AWS Cobalt Redirector : Streamlining Red Team Operations With Automated C2 Infrastructure

The AWS Cobalt Redirector is a tool designed to streamline the deployment of a command-and-control (C2) infrastructure for red team operations using AWS services.

It leverages Terraform and Ansible for automation and integrates AWS resources like CloudFront, Lambda, and EC2 to create a robust redirector setup.

Functionality

The AWS Cobalt Redirector simplifies the process of deploying a redirector for Cobalt Strike, a popular red teaming tool.

The redirector acts as an intermediary between the attacker’s team server and the target systems, obfuscating traffic and enhancing operational security. The setup uses:

• AWS CloudFront: A content delivery network (CDN) that masks the origin of traffic.
• AWS Lambda: A serverless compute service that processes incoming HTTP requests and forwards them to the team server.
• AWS EC2: Hosts the Cobalt Strike team server.

The Lambda function is configured to consume minimal resources (125 MB memory), ensuring cost-effectiveness during operations.

1. Configure variables in the terraform.tfvars file.
2. Deploy infrastructure using Terraform.
3. Update the Ansible inventory with the host details (ansible/inventory/hosts.yml).
4. Place your Cobalt Strike archive (cobaltstrike.tgz) in ansible/roles/cobaltstrike/files/.
5. Add your malleable profile file to ansible/roles/cobaltstrike/files/.
6. Define mandatory variables in ansible/inventory/redteam.yml.
7. Execute the playbook playbook/cobaltstrike.yml to finalize the setup.

Once completed, this automated process deploys a fully functional redirector infrastructure.

• Automation: The use of Terraform and Ansible ensures rapid and error-free deployment.
• Obfuscation: CloudFront and Lambda add layers of redirection, making it harder to trace back to the team server.
• Scalability: AWS services provide flexibility to scale resources as needed.

This tool is particularly valuable for red teams seeking efficient, secure, and scalable C2 infrastructure without manual configuration complexities.