Ransomware initial access and execution
The first stage of ransomware attacks is initially accessing the target environment and executing the first stage of malware. This provides the initial foothold that threat actors need to carry out the remainder of the attack. Having an awareness of how this initial foothold is achieved allows analysts to extract the IOCs related to this stage of the attack with the intent of determining the scope and potential source of the attack.
Initial access
The primary method that ransomware threat actors utilize to get the initial foothold into the target environment is using a Spear Phishing Attachment attack [T1566.001]. In many cases, this involves the use of a Microsoft Word or Excel spreadsheet that has a macro that can execute a Virtual Basic Application (VBA). This macro is often the first stage in a multi-stage attack where the unsuspecting user executes the macro, which then reaches out to the adversary’s infrastructure to pull down...