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T1102.001 Dead Drop Resolver

Adversaries may use an existing, legitimate external Web service to host information that points to additional command and control (C2) infrastructure. Adversaries may post content, known as a dead drop resolver, on Web services with embedded (and often obfuscated/encoded) domains or IP addresses. Once infected, victims will reach out to and be redirected by these resolvers.

Popular websites and social media acting as a mechanism for C2 may give a significant amount of cover due to the likelihood that hosts within a network are already communicating with them prior to a compromise. Using common services, such as those offered by Google or Twitter, makes it easier for adversaries to hide in expected noise. Web service providers commonly use SSL/TLS encryption, giving adversaries an added level of protection.

Use of a dead drop resolver may also protect back-end C2 infrastructure from discovery through malware binary analysis while also enabling operational resiliency (since this infrastructure may be dynamically changed).

View in MITRE ATT&CK®

CRI Profile Mappings

Capability ID Capability Description Mapping Type ATT&CK ID ATT&CK Name Notes
DE.AE-02.01 Event analysis and detection Mitigates T1102.001 Dead Drop Resolver
Comments
This diagnostic statement provides for implementation of methods to block similar future attacks via security tools such as antivirus and IDS/IPS to provide protection against threats and exploitation attempts.
References
    DE.CM-01.01 Intrusion detection and prevention Mitigates T1102.001 Dead Drop Resolver
    Comments
    Network intrusion detection and prevention systems that use network signatures to identify traffic for specific adversary malware that can be used to mitigate malicious activity and identify adversaries that use web services to obfuscate domains or IP addresses.
    References
      DE.CM-01.05 Website and service blocking Mitigates T1102.001 Dead Drop Resolver
      Comments
      This diagnostic statement helps mitigate web service techniques through the implementation of tools and measures to detect and block access to unauthorized, inappropriate, or malicious websites and services.
      References
        PR.IR-01.03 Network communications integrity and availability Mitigates T1102.001 Dead Drop Resolver
        Comments
        This diagnostic statement protects against Dead Drop Resolver through the use of secure network configurations, architecture, implementations of zero trust architecture, and segmentation.
        References

          NIST 800-53 Mappings

          Capability ID Capability Description Mapping Type ATT&CK ID ATT&CK Name Notes
          CA-07 Continuous Monitoring mitigates T1102.001 Dead Drop Resolver
          CM-06 Configuration Settings mitigates T1102.001 Dead Drop Resolver
          SI-03 Malicious Code Protection mitigates T1102.001 Dead Drop Resolver
          CM-02 Baseline Configuration mitigates T1102.001 Dead Drop Resolver
          CM-07 Least Functionality mitigates T1102.001 Dead Drop Resolver
          SI-04 System Monitoring mitigates T1102.001 Dead Drop Resolver
          AC-04 Information Flow Enforcement mitigates T1102.001 Dead Drop Resolver
          SC-07 Boundary Protection mitigates T1102.001 Dead Drop Resolver

          VERIS Mappings

          Capability ID Capability Description Mapping Type ATT&CK ID ATT&CK Name Notes
          action.hacking.variety.Evade Defenses Modification of the action (rather than the system, as in 'Disable controls') to avoid detection. related-to T1102.001 Dead Drop Resolver
          action.malware.variety.C2 Malware creates Command and Control capability for malware. Child of 'Backdoor or C2'. related-to T1102.001 Dead Drop Resolver