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APTs Love PowerShell, You Should Too: Modern Offensive PowerShell Tradecraft

Anthony RoseJake Krasnov

Anthony Rose and Jake Krasnov debunk the myth that PowerShell is dead for red teams, showing how modern adversaries weaponize PowerShell while evading AMSI and logging.

Summary

The Misconception of PowerShell's Demise

Despite the rise of C# and Go tooling, advanced persistent threat (APT) actors continue to heavily utilize PowerShell due to its native deep integration with Windows internals.

Deconstructing Modern PowerShell Security Controls

Anthony Rose and Jake Krasnov analyze Script Block Logging, Constrained Language Mode (CLM), and the Antimalware Scan Interface (AMSI).

Bypassing AMSI and Logging Protections in Memory

The speakers demonstrate practical in-memory patching techniques to disable AMSI scanning and blind Script Block Logging without administrative privileges.

Offensive Automation and Living-Off-The-Land Techniques

The authors showcase weaponizing native cmdlets for Active Directory reconnaissance, credential harvesting, and lateral movement.

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