Madcat

MITRE ATT&CK does not currently catalogue Madcat, 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: madcat 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: madcat modifies Windows Registry Run Keys to ensure ransomware execution persists across reboots on compromised systems.

   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: madcat disables security tools like antivirus software and monitoring agents to evade detection during ransomware deployment.

   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: madcat deletes Volume Shadow Copies and backup files via vssadmin to prevent data recovery and increase pressure on victims.

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

5. T1003.001 LSASS Memory Credential Access

   What they do: madcat accesses LSASS memory using tools like Mimikatz to steal credentials for lateral movement and privilege escalation.

   What that means: Adversaries may attempt to access credential material stored in the process memory of the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS).

6. T1083 File and Directory Discovery Discovery

   What they do: madcat uses file and directory discovery to identify critical data locations and encryption targets across the victim network.

   What that means: Adversaries may enumerate files and directories or may search in specific locations of a host or network share for certain information within a file system.

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

   What they do: madcat exploits SMB/Windows Admin Shares to move laterally across networked servers and encrypt additional systems.

   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: madcat exfiltrates victim data via encrypted C2 channels before deploying ransomware to enable double extortion.

   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: madcat encrypts victim files using strong symmetric encryption, rendering business data unusable without their decryption key.

   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: madcat runs commands to inhibit system recovery by disabling restore points and blocking backup restoration mechanisms.

    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.