Adversaries may interrupt availability of system and network resources by inhibiting access to accounts utilized by legitimate users. Accounts may be deleted, locked, or manipulated (ex: changed credentials) to remove access to accounts. Adversaries may also subsequently log off and/or perform a System Shutdown/Reboot to set malicious changes into place.(Citation: CarbonBlack LockerGoga 2019)(Citation: Unit42 LockerGoga 2019)
In Windows, Net utility, <code>Set-LocalUser</code> and <code>Set-ADAccountPassword</code> PowerShell cmdlets may be used by adversaries to modify user accounts. In Linux, the <code>passwd</code> utility may be used to change passwords. Accounts could also be disabled by Group Policy.
Adversaries who use ransomware or similar attacks may first perform this and other Impact behaviors, such as Data Destruction and Defacement, in order to impede incident response/recovery before completing the Data Encrypted for Impact objective.
View in MITRE ATT&CK®| Capability ID | Capability Description | Mapping Type | ATT&CK ID | ATT&CK Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ME-PWA-E3 | Passwordless Authentication | Technique Scores | T1531 | Account Access Removal |
| ME-CAE-E3 | Conditional Access Evaluation | Technique Scores | T1531 | Account Access Removal |
| DEF-IR-E5 | Incident Response | Technique Scores | T1531 | Account Access Removal |