Malware persistence techniques enable attackers to maintain access to compromised endpoints despite system reboots, credential changes, or other disruptions. Common methods include altering configurations, injecting startup code, and hijacking legitimate processes.
These approaches ensure the malware or attacker remains active, allowing malicious activities to continue without the need for re-exploitation.
In this article, we will examine the nature of malware persistence techniques, their impact, and strategies for defending against them.
Common malware persistence techniques
The MITRE ATT&CK framework catalogs a range of techniques used by threat actors to maintain persistence. Below are examples of malware persistence techniques from the framework that allow attackers to sustain long-term access to compromised endpoints:
T1053 – Scheduled Task/Job
Adversaries abuse task scheduling features to run malicious code repeatedly or at set intervals. Built-in utilities such as Task Scheduler (Windows), cron (Linux), and launchd (macOS) can execute programs or scripts at specified times or in response to certain events.
T1037 – Boot or Logon Initialization Scripts
Attackers configure scripts to execute during system boot or user logon, ensuring persistence or privilege escalation. On Linux, mechanisms like rc.local, init.d, or systemd are commonly used to launch malicious code at startup.
T1543 – Create or Modify System Process
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