- Tactics
- Impact
- Platforms
- Linux, macOS, Windows, SaaS, IaaS, Office Suite, ESXi
- Reference
- attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1531
Description
Adversaries may interrupt availability of system and network resources by inhibiting access to accounts utilized by legitimate users. Accounts may be deleted, locked, or manipulated (ex: changed credentials, revoked permissions for SaaS platforms such as Sharepoint) to remove access to accounts.(Citation: Obsidian Security SaaS Ransomware June 2023) Adversaries may also subsequently log off and/or perform a System Shutdown/Reboot to set malicious changes into place.(Citation: CarbonBlack LockerGoga 2019)(Citation: Unit42 LockerGoga 2019)
In Windows, Net utility, Set-LocalUser and Set-ADAccountPassword PowerShell cmdlets may be used by adversaries to modify user accounts. Accounts could also be disabled by Group Policy. In Linux, the passwd utility may be used to change passwords. On ESXi servers, accounts can be removed or modified via esxcli (system account set, system account remove).
Adversaries who use ransomware or similar attacks may first perform this and other Impact behaviors, such as Data Destruction and Defacement, in order to impede incident response/recovery before completing the Data Encrypted for Impact objective.
How GTK Cyber trains on this
GTK Cyber's Threat Hunting with Data Science course teaches you to build machine-learning detections for techniques like this across the MITRE ATT&CK framework, including the Impact tactic this technique falls under. Practitioner-led, focused on real detections, not memorizing technique IDs.
Related techniques
- T1485 — Data Destruction
- T1486 — Data Encrypted for Impact
- T1489 — Service Stop
- T1490 — Inhibit System Recovery
- T1491 — Defacement
- T1495 — Firmware Corruption
- T1496 — Resource Hijacking
- T1498 — Network Denial of Service
- T1499 — Endpoint Denial of Service
- T1529 — System Shutdown/Reboot
- T1561 — Disk Wipe
- T1565 — Data Manipulation