Disk Wipe: Disk Content Wipe
- ID
- T1561.001
- Tactics
- TA0040 Impact
- Sub-technique of
- T1561 Disk Wipe
- Platforms
- Linux, macOS, Network Devices, Windows
- Data sources
- User Account Metadata, Drive Modification, Driver Load, Drive Access, Process Creation, Command Execution, User Account Authentication
- Source
- attack.mitre.org
- MITRE last modified
- 12 May 2026
Adversaries may erase the contents of storage devices on specific systems or in large numbers in a network to interrupt availability to system and network resources.
Adversaries may partially or completely overwrite the contents of a storage device rendering the data irrecoverable through the storage interface.[2][3][4] Instead of wiping specific disk structures or files, adversaries with destructive intent may wipe arbitrary portions of disk content. To wipe disk content, adversaries may acquire direct access to the hard drive in order to overwrite arbitrarily sized portions of disk with random data.[3] Adversaries have also been observed leveraging third-party drivers like RawDisk to directly access disk content.[2][3] This behavior is distinct from Data Destruction because sections of the disk are erased instead of individual files.
To maximize impact on the target organization in operations where network-wide availability interruption is the goal, malware used for wiping disk content may have worm-like features to propagate across a network by leveraging additional techniques like Valid Accounts, OS Credential Dumping, and SMB/Windows Admin Shares.[3]
Detection
- DET0316 Detection Strategy for Disk Content Wipe via Direct Access and Overwrite
Data components: User Account Metadata, Drive Modification, Driver Load, Drive Access, Process Creation, Command Execution, User Account Authentication
Mitigations (1)
- 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.[1] 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.
Groups (3)
Software (14)
- S0364 RawDisk
- S0380 StoneDrill
- S0576 MegaCortex
- S0689 WhisperGate
- S0697 HermeticWiper
- S1010 VPNFilter
- S1068 BlackCat
- S1111 DarkGate
- S1125 AcidRain
- S1133 Apostle
- S1134 DEADWOOD
- S1167 AcidPour
- S1205 cipher.exe
- S9051 The Gentlemen Ransomware
