t1561-002-disk-structure-wipe

name	T1561.002_disk-structure-wipe
description	Adversaries may corrupt or wipe the disk data structures on a hard drive necessary to boot a system; targeting specific critical systems or in large numbers in a network to interrupt availability t...
category	business-logic
version	18.1
author	cyberstrike-official
tags	["mitre-attack","enterprise","t1561.002","impact","linux","macos","windows","network-devices","sub-technique"]
technique_id	T1561.002
tactic	impact
all_tactics	["impact"]
platforms	["Linux","macOS","Windows","Network Devices"]
mitre_url	https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1561/002
tech_stack	["linux","macos","windows","network devices"]
cwe_ids	["CWE-400"]
chains_with	["T1561","T1561.001"]
prerequisites	["T1561"]
severity_boost	{"T1561":"Chain with T1561 for deeper attack path","T1561.001":"Chain with T1561.001 for deeper attack path"}

T1561.002 Disk Structure Wipe

Sub-technique of: T1561

High-Level Description

Adversaries may corrupt or wipe the disk data structures on a hard drive necessary to boot a system; targeting specific critical systems or in large numbers in a network to interrupt availability to system and network resources.

Adversaries may attempt to render the system unable to boot by overwriting critical data located in structures such as the master boot record (MBR) or partition table. The data contained in disk structures may include the initial executable code for loading an operating system or the location of the file system partitions on disk. If this information is not present, the computer will not be able to load an operating system during the boot process, leaving the computer unavailable. Disk Structure Wipe may be performed in isolation, or along with Disk Content Wipe if all sectors of a disk are wiped.

On a network devices, adversaries may reformat the file system using Network Device CLI commands such as format.

To maximize impact on the target organization, malware designed for destroying disk structures may have worm-like features to propagate across a network by leveraging other techniques like Valid Accounts, OS Credential Dumping, and SMB/Windows Admin Shares.

Kill Chain Phase

• Impact (TA0040)

Platforms: Linux, macOS, Windows, Network Devices

What to Check

• Identify if Disk Structure Wipe technique is applicable to target environment
• Check Linux systems for indicators of Disk Structure Wipe
• Check macOS systems for indicators of Disk Structure Wipe
• Check Windows systems for indicators of Disk Structure Wipe
• Verify mitigations are bypassed or absent (1 known mitigations)
• Assess detection coverage (1 detection strategies)

How to Test

Manual Testing

1. Identify Attack Surface: Determine if the target environment is susceptible to Disk Structure Wipe by examining the target platforms (Linux, macOS, Windows).

2. Assess Existing Defenses: Review whether mitigations for T1561.002 are in place. If defenses are absent or misconfigured, this technique may be exploitable.