Precursor Intelligence Indicator
A Precursor Intelligence Indicator in cybersecurity refers to a piece of information, observation, or technical artifact that suggests a potential future attack or security incident is being planned or prepared, but has not yet been executed. It is an early warning sign that an adversary is conducting reconnaissance or staging resources before launching a full-scale attack.
Characteristics of Precursor Indicators
These indicators are critical because they occur during the reconnaissance and weaponization phases of the attack lifecycle, offering security teams the earliest opportunity to intervene and prevent an intrusion.
Focus on Intent, Not Execution: Unlike Indicators of Compromise (IOCs), which signal an ongoing or completed breach (e.g., specific malware hashes, command-and-control IP addresses), a precursor indicator focuses on the attacker's intent and preparation.
External and Public-Facing: Precursor activities are often conducted in public or external locations that attackers use for staging, such as the deep or dark web, third-party sites, or open-source intelligence (OSINT) channels.
Detailed Examples
Precursor intelligence helps a defensive team adopt Adversarial Empathy by revealing what an attacker is building or looking for.
Registration of Malicious Assets:
Domain Name Registration: An attacker registers a domain name that is a typosquatted version of a target company's legitimate domain (e.g.,
micros0ft.com). This is a clear precursor to a future phishing or brand-hijacking campaign.Web3 Domain Claiming: An adversary registers a company's brand name as a
.ethor.cryptodomain, signaling their intent to launch a future crypto scam.
Leakage of Organizational Information:
Credential Exposure: The discovery of employee or system compromised credentials on dark web forums or underground marketplaces. These credentials have not yet been used in an attack on the organization but represent a staged access point for the adversary.
Code Leaks: Sensitive configuration files, API keys, or proprietary code discovered in public forums or open source repositories like Pastebin or GitHub Gist. These leaks provide the technical knowledge an attacker needs to craft a tailored exploit.
Vulnerability Staging and Discussion:
Proof-of-Concept (PoC) Exploits: New PoC exploit code for a vulnerability affecting the organization’s technology stack appears on public code-sharing platforms or hacker forums. This signals that a specific vulnerability has been weaponized and is likely to be used soon.
Targeted Discussions: Adversary groups discussing the specific technologies, employees, or third-party vendors used by the targeted organization on private chat channels or dark web communities.
By actively hunting for these precursors, security teams can move from a reactive posture (cleaning up a breach) to a highly proactive one (preventing the attack before it even starts).
A Precursor Intelligence Indicator is an early warning sign that a cyberattack is being prepared, not executed, offering the earliest chance for prevention. ThreatNG is highly effective at identifying these precursors because it focuses on the unauthenticated, external digital footprint—the same area an adversary uses for reconnaissance and staging before an attack.
ThreatNG’s Role in Precursor Intelligence
ThreatNG’s capabilities directly support the discovery of precursor indicators, enabling organizations to adopt a proactive security posture.
External Discovery and Continuous Monitoring
ThreatNG performs purely external unauthenticated discovery to identify all associated assets. This is critical for precursor intelligence because it mimics an adversary’s initial reconnaissance, revealing the information an attacker would gather before attempting a compromise. Continuous monitoring of the external attack surface ensures that new precursors, such as a recently registered malicious domain or a new code leak, are detected immediately, minimizing the window of opportunity for attackers.
External Assessment for Precursor Indicators
ThreatNG’s security ratings are designed to quantify susceptibility based on findings that are inherently precursor in nature:
BEC & Phishing Susceptibility Security Rating: This identifies staging for fraudulent campaigns.
Precursor Example: ThreatNG checks for Domain Name Permutations that are both available and taken. The registration of a taken typosquatted domain
[companyname]l0gin.comis a clear precursor indicator, signaling that a future phishing or brand-hijacking attack is being prepared. ThreatNG flags this malicious asset registration before the attack is launched.
Brand Damage Susceptibility Security Rating: This uncovers digital assets being staged for reputation-based attacks.
Precursor Example: ThreatNG checks for Web3 Domains (available and taken). An adversary claiming a brand's name on a new Web3 TLD is a precursor to a potential crypto scam or a new form of digital identity compromise, which ThreatNG’s assessment flags for immediate remediation.
Data Leak Susceptibility Security Rating: This identifies exposed assets that adversaries will use to bypass security controls.
Precursor Example: ThreatNG flags Compromised Credentials (Dark Web Presence) and Exposed Open Cloud Buckets. Exposed credentials found on the dark web are a staging precursor, providing the attacker with an initial access vector. Similarly, an exposed open cloud bucket is a precursor to future data exfiltration or system compromise.
Investigation Modules and Intelligence Repositories
The investigation modules are the engine for finding precursors, supported by deep intelligence from the DarCache repositories.
Investigation Modules (Examples in Detail):
Domain Intelligence - Domain Name Permutations: This module proactively hunts for the classic precursor of a phishing attack: the registration of a lookalike domain. It detects manipulations such as homoglyphs or the addition of Targeted Key Words, such as login, auth, or pay, providing the organization with an early warning to seek takedown before the domain is used maliciously.
Sensitive Code Exposure - Code Repository Exposure: This module discovers precursors in public repositories, such as leaked AWS Access Key ID Values, Stripe API Keys, or private SSH keys. These are not Indicators of Compromise, but are "keys to the kingdom" that an attacker would use to launch a future attack.
Online Sharing Exposure: The discovery of an organization’s presence on code-sharing platforms such as Pastebin or GitHub Gist is a precursor, as attackers frequently use these sites to stage leaked credentials or code fragments for future exploitation.
Intelligence Repositories (DarCache):
DarCache Rupture (Compromised Credentials): This intelligence repository is a core source for precursor indicators, as it tracks credentials that could be used for initial access but have not yet appeared in an attack.
DarCache Vulnerability (KEV and EPSS): This informs prioritization. KEV (Known Exploited Vulnerabilities) identifies flaws that are actively being exploited in attacks (often after the precursor phase). EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) provides a probabilistic estimate of the likelihood that a vulnerability will be exploited in the near future, a high-value precursor intelligence indicator for prioritizing patches.
Reporting and Complementary Solutions
ThreatNG provides Security Ratings (A-F) and Prioritized Reports. These reports present precursor findings with risk levels to help organizations allocate resources and focus on the most critical risks, moving security efforts from reactive to predictive.
Complementary Solutions Example 1 (Security Information and Event Management - SIEM): When ThreatNG identifies a precursor, such as a new, typosquatted domain, this threat intelligence can be streamed to a complementary SIEM solution. The SIEM can then immediately use that domain and its related IP address to create a blocking rule on perimeter firewalls or to hunt for any historical traffic to that domain that may indicate early attacker reconnaissance.
Complementary Solutions Example 2 (Digital Risk Protection - DRP): When ThreatNG finds a Sensitive Code Exposure containing an API Key in a public repository, this precursor indicator can be passed to a DRP vendor. The DRP partner can then use that evidence to initiate a formal, external takedown request with the hosting platform (like GitHub) and provide the technical details necessary for the company to revoke the exposed API key immediately.
