T1070

Description from ATT&CK

Adversaries may selectively delete or modify artifacts generated to reduce indications of their presence and blend in with legitimate activity. Rather than broadly removing evidence, adversaries may target specific artifacts that appear anomalous or are likely to draw scrutiny, while leaving sufficient data intact to maintain the appearance of normal system behavior.

Artifacts such as command histories, log entries, or file metadata may be altered in ways that align with expected user or system activity. Location, format, and type of artifact (such as command or login history) are often platform-specific, allowing adversaries to tailor modifications that minimize suspicion.

These actions may not prevent detection entirely but can delay recognition of malicious activity or reduce the fidelity of alerts by making events appear benign or consistent with routine operations. Additionally, selectively removed or modified artifacts may still be recoverable through deeper forensic analysis, though their absence or alteration can complicate timeline reconstruction and attribution.

Source

Atomic Tests

• Atomic Test #1: Indicator Removal using FSUtil
• Atomic Test #2: Indicator Manipulation using FSUtil

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

auto_generated_guid: b4115c7a-0e92-47f0-a61e-17e7218b2435

Attack Commands: Run with command_prompt! Elevation Required (e.g. root or admin)

fsutil usn deletejournal /D C:

Cleanup Commands

fsutil usn createjournal m=1000 a=100 c:

Atomic Test #2: Indicator Manipulation using FSUtil

Finds a file by user name (if Disk Quotas are enabled), queries allocated ranges for a file, sets a file's short name, sets a file's valid data length, sets zero data for a file, or creates a new file. Upon execution, no output will be displayed. More information about fsutil can be found at https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/fsutil-file

• https://tria.ge/230601-x8x6bsgb24/behavioral2

Supported Platforms: Windows

auto_generated_guid: 96e86706-6afd-45b6-95d6-108d23eaf2e9

Inputs

Attack Commands: Run with powershell!

if (-not (Test-Path "#{file_to_manipulate}")) { New-Item "#{file_to_manipulate}" -Force }
echo "1234567890" > "#{file_to_manipulate}"
fsutil  file setZeroData offset=0 length=#{file_data_length} "#{file_to_manipulate}"

Cleanup Commands

rm "#{file_to_manipulate}"

Atomic test(s) for this technique last updated: 2023-09-29 14:50:42 UTC