Step Tools
In the field of cybersecurity and attack path intelligence, Step Tools (also known as the Adversary Arsenal or Tooling) refer to the specific software, utilities, and scripts used by a threat actor to execute a discrete action within a larger attack sequence. While a "Step Action" defines what an attacker is doing (e.g., Reconnaissance), Step Tools define how they are doing it technically.
Understanding Step Tools is critical for defensive teams because it enables them to identify an adversary's "Tech Stack" and monitor the specific digital footprints left by these tools.
What are Step Tools?
Step Tools are the functional instruments of an attack narrative. They encompass everything from open-source intelligence (OSINT) scanners to sophisticated malware frameworks. In professional technical reporting, these are referred to as the attacker's Tech Stack.
By mapping tools to specific stages of the Cyber Kill Chain or MITRE ATT&CK, security teams can anticipate an adversary's next move and implement targeted detections.
Categorization of Step Tools Across the Attack Surface
To manage modern risk, security professionals categorize Step Tools based on their functional domain within a cyberattack:
1. Reconnaissance and OSINT Tools
These tools are used for initial information gathering, asset discovery, and identifying the external attack surface.
Infrastructure & DNS: Tools like Nmap, Amass, Subfinder, and Shodan are used to identify registered domains, open ports, and exposed services.
Social & People Research: Platforms such as LinkedIn scrapers, Social Analyzer, and SpiderFoot are used to profile executives and employees for social engineering.
2. Vulnerability Research and Scanning Tools
Used to identify technical weaknesses, misconfigurations, and known exploits (CVEs).
Web & API Scanners: Nuclei, Burp Suite, and OWASP ZAP help automate the discovery of flaws such as Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) and SQL injection.
Cloud & Secrets Security: Tools such as TruffleHog, GitLeaks, and S3Scanner are used to identify hardcoded API keys and exposed cloud storage.
3. Exploitation and Lateral Movement Frameworks
These represent the more aggressive part of the adversary arsenal, used to gain access and move through a network.
Exploitation Frameworks: Metasploit, Cobalt Strike, and Empire are used to deliver payloads and manage compromised systems.
Privilege Escalation: Utilities like Mimikatz, BloodHound, and LinPEAS help attackers harvest credentials and identify paths to administrative access.
Why Mapping Step Tools is Essential for Defense
Without knowing the Step Tools, a defender sees a "Path Description" but lacks the technical context to stop it.
Enhanced Detection: Knowing that a specific path (e.g., "Subdomain Takeover") uses tools like Subjack allows defenders to look for the unique user agents or request patterns that those tools generate.
Predictive Response: If an analyst detects XSStrike (a tool for XSS) being used against a subdomain, they can predict that the following step action will likely be Payload Crafting and proactively harden their Content Security Policies (CSP).
Tool-Specific Countermeasures: Some tools have known weaknesses or "signatures." By understanding the adversary's toolkit, defenders can implement "circuit breakers" that specifically disrupt those automated utilities.
Common Questions About Step Tools
How do Step Tools differ from Step Actions?
A Step Action is the high-level task (e.g., "Credential Stuffing"), while the Step Tool is the software used to do it (e.g., Hydra or Sentry MBA).
Can non-technical software be a Step Tool?
Yes. In advanced path intelligence, tools like Google Dorks, EDGAR scrapers for SEC filings, and Reddit search are considered Step Tools because they provide the critical data needed to launch a successful attack.
What are the "Swiss Army Knives" of Step Tools?
Specific tools are used across multiple attack stages. For example, Burp Suite is used for reconnaissance, vulnerability discovery, and active exploitation, making it one of the most frequently recurring tools in an adversary's tech stack.
In the context of cybersecurity and attack path intelligence, Step Tools represent the technical "tech stack" or arsenal an adversary uses to execute a specific stage of a breach. While a "Step Action" defines what an attacker is doing, Step Tools define how they are doing it.
ThreatNG provides a proactive defense against these tools by using an "outside-in" perspective to identify the specific vulnerabilities and digital footprints they target. By mapping the adversary's toolkit, ThreatNG helps organizations use their security resources more effectively to break potential attack paths.
External Discovery of Tool-Targeted Assets
ThreatNG identifies the starting points of an attack path by performing purely external, unauthenticated discovery of an organization’s digital footprint.
Shadow IT Identification: ThreatNG uncovers unmanaged cloud instances or forgotten subdomains. These assets are often the primary targets for automated Step Tools like Subfinder or Amass because they lack formal corporate monitoring.
Asset Attribution: It identifies domains, IPs, and cloud buckets associated with an organization. This establishes the technical inventory that an attacker would feed into their own scanning tools to find a path of least resistance.
Third-Party Tech Stack Mapping: ThreatNG identifies the specific technologies (e.g., WordPress, AWS, or specific API frameworks) used by an organization. Knowing the stack allows defenders to anticipate which specialized Step Tools, such as WPScan or S3Scanner, an adversary will likely deploy.
External Assessment and DarChain Tooling Analysis
ThreatNG’s DarChain (Digital Attack Risk Contextual Hyper-Analysis Insights Narrative) is the primary engine for analyzing Step Tools. It performs "Digital Risk Hyper-Analysis" to connect findings, illustrating the specific tools an adversary would use at each pivot point.
Detailed Examples of Assessment via DarChain
Subdomain Takeover Path: ThreatNG identifies a "dangling DNS" record pointing to an inactive service. DarChain identifies this as the "Script Injection from Hijacked Subdomain" path. It highlights explicitly that an attacker would use Tools like Subjack or Nuclei to automate the discovery of these vulnerable CNAME records, then use curl to verify HTTP response fingerprints (e.g., a GitHub 404) before taking control.
Phishing via Permutation Path: ThreatNG identifies a registered lookalike domain with an active mail record. DarChain chains this with leaked employee profiles to illustrate a phishing narrative. The "Step Tools" identified here would include specialized phishing frameworks or Google Dorking used to find the right victims for a targeted lure.
The Regulatory Disclosure Path: ThreatNG correlates "Critical Severity Vulnerabilities" with an organization’s publicly disclosed risks in SEC filings. DarChain explains how attackers use tools like EDGAR scrapers to find these disclosures, then use vulnerability scanners to validate whether the disclosed risks can be weaponized.
Investigation Modules for Deep-Dive Tool Intelligence
ThreatNG includes specialized investigation modules that allow analysts to pivot from a high-level alert to a granular investigation of the adversary's arsenal.
Detailed Examples of Investigation Modules
Sensitive Code Exposure: This module scans public repositories, such as GitHub, for leaked API keys and cloud credentials. Finding a hardcoded secret provides a validated step for an "Unauthorized Access" path. The tools associated with this stage include TruffleHog or GitLeaks, which attackers use to automate the harvesting of secrets from commit histories.
Dark Web Presence (DarCache Rupture): This module monitors hacker forums for mentions of the brand and compromised credentials. An investigation might reveal attackers discussing specific Step Tools they are using to target the organization, such as a particular ransomware strain or credential-stuffing script.
Social Media and Reddit Discovery: These modules turn "conversational risk" into intelligence. If an employee asks for technical help online, an attacker can use tools like PRAW (Python Reddit API Wrapper) to scrape this data and build a technical blueprint for a targeted social engineering attack.
Intelligence Repositories and Continuous Monitoring
ThreatNG maintains the DarCache suite of intelligence repositories, providing the real-world context needed to prioritize remediation.
Global Threat Tracking: ThreatNG tracks over 70 ransomware gangs and their active tactics, identifying the specific "Step Tools" they use most frequently.
Continuous Monitoring: The platform continuously rescans for new assets and vulnerabilities, ensuring that, as soon as a new asset appears, the map of tools an attacker could use against it is updated in real time.
Standardized Context: It integrates data from the KEV (Known Exploited Vulnerabilities) catalog and EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) to confirm which vulnerabilities are being actively exploited by specific tools in the wild.
Reporting and Actionable Insights
ThreatNG provides multi-level reporting that translates technical tool findings into business-risk narratives.
Technical Workbooks: These reports identify "Attack Path Choke Points"—critical vulnerabilities where multiple different Step Tools from different attack paths converge.
Adversary Arsenal Identification: Reports list the specific tech stack an attacker would use for a given path, allowing security teams to implement tool-specific signatures in their own defense layers.
Cooperation with Complementary Solutions
ThreatNG provides the external intelligence that fuels and optimizes internal security solutions, allowing organizations to use their existing tools more effectively.
Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR): When ThreatNG identifies a "Subdomain Takeover" path and its associated Step Tools, it feeds this data to a SOAR platform, which automatically deletes the dangling DNS record or blocks malicious IP addresses.
Identity and Access Management (IAM): When ThreatNG uncovers leaked API keys in public code (a favorite target of Step Tools like GitLeaks), it can trigger an IAM solution to rotate the keys or force a password reset immediately.
Vulnerability Management and EDR: ThreatNG identifies the specific "Tech Stack" an attacker is targeting. This allows internal scanners to prioritize those assets and enables Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) tools to increase monitoring sensitivity on the specific servers identified in a potential attack path.
Common Questions About Step Tools
How does a Step Tool differ from a Step Action?
A Step Action is the task (e.g., "Reconnaissance"), while the Step Tool is the specific software or utility used to perform that task (e.g., Nmap or Shodan).
What is an "Adversary Tech Stack"?
In cybersecurity reporting, this refers to the complete set of software, frameworks, and scripts an attacker uses throughout the lifecycle of an attack path.
Can a Step Tool be a simple manual command?
Yes. In the context of ThreatNG, manual commands like dig or curl are considered Step Tools when used to verify vulnerabilities, such as a subdomain takeover. Identifying these manual steps is key to the "Verification" stage of a security audit.
