Adversaries may employ a known asymmetric encryption algorithm to conceal command and control traffic rather than relying on any inherent protections provided by a communication protocol. Asymmetric cryptography, also known as public key cryptography, uses a keypair per party: one public that can be freely distributed, and one private. Due to how the keys are generated, the sender encrypts data with the receiver’s public key and the receiver decrypts the data with their private key. This ensures that only the intended recipient can read the encrypted data. Common public key encryption algorithms include RSA and ElGamal.
For efficiency, many protocols (including SSL/TLS) use symmetric cryptography once a connection is established, but use asymmetric cryptography to establish or transmit a key. As such, these protocols are classified as Asymmetric Cryptography.
View in MITRE ATT&CK®| Capability ID | Capability Description | Mapping Type | ATT&CK ID | ATT&CK Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AC-4 | Information Flow Enforcement | Protects | T1573.002 | Asymmetric Cryptography | |
| CA-7 | Continuous Monitoring | Protects | T1573.002 | Asymmetric Cryptography | |
| CM-2 | Baseline Configuration | Protects | T1573.002 | Asymmetric Cryptography | |
| CM-6 | Configuration Settings | Protects | T1573.002 | Asymmetric Cryptography | |
| CM-7 | Least Functionality | Protects | T1573.002 | Asymmetric Cryptography | |
| SC-12 | Cryptographic Key Establishment and Management | Protects | T1573.002 | Asymmetric Cryptography | |
| SC-16 | Transmission of Security and Privacy Attributes | Protects | T1573.002 | Asymmetric Cryptography | |
| SC-23 | Session Authenticity | Protects | T1573.002 | Asymmetric Cryptography | |
| SC-7 | Boundary Protection | Protects | T1573.002 | Asymmetric Cryptography | |
| SI-3 | Malicious Code Protection | Protects | T1573.002 | Asymmetric Cryptography | |
| SI-4 | System Monitoring | Protects | T1573.002 | Asymmetric Cryptography |
| Capability ID | Capability Description | Mapping Type | ATT&CK ID | ATT&CK Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| action.hacking.variety.Use of backdoor or C2 | Use of Backdoor or C2 channel | related-to | T1573.002 | Encrypted Channels: Asymmetric Cryptography | |
| action.malware.variety.C2 | Command and control (C2) | related-to | T1573.002 | Encrypted Channels: Asymmetric Cryptography |