This walkthrough provides a comprehensive, step-by-step analysis of a RansomHub ransomware incident, guiding cybersecurity professionals through the complete attack lifecycle from initial access to final impact. The investigation leverages log analysis within a simulated Splunk environment to trace the threat actor's movements, identify their tools and techniques, and uncover critical indicators of compromise.
The scenario begins with a password spray attack against a publicly exposed RDP service, a common initial access vector. Following a successful compromise, the threat actor demonstrates a sophisticated operational methodology, including pivoting to new infrastructure to maintain stealth, establishing persistence through the abuse of legitimate Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) tools like Atera and Splashtop, and conducting extensive network reconnaissance. The actor skillfully employs a combination of "living-off-the-land" binaries (LOLBins) and third-party tools to map the environment, harvest credentials, and identify high-value data.
Key characteristics of this attack include: