APT workshop and Log analysis training in Jakarta
Selamat pagi!! This is Mariko and Wataru from Watch and Warning Group.
We were in Indonesia for APT (Advanced Persistent Threat) workshop and log analysis training from October 4th to 6th. This was part of JICA’s (Japan International Cooperation Agency) project on “Capacity building for Information security”, which aims to provide practical trainings for information security staff in the ASEAN region.
At first we were a little nervous since we had never conducted trainings overseas, and moreover, there were some new training contents which we hadn’t taught even in Japanese. So we rehearsed even on the airplane. The climate was like summer in Japan, but we spent most of the time in the training room. That was comfortable!!
The first day had come.
Trainees were from Indonesia, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Timor Leste and Vietnam. We talked about the overview of APT, especially log conservation based on the APT Guideline. JPCERT/CC published the APT Guideline on our website in 2015, but the guideline is only available in Japanese at this time.
The trainees listened to us seriously and gave us a lot of questions and comments. Discussions included how to conserve logs in a secure way at low cost, such as by using syslog server or SIEM, etc. In addition we recommended to prioritize the logs to conserve.
After that Wataru showed a simple demo of malware infection to help trainees understand typical attack methods.
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On the second day, we held a log analysis hands-on for detecting traces of attacks. Through the hands-on, trainees experienced analyzing sample logs of proxy servers and Active Directory based on an APT attack scenario by using our log-analysis tool.
We also arranged some group discussions so that trainees could have opportunities to discuss with participants from different cultures. Everyone discussed actively, and reached almost perfect answers. We were deeply impressed by their enthusiasm and cooperativeness.
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After that we showed a demo of an attack against Active Directory in order to inform threats and mitigations of the attack. The demo was based on an attack scenario sometimes observed in APT attacks: conduct privilege escalation by leveraging vulnerability in Active Directory and creating a Golden ticket.
It seemed that some trainees found the demo a little complicated since about half of them weren't familiar with Active Directory. However we were able to draw their interest and some said they became interested in Golden ticket and mimikatz (attack tool against Windows).
We are very glad if the trainees recognized the importance of log analysis and protecting Active Directory through this hands-on. Also there were some feedbacks that trainees wanted to learn more details or use our log-analysis tool, so we’d like to consider deepening and providing such hands-on and demos to various countries.
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On the last day we conducted a training on network forensics using Wireshark. We prepared various packet data and several questions from basic to advance. The trainees discussed, helped each other and gave us almost perfect answers. Also we showed demos of attacks leveraging famous vulnerabilities: ShellShock and Apache Struts.
After all sessions, we got feedbacks from trainees through questionnaires. Many took interest in all sessions, but especially hands-on and network forensics (advanced) got favorable feedbacks. We believe the discussions and support for each other stimulated their interests and curiosities. As a result they were able to learn deeply.
At night, a banquet was held and all attendees talked about various topics such as security issues in their own countries with nibbles and drinks. That was a great time for all of us. We are very glad if trainees spent a good time during the training, and also hope that the rest of the trainings were also fruitful.
We are grateful for everyone and look forward to meeting you somewhere again. We are sure that we can, since it’s a small world, especially in IT security.
Selamat tinggal!
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