Network Propagation

The last unaddressed stage of the second phase of the Unified Kill Chain of sophisticated cyberattacks is network propagation. At this point, threat actors have everything they need to move forward – network information, accounts, or information about exploitable vulnerabilities. They have a clear understanding of what methods of furthering the attack and achieving their goals will be most effective and how to ensure that their actions continue to go undetected.

The main objective of this stage for threat actors is to gain access to the hosts included in the scope of the attack defined in the previous stages, as well as to prepare for the final stages on the way to achieving their goals. That said, keep in mind that the stages from gaining a foothold to propagating through the network can be cyclical. Often, adversaries have to compromise several intermediate hosts before they are ready to accomplish their primary objectives.

Thus, within the scope...