Cyber Kill Chain

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What Does Cyber Kill Chain Mean?

A cyber kill chain is a collection of processes related to the use of cyberattacks on systems. Some experts describe the cyber kill chain as representing the “stages” of a cyberattack. In general, the cyber kill chain is a step-by-step description of what a complex attack does.

Techopedia Explains Cyber Kill Chain

One common model for a cyber kill chain is based on a template from the defense company Lockheed Martin that uses seven distinctive phases or steps:

  • Reconnaissance
  • Weaponization
  • Delivery
  • Exploitation
  • Installation
  • Command and control
  • Actions on objectives

Each of these steps can have specific data associated with it, for example, where reconnaissance is done through web analytics or through firewall penetration.

The term “cyber kill chain” comes from the term “kill chain,” which is military jargon for analyzing the structure of an attack. Utilizing a cyber kill chain model can help show exactly how a piece of malware or cyberattack makes its way into a system to do damage and accomplishes the goals of hackers or other malicious parties.

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Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert
Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert

Margaret is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.

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