The Art of Digital Foraging: Deep Dive into LOTL

Living ‎Off‏ ‎the ‎Land ‎(LOTL) ‎techniques ‎represent‏ ‎a ‎sophisticated‏ ‎cyber‏ ‎threat ‎strategy ‎where‏ ‎attackers ‎exploit‏ ‎native ‎tools ‎and ‎processes‏ ‎already‏ ‎present ‎within‏ ‎a ‎target's‏ ‎environment. ‎This ‎approach ‎allows ‎them‏ ‎to‏ ‎blend ‎seamlessly‏ ‎with ‎normal‏ ‎system ‎activities, ‎significantly ‎reducing ‎the‏ ‎likelihood‏ ‎of‏ ‎detection. ‎The‏ ‎effectiveness ‎of‏ ‎LOTL ‎lies‏ ‎in‏ ‎its ‎ability‏ ‎to ‎utilize ‎tools ‎that ‎are‏ ‎not ‎only‏ ‎already‏ ‎deployed ‎but ‎are‏ ‎also ‎trusted‏ ‎within ‎the ‎environment, ‎thereby‏ ‎circumventing‏ ‎traditional ‎security‏ ‎measures ‎that‏ ‎might ‎block ‎or ‎flag ‎unfamiliar‏ ‎or‏ ‎malicious ‎software.

LOTL‏ ‎techniques ‎are‏ ‎not ‎confined ‎to ‎a ‎single‏ ‎type‏ ‎of‏ ‎environment; ‎they‏ ‎are ‎effectively‏ ‎used ‎across‏ ‎on-premises,‏ ‎cloud, ‎hybrid,‏ ‎Windows, ‎Linux, ‎and ‎macOS ‎environments.‏ ‎This ‎versatility‏ ‎is‏ ‎partly ‎due ‎to‏ ‎the ‎attackers'‏ ‎preference ‎to ‎avoid ‎the‏ ‎costs‏ ‎and ‎efforts‏ ‎associated ‎with‏ ‎developing ‎and ‎deploying ‎custom ‎tools.‏ ‎Instead,‏ ‎they ‎leverage‏ ‎the ‎ubiquity‏ ‎and ‎inherent ‎trust ‎of ‎native‏ ‎tools‏ ‎to‏ ‎carry ‎out‏ ‎their ‎operations.

Windows‏ ‎Environments

In ‎Windows‏ ‎environments,‏ ‎which ‎are‏ ‎prevalent ‎in ‎corporate ‎and ‎enterprise‏ ‎settings, ‎LOTL‏ ‎techniques‏ ‎are ‎particularly ‎observed‏ ‎due ‎to‏ ‎the ‎widespread ‎use ‎and‏ ‎trust‏ ‎in ‎the‏ ‎operating ‎system's‏ ‎native ‎tools, ‎services, ‎and ‎features.‏ ‎Attackers‏ ‎exploit ‎these‏ ‎components, ‎knowing‏ ‎they ‎are ‎ubiquitous ‎and ‎generally‏ ‎trusted,‏ ‎making‏ ‎their ‎malicious‏ ‎activities ‎less‏ ‎likely ‎to‏ ‎be‏ ‎detected.

macOS ‎and‏ ‎Hybrid ‎Environments

In ‎macOS ‎environments, ‎the‏ ‎concept ‎of‏ ‎LOTL‏ ‎is ‎often ‎referred‏ ‎to ‎as‏ ‎"living ‎off ‎the ‎orchard."‏ ‎Here,‏ ‎attackers ‎exploit‏ ‎native ‎scripting‏ ‎environments, ‎built-in ‎tools, ‎system ‎configurations,‏ ‎and‏ ‎binaries, ‎known‏ ‎as ‎"LOOBins."‏ ‎The ‎strategy ‎is ‎similar ‎to‏ ‎that‏ ‎in‏ ‎Windows ‎environments‏ ‎but ‎tailored‏ ‎to ‎the‏ ‎unique‏ ‎aspects ‎of‏ ‎macOS. ‎In ‎hybrid ‎environments, ‎which‏ ‎combine ‎physical‏ ‎and‏ ‎cloud-based ‎systems, ‎attackers‏ ‎are ‎increasingly‏ ‎leveraging ‎sophisticated ‎LOTL ‎techniques‏ ‎to‏ ‎exploit ‎both‏ ‎types ‎of‏ ‎systems.

Resources ‎and ‎Known ‎Exploits

There ‎are‏ ‎several‏ ‎resources ‎provide‏ ‎comprehensive ‎lists‏ ‎and ‎information ‎to ‎understand ‎the‏ ‎specific‏ ‎tools‏ ‎and ‎binaries‏ ‎exploited ‎by‏ ‎attackers:

📌The ‎LOLBAS‏ ‎project’s‏ ‎GitHub ‎repository‏ ‎offers ‎insights ‎into ‎Living ‎Off‏ ‎The ‎Land‏ ‎Binaries,‏ ‎Scripts, ‎and ‎Libraries.

📌Websites‏ ‎like ‎http://gtfobins.github.io, http://loobins.io, and‏ ‎http://loldrivers.io provide ‎lists ‎of ‎Unix,‏ ‎macOS,‏ ‎and ‎Windows‏ ‎binaries, ‎respectively,‏ ‎known ‎to ‎be ‎used ‎in‏ ‎LOTL‏ ‎techniques.

Third-Party ‎Remote‏ ‎Access ‎Software

Beyond‏ ‎native ‎tools, ‎cyber ‎threat ‎actors‏ ‎also‏ ‎exploit‏ ‎third-party ‎remote‏ ‎access ‎software,‏ ‎such ‎as‏ ‎remote‏ ‎monitoring ‎and‏ ‎management, ‎endpoint ‎configuration ‎management, ‎EDR,‏ ‎patch ‎management,‏ ‎mobile‏ ‎device ‎management ‎systems,‏ ‎and ‎database‏ ‎management ‎tools. ‎These ‎tools,‏ ‎designed‏ ‎to ‎administer‏ ‎and ‎protect‏ ‎domains, ‎possess ‎built-in ‎functionality ‎that‏ ‎can‏ ‎execute ‎commands‏ ‎across ‎all‏ ‎client ‎hosts ‎in ‎a ‎network,‏ ‎including‏ ‎critical‏ ‎hosts ‎like‏ ‎domain ‎controllers.‏ ‎The ‎high‏ ‎privileges‏ ‎these ‎tools‏ ‎require ‎for ‎system ‎administration ‎make‏ ‎them ‎attractive‏ ‎targets‏ ‎for ‎attackers ‎looking‏ ‎to ‎exploit‏ ‎them ‎for ‎LOTL ‎techniques.