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MITRE ATT&CK® Technique

T1074.001: Local Data Staging

Adversaries may stage collected data in a central location or directory on the local system prior to Exfiltration. Data may be kept in separate files or combined into one file through techniques such as Archive Collected Data. Interactive command shells may be used, and common functionality within cmd and bash may be used to copy data into a staging location.

Adversaries may also stage collected data in various available formats/locations of a system, including local storage databases/repositories or the Windows Registry.[1]

EnterpriseT1074.001Sub-techniqueObject v1.2 Modified
Glexia's Take

Analyst context for executives and security teams

Analyst confidence High

Local Data Staging is the point where collected information is gathered on an endpoint or server before exfiltration. For leaders, this matters because it can be the last observable preparation step before sensitive data leaves the environment. The technique applies across ESXi, Linux, macOS, and Windows, and may involve ordinary shell commands, archive creation, local directories, databases/repositories, or the Windows Registry, making it easy to miss if monitoring focuses only on network exfiltration.

Executive priority

Prioritize this as a data-loss and incident-response readiness control point. Ask whether critical systems generate enough endpoint, file, command-line, registry, and archive telemetry to prove whether data was staged before an incident escalates to confirmed exfiltration. Because ATT&CK links this behavior to multiple campaigns and groups, including espionage, ransomware, and critical-infrastructure-related contexts, it is a useful coverage question for SOC maturity, compliance evidence, and breach-impact assessment.

Technical view

SOC and IR teams should validate detection around unusual local aggregation of files, rapid copying into temporary or central directories, archive creation associated with collection activity, shell-driven copy operations via cmd or bash, and suspicious use of local storage databases/repositories or the Windows Registry to hold collected data. ATT&CK provides no official detection text for this object, but the related DET0261 detection strategy specifically addresses detection of local data staging prior to exfiltration. Treat this as a collection-stage behavior and correlate with parent Data Staged context and follow-on exfiltration indicators rather than relying on a single file event.

Likely telemetry

  • Endpoint file creation, modification, rename, and copy activity in local staging paths
  • Process execution and command-line telemetry for cmd, bash, and archive utilities
  • Archive file creation and compression activity related to collected data
  • Windows Registry change telemetry where registry-based staging is possible
  • Local database or repository write activity where applicable

Detection direction

  • Validate whether DET0261-style analytics exist for local data staging prior to exfiltration.
  • Tune for abnormal volume, timing, destination path, file type mix, or user context rather than generic file copying alone.
  • Correlate staging with Archive Collected Data behavior when compressed files appear after collection activity.
  • Include shell-based copy patterns using cmd and bash, but account for administrative scripts and backup jobs as likely false-positive sources.
  • Do not assume network exfiltration alerts will catch this behavior; staging can occur locally before any outbound transfer is visible.

Mitigation priorities

  • Identify high-value data locations and ensure access, file activity, and command execution are logged on supported platforms.
  • Limit unnecessary write access to shared or sensitive local directories and enforce least-privilege access to sensitive data.
  • Baseline legitimate administrative, backup, compression, and data-movement workflows so detections can distinguish unusual staging behavior.
  • Ensure IR playbooks include preservation and review of suspected staging directories, archives, registry locations, and shell history/process telemetry.
  • Use data governance and monitoring controls to reduce the amount of sensitive data that can be aggregated unnoticed before exfiltration.
Analyst notes and limits

This technique is a sub-technique of T1074 Data Staged under the collection tactic. The supplied relationships show use by numerous campaigns and groups, so it should be treated as common tradecraft rather than a niche behavior. Its value to defenders is often in correlation: local staging can help determine what data may have been prepared for theft and can inform containment, legal, compliance, and customer-notification decisions.

MITRE did not provide an official detection section for this object. The supplied fields do not specify exact paths, commands, tools, thresholds, or guaranteed analytic logic. Local baselines are required to separate malicious staging from legitimate administration, backups, software deployment, and user file-management activity.

Official MITRE ATT&CK definition

Local Data Staging

Adversaries may stage collected data in a central location or directory on the local system prior to Exfiltration. Data may be kept in separate files or combined into one file through techniques such as Archive Collected Data. Interactive command shells may be used, and common functionality within cmd and bash may be used to copy data into a staging location.

Adversaries may also stage collected data in various available formats/locations of a system, including local storage databases/repositories or the Windows Registry.[1]

View the same entry on attack.mitre.org (MITRE-hosted reference; in-page links above use the Glexia ATT&CK library.)

Glexia analysis

How security teams should use this page

Treat this object as behavior context, not an attribution claim. Validate the related groups, software, data sources, and mitigations against official ATT&CK relationships and your own telemetry before making control-coverage decisions.

ATT&CK relationship table

Related techniques

This mirrors the MITRE pattern of making group, software, campaign, and technique relationships scannable. Relationship notes come from mirrored ATT&CK relationship text when available.

1 rows
Domain ID Name Relationship / procedure
Enterprise T1074 Data Staged This object subtechnique of Data Staged.
Associated objects

Groups, software, and campaigns

Group Enterprise

G1046: Storm-1811

Storm-1811 is a financially-motivated entity linked to Black Basta ransomware deployment. Storm-1811 is notable for unique phishing and social engineering mechanisms for initial access, such as overloading victim email inboxes with non-malicious spam to prompt a fake "help desk" interaction leading to the deployment of adversary tools and capabilities.[1][2][3][4]

Group Enterprise

G0027: Threat Group-3390

Threat Group-3390 is a Chinese threat group that has extensively used strategic Web compromises to target victims.[1] The group has been active since at least 2010 and has targeted organizations in the aerospace, government, defense, technology, energy, manufacturing and gambling/betting sectors.[2][3][4]

Group Enterprise

G0121: Sidewinder

Sidewinder is a suspected Indian threat actor group that has been active since at least 2012. They have been observed targeting government, military, and business entities throughout Asia, primarily focusing on Pakistan, China, Nepal, and Afghanistan.[1][2][3]

Group Enterprise

G0053: FIN5

FIN5 is a financially motivated threat group that has targeted personally identifiable information and payment card information. The group has been active since at least 2008 and has targeted the restaurant, gaming, and hotel industries. The group is made up of actors who likely speak Russian. [1] [2] [3]

Group Enterprise

G0040: Patchwork

Patchwork is a cyber espionage group that was first observed in December 2015. While the group has not been definitively attributed, circumstantial evidence suggests the group may be a pro-Indian or Indian entity. Patchwork has been seen targeting industries related to diplomatic and government agencies. Much of the code used by this group was copied and pasted from online forums. Patchwork was also seen operating spearphishing campaigns targeting U.S. think tank groups in March and April of 2018.[1] [2][3][4]

Group Enterprise

G0090: WIRTE

WIRTE is a cyberespionage actor, believed to be a subgroup of the Hamas-affiliated Gaza Cybergang, that has been active since at least August 2018. WIRTE has targeted diplomatic, financial, military, legal, and technology organizations across the Middle East, North Africa, and in Europe to gather intelligence. WIRTE has remained persistently active despite the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict and has expanded their operations to include wiper malware attacks against Israeli targets.[1][2][3][4]

Group Enterprise

G1048: UNC3886

UNC3886 is a China-nexus cyberespionage group that has been active since at least 2022, targeting defense, technology, and telecommunication organizations located in the United States and the Asia-Pacific-Japan (APJ) regions. UNC3886 has displayed a deep understanding of edge devices and virtualization technologies through the exploitation of zero-day vulnerabilities and the use of novel malware families and utilities.[1][2]

Group Enterprise

G1023: APT5

APT5 is a China-based espionage actor that has been active since at least 2007 primarily targeting the telecommunications, aerospace, and defense industries throughout the U.S., Europe, and Asia. APT5 has displayed advanced tradecraft and significant interest in compromising networking devices and their underlying software including through the use of zero-day exploits.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Group Enterprise

G0139: TeamTNT

TeamTNT is a threat group that has primarily targeted cloud and containerized environments. The group as been active since at least October 2019 and has mainly focused its efforts on leveraging cloud and container resources to deploy cryptocurrency miners in victim environments.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]

Group Enterprise

G1030: Agrius

Agrius is an Iranian threat actor active since 2020 notable for a series of ransomware and wiper operations in the Middle East, with an emphasis on Israeli targets.[1][2] Public reporting has linked Agrius to Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS).[3]

Malware Enterprise

S0567: Dtrack

Dtrack is spyware that was discovered in 2019 and has been used against Indian financial institutions, research facilities, and the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant. Dtrack shares similarities with the DarkSeoul campaign, which was attributed to Lazarus Group. [1][2][3][4][5]

Windows
Malware Enterprise

S0247: NavRAT

NavRAT is a remote access tool designed to upload, download, and execute files. It has been observed in attacks targeting South Korea. [1]

Windows
Malware Enterprise

S0386: Ursnif

Ursnif is a banking trojan and variant of the Gozi malware observed being spread through various automated exploit kits, Spearphishing Attachments, and malicious links.[1][2] Ursnif is associated primarily with data theft, but variants also include components (backdoors, spyware, file injectors, etc.) capable of a wide variety of behaviors.[3]

Windows
Malware Enterprise

S9020: LODEINFO

LODEINFO is a fileless backdoor malware first identified in 2020 that has been used by actors including MirrorFace, primarily against media, diplomatic, governmental, and public sector organizations in Japan.[1][2][3]

Windows
Campaign Enterprise

C0049: Leviathan Australian Intrusions

Leviathan Australian Intrusions consisted of at least two long-term intrusions against victims in Australia by Leviathan, relying on similar tradecraft such as external service exploitation followed by extensive credential capture and re-use to enable privilege escalation and lateral movement. Leviathan Australian Intrusions were focused on exfiltrating sensitive data including valid credentials for the victim organizations.[1]

Campaign Enterprise

C0006: Operation Honeybee

Operation Honeybee was a campaign that targeted humanitarian aid and inter-Korean affairs organizations from at least late 2017 through early 2018. Operation Honeybee initially targeted South Korea, but expanded to include Vietnam, Singapore, Japan, Indonesia, Argentina, and Canada. Security researchers assessed the threat actors were likely Korean speakers based on metadata used in both lure documents and executables, and named the campaign "Honeybee" after the author name discovered in malicious Word documents.[1]

Campaign Enterprise

C0014: Operation Wocao

Operation Wocao was a cyber espionage campaign that targeted organizations around the world, including in Brazil, China, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The suspected China-based actors compromised government organizations and managed service providers, as well as aviation, construction, energy, finance, health care, insurance, offshore engineering, software development, and transportation companies.[1]

Security researchers assessed the Operation Wocao actors used similar TTPs and tools as APT20, suggesting a possible overlap. Operation Wocao was named after an observed command line entry by one of the threat actors, possibly out of frustration from losing webshell access.[1]

Campaign Enterprise

C0015: C0015

C0015 was a ransomware intrusion during which the unidentified attackers used Bazar, Cobalt Strike, and Conti, along with other tools, over a 5 day period. Security researchers assessed the actors likely used the widely-circulated Conti ransomware playbook based on the observed pattern of activity and operator errors.[1]

Campaign Enterprise

C0062: Anthropic AI-orchestrated Campaign

The Anthropic AI-orchestrated Campaign was conducted in September 2025 by a likely China nexus espionage actor identified as GTG-1002. The Anthropic AI-orchestrated Campaign was a highly coordinated operation that manipulated Claude Code to perform reconnaissance, vulnerability discovery, exploitation, lateral movement, credential harvesting, data analysis, and exfiltration operations at approximately 30 entities in the technology, financial, chemical, and government sectors. During the Anthropic AI-orchestrated Campaign, human operators used Claude Code agents and Model Context Protocol (MCP) tools to automate cyber operations. Operators broke attacks into discrete tasks, used crafted prompts, and established personas to bypass AI guardrails, enabling the agents to execute the operations with minimal human involvement.[1][2]

Campaign Enterprise

C0017: C0017

C0017 was an APT41 campaign conducted between May 2021 and February 2022 that successfully compromised at least six U.S. state government networks through the exploitation of vulnerable Internet facing web applications. During C0017, APT41 was quick to adapt and use publicly-disclosed as well as zero-day vulnerabilities for initial access, and in at least two cases re-compromised victims following remediation efforts. The goals of C0017 are unknown, however APT41 was observed exfiltrating Personal Identifiable Information (PII).[1]

Campaign Enterprise

C0051: APT28 Nearest Neighbor Campaign

APT28 Nearest Neighbor Campaign was conducted by APT28 from early February 2022 to November 2024 against organizations and individuals with expertise on Ukraine. APT28 primarily leveraged living-off-the-land techniques, while leveraging the zero-day exploitation of CVE-2022-38028. Notably, APT28 leveraged Wi-Fi networks in close proximity to the intended target to gain initial access to the victim environment. By daisy-chaining multiple compromised organizations nearby the intended target, APT28 discovered dual-homed systems (with both a wired and wireless network connection) to enable Wi-Fi and use compromised credentials to connect to the victim network.[1]

Relationship explorer

All related ATT&CK context

Change history

Object version and sync metadata

The fields below describe the current mirrored snapshot. When Glexia retains multiple ATT&CK source imports, you can open the table to compare the same object across releases (hashes and MITRE timestamps). For MITRE’s own release notes and roadmap, see ATT&CK resources — Updates .

ATT&CK release
19.1
Object version
1.2
Created
Modified
Raw hash
3c8a3e7e8e3f46b0...
Imported snapshots across ATT&CK releases (1)
Release Bundle imported Object version Modified Status Raw hash
19.1 1.2 Current bundle 3c8a3e7e8e3f…
Raw source

Mirrored ATT&CK source object

The raw object is retained through the mirrored ATT&CK source bundle and object hash. The raw endpoint returns the exact object from the mirrored bundle when available.

Source references

External references and citations

MITRE external references are preserved separately from Glexia analysis so citations remain traceable to their original source records.

  1. [1]
    Prevailion DarkWatchman 2021

    Smith, S., Stafford, M. (2021, December 14). DarkWatchman: A new evolution in fileless techniques. Retrieved January 10, 2022.

    Open source URL
  2. [2]
    mitre-attack T1074.001
    Open source URL
Source and licensing

Source: MITRE ATT&CK®. © 2026 The MITRE Corporation. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of The MITRE Corporation. MITRE ATT&CK and ATT&CK are registered trademarks of The MITRE Corporation. Glexia is not affiliated with or endorsed by MITRE.