Adversaries may leverage external-facing remote services to initially access and/or persist within a network. Remote services such as VPNs, Citrix, and other access mechanisms allow users to connect to internal enterprise network resources from external locations. There are often remote service gateways that manage connections and credential authentication for these services. Services such as [Windows Remote Management](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1021/006) and [VNC](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1021/005) can also be used externally.(Citation: MacOS VNC software for Remote Desktop) Access to [Valid Accounts](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1078) to use the service is often a requirement, which could be obtained through credential pharming or by obtaining the credentials from users after compromising the enterprise network.(Citation: Volexity Virtual Private Keylogging) Access to remote services may be used as a redundant or persistent access mechanism during an operation. Access may also be gained through an exposed service that doesn’t require authentication. In containerized environments, this may include an exposed Docker API, Kubernetes API server, kubelet, or web application such as the Kubernetes dashboard.(Citation: Trend Micro Exposed Docker Server)(Citation: Unit 42 Hildegard Malware) Adversaries may also establish persistence on network by configuring a Tor hidden service on a compromised system. Adversaries may utilize the tool `ShadowLink` to facilitate the installation and configuration of the Tor hidden service. Tor hidden service is then accessible via the Tor network because `ShadowLink` sets up a .onion address on the compromised system. `ShadowLink` may be used to forward any inbound connections to RDP, allowing the adversaries to have remote access.(Citation: The BadPilot campaign) Adversaries may get `ShadowLink` to persist on a system by masquerading it as an MS Defender application.(Citation: Russian threat actors dig in, prepare to seize on war fatigue)

Linked Issues

Issuelinks
Linktype Issue
is related to Techniques
is part of Initial Access
is blocked by Behavior-chain detection for T1133 External Remote Services across Windows, Linux, macOS, Containers
is blocked by Restrict Web-Based Content
is blocked by Network Segmentation
is blocked by Disable or Remove Feature or Program
is blocked by Limit Access to Resource Over Network
is blocked by Multi-factor Authentication
is blocked by Asset Inventories
is blocked by Secure Baseline Configurations
is blocked by Least Functionality
is blocked by Continuous Monitoring
is blocked by Use of External Technology Assets, Applications and/or Services (TAAS)
is blocked by Endpoint File Integrity Monitoring (FIM)
is blocked by Identification & Authentication for Organizational Users
is blocked by Authenticator Management
is blocked by Access Enforcement
is blocked by Least Privilege
is blocked by Account Lockout
is blocked by Cross Domain Solution (CDS)
is blocked by Boundary Protection
is blocked by Data Flow Enforcement – Access Control Lists (ACLs)
is blocked by Remote Access
is blocked by Vulnerability Scanning
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