise a reconnaissance agent software module that is installed on at least some of the network nodes of the networked system, and the determining that the attacker can obtain user credentials of the first user can be done, at least in part, by executing the reconnaissance agent software module in one of the network nodes of the networked system.
In some embodiments, the penetration testing system can comprise a reconnaissance agent software module that is installed on at least some of the network nodes of the networked system, and the determining that the first user has access rights to the first network node can be done, at least in part, by executing the reconnaissance agent software module in the first network node.
In some embodiments, the penetration testing system can comprise a reconnaissance agent software module that is installed on at least some of the network nodes of the networked system, and the determining that the first network node was accessed from the second network node can be done, at least in part, by executing the reconnaissance agent software module in the first network node.
In some embodiments, the method can further comprise: (h) determining that the attacker can obtain second user credentials of a second user; (i) determining that, when using the second user credentials, the second user has access rights to a third network node of the networked system; (j) during a monitoring time interval, failing to detect the third network node being accessed from a network node that is already known to be compromisable; and (k) based on the failing to detect the third network node being accessed from a network node that is already known to be compromisable, concluding that the third network node is not compromisable by the attacker using the second user credentials during the penetration testing campaign.
In some embodiments, the method can further comprise: (h) determining that the attacker can obtain second user credentials of a second user; (i) determining that, when using the second user credentials, the second user has access rights to a third network node of the networked system; (j) during a monitoring time interval, failing to detect the third network node being accessed from a network node that is already known to be compromisable; (k) determining a second way for the attacker to compromise the networked system, the second way for the attacker to compromise the networked system including a step of compromising the third network node using the second user credentials of the second user; and (l) reporting the determined second way for the attacker to compromise the networked system, wherein the determined way for the attacker to compromise the networked system is reported as more important than the determined second way for the attacker to compromise the networked system.
In some embodiments, the method can further comprise: (h) determining that the attacker can obtain second user credentials of a second user; (i) determining that, when using the second user credentials, the second user has access rights to a third network node of the networked system; (j) during a monitoring time interval, failing to detect the third network node being accessed from a network node that is already known to be compromisable; (k) determining a second way for the attacker to compromise the networked system, the second way for the attacker to compromise the networked system including a step of compromising the third network node using the second user credentials of the second user; and (l) providing recommendations for blocking both the determined way for the attacker to compromise the networked system and the determined second way for the attacker to compromise the networked system, wherein the recommendation for blocking the determined way is given a higher priority than the recommendation for blocking the determined second way.
A penetration testing system is disclosed, according to embodiments of the present invention, for carrying out a penetration testing campaign in a networked system. Carrying out the penetration testing campaign is for determining a way for an attacker to compromise the networked system. The system comprises: (a) a remote computing device comprising a computer memory and one or more processors, the remote computing device in electronic communication with at least some network nodes of the networked system; and (b) a penetration-testing non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein program instructions of a penetration testing software module, which when executed by the one or more processors of the remote computing device cause the one or more processors of the remote computing device to carry out the following steps: (i) determining that the attacker can obtain user credentials of a first user, wherein the determining that the attacker can obtain user credentials of the first user comprises one of (A) concluding that the attacker can obtain user credentials of the first user and (B) receiving, from a network node of the networked system, information about a determination that the attacker can obtain user credentials of the first user, (ii) determining that, when using the user credentials, the first user has access rights to a first network node of the networked system, wherein the determining that when using the user credentials, the first user has access rights to the first network node of the networked system comprises one of (A) concluding that when using the user credentials, the first user has access rights to the first network node of the networked system, and (B) receiving, from a network node of the networked system, information about a determination that when using the user credentials, the first user has access rights to the first network node of the networked system, (iii) determining that a second network node of the networked system, different from the first network node, is compromisable by the attacker during the penetration testing campaign, (iv) determining that the first network node was accessed from the second network node, wherein the determining that the first network node was accessed from the second network node comprises one of (A) concluding that the first network node was accessed from the second network node and (B) receiving, from a network node of the networked system, information about a determination that the first network node was accessed from the second network node, (v) based on (A) the determining that the attacker can obtain the user credentials of the first user, (B) the determining that, when using the user credentials, the first user has access rights to the first network node, (C) the determining that the second network node is compromisable by the attacker, and (D) the determining that the first network node was accessed from the second network node, determining that the first network node is compromisable by the attacker during the penetration testing campaign, (vi) determining the way for the attacker to compromise the networked system, the way for the attacker to compromise the networked system including a step of compromising the first network node using the user credentials of the first user, and (vii) reporting the determined way for the attacker to compromise the networked system, the reporting comprising at least one operation selected from the group consisting of (A) causing a display device to display a report including information about the determined way to compromise the networked system, (B) recording the report including the information about the determined way to compromise the networked system in a file, and (C) electronically transmitting the report including the information about the determined way to compromise the networked system.
A method is disclosed, according to embodiments of the present invention, for carrying out a penetration testing campaign in a networked system by a penetration testing system. Carrying out the penetration testing campaign is for determining a way for an attacker to compromise the networked system. The method comprises: (a) obtaining user credentials of a first user; (b) determining that, when using the user credentials, the first user has access rights to a first network node of the networked system; (c) during the penetration testing campaign, compromising a second network node of the networked system, the second network node being different from the first network node; (d) determining that the first network node was accessed from the second network node; (e) based on (i) the obtaining of the user credentials of the first user, (ii) the determining that, when using the user credentials, the first user has access rights to the first network node, (iii) the compromising of the second network node, and (iv) the determining that the first network node was accessed from the second network node, determining that the first network node is compromisable by the attacker during the penetration testing campaign without compromising the first network node during the penetration testing campaign; (f) determining the way for the attacker to compromise the networked system, the way for the attacker to compromise the networked system including a step of compromising the first network node using the user credentials of the first user; and (g) reporting the determined way for the attacker to compromise the networked system, the reporting comprising at least one operation selected from the group consisting of (i) causing a display device to display a report including information about the determined way to compromise the networked system, (ii) recording the report including the information about the determined way to compromise the networked system in a file, and (iii) electronically transmitting the report including the information about the determined way to compromise the networked system.
In some embodiments, the obtaining of the user credentials of the first user can comprise obtaining a passwords file which contains the user credentials of the first user.
In some embodiments, the obtaining of the user credentials of the first user can comprise, subsequent to the first user logging into a third network node of the networked system which is already known to be compromisable by the attacker, extracting the user credentials of the first user from a memory dump of the third network node.
In some embodiments, the obtaining of the user credentials of the first user can comprise trying multiple guessed passwords that are known to be commonly used as passwords by users.
In some embodiments, the determining that, when using the user credentials, the first user has access rights to the first network node comprises determining that the first user is included in a list of local administrators of the first network node.
In some embodiments, the determining that, when using the user credentials, the first user has access rights to the first network node can comprise determining that the first user had logged into the first network node.
In some embodiments, the determining that the first network node was accessed from the second network node can comprise (i) extracting from a memory dump of the first network node a network address from which the first network node was accessed and (ii) identifying the network address to be associated with the second network node.
In some embodiments, the determining that the first network node was accessed from the second network node can be done during the carrying out of the penetration testing campaign.
In some embodiments, the determining that the first network node was accessed from the second network node can be carried out prior to the carrying out of the penetration testing campaign.
In some embodiments, the determining that the first network node was accessed from the second network node can comprise determining that the first network node was accessed from the second network node using user credentials of a second user that is different from the first user.
In some embodiments, the determining that the first network node was accessed from the second network node can comprise determining that the first network node was accessed from the second network node using the user credentials of the first user.
In some embodiments, the determining that the first network node was accessed from the second network node can comprise determining that a file in a shared folder in the first network node was read by the second network node.
In some embodiments, the penetration testing system can comprise a reconnaissance agent software module that is installed on at least some of the network nodes of the networked system, and the obtaining of the user credentials of the first user can be done, at least in part, by executing the reconnaissance agent software module in one of the network nodes of the networked system.
In some embodiments, the penetration testing system can comprise a reconnaissance agent software module that is installed on at least some of the network nodes of the networked system, and the determining that the first user has access rights to the first network node can be done, at least in part, by executing the reconnaissance agent software module in the first network node.
In some embodiments, the penetration testing system can comprise a reconnaissance agent software module that is installed on at least some of the network nodes of the networked system, and the determining that the first network node was accessed from the second network node can be done, at least in part, by executing the reconnaissance agent software module in the first network node.
In some embodiments, the method can further comprise: (h) obtaining second user credentials of a second user; (i) determining that, when using the second user credentials, the second user has access rights to a third network node of the networked system; (j) during a monitoring time interval, failing to detect that the third network node was accessed from a network node that is already known to be compromisable; and (k) based on the failing to detect the third network node being accessed from a network node that is already known to be compromisable, concluding that the third network node is not compromisable by the attacker using the second user credentials during the penetration testing campaign.
In some embodiments, the method can further comprise: (h) obtaining second user credentials of a second user; (i) determining that, when using the second user credentials, the second user has access rights to a third network node of the networked system; (j) during a monitoring time interval, failing to detect the third network node being accessed from a network node that is already known to be compromisable; (k) determining a second way for the attacker to compromise the networked system, the second way for the attacker to compromise the networked system including a step of compromising the third network node using the second user credentials of the second user; and (l) reporting the determined second way for the attacker to compromise the networked system, wherein the determined way for the attacker to compromise the networked system is reported as more important than the determined second way for the attacker to compromise the networked system.
In some embodiments, the method can further comprise: (h) obtaining second user credentials of a second user; (i) determining that, when using the second user credentials, the second user has access rights to a third network node of the networked system; (j) during a monitoring time interval, failing to detect the third network node being accessed from a network node that is already known to be compromisable; (k) determining a second way for the attacker to compromise the networked system, the second way for the attacker to compromise the networked system including a step of compromising the third network node using the second user credentials of the second user; and (l) providing recommendations for blocking both the determined way for the attacker to compromise the networked system and the determined second way for the attacker to compromise the networked system, wherein the recommendation for blocking the determined way is given a higher priority than the recommendation for blocking the determined second way.
A penetration testing system is disclosed, according to embodiments of the present invention, for carrying out a penetration testing campaign in a networked system. Carrying out the penetration testing campaign is for determining a way for an attacker to compromise the networked system. The system comprises: (a) a remote computing device comprising a computer memory and one or more processors, the remote computing device in electronic communication with at least some network nodes of the networked system; and (b) a penetration-testing non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein program instructions of a penetration testing software module, which when executed by the one or more processors of the remote computing device cause the one or more processors of the remote computing device to carry out the following steps: (i) obtaining user credentials of a first user, (ii) determining that, when using the user credentials, the first user has access rights to a first network node of the networked system, wherein the determining that when using the user credentials, the first user has access rights to the first network node of the networked system comprises one of (A) concluding that when using the user credentials, the first user has access rights to the first network node of the networked system, and (B) receiving, from a network node of the networked system, information about a determination that when using the user credentials, the first user has access rights to the first network node of the networked system, (iii) during the penetration testing campaign, compromising a second network node of the networked system, the second network node being different from the first network node, (iv) determining that the first network node was accessed from the second network node, wherein the determining that the first network node was accessed from the second network node comprises one of (A) concluding that the first network node was accessed from the second network node and (B) receiving, from a network node of the networked system, information about a determination that the first network node was accessed from the second network node, (v) based on (A) the obtaining of the user credentials of the first user, (B) the determining that, when using the user credentials, the first user has access rights to the first network node, (C) the compromising of the second network node, and (D) the determining that the first network node was accessed from the second network node, determining that the first network node is compromisable by the attacker during the penetration testing campaign, (vi) determining the way for the attacker to compromise the networked system, the way for the attacker to compromise the networked system including a step of compromising the first network node using the user credentials of the first user, and (vii) reporting the determined way for the attacker to compromise the networked system, the reporting comprising at least one operation selected from the group consisting of (A) causing a display device to display a report including information about the determined way to compromise the networked system, (B) recording the report including the information about the determined way to compromise the networked system in a file, and (C) electronically transmitting the report including the information about the determined way to compromise the networked system.
The invention will now be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the dimensions of components and features shown in the figures are chosen for convenience and clarity of presentation and not necessarily to scale. In the drawings:
Note: Throughout this disclosure, subscripted reference numbers (e.g., 101) or letter-modified reference numbers (e.g., 100a) may be used to designate multiple separate appearances of elements in a single drawing, e.g. 101 is a single appearance (out of a plurality of appearances) of element 10, and likewise 100a is a single appearance (out of a plurality of appearances) of element 100.
Referring now to the figures, and in particular to
A reconnaissance agent, or a reconnaissance client agent, which is synonymous therewith, is a software module designed to be installed in nodes of the tested networked system. A reconnaissance client agent is able to communicate with a remote computing device hosting a penetration testing software module responsible, among other things, for managing and conducting the penetration testing process. A reconnaissance client agent can report, to the penetration testing software module when installed on the remote computing device, data extracted by the agent from its hosting node.
Referring now to
A penetration testing system of the present invention, according to embodiments, can achieve certainty in concluding that a node can be compromised using user credentials, without risking the correct operation of the tested networked system.
In embodiments, this is achieved by adding a second requirement for concluding that a given node can be compromised by using user credentials, on top of the basic requirement that the credentials of a user which has access rights to the given node are available to the attacker. The additional requirement is that a login operation into the given node from an already-known-to-be-compromisable node has been found to occur. This additional requirement proves that the given node is reachable from at least one node that is already known to be compromisable. If both requirements are satisfied, then it can be concluded with certainty, e.g., by a penetration testing system, that the attacker could compromise the given node using the user credentials.
A first non-limiting example of applying the second requirement of concluding that a given node can be compromised by using user credentials, by a reconnaissance agent penetration testing system, may operate as follows:
1. The penetration testing system concludes that the attacker can compromise node 1106 (of
2. The reconnaissance agent installed in node 1106 detects a login operation event, which was done by user X. The detection may be done by looking for login events in the security events log of node 1106.
3. Once a login event occurs, it is expected that the RAM of node 1106 contains an explicit (non-hashed) copy of the credentials of user X which were used for the logging-in operation. Therefore, a memory dump is obtained by the agent of node 1106 in response to detecting the logging-in event.
4. The credentials of user X can be identified in the dump and extracted out, e.g., using open source tools that can do this task. This means that an attacker controlling node 1106 could obtain the credentials of user X.
5. It is determined that user X has access rights to node 1101 (e.g. it is determined by the agent installed in node 1101 that user X is included in the local admin list of node 1101). Note: nodes 1101 and 1106 are shown as neighboring each other and in direct node-to-node communication in
6. The reconnaissance agent of node 1101 looks for login operation events done using the credentials of user X. The detection may be done by looking for login events in the security events log of node 1101, obtaining a memory dump and extracting from it the credentials being used in the login operation.
7. When a login operation using the credentials of user X is detected in node 1101, the agent of node 1101 determines the IP address from which the login operation was made.
8. If the determined IP address corresponds to a node that is already known to be compromisable (whether node 1106 or another node), it is concluded that node 1101 can be compromised by the attacker using the user credentials of user X. This is concluded with certainty, since we know that (i) following the compromising of node 1106, the attacker could obtain the credentials of user X, which has access rights to node 1101, and (ii) once the credentials are known to the attacker, he could cause an already-compromised node, which is known with certainty to be able to reach node 1101, to log into node 1101.
It should be noted that the use of the security events log for detecting login events is just an example. In some implementations the agent (in node 1106, in node 1101 or in both nodes) may skip the inspection of the security events log and inspect a memory dump without knowing for sure that a login event occurred. The inspection may be done periodically, when receiving a command to do so from the central server of the penetration testing system, or both. Other implementations are also possible.
It should be noted that the above is just one illustrative and non-limiting example of implementing the principles of the proposed solution and other implementations are also possible. For example, while in step 6 of the above example the reconnaissance agent of node 1101 looks for login operation events done using the credentials of user X, in other implementations the reconnaissance agent of node 1101 looks for login operations using any user credentials and not only those of user X. When any login operation is detected in node 1101, its IP address is determined (as in step 7 above) and the flow continues as in the above example. In other words, it is not really essential that the proof of having connectivity from an already-known-to-be-compromisable node to node 1101 should be obtained based on a login operation by user X—any login operation from an already-known-to-be-compromisable node into node 1101 can provide the proof, regardless of whose credentials are being used.
Furthermore, it is not even necessary to look for login operations. In some implementations the observed occurrence of other operations can be a proof that proves the ability of another node to access node 1101. For example, the reconnaissance agent of node 1101 may look for operations that read from a shared folder in node 1101, which constitute a proof of accessibility.
It should be noted that the proposed solution is not guaranteed to always provide certainty. For example, the agent of node 1101 may not detect a login operation by user X because it so happened that user X did not log into node 1101 during the time period of running the current penetration testing campaign, even though user X frequently does log into node 1101. In other words, the lack of evidence of user X logging into node 1101 does not prove that user X never does that. In another example, the agent of node 1101 detects one or more login operations by user X, but each such operation is done from a corresponding node 110 that is not yet known to be compromisable at the time of that login operation. Here again, the detected events do not prove that user X never logs in from nodes that are compromisable. In yet another example, the lack of detection of a login operation by user X may be the result of a failure by the agent to detect some login operations, even though in reality user X did log into node 1101.
As a result of the above, a penetration testing system making use of the proposed solution should be careful to distinguish between cases in which there is certainty regarding the ability of the attacker to compromise a given network node by using user credentials and between cases in which there is no such certainty, even though it is still possible or even likely that the attacker can compromise the given node.
In some embodiments, cases in which there is no certainty of compromisability are treated as not being compromisable. In other words, in the above example if the agent of node 1101 did not detect a login operation by user X from an already-known-to-be-compromisable node, then node 1101 is assumed to be non-compromisable by using credentials of user X.
In some embodiments, cases in which there is no certainty of compromisability are still treated as being compromisable but have a “lower quality” of compromisability. For example, if the penetration testing system finds two paths of attack by which an attacker could reach an important asset of the tested networked system, one relying on compromising a node by credentials with certainty and the other relying on compromising a node by credentials without certainty, then the penetration testing system considers the first path of attack to be more important than the other one. This will affect the order in which the two paths of attack are reported to the user, the priority of remediation recommendations proposed to the user, etc. If, however, only a single path of attack is found by the penetration testing system, and this single path of attack is relying on compromising a node by credentials without having certainty, then in spite of the uncertainty, the penetration testing system reports the tested networked system to be compromisable and provides remediation recommendations for blocking the single path of attack that was found.
In some embodiments, cases in which there is no certainty of compromisability are considered as being only “possibly compromisable”. For example, if the penetration testing system finds two paths of attack by which an attacker can reach an important asset of the tested networked system, one relying on compromising a node by credentials with certainty and the other relying on compromising a node by credentials without certainty, then the penetration testing system considers the first path of attack to be a “certain path of attack” and the second path of attack to be “a possible path of attack”. The reports to the user clearly distinguish between the two levels of certainty, so the user is aware of the fact that the second path of attack is only an unproved possibility.
In some embodiments, the penetration testing system distinguishes between different levels of uncertainty. In an example, a first scenario in which user X was not found to log into a given node is treated differently from a second scenario in which user X was found to log into the given node, when all such login operations were done from not-yet-compromisable nodes. In one possible implementation, in the first scenario the given node is assumed to be non-compromisable (because it is reasonable to assume that user X never logs into the given node), while in the second scenario the given node is assumed to be compromisable (because it is reasonable to assume that sooner or later user X will log into the given node from a compromisable node).
In another possible implementation of the above example, in the first scenario the given node is assumed to be compromisable with “lower quality” of compromisability, while in the second scenario the given node is assumed to be compromisable with “higher quality” of compromisability. The difference between the two may affect the order by which paths of attack are reported to the user, the priority of remediation recommendations proposed to the user, etc.
In still another possible implementation of the above example, in the first scenario the given node is assumed to be “possibly compromisable”, while in the second scenario the given node is assumed to be compromisable with certainty. The difference between the two may be explicitly made visible to the user when reporting the results of the penetration testing campaign.
The foregoing discussion was given in the context of simulated penetration testing systems. However, the proposed solution is also applicable for actual attack penetration testing systems, as is further explained hereinbelow and with respect to
Components of a penetration testing system 100 according to some embodiments are illustrated in
In some embodiments, the penetration testing system 100 additionally comprises reconnaissance agent software modules 120, as illustrated in
In
As illustrated in the block diagram of
GPI01 for determining that the attacker can obtain user credentials of a first user;
GPI02 for determining that, when using the user credentials, the first user has access rights to a first network node of the networked system;
GPI03 for determining that a second network node of the networked system, different from the first network node, is compromisable by the attacker during the penetration testing campaign;
GPI04 for determining that the first network node was accessed from the second network node;
GPI05 for determining that the first network node is compromisable by the attacker during the penetration testing campaign, based on (i) the determining that the attacker can obtain the user credentials of the first user, (ii) the determining that, when using the user credentials, the first user has access rights to the first network node, (iii) the determining that the second network node is compromisable by the attacker, and (iv) the determining that the first network node was accessed from the second network node;
GPI06 for determining the way for the attacker to compromise the networked system, the way for the attacker to compromise the networked system including a step of compromising the first network node using the user credentials of the first user; and
GPI07 for reporting the determined way for the attacker to compromise the networked system, the reporting comprising at least one operation selected from the group consisting of (i) causing a display device to display a report including information about the determined way to compromise the networked system, (ii) recording the report including the information about the determined way to compromise the networked system in a file, and (iii) electronically transmitting the report including the information about the determined way to compromise the networked system.
In some embodiments, as illustrated in
GPI08 for determining that the attacker can obtain second user credentials of a second user;
GPI09 for determining that, when using the second user credentials, the second user has access rights to a third network node of the networked system;
GPI10 for failing to detect, during a monitoring time interval, the third network node being accessed from a network node that is already known to be compromisable; and
GPI11 for concluding, based on the failing to detect the third network node being accessed from a network node that is already known to be compromisable, that the third network node is not compromisable by the attacker using the second user credentials during the penetration testing campaign.
It should be noted that the phrase ‘failing to detect’ as used herein does not necessarily mean that the undetected event occurred—it simply means that such an occurrence was undetected, without implication as to whether such an event occurred.
In some embodiments, as illustrated in
GPI12 for determining that the attacker can obtain second user credentials of a second user;
GPI13 for determining that, when using the second user credentials, the second user has access rights to a third network node of the networked system;
GPI14 for failing to detect, during a monitoring time interval, the third network node being accessed from a network node that is already known to be compromisable;
GPI15 for determining a second way for the attacker to compromise the networked system, the second way for the attacker to compromise the networked system including a step of compromising the third network node using the second user credentials of the second user; and
GPI16 for reporting the determined second way for the attacker to compromise the networked system, wherein the determined way for the attacker to compromise the networked system is reported as more important than the determined second way for the attacker to compromise the networked system.
In some embodiments, as illustrated in
GPI17 for determining that the attacker can obtain second user credentials of a second user;
GPI18 for determining that, when using the second user credentials, the second user has access rights to a third network node of the networked system;
GPI19 for failing to detect, during a monitoring time interval, the third network node being accessed from a network node that is already known to be compromisable;
GPI20 for determining a second way for the attacker to compromise the networked system, the second way for the attacker to compromise the networked system including a step of compromising the third network node using the second user credentials of the second user; and
GPI21 for providing recommendations for blocking both the determined way for the attacker to compromise the networked system and the determined second way for the attacker to compromise the networked system, wherein the recommendation for blocking the determined way is given a higher priority than the recommendation for blocking the determined second way
Referring now to
Step S01 Determining that the attacker can obtain user credentials of a first user. In some embodiments, Step S01 can comprise determining that the attacker can obtain a passwords file which contains the user credentials of the first user. In some embodiments, Step S01 comprises determining that the attacker can obtain a password of the first user by trying multiple guessed passwords that are known to be commonly used as passwords by users. In some embodiments, Step S01 comprises determining that, subsequent to the first user logging into a third network node of the networked system which is already known to be compromisable by the attacker, the attacker can extract the user credentials of the first user from a memory dump of the third network node. In some embodiments in which the penetration testing system comprises a reconnaissance agent software module that is installed on at least some of the network nodes 110 of the networked system 200, Step S01 is carried out, at least in part, by executing the reconnaissance agent software module in one of the network nodes of the networked system.
Step S02 Determining that, when using the user credentials, the first user has access rights to a first network node of the networked system 200 (e.g., node 1101 in
Step S03 Determining that a second network node of the networked system 200 (e.g., node 1106 in
Step S04 Determining that the first network node (e.g., node 1101 in
Step S05 Determining that the first network node is compromisable by the attacker during the penetration testing campaign, based on (i) the determining that the attacker can obtain the user credentials of the first user, (ii) the determining that, when using the user credentials, the first user has access rights to the first network node, (iii) the determining that the second network node is compromisable by the attacker, and (iv) the determining that the first network node was accessed from the second network node;
Step S06 Determining the way for the attacker to compromise the networked system, the way for the attacker to compromise the networked system including a step of compromising the first network node using the user credentials of the first user; and
Step S07 Reporting the determined way for the attacker to compromise the networked system, the reporting comprising at least one operation selected from the group consisting of (i) causing a display device to display a report including information about the determined way to compromise the networked system, (ii) recording the report including the information about the determined way to compromise the networked system in a file, and (iii) electronically transmitting the report including the information about the determined way to compromise the networked system.
In some embodiments, as illustrated by the flow chart in
Step S08 Determining that the attacker can obtain second user credentials of a second user;
Step S09 Determining that, when using the second user credentials, the second user has access rights to a third network node of the networked system;
Step S010 Failing to detect, during a monitoring time interval, the third network node being accessed from a network node that is already known to be compromisable; and
Step S011 Concluding, based on the failing to detect the third network node being accessed from a network node that is already known to be compromisable, that the third network node is not compromisable by the attacker using the second user credentials during the penetration testing campaign.
In some embodiments, as illustrated by the flow chart in
Step S012 Determining that the attacker can obtain second user credentials of a second user;
Step S013 Determining that, when using the second user credentials, the second user has access rights to a third network node of the networked system;
Step S014 Failing to detect, during a monitoring time interval, the third network node being accessed from a network node that is already known to be compromisable;
Step S015 Determining a second way for the attacker to compromise the networked system, the second way for the attacker to compromise the networked system including a step of compromising the third network node using the second user credentials of the second user; and
Step S016 Reporting the determined second way for the attacker to compromise the networked system, wherein the determined way for the attacker to compromise the networked system is reported as more important than the determined second way for the attacker to compromise the networked system.
In some embodiments, as illustrated by the flow chart in
Step S017 Determining that the attacker can obtain second user credentials of a second user;
Step S018 Determining that, when using the second user credentials, the second user has access rights to a third network node of the networked system;
Step S019 Failing to detect, during a monitoring time interval, the third network node being accessed from a network node that is already known to be compromisable;
Step S020 Determining a second way for the attacker to compromise the networked system, the second way for the attacker to compromise the networked system including a step of compromising the third network node using the second user credentials of the second user; and
Step S021 Providing recommendations for blocking both the determined way for the attacker to compromise the networked system and the determined second way for the attacker to compromise the networked system, wherein the recommendation for blocking the determined way is given a higher priority than the recommendation for blocking the determined second way.
The foregoing discussion was given in the context of simulated penetration testing systems.
With reference once again to
1. The penetration testing system compromises node 1106 so as to get full control of its operation.
2. The reconnaissance agent installed in node 1106 detects a login operation event, which was done by user X. The detection may be done by looking for login events in the security events log of node 1106.
3. Once a login event occurs, it is expected that the RAM of node 1106 contains an explicit (non-hashed) copy of the credentials of user X which were used for the logging-in operation. Therefore, a memory dump is obtained by the agent of node 1106 in response to detecting the logging-in event.
4. The credentials of user X are identified in the dump and extracted out, e.g., using open source tools that can do this task, and in this way the penetration testing system obtains the credentials of user X.
5. It is determined that user X has access rights to node 1101 (e.g. it is determined by the agent installed in node 1101 that user X is included in the local admin list of node 1101).
6. The reconnaissance agent of node 1101 looks for login operation events done using the credentials of user X. The detection may be done by looking for login events in the security events log of node 1101, obtaining a memory dump and extracting from it the credentials being used in the login operation.
7. When a login operation using the credentials of user X is detected in node 1101, the agent of node 1101 determines the IP address from which the login operation was made.
8. If the determined IP address corresponds to a node that is already compromised in the current campaign (whether node 1106 or another node), it is concluded that node 1101 can be compromised by the attacker using the user credentials of user X. This is concluded with certainty, since we know that (i) following the compromising of node 1106, the attacker could obtain the credentials of user X, which has access rights to node 1101, and (ii) once the credentials are known to the attacker, he could cause an already-compromised node, which is known with certainty to be able to reach node 1101, to log into node 1101. It should be noted that even though we are dealing in this example with an actual-attack penetration testing system, node 1101 is determined to be compromisable without being compromised. This is because it is preferred not to take the risk that an attempt to compromise the node might result in locking it, without the penetration testing system being able to unlock it at the end of the campaign.
The network and penetration testing system components illustrated in
As illustrated in the block diagram of
GPI51 for obtaining user credentials of a first user;
GPI52 for determining that, when using the user credentials, the first user has access rights to a first network node of the networked system;
GPI53 for compromising, during the penetration testing campaign, a second network node of the networked system, different from the first network node;
GPI54 for determining that the first network node was accessed from the second network node;
GPI55 for determining that the first network node is compromisable by the attacker during the penetration testing campaign, without compromising the first network node during the penetration testing campaign, based on (i) the obtaining of the user credentials of the first user, (ii) the determining that, using the user credentials, the first user has access rights to the first network node, (iii) the compromising of the second network node, and (iv) the determining that the first network node was accessed from the second network node;
GPI56 for determining the way for the attacker to compromise the networked system, the way for the attacker to compromise the networked system including a step of compromising the first network node using the user credentials of the first user; and
GPI57 for reporting the determined way for the attacker to compromise the networked system, the reporting comprising at least one operation selected from the group consisting of (i) causing a display device to display a report including information about the determined way to compromise the networked system, (ii) recording the report including the information about the determined way to compromise the networked system in a file, and (iii) electronically transmitting the report including the information about the determined way to compromise the networked system.
In some embodiments, as illustrated in
GPI58 for obtaining second user credentials of a second user;
GPI59 for determining that, when using the second user credentials, the second user has access rights to a third network node of the networked system;
GPI60 for failing to detect, during a monitoring time interval, the third network node being accessed from a network node that is already known to be compromisable; and
GPI61 for concluding, based on the failing to detect the third network node being accessed from a network node that is already known to be compromisable, that the third network node is not compromisable by the attacker using the second user credentials during the penetration testing campaign.
It should be noted that the phrase ‘failing to detect’ as used herein does not necessarily mean that the undetected event occurred—it simply means that such an occurrence was undetected, without implication as to whether such an event occurred.
In some embodiments, as illustrated in
GPI62 for obtaining second user credentials of a second user;
GPI63 for determining that, when using the second user credentials, the second user has access rights to a third network node of the networked system;
GPI64 for failing to detect, during a monitoring time interval, the third network node being accessed from a network node that is already known to be compromisable;
GPI65 for determining a second way for the attacker to compromise the networked system, the second way for the attacker to compromise the networked system including a step of compromising the third network node using the second user credentials of the second user; and
GPI66 for reporting the determined second way for the attacker to compromise the networked system, wherein the determined way for the attacker to compromise the networked system is reported as more important than the determined second way for the attacker to compromise the networked system.
In some embodiments, as illustrated in
GPI67 for obtaining second user credentials of a second user;
GPI68 for determining that, when using the second user credentials, the second user has access rights to a third network node of the networked system;
GPI69 for failing to detect, during a monitoring time interval, the third network node being accessed from a network node that is already known to be compromisable;
GPI70 for determining a second way for the attacker to compromise the networked system, the second way for the attacker to compromise the networked system including a step of compromising the third network node using the second user credentials of the second user; and
GPI71 for providing recommendations for blocking both the determined way for the attacker to compromise the networked system and the determined second way for the attacker to compromise the networked system, wherein the recommendation for blocking the determined way is given a higher priority than the recommendation for blocking the determined second way
Referring now to
Step S51 Obtaining user credentials of a first user. In some embodiments, Step S51 can comprise determining that the attacker can obtain a passwords file which contains the user credentials of the first user. In some embodiments, Step S51 comprises determining that the attacker can obtain a password of the first user by trying multiple guessed passwords that are known to be commonly used as passwords by users. In some embodiments, Step S51 comprises extracting the user credentials of the first user from a memory dump of a third network node which is already known to be compromisable by the attacker, subsequent to the first user logging into the third network node of the networked system. In some embodiments in which the penetration testing system comprises a reconnaissance agent software module that is installed on at least some of the network nodes 110 of the networked system 200, Step S51 is carried out, at least in part, by executing the reconnaissance agent software module in one of the network nodes of the networked system.
Step S52 Determining that, when using the user credentials, the first user has access rights to a first network node of the networked system 200 (e.g., node 1101 in
Step S53 Compromising a second network node (e.g., node 1106 in
Step S54 Determining that the first network node (e.g., node 1101 in
Step S55 Determining that the first network node is compromisable by the attacker during the penetration testing campaign, based on (i) the obtaining of the user credentials of the first user, (ii) the determining that, when using the user credentials, the first user has access rights to the first network node, (iii) the compromising of the second network node, and (iv) the determining that the first network node was accessed from the second network node;
Step S56 Determining the way for the attacker to compromise the networked system, the way for the attacker to compromise the networked system including a step of compromising the first network node using the user credentials of the first user; and
Step S57 Reporting the determined way for the attacker to compromise the networked system, the reporting comprising at least one operation selected from the group consisting of (i) causing a display device to display a report including information about the determined way to compromise the networked system, (ii) recording the report including the information about the determined way to compromise the networked system in a file, and (iii) electronically transmitting the report including the information about the determined way to compromise the networked system.
In some embodiments, and as illustrated by the flow chart in
Step S58 Obtaining second user credentials of a second user;
Step S59 Determining that, when using the second user credentials, the second user has access rights to a third network node of the networked system;
Step S60 Failing to detect, during a monitoring time interval, the third network node being accessed from a network node that is already known to be compromisable; and
Step S61 Concluding, based on the failing to detect the third network node being accessed from a network node that is already known to be compromisable, that the third network node is not compromisable by the attacker using the second user credentials during the penetration testing campaign.
In some embodiments, and as illustrated by the flow chart in
Step S62 Obtaining second user credentials of a second user;
Step S63 Determining that, when using the second user credentials, the second user has access rights to a third network node of the networked system;
Step S64 Failing to detect, during a monitoring time interval, the third network node being accessed from a network node that is already known to be compromisable;
Step S65 Determining a second way for the attacker to compromise the networked system, the second way for the attacker to compromise the networked system including a step of compromising the third network node using the second user credentials of the second user; and
Step S66 Reporting the determined second way for the attacker to compromise the networked system, wherein the determined way for the attacker to compromise the networked system is reported as more important than the determined second way for the attacker to compromise the networked system
In some embodiments, and as illustrated by the flow chart in
Step S67 Obtaining second user credentials of a second user;
Step S68 Determining that, when using the second user credentials, the second user has access rights to a third network node of the networked system;
Step S69 Failing to detect, during a monitoring time interval, the third network node being accessed from a network node that is already known to be compromisable;
Step S70 Determining a second way for the attacker to compromise the networked system, the second way for the attacker to compromise the networked system including a step of compromising the third network node using the second user credentials of the second user; and
Step S71 Providing recommendations for blocking both the determined way for the attacker to compromise the networked system and the determined second way for the attacker to compromise the networked system, wherein the recommendation for blocking the determined way is given a higher priority than the recommendation for blocking the determined second way.
The present invention has been described using detailed descriptions of embodiments thereof that are provided by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The described embodiments comprise different features, not all of which are required in all embodiments of the invention. Some embodiments of the present invention utilize only some of the features or possible combinations of the features. Variations of embodiments of the present invention that are described and embodiments of the present invention comprising different combinations of features noted in the described embodiments will occur to persons skilled in the art to which the invention pertains.
This disclosure should be interpreted according to the definitions below.
In case of a contradiction between the definitions in this Definitions section and other sections of this disclosure, this section should prevail.
In case of a contradiction between the definitions in this section and a definition or a description in any other document, including in another document incorporated in this disclosure by reference, this section should prevail, even if the definition or the description in the other document is commonly accepted by a person of ordinary skill in the art.
This patent application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/844,776 filed on May 8, 2019, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
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