Automation · API / MCP 中文

Technique note · T1573.002

Asymmetric Cryptography

Adversaries may employ a known asymmetric encryption algorithm to conceal command and control traffic rather than relying on any inherent protections provided by a communication protocol. Asymmetric cryptography, also known as public key cryptography, uses a keypair per party: one public that can be freely distributed, and one private. Due to how the keys are generated, the sender encrypts data with the receiver’s public key and the receiver decrypts the data with their private key. This ensures that only the intended recipient can read the encrypted data. Common public key encryption algorithms include RSA and ElGamal. For efficiency, many protocols (including SSL/TLS) use symmetric cryptography once a connection is established, but use asymmetric cryptography to establish or transmit a key. As such, these protocols are classified as Asymmetric Cryptography.

ATT&CK T1573.002 platforms — Status Active Version 20.1

Adversaries may employ a known asymmetric encryption algorithm to conceal command and control traffic rather than relying on any inherent protections provided by a communication protocol. Asymmetric cryptography, also known as public key cryptography, uses a keypair per party: one public that can be freely distributed, and one private. Due to how the keys are generated, the sender encrypts data with the receiver’s public key and the receiver decrypts the data with their private key. This ensures that only the intended recipient can read the encrypted data. Common public key encryption algorithms include RSA and ElGamal. For efficiency, many protocols (including SSL/TLS) use symmetric cryptography once a connection is established, but use asymmetric cryptography to establish or transmit a key. As such, these protocols are classified as Asymmetric Cryptography.12

  1. What is asymmetric encryption
  2. Symmetric vs Asymmetric Cryptography

Groups using this technique

GroupNameCountry
grp_g1042RedEcho—
grp_g1047Velvet Ant—
grp_g1018TA2541—
grp_g0037FIN6—
grp_g1051Medusa Group—
grp_g0080Cobalt Group—
grp_g1057ShinyHunters—
grp_g1039RedCurlRussia
grp_g1044APT42Iran
grp_g0049OilRigIran
grp_g0061FIN8—
grp_g0081Tropic Trooper—

Claims

No public claim points at this technique yet.

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