The Attacker

Attacker motivations are many and varied. The Attacker that can understand the paradox of the humanity infused into technology will think like its creators, will see their assumptions, and will find ways to violate those assumptions to great effect. This chapter describes the stages of an offensive operation that include: targeting, initial access, persistence, expansion, exfiltration, and detection. The approach the Attacker takes to gain initial access depends on the type of connectivity the target network offers. There are four basic types of connectivity: inbound access, outbound access, both, and neither. Operational expertise is essential to creatively sustaining operations in the face of adversity. Attackers with operational expertise can adapt existing or improvise new techniques to accomplish their operational objective while remaining undetected. Operational analysis is leveraged to direct each step and every movement of the Attacker in every stage of the life cycle.