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Cyber-crime increasingly impacts both the online and offline world, and targeted attacks play a significant role in disrupting services in both. Targeted attacks are those that are aimed at a particular individual, group, or type of site or service. Unlike worms and viruses that usually attack indiscriminately, targeted attacks involve intelligence-gathering and planning to a degree that drastically changes its profile. Individuals, corporations, and even governments are facing new threats from targeted attacks. Targeted Cyber Attacks examines real-world examples of directed attacks and provides insight into what techniques and resources are used to stage these attacks so that you can counter them more effectively. A well-structured introduction into the world of targeted cyber-attacksIncludes analysis of real-world attacksWritten by cyber-security researchers and experts.

Includes bibliographical references.

Front Cover; Targeted Cyber Attacks; Copyright Page; A Few Words About Targeted Cyber Attacks; Contents; Acknowledgments; About the Authors; Overview; 1 Introduction; References; 2 Intelligence Gathering; 2.1 Intelligence Gathering Process; 2.2 OSINT, CYBINT, and HUMINT; 2.3 OSNs: A Case Study; References; 3 Infecting the Target; 3.1 Elements Used in Incursion; 3.2 Model A: Spear Phishing Attack: Malicious Attachments; 3.3 Model B: Spear Phishing Attack: Embedded Malicious Links; 3.4 Model C: Waterholing Attack; 3.5 Model D: BYOD as Infection Carriers: USB.

3.6 Model E: Direct Incursion: Network ExploitationReferences; 4 System Exploitation; 4.1 Modeling Exploits in Targeted Attacks; 4.2 Elements Supporting System Exploitation; 4.2.1 Browser Exploit Packs (BEPs); 4.2.2 Zero-Day Vulnerabilities and Exploits; 4.3 Defense Mechanisms and Existing Mitigations; 4.4 Anatomy of Exploitation Techniques; 4.4.1 Return-to-Libc Attacks; 4.4.2 Return-oriented Programming; 4.4.3 Attacking DEP and ASLR; 4.4.4 Digging Inside Info Leak Vulnerabilities; 4.5 Browser Exploitation Paradigm; 4.6 Drive-By Download Attack Model; 4.6.1 Compromising a Web Site/Domain.

4.6.2 Infecting a Web Site4.6.3 Hosting BEPs and Distributing Links; 4.6.4 Fingerprinting the User Environment; 4.6.5 Attacking Heap-Model of Exploitation; 4.6.6 Heap Spraying; 4.6.7 Heap Feng Shui/Heap Massage; 4.7 Stealth Malware Design and Tactics; 4.7.1 Hooking; 4.7.2 Bypassing Static and Dynamic Detection Mechanisms; References; 5 Data Exfiltration Mechanisms; 5.1 Phase 1: Data Gathering Mechanisms; 5.2 Phase 2: Data Transmission; References; 6 Maintaining Control and Lateral Movement; 6.1 Maintaining Control; 6.1.1 Deploying BackConnect Servers; 6.1.2 Local Privilege Escalation.

8 Challenges and Countermeasures8.1 Real-Time Challenges; 8.1.1 Persisting False Sense of Security; 8.1.2 Myths About Malware Infections and Protection; 8.2 Countermeasures and Future Developments; 8.2.1 Building a Strong Response Plan; 8.2.2 End System Security; 8.2.3 User Centric Security; 8.2.4 Network Level Security; 8.2.5 Security Assessment and Patch Management; 8.2.6 Next-generation Defenses; References; 9 Conclusion; References; Abbreviations.