Full Report
ciaops is Group-IB's open-source Python library for integrating Threat Intelligence, Digital Risk Protection, and Attack Surface Management APIs. Zero event loss, guaranteed.
Analysis Summary
# Tool/Technique: ciaops
## Overview
**ciaops** is an open-source Python library developed by Group-IB designed to streamline and professionalize the integration of Threat Intelligence (TI), Digital Risk Protection (DRP), and Attack Surface Management (ASM) APIs. Its primary purpose is to solve the "upstream ingestion challenge" by providing a reliable, standardized framework for extracting raw security data from disparate product APIs while guaranteeing zero event loss.
## Technical Details
- **Type:** Software Development Library / Integration Framework
- **Platform:** Python-based (cross-platform support for any environment running Python 3.x)
- **Capabilities:** API abstraction, cursor-based state management, automated retry logic, and multi-product data normalization.
- **First Seen:** Publicly documented/released circa 2024.
## MITRE ATT&CK Mapping
*Note: As ciaops is a defensive/integration tool rather than malware, these mappings refer to the tactics it assists in performing for security operations.*
- **[TA0043 - Reconnaissance]**
- **[T1597 - Search Closed Sources]** (Gathering intelligence from proprietary TI feeds)
- **[TA0011 - Command and Control]**
- **[T1105 - Ingress Tool Transfer]** (Standardizing the flow of threat data into protected environments)
## Functionality
### Core Capabilities
- **Unified API Interface:** Provides a single programmatic backbone to interface with Group-IB’s three distinct product APIs (TI, DRP, and ASM), despite their differing filtering vocabularies and TTL behaviors.
- **State Management (seqUpdate):** Utilizes a monotonically increasing cursor pattern. The library tracks the latest event processed; if a crash occurs, it resumes exactly where it left off, preventing data gaps.
- **Reliable Transport:** Built-in handling for authentication, connection retries, and rate limiting.
### Advanced Features
- **Zero Event Loss Guarantee:** Through strict cursor tracking, the library ensures no security events are missed during high-volume ingestion.
- **Normalization Layer:** Manages the retrieval and normalization of data before it is mapped to target formats like STIX, ensuring consistency across different SIEM, SOAR, and TIP platforms.
- **Development Acceleration:** Reduces the engineering effort for building new integrations from weeks to a few days by abstracting low-level transport mechanisms.
## Indicators of Compromise
*As ciaops is a legitimate security library, there are no malicious IOCs. Users should verify the library source via official Group-IB repositories.*
- **File Names:** `ciaops` (Python package)
- **Network Indicators:** Communicates with Group-IB API endpoints (e.g., `api[.]group-ib[.]com`).
## Associated Threat Actors
- **N/A:** This is a defensive tool used by Security Analysts, CTI Researchers, and SOC Engineers.
## Detection Methods
- **Behavioral Detection:** Monitoring for authorized Python scripts utilizing the `ciaops` library to ensure they are originating from known integration servers.
- **Audit Logs:** Reviewing Group-IB API access logs for API keys associated with `ciaops` integrations.
## Mitigation Strategies
- **Credential Management:** Securely store Group-IB API keys using environment variables or secret management vaults (e.g., HashiCorp Vault, AWS Secrets Manager) rather than hardcoding them in scripts using the library.
- **Network Whitelisting:** Restrict outbound communication from integration servers to only the specific Group-IB API domains required.
## Related Tools/Techniques
- **STIX/TAXII:** Complementary standards for threat intelligence sharing.
- **SIEM/SOAR Connectors:** Official Group-IB integrations for platforms like Splunk, Sentinel, and QRadar are built upon the `ciaops` foundation.