Demystifying Cobalt Strike

Have you ever wished you had a mischievous little sidekick to help you navigate the intricate world of hacking?

Posted Dec 21, 2023

By Mingmar Lama

5 min read

cobaltstrike article

Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only. The author emphasizes lawful and ethical activities, and does not endorse unauthorized or malicious actions. The information presented here is solely for educational purposes, and readers are responsible for their own actions and consequences.

Have you ever wished you had a mischievous little sidekick to help you navigate the intricate world of hacking? Well, look no further than Cobalt Strike! Picture this: a little assistant wearing a black hoodie, armed with a cyber toolbox filled with an array of tricks. It’s like having your own hacker companion ready to assist you on your digital adventures.

Totally not pun-intended

But here’s the twist: instead of embarking on a daring mission to steal priceless artwork, you’re diving into networks, gathering valuable information, and outsmarting security systems. It’s like being the protagonist in a thrilling heist movie, only this time, your objective is to uncover vulnerabilities and protect against potential cyber threats.

Just remember, while Cobalt Strike may seem like a mischievous and fun companion, it’s crucial to always stay on the right side of the digital law. Ethical hacking is the name of the game here, using your skills and the power of Cobalt Strike for lawful and responsible purposes.

So, buckle up, put on your imaginary hacker shades, and let Cobalt Strike be your trusty sidekick in exploring the world of cybersecurity. Together, you’ll uncover hidden secrets, master the art of penetration testing, and emerge as the heroes of the digital realm!

All Jokes and Cool Statements aside

Let’s understand what Cobalt Strike really is:

Cobalt Strike is a threat emulation tool which simulates adversarial post-exploitation scenarios and supports Red Team operations. Replicate the tactics of a long-term embedded threat actor using a post-exploitation agent, Beacon, and Malleable C2, a command and control program that enables modification of network indicators to blend in with traffic and look like different malware.

So, what is threat emulation tool and all the other gibberish mentioned above? IDK either, just google it. JK “Just Kidding”, I have listed out all the references and resources links for you at the very end.

Fun fact : Cobalt Strike is a paid software and it’s licenses are really cheap, Just visit here to know about the pricing and other details.

Licenses were really cheap, weren’t they?

So, what do we do now to test cobalt strike? Buy Licenses? Yes of course, LMAO don’t even think of using any cracked or leaked ones.

And, the big question here could be, Do i have the license to showcase you the workflow of Cobalt Strike?

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Of course NO, i don’t have the license for myself either, DID you even check out the license pricing ? HAHA. If not, do check it our here again.

My sole purpose of writing this blog is to raise awareness about Cobalt Strike and how it is commonly used by Cyber Threat Actors for their campaigns. You can find samples of recent Cobalt Strike payloads discovered in the wild on Malware Bazaar. Additionally, you can access information about Indicators of Compromise (IOCs) related to Cobalt Strike on ThreatFox.

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Now talking about my experience and as much as i know from researching and learning about Cobalt Strike, It is a powerful tool that enables a Cyber Threat Actor (CTA) to create a wide range of payloads, known as Beacons, for Windows systems. These payloads can be in the form of PowerShell and Python scripts, DLLs, EXEs, and other executable formats. The CTA has the flexibility to choose from existing Malleable C2 profiles or create their own custom profiles. These profiles allow the CTA to emulate specific procedures for delivering and executing actions on the victim’s system. With Cobalt Strike, the CTA can navigate through various avenues to gain access, gather information, and execute attacks, all while blending in with legitimate network traffic.

The main concepts to understand in Cobalt Strike are Team Server, Client, Malleable C2 Profile, Aggressor Scripts and Beacon. A threat actor who grasps the basics of these concepts could utilize Cobalt Strike’s fundamental functionality to target organizations of various sizes, potentially making them victims.

According to someone i forgot who, “Cobalt Strike is like Photoshop. Photoshop doesn’t create art for you. It provides the tools to a professional to create masterpieces. Both are only as good as the operator”. — Someone

Remember that i don’t have a license for Cobalt Strike? If i had one, i could possibly show you how much of a great artist i am and would even flop mediocre artists like “Vincent Van Gogh” and “Da Vinci”.

Cuz they are no more..

APT groups that have been found to use Cobalt Strike for their campaigns and other details about the techniques can be found at MITRE ATT&CK.

Lastly what i want to say about this whole blog is, NOTHING. I strongly hope no one uses any tool for hacking or engage with any hacking group, please don’t hack anyone.

This whole blog has been a short introduction to Cobalt Strike and not a tutorial of how to use it or even analyzing/detecting any of its beacons but the awareness of how it’s still is to this date is being used widely by Threat Actors for their own different motives and should explicitly prohibited by the law if found to be used for any malicious activity because Cobalt Strike is a huge topic that needs a whole book about it and it’s community that develops different additional features for it.

Sidenote: References and Resources have been collected and listed below for detecting, analyzing or using cobalt strike which of course, i strongly recommend doing for educational purpose and in a controlled environment.