Currently viewing ATT&CK v8.2 which was live between October 27, 2020 and April 28, 2021. Learn more about the versioning system or see the live site.
TECHNIQUES
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  1. Home
  2. Techniques
  3. Enterprise
  4. Obtain Capabilities
  5. Code Signing Certificates

Obtain Capabilities: Code Signing Certificates

ID Name
T1588.001 Malware
T1588.002 Tool
T1588.003 Code Signing Certificates
T1588.004 Digital Certificates
T1588.005 Exploits
T1588.006 Vulnerabilities

Before compromising a victim, adversaries may buy and/or steal code signing certificates that can be used during targeting. Code signing is the process of digitally signing executables and scripts to confirm the software author and guarantee that the code has not been altered or corrupted. Code signing provides a level of authenticity for a program from the developer and a guarantee that the program has not been tampered with.[1] Users and/or security tools may trust a signed piece of code more than an unsigned piece of code even if they don't know who issued the certificate or who the author is.

Prior to Code Signing, adversaries may purchase or steal code signing certificates for use in operations. The purchase of code signing certificates may be done using a front organization or using information stolen from a previously compromised entity that allows the adversary to validate to a certificate provider as that entity. Adversaries may also steal code signing materials directly from a compromised third-party.

ID: T1588.003
Sub-technique of:  T1588
Tactic: Resource Development
Platforms: PRE
Version: 1.0
Created: 01 October 2020
Last Modified: 22 October 2020

Procedure Examples

Name Description
Wizard Spider

Wizard Spider obtained a code signing certificate signed by Digicert for some of its malware.[2]

Mitigations

Mitigation Description
Pre-compromise

This technique cannot be easily mitigated with preventive controls since it is based on behaviors performed outside of the scope of enterprise defenses and controls.

Detection

Much of this activity will take place outside the visibility of the target organization, making detection of this behavior difficult. Detection efforts may be focused on related follow-on behavior, such as Code Signing or Install Root Certificate.

References

  1. Wikipedia. (2015, November 10). Code Signing. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  1. The DFIR Report. (2020, November 5). Ryuk Speed Run, 2 Hours to Ransom. Retrieved November 6, 2020.