When the good guys’ tools go rogue¶
Penetration testing tools like Cobalt Strike and Brute Ratel were built to help security pros simulate cyberattacks—think of them as flight simulators for hackers, where red teams practice breaching systems before the bad guys do it for real. But in a plot twist nobody wanted, these very same tools have been stolen, cracked, and weaponized by actual criminals, turning digital fire drills into five-alarm dumpster fires.
Now, adversaries are using these red team toolkits to launch real attacks—spear phishing with surgical precision, bypassing EDR like it’s a turnstile, and remotely controlling compromised systems with the same C&C frameworks meant to stop them. It’s like giving burglars the keys to the security company’s office—only instead of stealing the coffee machine, they’re exfiltrating your entire customer database.
The irony? These tools were designed to improve security, but thanks to shady marketplaces and leaky licensing, they’ve become the malware industry’s favorite off-the-shelf exploit kits. So while defenders scramble to detect fake attacks, real adversaries are laughing all the way to the (compromised) bank.