Fortifying the Fort: System Hardening Against LOTL Threats

Hardening ‎strategies‏ ‎are ‎aimed ‎at ‎reducing ‎the‏ ‎attack ‎surface‏ ‎and‏ ‎enhancing ‎the ‎security‏ ‎posture ‎of‏ ‎organizations ‎and ‎their ‎critical‏ ‎infrastructure.

Hardening‏ ‎Guidance

📌 Vendor ‎and‏ ‎Industry ‎Hardening‏ ‎Guidance: Organizations ‎should ‎strengthen ‎software ‎and‏ ‎system‏ ‎configurations ‎based‏ ‎on ‎vendor-provided‏ ‎or ‎industry, ‎sector, ‎or ‎government‏ ‎hardening‏ ‎guidance,‏ ‎such ‎as‏ ‎those ‎from‏ ‎NIST, ‎to‏ ‎reduce‏ ‎the ‎attack‏ ‎surface.

Platform-Specific ‎Hardening:

📌 Windows: ‎Apply ‎security ‎updates‏ ‎and ‎patches‏ ‎from‏ ‎Microsoft, ‎follow ‎Windows‏ ‎Security ‎Baselines‏ ‎Guide ‎or ‎CIS ‎Benchmarks,‏ ‎harden‏ ‎commonly ‎exploited‏ ‎services ‎like‏ ‎SMB ‎and ‎RDP, ‎and ‎disable‏ ‎unnecessary‏ ‎services ‎and‏ ‎features.

📌 Linux: ‎Check‏ ‎binary ‎permissions ‎and ‎adhere ‎to‏ ‎CIS’s‏ ‎Red‏ ‎Hat ‎Enterprise‏ ‎Linux ‎Benchmarks.

📌 macOS: Regularly‏ ‎update ‎and‏ ‎patch‏ ‎the ‎system,‏ ‎use ‎built-in ‎security ‎features ‎like‏ ‎Gatekeeper, ‎XProtect,‏ ‎and‏ ‎FileVault, ‎and ‎follow‏ ‎the ‎macOS‏ ‎Security ‎Compliance ‎Project's ‎guidelines.

Cloud‏ ‎Infrastructure‏ ‎Hardening:

📌 Microsoft ‎Cloud: Refer‏ ‎to ‎CISA’s‏ ‎Microsoft ‎365 ‎security ‎configuration ‎baseline‏ ‎guides‏ ‎for ‎secure‏ ‎configuration ‎baselines‏ ‎across ‎various ‎Microsoft ‎cloud ‎services.

📌 Google‏ ‎Cloud:‏ ‎Consult‏ ‎CISA’s ‎Google‏ ‎Workspace ‎security‏ ‎configuration ‎baseline‏ ‎guides‏ ‎for ‎secure‏ ‎configuration ‎baselines ‎across ‎Google ‎cloud‏ ‎services.

📌 Universal ‎Hardening‏ ‎Measures:‏ ‎Minimize ‎running ‎services,‏ ‎apply ‎the‏ ‎principle ‎of ‎least ‎privilege,‏ ‎and‏ ‎secure ‎network‏ ‎communications.

📌 Critical ‎Asset‏ ‎Security: ‎Apply ‎vendor ‎hardening ‎measures‏ ‎for‏ ‎critical ‎assets‏ ‎like ‎ADFS‏ ‎and ‎ADCS ‎and ‎limit ‎the‏ ‎applications‏ ‎and‏ ‎services ‎that‏ ‎can ‎be‏ ‎used ‎or‏ ‎accessed‏ ‎by ‎them.

📌 Administrative‏ ‎Tools: ‎Use ‎tools ‎that ‎do‏ ‎not ‎cache‏ ‎credentials‏ ‎on ‎the ‎remote‏ ‎host ‎to‏ ‎prevent ‎threat ‎actors ‎from‏ ‎reusing‏ ‎compromised ‎credentials.

Application‏ ‎Allowlisting

📌 Constrain ‎Execution‏ ‎Environment: ‎Implement ‎application ‎allowlisting ‎to‏ ‎channel‏ ‎user ‎and‏ ‎administrative ‎activity‏ ‎through ‎a ‎narrow ‎path, ‎enhancing‏ ‎monitoring‏ ‎and‏ ‎reducing ‎alert‏ ‎volume.

Platform-Specific ‎Allowlisting:

📌 macOS:‏ ‎Configure ‎Gatekeeper‏ ‎settings‏ ‎to ‎prevent‏ ‎execution ‎of ‎unsigned ‎or ‎unauthorized‏ ‎applications.

📌 Windows: ‎Use‏ ‎AppLocker‏ ‎and ‎Windows ‎Defender‏ ‎Application ‎Control‏ ‎to ‎regulate ‎executable ‎files,‏ ‎scripts,‏ ‎MSI ‎files,‏ ‎DLLs, ‎and‏ ‎packaged ‎app ‎formats.

Network ‎Segmentation ‎and‏ ‎Monitoring

📌 Limit‏ ‎Lateral ‎Movement:‏ ‎Implement ‎network‏ ‎segmentation ‎to ‎limit ‎the ‎access‏ ‎of‏ ‎users‏ ‎to ‎the‏ ‎minimum ‎necessary‏ ‎applications ‎and‏ ‎services,‏ ‎reducing ‎the‏ ‎impact ‎of ‎compromised ‎credentials.

📌 Network ‎Traffic‏ ‎Analysis: ‎Use‏ ‎tools‏ ‎to ‎monitor ‎traffic‏ ‎between ‎segments‏ ‎and ‎place ‎network ‎sensors‏ ‎at‏ ‎critical ‎points‏ ‎for ‎comprehensive‏ ‎traffic ‎analysis.

📌 Network ‎Traffic ‎Metadata ‎Parsing:‏ ‎Utilize‏ ‎parsers ‎like‏ ‎Zeek ‎and‏ ‎integrate ‎NIDS ‎like ‎Snort ‎or‏ ‎Suricata‏ ‎to‏ ‎detect ‎LOTL‏ ‎activities.

Authentication ‎Controls

📌 Phishing-Resistant‏ ‎MFA: Enforce ‎MFA‏ ‎across‏ ‎all ‎systems,‏ ‎especially ‎for ‎privileged ‎accounts.

📌 Privileged ‎Access‏ ‎Management ‎(PAM):‏ ‎Deploy‏ ‎robust ‎PAM ‎solutions‏ ‎with ‎just-in-time‏ ‎access ‎and ‎time-based ‎controls,‏ ‎complemented‏ ‎by ‎role-based‏ ‎access ‎control‏ ‎(RBAC).

📌 Cloud ‎Identity ‎and ‎Credential ‎Access‏ ‎Management‏ ‎(ICAM): Enforce ‎strict‏ ‎ICAM ‎policies,‏ ‎audit ‎configurations, ‎and ‎rotate ‎access‏ ‎keys.

📌 Sudoers‏ ‎File‏ ‎Review: ‎For‏ ‎macOS ‎and‏ ‎Unix, ‎regularly‏ ‎review‏ ‎the ‎sudoers‏ ‎file ‎for ‎misconfigurations ‎and ‎adhere‏ ‎to ‎the‏ ‎principle‏ ‎of ‎least ‎privilege.

Zero‏ ‎Trust ‎Architecture

As‏ ‎a ‎long-term ‎strategy, ‎the‏ ‎guidance‏ ‎recommends ‎implementing‏ ‎zero ‎trust‏ ‎architectures ‎to ‎ensure ‎that ‎binaries‏ ‎and‏ ‎accounts ‎are‏ ‎not ‎automatically‏ ‎trusted ‎and ‎their ‎use ‎is‏ ‎restricted‏ ‎and‏ ‎examined ‎for‏ ‎trustworthy ‎behavior.

Additional‏ ‎Recommendations

📌 Due ‎Diligence‏ ‎in‏ ‎Vendor ‎Selection: Choose‏ ‎vendors ‎with ‎secure ‎by ‎design‏ ‎principles ‎and‏ ‎hold‏ ‎them ‎accountable ‎for‏ ‎their ‎software’s‏ ‎default ‎configurations.

📌 Audit ‎Remote ‎Access‏ ‎Software: Identify‏ ‎authorized ‎remote‏ ‎access ‎software‏ ‎and ‎apply ‎best ‎practices ‎for‏ ‎securing‏ ‎remote ‎access.

📌 Restrict‏ ‎Outbound ‎Internet‏ ‎Connectivity: ‎Limit ‎internet ‎access ‎for‏ ‎back-end‏ ‎servers‏ ‎and ‎monitor‏ ‎outbound ‎connectivity‏ ‎for ‎essential‏ ‎services.