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Detecting masquerading

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Masquerading occurs when the name or location of an object, legitimate or malicious, is manipulated or abused for the sake of evading defenses and observation. This might include manipulating file metadata, tricking users into misidentifying the file type, and giving legitimate task or service names.

Even when security monitoring and control mechanisms for system utilities are in place, it might be possible to bypass those security mechanisms by renaming the utility prior to utilization. Alternatively, a legitimate utility can be copied or moved to a different directory and renamed to avoid detections based on system utilities executing from non-standard paths.

The detections linked here will help with this use case.

How to use Splunk software for this use case

To deploy this use case, make sure that you have the Splunk ES Content Updates installed on your Splunk Enterprise Security deployment. This extensive content library empowers you to deploy out-of-the-box security detections and analytic stories to enhance your investigations and improve your security posture. If you do not have Splunk Enterprise Security, these detections will still give you an idea of what you can accomplish with SPL in the Splunk platform or with the free app, Splunk Security Essentials.

Some of the detections that can help you with this use case include:

Next steps

File integrity monitoring (FIM) can also assist in identifying masquerading. FIM can help you detect unauthorized changes made to files, directories, network devices, operating systems, and more. This can be accomplished by establishing a “baseline” for a file state and monitoring for changes made to that state. It’s a great way to quickly identify file discrepancies, modifications, and additions.

These additional Splunk resources might help you understand and implement this specific use case:

  • Splunk OnDemand Services: Use these credit-based services for direct access to Splunk technical consultants with a variety of technical services from a pre-defined catalog. Most customers have OnDemand Services per their Success Plan. Engage the ODS team at ondemand@cisco.com if you would like assistance.