Network Connection Enumeration

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Network Connection Enumeration
Technique
ID	T0840
Tactic	Discovery
Data Sources	Command: Command Execution, Process: OS API Execution, Process: Process Creation
Asset	Human-Machine Interface

Description

Adversaries may perform network connection enumeration to discover information about device communication patterns. If an adversary can inspect the state of a network connection with tools, such as netstat, in conjunction with System Firmware, then they can determine the role of certain devices on the network 1. The adversary can also use Network Sniffing to watch network traffic for details about the source, destination, protocol, and content.

Procedure Examples

• EKANS performs a DNS lookup of an internal domain name associated with its target network to identify if it was deployed on the intended system.2
• Industroyer contains an IEC 61850 module that enumerates all connected network adapters to determine their TCP/IP subnet masks.3

Mitigations

• Mitigation Limited or Not Effective - Network connection enumeration is likely obtained by using common system tools (e.g., netstat, ipconfig).

References

1. ^  MITRE. (n.d.). System Network Connections Discovery. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
2. ^  Ben Hunter and Fred Gutierrez. (2020, July 01). EKANS Ransomware Targeting OT ICS Systems. Retrieved April 12, 2021.

3. ^  Anton Cherepanov, ESET. (2017, June 12). Win32/Industroyer: A new threat for industrial control systems. Retrieved September 15, 2017.