Poison Ivy Scenario: Remote Access Discovery Timeline (2005)

Regional Marketing Agency: Creative services firm, 75 employees, serving clients in healthcare, finance, and government sectors
APT β€’ Poison Ivy
STAKES
Client confidential data + Creative intellectual property + Competitive proposals + Professional reputation
HOOK
It's September 2005. Your marketing agency creates campaigns for sensitive clients including healthcare organizations, financial institutions, and government contractors. Employees have been receiving emails with creative briefs and campaign proposals that contain sophisticated remote access trojans. The Poison Ivy RAT provides attackers with complete system control, allowing them to steal client data, monitor business communications, and access confidential marketing strategies and competitive proposals.
PRESSURE
Client trust and competitive advantage - marketing agencies handle extremely sensitive business information and campaign strategies
FRONT β€’ 90 minutes β€’ Intermediate
Regional Marketing Agency: Creative services firm, 75 employees, serving clients in healthcare, finance, and government sectors
APT β€’ Poison Ivy
NPCs
  • Creative Director Jennifer Walsh (Client Relations): Managing high-profile client relationships while discovering that confidential campaign strategies may have been accessed by competitors\
  • IT Coordinator Michael Chen (Systems Support): Learning that remote access software can be hidden inside legitimate business documents and provide complete computer control\
  • Account Manager Lisa Rodriguez (Healthcare Clients): Realizing that protected health information and medical campaign data could be compromised, triggering regulatory compliance concerns\
  • Business Development Director Tom Johnson (Competitive Intelligence): Discovering that proposal strategies and client negotiations may have been monitored by unknown parties
SECRETS
  • Remote access trojan hidden in legitimate marketing documents provides complete system access including file downloads, keylogging, and screen capture\
  • Attackers specifically target creative agencies to access multiple high-value clients through single compromise\
  • Marketing industry information sharing creates network of potential targets for lateral movement

Historical Context & Modernization Prompts

Understanding 2005 Technology Context

This scenario represents actual Poison Ivy RAT attacks from 2005. Key historical elements to understand:

  • Email Attachments: Primary malware delivery vector with limited scanning and sandboxing capabilities
  • RAT Technology: Remote administration tools were sophisticated but detection was signature-based
  • Regulatory Environment: HIPAA and financial regulations existed but cybersecurity requirements were minimal
  • Business Networks: Simple network architectures with limited segmentation or access controls
  • Incident Response: Most small businesses had no formal cybersecurity or incident response capabilities

Collaborative Modernization Questions for Players

Present these questions after initial investigation to guide modernization:

  1. β€œHow would attackers target marketing agencies in today’s digital landscape?”
    • Guide toward: Cloud collaboration platforms, social media intelligence, supply chain attacks
  2. β€œWhat modern techniques provide similar remote access capabilities to 2005 RATs?”
    • Guide toward: Cloud-based remote tools, legitimate software abuse, fileless attacks
  3. β€œHow has regulatory compliance changed since 2005 for businesses handling sensitive data?”
    • Guide toward: GDPR, state privacy laws, breach notification requirements, cybersecurity frameworks
  4. β€œWhat would client data storage and sharing look like in modern marketing agencies?”
    • Guide toward: Cloud storage, collaboration platforms, mobile access, API integrations
  5. β€œHow would modern threat detection identify persistent remote access?”
    • Guide toward: Endpoint detection, behavioral analysis, cloud security monitoring, threat hunting

Modernization Discovery Process

After historical investigation, facilitate modernization discussion:

  1. Industry Evolution: Explore how marketing has moved to digital platforms and cloud services
  2. Regulatory Changes: Discuss how privacy laws have created new compliance requirements
  3. Attack Sophistication: Compare basic RAT techniques to modern supply chain and cloud attacks
  4. Client Risk Amplification: Consider how interconnected business relationships create cascading risk
  5. Detection Advancement: Examine how behavioral analysis improves on signature-based detection

Learning Objectives

  • Third-Party Risk: Understanding how service providers create attack vectors to multiple targets
  • Regulatory Implications: Learning how data breaches trigger complex compliance requirements
  • Persistent Access: Recognizing techniques for maintaining long-term system access
  • Business Process Targeting: Appreciating how attackers exploit industry-specific workflows

IM Facilitation Notes

  • Multi-Client Impact: Emphasize how single compromise affects multiple organizations
  • Regulatory Complexity: Help players understand compliance implications without legal expertise
  • Business Relationship Focus: Highlight how attacks target trust relationships between organizations
  • Evolution Discussion: Guide conversation toward modern supply chain and third-party risks
  • Detection Challenges: Discuss why legitimate-looking remote access can evade detection

This historical foundation demonstrates how targeted attacks on service providers can amplify impact across multiple client organizations, while helping teams understand the evolution from basic remote access to complex supply chain threats.