Adversaries may use a connection proxy to direct network traffic between systems or act as an intermediary for network communications to a command and control server to avoid direct connections to their infrastructure. Many tools exist that enable traffic redirection through proxies or port redirection, including [HTRAN](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0040), ZXProxy, and ZXPortMap. (Citation: Trend Micro APT Attack Tools) Adversaries use these types of proxies to manage command and control communications, to reduce the number of simultaneous outbound network connections, to provide resiliency in the face of connection loss, or to ride over existing trusted communications paths between victims to avoid suspicion.External connection proxies are used to mask the destination of C2 traffic and are typically implemented with port redirectors. Compromised systems outside of the victim environment may be used for these purposes, as well as purchased infrastructure such as cloud-based resources or virtual private servers. Proxies may be chosen based on the low likelihood that a connection to them from a compromised system would be investigated. Victim systems would communicate directly with the external proxy on the internet and then the proxy would forward communications to the C2 server.
Internal connection proxies can be used to consolidate internal connections from compromised systems. Adversaries may use a compromised internal system as a proxy in order to conceal the true destination of C2 traffic. The proxy can redirect traffic from compromised systems inside the network to an external C2 server making discovery of malicious traffic difficult. Additionally, the network can be used to relay information from one system to another in order to avoid broadcasting traffic to all systems.
Enable traffic redirection.
Note that this test may conflict with pre-existing system configuration.
Supported Platforms: macOS, Linux
| Name | Description | Type | Default Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| proxy_server | Proxy server URL (host:port) | url | 127.0.0.1:8080 |
| proxy_scheme | Protocol to proxy (http or https) | string | http |
export #{proxy_scheme}_proxy=#{proxy_server}
unset http_proxy
unset https_proxy