| name | T1070_indicator-removal |
| description | Adversaries may delete or modify artifacts generated within systems to remove evidence of their presence or hinder defenses. |
| category | configuration |
| version | 18.1 |
| author | cyberstrike-official |
| tags | ["mitre-attack","enterprise","t1070","defense-evasion","containers","esxi","linux","macos","network-devices","office-suite","windows"] |
| technique_id | T1070 |
| tactic | defense-evasion |
| all_tactics | ["defense-evasion"] |
| platforms | ["Containers","ESXi","Linux","macOS","Network Devices","Office Suite","Windows"] |
| mitre_url | https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1070 |
| tech_stack | ["containers","esxi","linux","macos","network devices","office","windows"] |
| cwe_ids | ["CWE-693"] |
| chains_with | ["T1070.001","T1070.002","T1070.003","T1070.004","T1070.005","T1070.006","T1070.007","T1070.008","T1070.009","T1070.010"] |
| prerequisites | [] |
| severity_boost | {"T1070.001":"Chain with T1070.001 for deeper attack path","T1070.002":"Chain with T1070.002 for deeper attack path","T1070.003":"Chain with T1070.003 for deeper attack path"} |
T1070 Indicator Removal
High-Level Description
Adversaries may delete or modify artifacts generated within systems to remove evidence of their presence or hinder defenses. Various artifacts may be created by an adversary or something that can be attributed to an adversary’s actions. Typically these artifacts are used as defensive indicators related to monitored events, such as strings from downloaded files, logs that are generated from user actions, and other data analyzed by defenders. Location, format, and type of artifact (such as command or login history) are often specific to each platform.
Removal of these indicators may interfere with event collection, reporting, or other processes used to detect intrusion activity. This may compromise the integrity of security solutions by causing notable events to go unreported. This activity may also impede forensic analysis and incident response, due to lack of sufficient data to determine what occurred.
Kill Chain Phase
Platforms: Containers, ESXi, Linux, macOS, Network Devices, Office Suite, Windows
What to Check
How to Test
Atomic Red Team Tests
The following tests are from Atomic Red Team and provide actionable ways to test this technique:
Atomic Test 1: Indicator Removal using FSUtil
Manages the update sequence number (USN) change journal, which provides a persistent log of all changes made to files on the volume. Upon execution, no output
will be displayed. More information about fsutil can be found at https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/fsutil-usn
Supported Platforms: windows
Elevation Required: Yes
fsutil usn deletejournal /D C:
