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ATT&CK Technique

Proxy

T1090 · command-and-control

Adversaries may use a connection proxy to direct network traffic between systems or act as an intermediary for network communications to a command and control server to avoid direct connections to their infrastructure. Many tools exist that enable traffic redirection through proxies or port redirection, including HTRAN, ZXProxy, and ZXPortMap. Adversaries use these types of proxies to manage command and control communications, reduce the number of simultaneous outbound network connections, provide resiliency in the face of connection loss, or to ride over existing trusted communications paths between victims to avoid suspicion.

Adversaries may chain together multiple proxies to further disguise the source of malicious traffic. Adversaries can also take advantage of routing schemes in Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) to proxy command and control traffic.

ESXiLinuxmacOSNetwork DevicesWindows
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Actors Using This

14
iranAgrius
russia_speaking_cybercrimeAkira
russia_speaking_cybercrimeALPHV / BlackCat
latin_america_brazilian_organized_cybercrimeAmavaldo
north_koreaAndariel
franceAnimal Farm
russia_aligned_false_flag_hacktivismAnonymous Sudan
chinaAoqin Dragon
chinaAPT10
chinaAPT17
chinaAPT1
russiaAPT28
russiaAPT29
chinaAPT31
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Mitigations

3
MITRE ATT&CK mitigations - vendor-agnostic guidance for reducing exposure to this technique.
M1020SSL/TLS Inspection

SSL/TLS inspection involves decrypting encrypted network traffic to examine its content for signs of malicious activity. This capability is crucial for detecting threats that use encryption to evade detection, such as phishing, malware, or data exfiltration. After inspection, the traffic is re-encrypted and forwarded to its destination.

Deploy SSL/TLS Inspection Appliances
  • Implement SSL/TLS inspection solutions to decrypt and inspect encrypted traffic.
  • Ensure appliances are placed at critical network choke points for maximum coverage.
Configure Decryption Policies
  • Define rules to decrypt traffic for specific applications, ports, or domains.
  • Avoid decrypting sensitive or privacy-related traffic, such as financial or healthcare websites, to comply with regulations.
Integrate Threat Intelligence
  • Use threat intelligence feeds to correlate inspected traffic with known indicators of compromise (IOCs).
Integrate with Security Tools
  • Combine SSL/TLS inspection with SIEM and NDR tools to analyze decrypted traffic and generate alerts for suspicious activity.
Example Tools: Splunk, Darktrace Implement Certificate Management
  • Use trusted internal or third-party certificates for traffic re-encryption after inspection.
  • Regularly update certificate authorities (CAs) to ensure secure re-encryption.
Monitor and Tune
  • Continuously monitor SSL/TLS inspection logs for anomalies and fine-tune policies to reduce false positives.
M1031Network Intrusion Prevention

Use intrusion detection signatures to block traffic at network boundaries.

M1037Filter Network Traffic

Employ network appliances and endpoint software to filter ingress, egress, and lateral network traffic. This includes protocol-based filtering, enforcing firewall rules, and blocking or restricting traffic based on predefined conditions to limit adversary movement and data exfiltration.

Ingress Traffic Filtering
  • Use Case: Configure network firewalls to allow traffic only from authorized IP addresses to public-facing servers.
  • Implementation: Limit SSH (port 22) and RDP (port 3389) traffic to specific IP ranges.
Egress Traffic Filtering
  • Use Case: Use firewalls or endpoint security software to block unauthorized outbound traffic to prevent data exfiltration and command-and-control (C2) communications.
  • Implementation: Block outbound traffic to known malicious IPs or regions where communication is unexpected.
Protocol-Based Filtering
  • Use Case: Restrict the use of specific protocols that are commonly abused by adversaries, such as SMB, RPC, or Telnet, based on business needs.
  • Implementation: Disable SMBv1 on endpoints to prevent exploits like EternalBlue.
Network Segmentation
  • Use Case: Create network segments for critical systems and restrict communication between segments unless explicitly authorized.
  • Implementation: Implement VLANs to isolate IoT devices or guest networks from core business systems.
Application Layer Filtering
  • Use Case: Use proxy servers or Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) to inspect and block malicious HTTP/S traffic.
  • Implementation: Configure a WAF to block SQL injection attempts or other web application exploitation techniques.
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Detection Coverage

2/6 layers
Coverage across standard detection surfaces. Rows marked none have no rule of that type mapped. Some are real blind spots worth closing; others are simply not applicable to this technique (e.g. YARA matches malware files, not network behaviour).
Behavioral / log (Sigma) 21
Analytics (MITRE CAR) none
Runtime / container (Falco) none
File / malware (YARA) none
Network (Suricata/Snort) 3
Vuln scan (Nuclei) none
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Comply & Defend

NIST 800-53AC-03, AC-04, CA-07, CM-02, CM-06, CM-07, SC-07, SC-08, SI-03, SI-04, SI-10, SI-15
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