Description
Adversaries may gather information about the victim's identity that can be used during targeting. Information about identities may include a variety of details, including personal data (ex: employee names, email addresses, security question responses, etc.) as well as sensitive details such as credentials or multi-factor authentication (MFA) configurations.
Adversaries may gather this information in various ways, such as direct elicitation via Phishing for Information. Information about users could also be enumerated via other active means (i.e. Active Scanning) such as probing and analyzing responses from authentication services that may reveal valid usernames in a system or permitted MFA /methods associated with those usernames.(Citation: GrimBlog UsernameEnum)(Citation: Obsidian SSPR Abuse 2023) Information about victims may also be exposed to adversaries via online or other accessible data sets (ex: Social Media or Search Victim-Owned Websites).(Citation: OPM Leak)(Citation: Register Deloitte)(Citation: Register Uber)(Citation: Detectify Slack Tokens)(Citation: Forbes GitHub Creds)(Citation: GitHub truffleHog)(Citation: GitHub Gitrob)(Citation: CNET Leaks)
Gathering this information may reveal opportunities for other forms of reconnaissance (ex: Search Open Websites/Domains or Phishing for Information), establishing operational resources (ex: Compromise Accounts), and/or initial access (ex: Phishing or Valid Accounts).
Platforms
Sub-Techniques (3)
Mitigations (1)
Pre-compromiseM1056
This technique cannot be easily mitigated with preventive controls since it is based on behaviors performed outside of the scope of enterprise defenses and controls. Efforts should focus on minimizing the amount and sensitivity of data available to external parties.
Threat Groups (10)
| ID | Group | Context |
|---|---|---|
| G1004 | LAPSUS$ | [LAPSUS$](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G1004) has gathered detailed information of target employees to enhance their social engineering lures.(Cita... |
| G1001 | HEXANE | [HEXANE](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G1001) has identified specific potential victims at targeted organizations.(Citation: ClearSky Siamesekitten ... |
| G1055 | VOID MANTICORE | [VOID MANTICORE](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G1055) has gathered details on their intended victims to aid in social engineering efforts for levera... |
| G1015 | Scattered Spider | [Scattered Spider](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G1015) has used information from previous data breaches to identify employee names to be used in so... |
| G1016 | FIN13 | [FIN13](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G1016) has researched employees to target for social engineering attacks.(Citation: Mandiant FIN13 Aug 2022) |
| G0050 | APT32 | [APT32](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0050) has conducted targeted surveillance against activists and bloggers.(Citation: Amnesty Intl. Ocean Lotus... |
| G1033 | Star Blizzard | [Star Blizzard](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G1033) has identified ways to engage targets by researching potential victims' interests and social or... |
| G1052 | Contagious Interview | [Contagious Interview](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G1052) has researched specific professional groups such as software developers for targeting.(C... |
| G0059 | Magic Hound | [Magic Hound](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0059) has acquired mobile phone numbers of potential targets, possibly for mobile malware or additional... |
| G1017 | Volt Typhoon | [Volt Typhoon](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G1017) has gathered victim identify information during pre-compromise reconnaissance. (Citation: CISA A... |
References
- Cybersecurity Resource Center. (n.d.). CYBERSECURITY INCIDENTS. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
- Detectify. (2016, April 28). Slack bot token leakage exposing business critical information. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
- Dylan Ayrey. (2016, December 31). truffleHog. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
- GrimHacker. (2017, July 24). Office365 ActiveSync Username Enumeration. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
- McCarthy, K. (2015, February 28). FORK ME! Uber hauls GitHub into court to find who hacked database of 50,000 drivers. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
- Michael Henriksen. (2018, June 9). Gitrob: Putting the Open Source in OSINT. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
- Ng, A. (2019, January 17). Massive breach leaks 773 million email addresses, 21 million passwords. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
- Noah Corradin and Shuyang Wang. (2023, August 1). Behind The Breach: Self-Service Password Reset (SSPR) Abuse in Azure AD. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
- Sandvik, R. (2014, January 14). Attackers Scrape GitHub For Cloud Service Credentials, Hijack Account To Mine Virtual Currency. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
- Thomson, I. (2017, September 26). Deloitte is a sitting duck: Key systems with RDP open, VPN and proxy 'login details leaked'. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is T1589 (Gather Victim Identity Information)?
T1589 is a MITRE ATT&CK technique named 'Gather Victim Identity Information'. It belongs to the Reconnaissance tactic(s). Adversaries may gather information about the victim's identity that can be used during targeting. Information about identities may include a variety of details, including personal data (ex: employee n...
How can T1589 be detected?
Detection of T1589 (Gather Victim Identity Information) typically involves monitoring system logs, network traffic, and endpoint telemetry. Use SIEM rules, EDR solutions, and behavioral analytics to identify suspicious activity associated with this technique.
What mitigations exist for T1589?
There are 1 documented mitigations for T1589. Key mitigations include: Pre-compromise.
Which threat groups use T1589?
Known threat groups using T1589 include: LAPSUS$, HEXANE, VOID MANTICORE, Scattered Spider, FIN13, APT32, Star Blizzard, Contagious Interview.