Adversaries may wipe a device or delete individual files in order to manipulate external outcomes or hide activity. An application must have administrator access to fully wipe the device, while individual files may not require special permissions to delete depending on their storage location. [1]
Stored data could include a variety of file formats, such as Office files, databases, stored emails, and custom file formats. The impact file deletion will have depends on the type of data as well as the goals and objectives of the adversary, but can include deleting update files to evade detection or deleting attacker-specified files for impact.
| ID | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| S0440 | Agent Smith |
Agent Smith deletes infected applications’ update packages when they are detected on the system, preventing updates.[2] |
| S0529 | CarbonSteal |
CarbonSteal has deleted call log entries coming from known C2 sources.[3] |
| S0505 | Desert Scorpion |
Desert Scorpion can delete copies of itself if additional APKs are downloaded to external storage.[4] |
| S0550 | DoubleAgent |
DoubleAgent has deleted or renamed specific files.[3] |
| S0408 | FlexiSpy | |
| S0421 | GolfSpy | |
| S0536 | GPlayed | |
| S0485 | Mandrake | |
| S0407 | Monokle |
Monokle can delete arbitrary files on the device, and can also uninstall itself and clean up staging files.[9] |
| S0399 | Pallas |
Pallas has the ability to delete attacker-specified files from compromised devices.[10] |
| S0549 | SilkBean |
SilkBean can delete various piece of device data, such as contacts, call logs, applications, SMS messages, email, plugins, and files in external storage.[3] |
| S0558 | Tiktok Pro |
Tiktok Pro can delete attacker-specified files.[11] |
| S0418 | ViceLeaker |
ViceLeaker can delete arbitrary files from the device.[12] |
| S0489 | WolfRAT |
| ID | Mitigation | Description |
|---|---|---|
| M1005 | Application Vetting |
Application vetting services could be extra scrutinous of applications that request device administrator permissions. |
| M1007 | Caution with Device Administrator Access |
There are very limited circumstances under which device administrator access should be granted. |
| M1011 | User Guidance |
Users should be trained on what device administrator permission request prompts look like, and how to avoid granting permissions on phishing popups. |
Mobile security products can detect which applications can request device administrator permissions. Users can view applications with administrator access through the device settings, and may also notice if user data is inexplicably missing.