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T1531: T1531

View on MITRE ATT&CK The MITRE Corporation · Published 09/10/2019 20:48 · Modified 21/04/2026 17:28

Essential information

MITRE technique ID
T1531
Confidence
100/100
Revoked
No
Published
09/10/2019 20:48
Modified
21/04/2026 17:28
Author / Source
The MITRE Corporation

Aliases

Account Access Removal

Platforms

windows macos linux IaaS ESXi Office Suite SaaS

Description

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, revoked permissions for SaaS platforms such as Sharepoint) to remove access to accounts.(Citation: Obsidian Security SaaS Ransomware June 2023) Adversaries may also subsequently log off and/or perform a [System Shutdown/Reboot](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1529) to set malicious changes into place.(Citation: CarbonBlack LockerGoga 2019)(Citation: Unit42 LockerGoga 2019) In Windows, [Net](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0039) utility, `Set-LocalUser` and `Set-ADAccountPassword` [PowerShell](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1059/001) cmdlets may be used by adversaries to modify user accounts. Accounts could also be disabled by Group Policy. In Linux, the `passwd` utility may be used to change passwords. On ESXi servers, accounts can be removed or modified via esxcli (`system account set`, `system account remove`). Adversaries who use ransomware or similar attacks may first perform this and other Impact behaviors, such as [Data Destruction](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1485) and [Defacement](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1491), in order to impede incident response/recovery before completing the [Data Encrypted for Impact](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1486) objective.

Kill chain phases

Kill chainPhase
mitre-attack impact

Marking (TLP)

TLP:CLEAR Copyright 2015-2025, The MITRE Corporation. MITRE ATT&CK and ATT&CK are registered trademarks of The MITRE Corporation.

External references

Related entities

Intrusion sets, malware, reports, vulnerabilities, indicators and other entities linked to this technique.