Adversaries may destroy data and files on specific systems or in large numbers on a network to interrupt availability to systems, services, and network resources. Data destruction is likely to render stored data irrecoverable by forensic techniques through overwriting files or data on local and remote drives.[1][2][3][4][5][6] Common operating system file deletion commands such as del and rm often only remove pointers to files without wiping the contents of the files themselves, making the files recoverable by proper forensic methodology. This behavior is distinct from Disk Content Wipe and Disk Structure Wipe because individual files are destroyed rather than sections of a storage disk or the disk's logical structure.
Adversaries may attempt to overwrite files and directories with randomly generated data to make it irrecoverable.[4][5] In some cases politically oriented image files have been used to overwrite data.[2][3][4]
To maximize impact on the target organization in operations where network-wide availability interruption is the goal, malware designed for destroying data may have worm-like features to propagate across a network by leveraging additional techniques like Valid Accounts, OS Credential Dumping, and SMB/Windows Admin Shares.[1][2][3][4][6].
In cloud environments, adversaries may leverage access to delete cloud storage, cloud storage accounts, machine images, and other infrastructure crucial to operations to damage an organization or their customers.[7][8]
| ID | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| G0082 | APT38 |
APT38 has used a custom secure delete function to make deleted files unrecoverable.[9] |
| S0089 | BlackEnergy |
BlackEnergy 2 contains a "Destroy" plug-in that destroys data stored on victim hard drives by overwriting file contents.[10][11] |
| S0604 | Industroyer |
Industroyer’s data wiper module clears registry keys and overwrites both ICS configuration and Windows files.[12] |
| S0265 | Kazuar |
Kazuar can overwrite files with random data before deleting them.[13] |
| S0607 | KillDisk |
KillDisk deletes system files to make the OS unbootable. KillDisk also targets and deletes files with 35 different file extensions.[14] |
| G0032 | Lazarus Group |
Lazarus Group has used a custom secure delete function to overwrite file contents with data from heap memory.[15] |
| S0365 | Olympic Destroyer |
Olympic Destroyer overwrites files locally and on remote shares.[6][16] |
| S0139 | PowerDuke |
PowerDuke has a command to write random data across a file and delete it.[17] |
| S0238 | Proxysvc |
Proxysvc can overwrite files indicated by the attacker before deleting them.[18] |
| S0364 | RawDisk |
RawDisk was used in Shamoon to write to protected system locations such as the MBR and disk partitions in an effort to destroy data.[3][5] |
| S0496 | REvil |
REvil has the capability to destroy files and folders.[19][20][21][21][22][23][24] |
| G0034 | Sandworm Team |
Sandworm Team has used the BlackEnergy KillDisk component to overwrite files on Windows-based Human-Machine Interfaces. [25][26] |
| S0195 | SDelete |
SDelete deletes data in a way that makes it unrecoverable.[27] |
| S0140 | Shamoon |
Shamoon attempts to overwrite operating system files and disk structures with image files.[1][2][3] In a later variant, randomly generated data was used for data overwrites.[5][28] |
| S0380 | StoneDrill |
StoneDrill has a disk wiper module that targets files other than those in the Windows directory.[4] |
| S0341 | Xbash |
Xbash has destroyed Linux-based databases as part of its ransomware capabilities.[29] |
| ID | Mitigation | Description |
|---|---|---|
| M1053 | Data Backup |
Consider implementing IT disaster recovery plans that contain procedures for taking regular data backups that can be used to restore organizational data.[30] Ensure backups are stored off system and is protected from common methods adversaries may use to gain access and destroy the backups to prevent recovery. |
Use process monitoring to monitor the execution and command-line parameters of binaries that could be involved in data destruction activity, such as SDelete. Monitor for the creation of suspicious files as well as high unusual file modification activity. In particular, look for large quantities of file modifications in user directories and under C:\Windows\System32\.
In cloud environments, the occurrence of anomalous high-volume deletion events, such as the DeleteDBCluster and DeleteGlobalCluster events in AWS, or a high quantity of data deletion events, such as DeleteBucket, within a short period of time may indicate suspicious activity.