Ghost Rat Scenario: Blackstone & Associates Surveillance

Blackstone & Associates: Corporate law firm representing Fortune 500 companies, 180 attorneys
APT • GhostRAT
STAKES
Attorney-client privilege + Corporate merger intelligence + Legal strategy confidentiality + Professional ethics
HOOK
Blackstone & Associates is preparing for a high-profile corporate lawsuit when attorneys notice their computers occasionally performing actions they didn't initiate - legal documents opening unexpectedly, case strategy files being accessed during confidential client meetings, and opposing counsel seeming to anticipate their legal arguments. Sophisticated surveillance tools have been providing adversaries complete access to privileged attorney-client communications.
PRESSURE
Trial begins Monday - any leak of legal strategy or client communications violates attorney-client privilege and threatens case outcome
FRONT • 150 minutes • Expert
Blackstone & Associates: Corporate law firm representing Fortune 500 companies, 180 attorneys
APT • GhostRAT
NPCs
  • Managing Partner Elizabeth Harper: Leading $500 million corporate litigation, unaware that opposing parties have been monitoring confidential legal strategy sessions and privileged client communications through compromised attorney workstations
  • Senior Associate Daniel Chen: Discovering that privileged legal documents and client confidential information may have been accessed through sophisticated legal surveillance malware
  • Ethics Counsel Maria Santos: Investigating potential attorney-client privilege violations as confidential legal strategies and client communications appear to have been compromised
  • Special Prosecutor Jennifer Wong: Coordinating investigation of potential corporate espionage and illegal surveillance targeting privileged attorney-client communications
SECRETS
  • Law firm attorneys clicked on sophisticated legal document attachments during high-profile case preparation and client communications
  • Corporate adversaries have had complete remote surveillance of attorney workstations for weeks, monitoring privileged communications and stealing legal strategies
  • Stolen legal intelligence and privileged client information may have been used to compromise case strategy and violate attorney-client confidentiality

Planning Resources

Tip📋 Comprehensive Facilitation Guide Available

For detailed session preparation support, including game configuration templates, investigation timelines, response options matrix, and round-by-round facilitation guidance, see:

Ghost RAT Law Firm Surveillance Planning Document

Planning documents provide 30-minute structured preparation for first-time IMs, or quick-reference support for experienced facilitators.

Note🎬 Interactive Scenario Slides

Ready-to-present RevealJS slides with player-safe mode, session tracking, and IM facilitation notes:

Ghost RAT Law Firm Surveillance Scenario Slides

Press ‘P’ to toggle player-safe mode • Built-in session state tracking • Dark/light theme support

Scenario Details for IMs

Blackstone & Associates

Corporate law firm representing Fortune 500 companies, 180 attorneys

Key Assets At Risk:

  • Attorney-client privilege
  • Corporate merger intelligence
  • Legal strategy confidentiality
  • Professional ethics

Business Pressure

Trial begins Monday - any leak of legal strategy or client communications violates attorney-client privilege and threatens case outcome

Cultural Factors

  • Law firm attorneys clicked on sophisticated legal document attachments during high-profile case preparation and client communications
  • Corporate adversaries have had complete remote surveillance of attorney workstations for weeks, monitoring privileged communications and stealing legal strategies
  • Stolen legal intelligence and privileged client information may have been used to compromise case strategy and violate attorney-client confidentiality

Opening Presentation

“It’s Thursday morning at Blackstone & Associates, and the firm is completing final preparations for a $500 million corporate lawsuit that begins Monday. But during confidential client strategy sessions, attorneys notice concerning anomalies: legal workstations performing unauthorized actions, case files opening during private meetings, and opposing counsel demonstrating uncanny knowledge of the firm’s legal strategies. Investigation reveals sophisticated surveillance tools providing adversaries complete access to privileged attorney-client communications.”

Initial Symptoms to Present:

Warning🚨 Initial User Reports
  • “Attorney workstations showing signs of remote control during confidential client meetings”
  • “Privileged legal documents being accessed automatically during confidential case strategy sessions”
  • “Screen surveillance and keystroke logging detected on systems containing confidential client communications”
  • “Network traffic indicating exfiltration of privileged legal strategies to unauthorized external networks”

Key Discovery Paths:

Detective Investigation Leads:

  • Digital forensics reveal sophisticated corporate espionage remote access trojan targeting legal communications
  • Legal network analysis shows targeted spear-phishing campaign using convincing legal industry documents
  • Attorney-client privilege timeline indicates weeks of undetected surveillance of confidential legal communications

Protector System Analysis:

  • Legal workstation monitoring reveals real-time surveillance and theft of privileged attorney-client communications
  • Case strategy system assessment shows unauthorized access to confidential legal documents and client information
  • Legal network security analysis indicates coordinated campaign targeting multiple law firms and privileged communications

Tracker Network Investigation:

  • Command and control traffic analysis reveals corporate espionage infrastructure targeting legal industry communications
  • Legal intelligence coordination patterns suggest organized adversary targeting of privileged attorney-client information
  • Case strategy communication analysis indicates systematic targeting of high-value corporate litigation intelligence

Communicator Stakeholder Interviews:

  • Attorney interviews reveal suspicious computer behavior during confidential client meetings and case strategy sessions
  • Client communication assessment regarding potential exposure of privileged information and legal strategies
  • Professional ethics coordination regarding attorney-client privilege violations and professional responsibility requirements

Mid-Scenario Pressure Points:

  • Hour 1: Major corporate client discovers potential compromise of privileged communications threatening lawsuit strategy
  • Hour 2: Opposing counsel demonstrates detailed knowledge of confidential legal strategy indicating information leak
  • Hour 3: Privileged client documents found in unauthorized networks affecting attorney-client confidentiality
  • Hour 4: State bar investigation initiated regarding potential attorney-client privilege violations and professional ethics

Evolution Triggers:

  • If investigation reveals legal strategy compromise, case outcome and professional reputation are threatened
  • If surveillance continues, adversaries maintain persistent access to privileged attorney-client communications
  • If client information exposure is confirmed, attorney-client privilege violations threaten professional practice

Resolution Pathways:

Technical Success Indicators:

  • Complete legal surveillance removal from attorney systems with forensic preservation of professional ethics evidence
  • Attorney-client communication security verified preventing further unauthorized access to privileged information
  • Corporate espionage infrastructure analysis provides intelligence on coordinated legal industry targeting

Business Success Indicators:

  • Legal case integrity protected through secure evidence handling and professional ethics coordination
  • Client relationships maintained through transparent communication and privileged information protection verification
  • Professional ethics compliance demonstrated preventing state bar discipline and professional practice penalties

Learning Success Indicators:

  • Team understands sophisticated corporate espionage capabilities and long-term legal surveillance operations
  • Participants recognize legal profession targeting and attorney-client privilege implications of privileged communication theft
  • Group demonstrates coordination between cybersecurity response and professional ethics investigation requirements

Common IM Facilitation Challenges:

If Attorney-Client Privilege Implications Are Ignored:

“While you’re removing malware, Ethics Counsel Santos needs to know: have privileged client communications been compromised? How do you coordinate cybersecurity response with professional responsibility investigation?”

If Case Strategy Impact Is Overlooked:

“Managing Partner Harper just learned that opposing counsel seems to know confidential legal strategy details. How do you assess whether stolen legal intelligence has compromised case outcomes?”

Success Metrics for Session:

Template Compatibility

Quick Demo (35-40 min)

  • Rounds: 1
  • Actions per Player: 1
  • Investigation: Guided
  • Response: Pre-defined
  • Focus: Use the “Hook” and “Initial Symptoms” to quickly establish law firm surveillance crisis. Present the “Guided Investigation Clues” at 5-minute intervals. Offer the “Pre-Defined Response Options” for the team to choose from. Quick debrief should focus on recognizing corporate espionage and attorney-client privilege implications.

Lunch & Learn (75-90 min)

  • Rounds: 2
  • Actions per Player: 2
  • Investigation: Guided
  • Response: Pre-defined
  • Focus: This template allows for deeper exploration of legal profession espionage challenges. Use the full set of NPCs to create realistic trial deadline and professional ethics pressures. The two rounds allow discovery of privileged communication theft and legal strategy compromise, raising stakes. Debrief can explore balance between cybersecurity response and professional responsibility coordination.

Full Game (120-140 min)

  • Rounds: 3
  • Actions per Player: 2
  • Investigation: Open
  • Response: Creative
  • Focus: Players have freedom to investigate using the “Key Discovery Paths” as IM guidance. They must develop response strategies balancing case integrity, client confidentiality protection, professional ethics compliance, and legal surveillance investigation. The three rounds allow for full narrative arc including surveillance discovery, attorney-client privilege impact assessment, and state bar coordination.

Advanced Challenge (150-170 min)

  • Rounds: 3
  • Actions per Player: 2
  • Investigation: Open
  • Response: Creative
  • Complexity: Add red herrings (e.g., legitimate legal document access causing false positives). Make containment ambiguous, requiring players to justify attorney-client privilege decisions with incomplete forensic evidence. Remove access to reference materials to test knowledge recall of APT behavior and legal ethics principles. Include deep coordination with state bar and potential professional responsibility investigation.

Quick Demo Materials (35-40 min)

Guided Investigation Clues

Clue 1 (Minute 5): “Digital forensics reveal sophisticated corporate espionage remote access trojan targeting Blackstone & Associates’ attorney workstations. Security analysis shows adversaries maintaining real-time surveillance and theft of privileged attorney-client communications and confidential legal strategies. Attorney staff report workstations performing unauthorized actions during confidential $500 million litigation strategy meetings.”

Clue 2 (Minute 10): “Timeline analysis indicates legal surveillance maintained for weeks through spear-phishing campaign using convincing legal industry documents targeting firm attorneys. Command and control traffic analysis reveals corporate espionage infrastructure coordinating multi-target legal profession surveillance. Attorney-client privilege assessment shows unauthorized access to confidential case strategies and privileged client communications affecting professional ethics and case outcomes.”

Clue 3 (Minute 15): “Special prosecutor investigation discovers privileged client documents in unauthorized networks confirming attorney-client privilege violations and potential professional ethics breaches. Opposing counsel demonstrates detailed knowledge of confidential legal strategies indicating information leak threatening Monday’s $500 million lawsuit. State bar investigation initiated regarding professional responsibility violations requiring coordinated legal ethics and cybersecurity response.”

Pre-Defined Response Options

Option A: Emergency Legal Isolation & Professional Ethics Coordination

  • Action: Immediately isolate compromised attorney systems, coordinate comprehensive professional responsibility investigation with state bar, conduct attorney-client privilege damage assessment, implement emergency secure communication protocols for trial preparation.
  • Pros: Completely eliminates legal surveillance preventing further privileged communication theft; demonstrates responsible professional ethics incident management; maintains client confidence through transparent state bar coordination.
  • Cons: Attorney system isolation disrupts final trial preparation affecting case readiness; professional responsibility investigation requires extensive legal ethics coordination; damage assessment may reveal significant attorney-client privilege violations.
  • Type Effectiveness: Super effective against APT malmon type; complete legal surveillance removal prevents continued privileged communication monitoring and case strategy theft.

Option B: Forensic Preservation & Targeted Remediation

  • Action: Preserve professional ethics investigation evidence while remediating confirmed compromised systems, conduct targeted attorney-client privilege damage assessment, coordinate selective state bar notification, implement enhanced monitoring while maintaining trial operations.
  • Pros: Balances trial preparation requirements with professional responsibility investigation; protects critical legal practice operations; enables focused ethics response.
  • Cons: Risks continued legal surveillance in undetected locations; selective remediation may miss coordinated targeting; forensic requirements may delay privileged communication protection.
  • Type Effectiveness: Moderately effective against APT threats; reduces but doesn’t eliminate surveillance presence; delays complete legal profession security restoration.

Option C: Business Continuity & Phased Security Response

  • Action: Implement emergency secure trial operations environment, phase surveillance removal by case priority, establish enhanced legal monitoring, coordinate gradual state bar notification while maintaining practice operations.
  • Pros: Maintains critical $500 million lawsuit timeline protecting case integrity; enables continued legal practice operations; supports controlled professional ethics coordination.
  • Cons: Phased approach extends surveillance timeline; emergency operations may not prevent continued privileged communication theft; gradual notification delays may violate professional responsibility requirements.
  • Type Effectiveness: Partially effective against APT malmon type; prioritizes trial completion over complete surveillance elimination; doesn’t guarantee attorney-client privilege protection.

Comprehensive Session Materials

Note: Detailed Lunch & Learn, Full Game, and Advanced Challenge materials for this law firm scenario follow established patterns with legal-specific adaptations emphasizing attorney-client privilege, bar association ethics, opposing counsel accountability, court prejudice remediation, and legal system integrity. Key adaptations include mandatory bar reporting obligations, privilege breach impacts on litigation outcomes, malpractice liability considerations, and coordination between cybersecurity response and legal ethics investigations. Materials available upon request or can be extrapolated from corporate-espionage-campaign scenario with law firm context substitutions.