Adversaries may abuse the <code>at.exe</code> utility to perform task scheduling for initial or recurring execution of malicious code. The at utility exists as an executable within Windows for scheduling tasks at a specified time and date. Using at requires that the Task Scheduler service be running, and the user to be logged on as a member of the local Administrators group.
An adversary may use <code>at.exe</code> in Windows environments to execute programs at system startup or on a scheduled basis for persistence. at can also be abused to conduct remote Execution as part of Lateral Movement and or to run a process under the context of a specified account (such as SYSTEM).
Note: The <code>at.exe</code> command line utility has been deprecated in current versions of Windows in favor of <code>schtasks</code>.
View in MITRE ATT&CK®