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T1588.004 Digital Certificates

Adversaries may buy and/or steal SSL/TLS certificates that can be used during targeting. SSL/TLS certificates are designed to instill trust. They include information about the key, information about its owner’s identity, and the digital signature of an entity that has verified the certificate’s contents are correct. If the signature is valid, and the person examining the certificate trusts the signer, then they know they can use that key to communicate with its owner.

Adversaries may purchase or steal SSL/TLS certificates to further their operations, such as encrypting C2 traffic (ex: Asymmetric Cryptography with Web Protocols) or even enabling Adversary-in-the-Middle if the certificate is trusted or otherwise added to the root of trust (i.e. Install Root Certificate). The purchase of digital 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 certificate materials directly from a compromised third-party, including from certificate authorities.1 Adversaries may register or hijack domains that they will later purchase an SSL/TLS certificate for.

Certificate authorities exist that allow adversaries to acquire SSL/TLS certificates, such as domain validation certificates, for free.2

After obtaining a digital certificate, an adversary may then install that certificate (see Install Digital Certificate) on infrastructure under their control.

Item Value
ID T1588.004
Sub-techniques T1588.001, T1588.002, T1588.003, T1588.004, T1588.005, T1588.006
Tactics TA0042
Platforms PRE
Version 1.2
Created 01 October 2020
Last Modified 16 October 2021

Procedure Examples

ID Name Description
G0098 BlackTech BlackTech has used valid, stolen digital certificates for some of their malware and tools.6
G0032 Lazarus Group Lazarus Group has obtained SSL certificates for their C2 domains.5
G0122 Silent Librarian Silent Librarian has obtained free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates for use on their phishing pages.78

Mitigations

ID Mitigation Description
M1056 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

ID Data Source Data Component
DS0037 Certificate Certificate Registration
DS0035 Internet Scan Response Content

References

  1. Fisher, D. (2012, October 31). Final Report on DigiNotar Hack Shows Total Compromise of CA Servers. Retrieved March 6, 2017. ↩

  2. Let’s Encrypt. (2020, April 23). Let’s Encrypt FAQ. Retrieved October 15, 2020. ↩

  3. Kovar, R. (2017, December 11). Tall Tales of Hunting with TLS/SSL Certificates. Retrieved October 16, 2020. ↩

  4. Insikt Group. (2019, June 18). A Multi-Method Approach to Identifying Rogue Cobalt Strike Servers. Retrieved October 16, 2020. ↩

  5. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. (2021, February 21). AppleJeus: Analysis of North Korea’s Cryptocurrency Malware. Retrieved March 1, 2021. ↩

  6. Cherepanov, A.. (2018, July 9). Certificates stolen from Taiwanese tech‑companies misused in Plead malware campaign. Retrieved May 6, 2020. ↩

  7. Hassold, Crane. (2018, March 26). Silent Librarian: More to the Story of the Iranian Mabna Institute Indictment. Retrieved February 3, 2021. ↩

  8. Counter Threat Unit Research Team. (2019, September 11). COBALT DICKENS Goes Back to School…Again. Retrieved February 3, 2021. ↩

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