Beyond the Alerts: ScreenConnect

Episode Summary: 

In this episode of Beyond the Alerts, Blackpoint Cyber’s Adversary Pursuit Group (APG) dives into the growing threat of rogue ScreenConnect installations. While ScreenConnect is a legitimate remote management tool used by IT teams and MSPs, threat actors are increasingly abusing it to bypass detection, gain covert access, and stage larger attacks like ransomware. Joined by senior analysts Sam Decker and Nevin Beal, the session explores real-world use cases, proactive hunting methods, and actionable defenses MSPs and organizations can put in place.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why ScreenConnect has become one of the most abused remote management tools by cybercriminals.
• How attackers are leveraging phishing campaigns (fake Zoom invites, Social Security notices, tax-related lures) to deliver malicious installations.
• The tactics used by adversaries to evade detection, including masquerading executables, click-once deployments, and domain abuse.
• Real-world incident data: 50+ cases observed in a single month across industries, with over 2.5M blocked ScreenConnect installs in 2024.
• How Blackpoint’s SOC and APG analysts proactively hunt for rogue ScreenConnect instances using IOCs, connection strings, and domain patterns.
• The risks MSPs face when trusted tools are exploited, including silent backdoor access, secondary tool deployment, and ransomware staging.
• Practical remediation and defense strategies: managed application control, curated blocklists, EDR/AV configuration, domain blocking, and user education.
• Key lessons on hardening environments against “dual-use” tools and why continuous monitoring and proactive hunting are essential.