Kill Chain in Cybersecurity: Stopping Cyberattacks with Strategic Tactics

Over the past two years, cyberattacks have reached record levels nearly every month. In Q2 2024, attacks were up 30% from the prior year and increased another 15% in Q3, a 75% increase from the same period in 2023.

Cyber threats targeting government, military, space, and critical infrastructure are rising to dangerous levels. “Every week, we’re recording over 100 attacks against critical infrastructure related to space systems,” said Erin Miller, executive director of the Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center.

In November 2024, hackers disrupted eight US telecommunications providers and twenty more in other countries. Chinese spies planted a chip on a three-star general’s conference name tag to track his movements. Iranian hackers targeted aerospace and defense targets to steal sensitive data.

The scope and scale of cyberattacks have increased. AI tools have provided cyber criminals with faster and easier ways to launch more sophisticated, targeted, and high-volume threats. In addition to having a layered approach to cyber defense, it has become mission-critical to deploy a kill chain in cybersecurity.

What Is the Cyber Kill Chain?

Developed by Lockheed Martin and adapted from similar military strategies, the cyber kill chain works by accelerating the process of detecting, locating, and mitigating cyber threats. By breaking down attacks into multiple stages, it creates a security framework to bolster defenses against advanced persistent threats.

Cyber kill chains can:

• Detect attackers at each stage of the threat lifecycle
• Prevent unauthorized access
• Stop data exfiltration or unauthorized sharing
• Respond to attacks in real time
• Stop lateral movement within networks

The Seven Stages of Cyber Kill Chains

Cyber kill chains typically comprise seven stages and effectively thwart increasingly sophisticated malware, ransomware, social engineering tactics, etc.

Let’s look at each one and the defensive strategies that you can employ to thwart various threats.

1. Reconnaissance

Attackers probe defenses, looking for gaps or vulnerabilities that can be exploited. Reconnaissance can take various forms, including social engineering, scanning software, and publicly accessible resources.

Defensive Strategies:

• Early detection: implementing systems to monitor unusual traffic or scanning activity
• Threat intelligence: using up-to-date threat feeds to stay informed about known attacker tactics
• Traffic monitoring: analyzing network logs for signs of reconnaissance activities

2. Weaponization

Threat actors create malicious payloads to exploit vulnerabilities. These include malware or ransomware, often triggered by phishing and social engineering tactics.

Defensive Strategies:

• Sandbox testing: analyzing files in isolated environments to detect malicious behavior
• Software patching: regularly updating applications and operating systems to minimize vulnerabilities
• Behavioral analysis: monitoring networks for suspicious file creation or modification patterns

3. Delivery

Weaponized attacks deliver payloads when users click on malicious links or fall victim to fake websites or phishing tactics. Infected PDF files, USB devices, and compromised websites are all delivery mechanisms.

Defensive Strategies:

• Email filters: deploying advanced email filtering to block phishing and spam attempts
• Endpoint security: utilizing antivirus and anti-malware solutions to detect and block payloads
• Employee training: conducting regular awareness sessions on recognizing phishing attempts and other delivery tactics

4. Exploitation

Once an attacker successfully delivers their payload, they gain access to networks and work to bypass security controls—for example, using stolen credentials to access your infrastructure.

Defensive Strategies:

• Zero-trust network access: restricting network access based on identity verification and the principle of least privilege
• Vulnerability scanning: continuously assessing and mitigating system vulnerabilities
• Patch management: applying security patches promptly to close known loopholes

5. Installation

Once access is gained, malicious software is deployed. This might include backdoors, remote access trojans, or keyloggers to create a persistent presence within systems.

Defensive Strategies:

• Application permission management: allowing only pre-authorized and approved applications to run within systems
• Application-level access control: limiting administrative access to critical systems and software
• Endpoint detection and response: continuously monitoring for file anomalies and software installations

6. Command and Control

In the command control stage, attackers establish control of your systems to achieve their goals. This can include a persistent presence in your networks and the ability to control and compromise systems.

Defensive Strategies:

• Network segmentation: preventing attackers from moving laterally within your network
• DNA monitoring: tracking unusual domain name queries that might indicate command-and-control tactics
• Anomaly detection: continuously scanning for suspicious traffic patterns

7. Action

This is the final stage, where attackers execute their intended objection. It can include implementing data exfiltration, controlling devices or resources, and compromising systems.

Defensive Strategies:

• Data encryption: ensuring sensitive data is encrypted both at rest and in transit
• Rapid response plans: developing and testing incident response and recovery strategies
• Disaster recovery solutions: implementing robust backups to restore operations quickly in the event of an attack

Identifying Vulnerabilities and Addressing Threats

Understanding the cyber kill chain helps security teams identify vulnerabilities and address threats at each stage. The earlier you can identify potential threats, the less damage the attackers can do. Choosing the right cybersecurity strategies disrupts an attacker’s ability and reduces their likelihood of success.

In a layered security approach, if your defense fails at one stage, you have additional opportunities to mitigate risk during subsequent stages.

Creating a Proactive Defense Across the Kill Chain

The best strategy for securing your assets is to be proactive. Anticipating and identifying threat vectors and applying mitigation strategies before attackers can find them enables you to limit entry points. The cyber kill chain provides a structure to map, identify, disrupt, and neutralize attacks across each stage.

Integrating Kill Chains into Cybersecurity Operations

Cybersecurity ops teams need to map existing processes to the various stages and ensure that the appropriate defensive strategies are in place at each level. For high-security applications and critical infrastructure, threat-hunting teams and penetration tests are best practices for discovering vulnerabilities.

Leveraging Advanced Technology

Utilizing AI and machine learning for predictive analytics can analyze massive amounts of data and help detect patterns that are precursors to threats, helping you respond before attacks occur. Predictive modeling based on behavioral analysis and history can provide real-time alerts to flag deviations for further review.

Building a Unified Cybersecurity Infrastructure

Most organizations have built their networks and defenses over time, creating additional attacker vectors that may or may not be monitored. A recent report noted that the average enterprise network has more than 135,000 endpoints and that as many as half are unmonitored. As networks and endpoints continue to grow and evolve, it is critical to maintain a unified cybersecurity infrastructure that overlays all aspects of your networks.

Centralized security operations centers, combined with unified threat management, bring together disparate components for a comprehensive approach. Platforms must integrate with your existing tech stack to avoid blind spots and data silos.

Strengthening Collaboration Across Agencies

For government agencies, sharing threat intelligence can help protect everyone. As systems are increasingly connected, pooling threat information can bring greater awareness to help identify emerging threats and coordinate response.

In private industries, collective threat intelligence is often gathered anonymously, helping all who participate to be better prepared. Having a common framework for documenting and ensuring that threat intelligence is always up to date can help thwart attacks.

Staying Ahead of Evolving Threats

Staying a step ahead of threat actors is a never-ending battle. New cyber adversaries emerge daily, and nation-state threats are increasing in activity. You need a layered approach to protect your infrastructure and prevent breaches. A strong cybersecurity framework and constant vigilance are vital. The cyber kill chain strategy can help you maintain effective cybersecurity.

Sumaria Systems is a reliable and trusted industry partner offering AI services that include advisory, assistance, and advanced analytics. With over forty years of experience, Sumaria has steadily improved its analytic capabilities with AI through research and development. DOD leaders can make rapid, well-informed decisions and gain a competitive edge by expertly leveraging high-quality data, advanced analytics, and AI.