type: attack-pattern
spec_version: 2.1
id: attack-pattern--f5d8eed6-48a9-4cdf-a3d7-d1ffa99c3d2a
created: 2019-04-02T13:54:43.136Z
created_by_ref: identity--c78cb6e5-0c4b-4611-8297-d1b8b55e40b5
revoked: no
external_references: source_name: mitre-attack
url: https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1490
external_id: T1490
source_name: Dark Reading Code Spaces Cyber Attack
description:  Brian Prince. (2014, June 20). Code Hosting Service Shuts Down After Cyber Attack. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
url: https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/code-hosting-service-shuts-down-after-cyber-attack
source_name: FireEye WannaCry 2017
description: Berry, A., Homan, J., and Eitzman, R. (2017, May 23). WannaCry Malware Profile. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
url: https://www.fireeye.com/blog/threat-research/2017/05/wannacry-malware-profile.html
source_name: Cybereason
description: Cybereason Nocturnus. (n.d.). Cybereason vs. BlackCat Ransomware. Retrieved March 26, 2025.
url: https://www.cybereason.com/blog/cybereason-vs.-blackcat-ransomware
source_name: Talos Olympic Destroyer 2018
description: Mercer, W. and Rascagneres, P. (2018, February 12). Olympic Destroyer Takes Aim At Winter Olympics. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
url: https://blog.talosintelligence.com/2018/02/olympic-destroyer.html
source_name: Diskshadow
description: Microsoft Windows Server. (2023, February 3). Diskshadow. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
url: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/diskshadow
source_name: Crytox Ransomware
description: Romain Dumont . (2022, September 21). Technical Analysis of Crytox Ransomware. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
url: https://www.zscaler.com/blogs/security-research/technical-analysis-crytox-ransomware
source_name: Rhino Security Labs AWS S3 Ransomware
description: Spencer Gietzen. (n.d.). AWS Simple Storage Service S3 Ransomware Part 2: Prevention and Defense. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
url: https://rhinosecuritylabs.com/aws/s3-ransomware-part-2-prevention-and-defense/
source_name: ZDNet Ransomware Backups 2020
description: Steve Ranger. (2020, February 27). Ransomware victims thought their backups were safe. They were wrong. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
url: https://www.zdnet.com/article/ransomware-victims-thought-their-backups-were-safe-they-were-wrong/
source_name: disable_notif_synology_ransom
description: TheDFIRReport. (2022, March 1). Disabling notifications on Synology servers before ransom. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
url: https://x.com/TheDFIRReport/status/1498657590259109894
object_marking_refs: marking-definition--fa42a846-8d90-4e51-bc29-71d5b4802168
modified: 2025-10-24T17:49:37.297Z
name: Inhibit System Recovery
description: 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.(Citation: Talos Olympic Destroyer 2018)(Citation: FireEye WannaCry 2017) This may deny access to available backups and recovery options.

Operating systems may contain features that can help fix corrupted systems, such as a backup catalog, volume shadow copies, and automatic repair features. Adversaries may disable or delete system recovery features to augment the effects of [Data Destruction](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1485) and [Data Encrypted for Impact](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1486).(Citation: Talos Olympic Destroyer 2018)(Citation: FireEye WannaCry 2017) Furthermore, adversaries may disable recovery notifications, then corrupt backups.(Citation: disable_notif_synology_ransom)

A number of native Windows utilities have been used by adversaries to disable or delete system recovery features:

* vssadmin.exe can be used to delete all volume shadow copies on a system - vssadmin.exe delete shadows /all /quiet
* [Windows Management Instrumentation](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1047) can be used to delete volume shadow copies - wmic shadowcopy delete
* wbadmin.exe can be used to delete the Windows Backup Catalog - wbadmin.exe delete catalog -quiet
* bcdedit.exe can be used to disable automatic Windows recovery features by modifying boot configuration data - bcdedit.exe /set {default} bootstatuspolicy ignoreallfailures & bcdedit /set {default} recoveryenabled no
* REAgentC.exe can be used to disable Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) repair/recovery options of an infected system
* diskshadow.exe can be used to delete all volume shadow copies on a system - diskshadow delete shadows all (Citation: Diskshadow) (Citation: Crytox Ransomware)

On network devices, adversaries may leverage [Disk Wipe](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1561) to delete backup firmware images and reformat the file system, then [System Shutdown/Reboot](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1529) to reload the device. Together this activity may leave network devices completely inoperable and inhibit recovery operations.

On ESXi servers, adversaries may delete or encrypt snapshots of virtual machines to support [Data Encrypted for Impact](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1486), preventing them from being leveraged as backups (e.g., via ` vim-cmd vmsvc/snapshot.removeall`).(Citation: Cybereason)

Adversaries may also delete “online” backups that are connected to their network – whether via network storage media or through folders that sync to cloud services.(Citation: ZDNet Ransomware Backups 2020) In cloud environments, adversaries may disable versioning and backup policies and delete snapshots, database backups, machine images, and prior versions of objects designed to be used in disaster recovery scenarios.(Citation: Dark Reading Code Spaces Cyber Attack)(Citation: Rhino Security Labs AWS S3 Ransomware)
kill_chain_phases: kill_chain_name: mitre-attack
phase_name: impact
x_mitre_attack_spec_version: 3.2.0
x_mitre_contributors: Yonatan Gotlib, Deep Instinct
Austin Clark, @c2defense
Pallavi Sivakumaran, WithSecure
Joey Lei
Harjot Shah Singh
x_mitre_deprecated: no
x_mitre_domains: enterprise-attack
x_mitre_is_subtechnique: no
x_mitre_modified_by_ref: identity--c78cb6e5-0c4b-4611-8297-d1b8b55e40b5
x_mitre_platforms: Containers
ESXi
IaaS
Linux
macOS
Network Devices
Windows
x_mitre_version: 1.6
x_mitre_impact_type: Availability