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T1491.001 Internal Defacement

An adversary may deface systems internal to an organization in an attempt to intimidate or mislead users, thus discrediting the integrity of the systems. This may take the form of modifications to internal websites, or directly to user systems with the replacement of the desktop wallpaper.1 Disturbing or offensive images may be used as a part of Internal Defacement in order to cause user discomfort, or to pressure compliance with accompanying messages. Since internally defacing systems exposes an adversary’s presence, it often takes place after other intrusion goals have been accomplished.2

Item Value
ID T1491.001
Sub-techniques T1491.001, T1491.002
Tactics TA0040
Platforms Linux, Windows, macOS
Version 1.1
Created 20 February 2020
Last Modified 25 March 2022

Procedure Examples

ID Name Description
S0659 Diavol After encryption, Diavol will capture the desktop background window, set the background color to black, and change the desktop wallpaper to a newly created bitmap image with the text “All your files are encrypted! For more information see “README-FOR-DECRYPT.txt”.5
G0047 Gamaredon Group Gamaredon Group has left taunting images and messages on the victims’ desktops as proof of system access.6
G0032 Lazarus Group Lazarus Group replaced the background wallpaper of systems with a threatening image after rendering the system unbootable with a Disk Structure Wipe.2
S0688 Meteor Meteor can change both the desktop wallpaper and the lock screen image to a custom image.4

Mitigations

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.3 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.

Detection

ID Data Source Data Component
DS0015 Application Log Application Log Content
DS0022 File File Creation
DS0029 Network Traffic Network Traffic Content

References

  1. Novetta Threat Research Group. (2016, February 24). Operation Blockbuster: Unraveling the Long Thread of the Sony Attack. Retrieved February 25, 2016. ↩

  2. Novetta Threat Research Group. (2016, February 24). Operation Blockbuster: Destructive Malware Report. Retrieved March 2, 2016. ↩↩

  3. Ready.gov. (n.d.). IT Disaster Recovery Plan. Retrieved March 15, 2019. ↩

  4. Check Point Research Team. (2021, August 14). Indra - Hackers Behind Recent Attacks on Iran. Retrieved February 17, 2022. ↩

  5. Neeamni, D., Rubinfeld, A.. (2021, July 1). Diavol - A New Ransomware Used By Wizard Spider?. Retrieved November 12, 2021. ↩

  6. CERT-EE. (2021, January 27). Gamaredon Infection: From Dropper to Entry. Retrieved February 17, 2022. ↩

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