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MITRE ATT&CK® Malware

S0334: DarkComet

DarkComet is a Windows remote administration tool and backdoor.[1][2]

EnterpriseS0334MalwareObject v1.1Modified
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Glexia's Take · Automated analysis

Security context for executives and security teams

Automation confidenceMedium

S0334: DarkComet describes [DarkComet](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0334) is a Windows remote administration tool and backdoor.(Citation: TrendMicro DarkComet Sept 2014)(Citation: Malwarebytes DarkComet March 2018)

Executive priority

S0334: DarkComet is an official MITRE ATT&CK software. Glexia treats it as defensive behavior context for prioritizing monitoring, control validation, and response planning without using the object by itself as an attribution claim.

Technical view

Security teams should validate S0334: DarkComet by reviewing the official ATT&CK relationships, mapped tactics (the mapped ATT&CK tactic context), supported platforms (Windows), and available local telemetry before making detection or mitigation decisions.

Likely telemetry

  • Official ATT&CK relationships and object metadata
  • Network, endpoint, and security-tool telemetry

Detection direction

  • Validate whether S0334: DarkComet appears in your detection coverage and tabletop scenarios.
  • Use the object to align executive risk language with SOC, incident response, and detection engineering work.
  • Do not treat ATT&CK relationship context as attribution without corroborating evidence.

Mitigation priorities

  • Map the object to existing controls and identify missing telemetry or response ownership.
  • Prioritize mitigations that reduce exposure on the listed platforms and tactics.
  • Review adjacent ATT&CK relationships before changing policy, detections, or reporting language.
Additional notes and limits

Baseline Glexia take generated from the official MITRE ATT&CK STIX object, source hash, tactics, platforms, and detection fields. It is safe to replace with a richer model-generated take for the same source hash later.

This baseline take is source-grounded and schema-validated, but it does not include environment-specific telemetry, incident evidence, or threat-intelligence corroboration.

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Official MITRE ATT&CK definition

DarkComet

DarkComet is a Windows remote administration tool and backdoor.[1][2]

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

Techniques used

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.

18 rows
DomainIDNameRelationship / procedure
EnterpriseT1686.003Windows Host FirewallSub-technique

DarkComet can disable Security Center functions like the Windows Firewall.[1][2]

EnterpriseT1059Command and Scripting Interpreter

DarkComet can execute various types of scripts on the victim’s machine.[2]

EnterpriseT1115Clipboard Data

DarkComet can steal data from the clipboard.[2]

EnterpriseT1125Video Capture

DarkComet can access the victim’s webcam to take pictures.[1][2]

EnterpriseT1082System Information Discovery

DarkComet can collect the computer name, RAM used, and operating system version from the victim’s machine.[1][2]

EnterpriseT1105Ingress Tool Transfer

DarkComet can load any files onto the infected machine to execute.[1][2]

EnterpriseT1057Process Discovery

DarkComet can list active processes running on the victim’s machine.[2]

EnterpriseT1059.003Windows Command ShellSub-technique

DarkComet can launch a remote shell to execute commands on the victim’s machine.[2]

EnterpriseT1021.001Remote Desktop ProtocolSub-technique

DarkComet can open an active screen of the victim’s machine and take control of the mouse and keyboard.[2]

EnterpriseT1547.001Registry Run Keys / Startup FolderSub-technique

DarkComet adds several Registry entries to enable automatic execution at every system startup.[1][2]

EnterpriseT1685Disable or Modify Tools

DarkComet can disable Security Center functions like anti-virus.[1][2]

EnterpriseT1071.001Web ProtocolsSub-technique

DarkComet can use HTTP for C2 communications.[2]

EnterpriseT1123Audio Capture

DarkComet can listen in to victims' conversations through the system’s microphone.[1][2]

EnterpriseT1027.002Software PackingSub-technique

DarkComet has the option to compress its payload using UPX or MPRESS.[2]

EnterpriseT1112Modify Registry

DarkComet adds a Registry value for its installation routine to the Registry Key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System Enable LUA=”0” and HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\DC3_FEXEC.[1][2]

EnterpriseT1056.001KeyloggingSub-technique

DarkComet has a keylogging capability.[1]

EnterpriseT1033System Owner/User Discovery

DarkComet gathers the username from the victim’s machine.[1]

EnterpriseT1036.005Match Legitimate Resource Name or LocationSub-technique

DarkComet has dropped itself onto victim machines with file names such as WinDefender.Exe and winupdate.exe in an apparent attempt to masquerade as a legitimate file.[1]

Associated objects

Groups, software, and campaigns

GroupEnterprise

G0082: APT38

APT38 is a North Korean state-sponsored threat group that specializes in financial cyber operations; it has been attributed to the Reconnaissance General Bureau.[1] Active since at least 2014, APT38 has targeted banks, financial institutions, casinos, cryptocurrency exchanges, SWIFT system endpoints, and ATMs in at least 38 countries worldwide. Significant operations include the 2016 Bank of Bangladesh heist, during which APT38 stole $81 million, as well as attacks against Bancomext [2] and Banco de Chile [2]; some of their attacks have been destructive.[1][2][3][4]

North Korean group definitions are known to have significant overlap, and some security researchers report all North Korean state-sponsored cyber activity under the name Lazarus Group instead of tracking clusters or subgroups.

Relationship explorer

All related ATT&CK context

uses · GroupG0082: APT38Enterpriseuses · GroupG0083: SilverTerrierEnterpriseuses · GroupG0134: Transparent TribeEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1686.003: Windows Host FirewallEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1059: Command and Scripting InterpreterEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1115: Clipboard DataEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1125: Video CaptureEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1082: System Information DiscoveryEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1105: Ingress Tool TransferEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1057: Process DiscoveryEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1059.003: Windows Command ShellEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1021.001: Remote Desktop ProtocolEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1547.001: Registry Run Keys / Startup FolderEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1685: Disable or Modify ToolsEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1071.001: Web ProtocolsEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1123: Audio CaptureEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1027.002: Software PackingEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1112: Modify RegistryEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1056.001: KeyloggingEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1033: System Owner/User DiscoveryEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1036.005: Match Legitimate Resource Name or LocationEnterprise
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
19.2
Object version
1.1
Created
Modified
Raw hash
bda8046af7fa88ec...
Imported snapshots across ATT&CK releases(2)
ReleaseBundle importedObject versionModifiedStatusRaw hash
19.21.1Current bundlebda8046af7fa…
19.11.1Older bundlebda8046af7fa…
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.

Open mirrored raw JSONOpen MITRE-hosted copy
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]
    TrendMicro DarkComet Sept 2014

    TrendMicro. (2014, September 03). DARKCOMET. Retrieved November 6, 2018.

    Open source URL
  2. [2]
    Malwarebytes DarkComet March 2018

    Kujawa, A. (2018, March 27). You dirty RAT! Part 1: DarkComet. Retrieved November 6, 2018.

    Open source URL
  3. [3]
    DarkComet

    (Citation: TrendMicro DarkComet Sept 2014)

  4. [4]
    DarkKomet

    (Citation: TrendMicro DarkComet Sept 2014)

  5. [5]
    FYNLOS

    (Citation: TrendMicro DarkComet Sept 2014)

  6. [6]
    Fynloski

    (Citation: TrendMicro DarkComet Sept 2014)

  7. [7]
    Krademok

    (Citation: TrendMicro DarkComet Sept 2014)

  8. [8]
    mitre-attackS0334
    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.

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