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Remote Services: Windows Remote Management
Other sub-techniques of Remote Services (6)
ID | Name |
---|---|
T1021.001 | Remote Desktop Protocol |
T1021.002 | SMB/Windows Admin Shares |
T1021.003 | Distributed Component Object Model |
T1021.004 | SSH |
T1021.005 | VNC |
T1021.006 | Windows Remote Management |
Adversaries may use Valid Accounts to interact with remote systems using Windows Remote Management (WinRM). The adversary may then perform actions as the logged-on user.
WinRM is the name of both a Windows service and a protocol that allows a user to interact with a remote system (e.g., run an executable, modify the Registry, modify services).[1] It may be called with the winrm
command or by any number of programs such as PowerShell.[2]
Procedure Examples
Name | Description |
---|---|
Cobalt Strike |
Cobalt Strike can use |
Threat Group-3390 |
Threat Group-3390 has used WinRM to enable remote execution.[4] |
UNC2452 |
UNC2452 has used WinRM via PowerShell to execute command and payloads on remote hosts.[5] |
Wizard Spider |
Wizard Spider has used Window Remote Management to move laterally through a victim network.[6] |
Mitigations
Mitigation | Description |
---|---|
Disable or Remove Feature or Program |
Disable the WinRM service. |
Network Segmentation |
If the service is necessary, lock down critical enclaves with separate WinRM infrastructure and follow WinRM best practices on use of host firewalls to restrict WinRM access to allow communication only to/from specific devices.[7] |
Privileged Account Management |
If the service is necessary, lock down critical enclaves with separate WinRM accounts and permissions. |
Detection
Monitor use of WinRM within an environment by tracking service execution. If it is not normally used or is disabled, then this may be an indicator of suspicious behavior. Monitor processes created and actions taken by the WinRM process or a WinRM invoked script to correlate it with other related events.[8]
References
- Microsoft. (n.d.). Windows Remote Management. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
- Jacobsen, K. (2014, May 16). Lateral Movement with PowerShell[slides]. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
- Strategic Cyber LLC. (2017, March 14). Cobalt Strike Manual. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
- Counter Threat Unit Research Team. (2017, June 27). BRONZE UNION Cyberespionage Persists Despite Disclosures. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
- Symantec Threat Hunter Team. (2021, January 18). Raindrop: New Malware Discovered in SolarWinds Investigation. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
- DHS/CISA. (2020, October 28). Ransomware Activity Targeting the Healthcare and Public Health Sector. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
- National Security Agency/Central Security Service Information Assurance Directorate. (2015, August 7). Spotting the Adversary with Windows Event Log Monitoring. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
- French, D. (2018, September 30). Detecting Lateral Movement Using Sysmon and Splunk. Retrieved October 11, 2019.