Genesis

MITRE ATT&CK does not currently catalogue Genesis, so this is our assessment of the techniques it uses, drawn from public reporting. The techniques themselves, and every "what that means" definition below, come from MITRE ATT&CK v19.2. Confidence: medium. Treat it as orientation, not attribution.

1. T1059.001 PowerShell Execution

   What they do: genesis executes PowerShell scripts to stage payloads and manipulate system processes during initial compromise.

   What that means: Adversaries may abuse PowerShell commands and scripts for execution.

2. T1547.001 Registry Run Keys / Startup Folder PersistencePrivilege Escalation

   What they do: genesis adds malicious registry run keys to ensure persistence across reboots on infected endpoints.

   What that means: Adversaries may achieve persistence by adding a program to a startup folder or referencing it with a Registry run key.

3. T1685 Disable or Modify Tools Defense Impairment

   What they do: genesis disables antivirus tools by terminating security processes and modifying Windows Defender settings via registry edits.

   What that means: Adversaries may disable, degrade, or tamper with security tools or applications (e.g., endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools, intrusion detection systems (IDS), antivirus, logging agents, sensors, etc.) to impair or reduce visibility of defensive capabilities.

4. T1070.004 File Deletion Stealth

   What they do: genesis deletes Volume Shadow Copies and backup directories via vssadmin commands to prevent recovery.

   What that means: Adversaries may delete files left behind by the actions of their intrusion activity.

5. T1018 Remote System Discovery Discovery

   What they do: genesis discovers remote systems via SMB enumeration to map the victim organization's network topology.

   What that means: Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of other systems by IP address, hostname, or other logical identifier on a network that may be used for Lateral Movement from the current system.

6. T1135 Network Share Discovery Discovery

   What they do: genesis scans network shares using net use commands to identify valuable files for encryption and exfiltration targets.

   What that means: Adversaries may look for folders and drives shared on remote systems as a means of identifying sources of information to gather as a precursor for Collection and to identify potential systems of interest for Lateral Movement.

7. T1021.002 SMB/Windows Admin Shares Lateral Movement

   What they do: genesis moves laterally through SMB shares to compromise additional servers within the same network segment.

   What that means: Adversaries may use Valid Accounts to interact with a remote network share using Server Message Block (SMB).

8. T1041 Exfiltration Over C2 Channel Exfiltration

   What they do: genesis exfiltrates stolen data through encrypted C2 channels before deploying ransomware on critical assets.

   What that means: Adversaries may steal data by exfiltrating it over an existing command and control channel.

9. T1486 Data Encrypted for Impact Impact

   What they do: genesis encrypts victim files using a custom symmetric encryption routine, targeting finance and legal documents first.

   What that means: Adversaries may encrypt data on target systems or on large numbers of systems in a network to interrupt availability to system and network resources.

10. T1490 Inhibit System Recovery Impact

    What they do: genesis triggers system shutdown commands and service termination to maximize disruption during impact phase.

    What that means: Adversaries may delete or remove built-in data and turn off services designed to aid in the recovery of a corrupted system to prevent recovery.