Staying ahead of malicious actors in the cloud is paramount to safeguarding sensitive data and maintaining robust operations. Understanding the tactics and tools these adversaries employ is the first step in building a strong defense. Cloud threat actors are increasingly sophisticated, leveraging existing APIs and a range of tools to probe for weaknesses and execute their attacks. To effectively counter these threats, security professionals need to familiarize themselves with the methods and tools used by attackers, and proactively utilize security scanning tools to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities.
Cloud threat actors often start by exploiting Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to uncover vulnerabilities within cloud environments. APIs, designed to facilitate communication between different software systems, can become entry points for malicious activities if not properly secured. Understanding which APIs are exposed and how they are being accessed is crucial for cloud security. Reconnaissance is a key phase for attackers, and in the cloud, this often translates to probing various APIs to map out the environment and identify potential weak points.
How threat actor uses APIs
The complexity inherent in cloud environments further exacerbates security challenges. Cloud providers offer a vast array of interconnected services, often managed through APIs. This intricate web of APIs, while enabling innovation and scalability, also expands the attack surface. The sheer volume of APIs and permissions within platforms like AWS, Azure, and GCP can be overwhelming for security teams to manage and secure effectively. This complexity is a double-edged sword; it powers cloud capabilities but also creates more avenues for potential exploitation.
Beyond directly exploiting APIs, threat actors also repurpose and leverage security tools – sometimes even those designed for defensive purposes – to aid their attacks. These tools can provide attackers with valuable insights into cloud configurations, vulnerabilities, and potential attack paths. Understanding these tools is essential for defenders to anticipate attacker actions and proactively strengthen their security posture. Let’s explore some examples of tools frequently used by threat actors:
Tools Leveraged by Cloud Threat Actors:
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Pacu: Originally designed for offensive security testing in AWS environments, Pacu is an open-source framework that allows penetration testers to identify and exploit configuration weaknesses. Attackers can utilize Pacu’s modules to escalate privileges, compromise IAM users, target vulnerable Lambda functions, and establish backdoors within AWS accounts.
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CloudFox: This open-source command-line utility is intended to provide insights into cloud settings for security professionals. However, threat actors can repurpose CloudFox to gain a deeper understanding of unfamiliar AWS and Azure environments, pinpointing vulnerable attack paths and accelerating their reconnaissance efforts.
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Stratus Red Team: Designed to emulate attack techniques in AWS, Azure, GCP, and Kubernetes, Stratus Red Team helps security teams test their defenses. Conversely, attackers can use Stratus Red Team to practice and refine their attack strategies in live cloud environments, identifying successful tactics and learning how to bypass detection mechanisms.
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SkyArk: SkyArk is designed to identify entities with overly broad permissions in AWS and Azure. Attackers can exploit this information to target these highly privileged entities, potentially leading to unauthorized access, lateral movement, and significant data breaches by compromising credentials.
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Kali Linux: A comprehensive platform packed with hundreds of security tools, Kali Linux is invaluable for penetration testing and security research. Threat actors utilize Kali Linux for vulnerability scanning, exploitation, privilege escalation, maintaining persistence, and covering their tracks within compromised systems.
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TruffleHog: This security utility scans code repositories for accidentally committed secrets like API keys and passwords. Attackers leverage TruffleHog to uncover these exposed credentials, gaining unauthorized access to secured resources and sensitive data.
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Scout Suite: An open-source tool designed for security auditing across major cloud providers, Scout Suite uses APIs to collect configuration information, providing a streamlined overview of potential vulnerabilities. Threat actors can utilize Scout Suite to efficiently assess the security posture of target environments, quickly identify weaknesses, and conduct reconnaissance offline to minimize detection risks.
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PowerZure: A PowerShell-based framework for Azure security assessment and exploitation, PowerZure allows security professionals to evaluate Azure environments. Attackers can utilize PowerZure for targeted reconnaissance and exploitation activities within Azure, AzureAD, and related services, enabling them to gain unauthorized access and control.
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StormSpotter: Stormspotter generates an attack graph for Azure resources, visualizing attack surfaces and lateral movement opportunities. While beneficial for red teams and incident response, attackers can use Stormspotter to streamline their attack planning, quickly identify vulnerabilities, and execute attacks more efficiently.
These tools, while often designed for or used by security professionals, provide significant advantages to threat actors by offering critical information for attack planning and execution. They facilitate lateral movement, privilege escalation, data exfiltration, and other malicious activities. Understanding the output and implications of these tools is crucial for defenders.
To effectively defend against these sophisticated threats, security teams need to adopt a proactive approach, utilizing robust security scanning tools. Consider implementing tools like an Actro Scan Tool (hypothetically named for this context) or similar solutions that can provide comprehensive visibility and vulnerability detection across your cloud infrastructure. These tools can help identify misconfigurations, exposed APIs, and other weaknesses that threat actors might exploit.
Figure 2 – API growth, February through August 2023
For SecOps engineers dedicated to securing cloud environments, hands-on experience with these security assessment tools is invaluable. By using tools like Pacu or Scout Suite in a controlled test environment, you can gain firsthand understanding of the outputs they generate and the insights they reveal about potential vulnerabilities. Ask critical questions: “Why is this tool highlighting this specific output?”, “What information would a threat actor gain from this?”, and “How does this contribute to their attack tactics?”. This investigative approach, combined with collaboration with experienced security professionals, will deepen your understanding of attacker methodologies and strengthen your defensive strategies.
Uptycs: Enhancing Your Cloud Security Posture
While understanding threat actor tactics and tools is essential, having the right platform to actively defend your cloud environment is critical. Uptycs provides a robust cloud security platform designed to detect and remediate threats in real time. From identifying anomalous API calls to flagging suspicious user activities and configuration drifts, Uptycs empowers security teams to proactively identify and respond to threats, strengthening your overall cloud security posture.
To discover how Uptycs can enhance your cloud security and enable a more proactive defense strategy, request a demo today.
