T1213.005: Messaging Applications

T1213.005: Messaging Applications describes Adversaries may leverage chat and messaging applications, such as Microsoft Teams, Google Chat, and Slack, to mine valuable information. The following is a brief list of example information that may hold potential value to an adversary and may also be found on messaging applications: * Testing / development credentials (i.e., [Chat Messages](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1552/008)) * Source code snippets * Links to network shares and other internal resources * Proprietary data(Citation: Guardian Grand Theft ...

Executive priority

T1213.005: Messaging Applications is an official MITRE ATT&CK technique. 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 T1213.005: Messaging Applications by reviewing the official ATT&CK relationships, mapped tactics (collection), supported platforms (Office Suite, SaaS), and available local telemetry before making detection or mitigation decisions.

Likely telemetry

Official ATT&CK relationships and object metadata

Detection direction

Validate whether T1213.005: Messaging Applications 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

Messaging Applications

Adversaries may leverage chat and messaging applications, such as Microsoft Teams, Google Chat, and Slack, to mine valuable information.

The following is a brief list of example information that may hold potential value to an adversary and may also be found on messaging applications:

* Testing / development credentials (i.e., Chat Messages) * Source code snippets * Links to network shares and other internal resources * Proprietary data[1] * Discussions about ongoing incident response efforts[2][3]

In addition to exfiltrating data from messaging applications, adversaries may leverage data from chat messages in order to improve their targeting - for example, by learning more about an environment or evading ongoing incident response efforts.[4][5]

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.

Filter related techniques1 rows

Domain	ID	Name	Relationship / procedure
Enterprise	T1213	Data from Information Repositories	This object subtechnique of Data from Information Repositories.

Associated objects

Groups, software, and campaigns

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, Bancomext [2] and Banco de Chile [2], along with software supply chain compromises and destructive malware attacks.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]

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.

G0117: Fox Kitten

Fox Kitten is threat actor with a suspected nexus to the Iranian government that has been active since at least 2017 against entities in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, Australia, and North America. Fox Kitten has targeted multiple industrial verticals including oil and gas, technology, government, defense, healthcare, manufacturing, and engineering.[1][2][3][4]

G1015: Scattered Spider

Scattered Spider is a native English-speaking cybercriminal group active since at least 2022. [1] [2] The group initially targeted customer relationship management (CRM) providers, business process outsourcing (BPO) firms, and telecommunications and technology companies before expanding in 2023 to gaming, hospitality, retail, managed service provider (MSP), manufacturing, and financial sectors. [2] Scattered Spider relies heavily on social engineering, including impersonating IT and help-desk staff, to gain initial access, bypass multi-factor authentication (MFA), and compromise enterprise networks. The group has adapted its tooling to evade endpoint detection and response (EDR) defenses and used ransomware for financial gain. [3] [4] [5] Scattered Spider had expanded into hybrid cloud and identity environments, using help-desk impersonation and MFA bypass to obtain administrator access in Okta, AWS, and Office 365. [6]

G1004: LAPSUS$

LAPSUS$ is cyber criminal threat group that has been active since at least mid-2021. LAPSUS$ specializes in large-scale social engineering and extortion operations, including destructive attacks without the use of ransomware. The group has targeted organizations globally, including in the government, manufacturing, higher education, energy, healthcare, technology, telecommunications, and media sectors.[1][2][3]

G1059: NIMBUS MANTICORE

NIMBUS MANTICORE is a State Sponsored cyber espionage group associated with the Iranian Regime specifically the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). NIMBUS MANTICORE has employed social engineering attacks to include HR related themes and has leveraged custom malware against its victims. NIMBUS MANTICORE has sought sensitive information in victims’ environments to include network/IT documentation, intellectual property and emails. NIMBUS MANTICORE has also leveraged compromised organizations as pivot points to access other organizations of interest. NIMBUS MANTICORE has been active since 2021 and has targeted critical infrastructure organizations to include aviation, aerospace, telecommunications and defense and information technology related organizations within the United States, Australia, Midde East and Europe.[1][2][3][4]

S9009: TruffleHog

TruffleHog is an open-source secrets-discovery tool that is used to search for credentials, API keys, and encryption keys across a variety of data sources and environments.[1][2] TruffleHog has the ability to discover credentials and secrets stored in code repositories, git history, CI/CD pipelines, among other common storage locations to include filesystems and cloud storage buckets.[1][3][2] TruffleHog was first released by its author in 2016.[2]

IaaSLinuxSaaS

Relationship explorer

All related ATT&CK context

subtechnique of · TechniqueT1213: Data from Information RepositoriesEnterprise uses · ToolS9009: TruffleHogEnterprise uses · GroupG0082: APT38Enterprise mitigates · MitigationM1017: User TrainingEnterprise mitigates · MitigationM1047: AuditEnterprise uses · GroupG0117: Fox KittenEnterprise detects · Detection StrategyDET0567: Detecting Unauthorized Collection from Messaging Applications in SaaS and Office EnvironmentsEnterprise mitigates · MitigationM1060: Out-of-Band Communications ChannelEnterprise uses · GroupG1015: Scattered SpiderEnterprise uses · GroupG1004: LAPSUS$Enterpriseuses · GroupG1059: NIMBUS MANTICOREEnterprise

Mitigations

Mitigation direction

M1017: User Training

User Training involves educating employees and contractors on recognizing, reporting, and preventing cyber threats that rely on human interaction, such as phishing, social engineering, and other manipulative techniques. Comprehensive training programs create a human firewall by empowering users to be an active component of the organization's cybersecurity defenses. This mitigation can be implemented through the following measures:

Create Comprehensive Training Programs:

- Design training modules tailored to the organization's risk profile, covering topics such as phishing, password management, and incident reporting. - Provide role-specific training for high-risk employees, such as helpdesk staff or executives.

Use Simulated Exercises:

- Conduct phishing simulations to measure user susceptibility and provide targeted follow-up training. - Run social engineering drills to evaluate employee responses and reinforce protocols.

Leverage Gamification and Engagement:

- Introduce interactive learning methods such as quizzes, gamified challenges, and rewards for successful detection and reporting of threats.

Incorporate Security Policies into Onboarding:

- Include cybersecurity training as part of the onboarding process for new employees. - Provide easy-to-understand materials outlining acceptable use policies and reporting procedures.

Regular Refresher Courses:

- Update training materials to include emerging threats and techniques used by adversaries. - Ensure all employees complete periodic refresher courses to stay informed.

Emphasize Real-World Scenarios:

- Use case studies of recent attacks to demonstrate the consequences of successful phishing or social engineering. - Discuss how specific employee actions can prevent or mitigate such attacks.

M1047: Audit

Auditing is the process of recording activity and systematically reviewing and analyzing the activity and system configurations. The primary purpose of auditing is to detect anomalies and identify potential threats or weaknesses in the environment. Proper auditing configurations can also help to meet compliance requirements. The process of auditing encompasses regular analysis of user behaviors and system logs in support of proactive security measures.

Auditing is applicable to all systems used within an organization, from the front door of a building to accessing a file on a fileserver. It is considered more critical for regulated industries such as, healthcare, finance and government where compliance requirements demand stringent tracking of user and system activates.This mitigation can be implemented through the following measures:

System Audit:

- Use Case: Regularly assess system configurations to ensure compliance with organizational security policies. - Implementation: Use tools to scan for deviations from established benchmarks.

Permission Audits:

- Use Case: Review file and folder permissions to minimize the risk of unauthorized access or privilege escalation. - Implementation: Run access reviews to identify users or groups with excessive permissions.

Software Audits:

- Use Case: Identify outdated, unsupported, or insecure software that could serve as an attack vector. - Implementation: Use inventory and vulnerability scanning tools to detect outdated versions and recommend secure alternatives.

Configuration Audits:

- Use Case: Evaluate system and network configurations to ensure secure settings (e.g., disabled SMBv1, enabled MFA). - Implementation: Implement automated configuration scanning tools like SCAP (Security Content Automation Protocol) to identify non-compliant systems.

Network Audits:

- Use Case: Examine network traffic, firewall rules, and endpoint communications to identify unauthorized or insecure connections. - Implementation: Utilize tools such as Wireshark, or Zeek to monitor and log suspicious network behavior.

M1060: Out-of-Band Communications Channel

Establish secure out-of-band communication channels to ensure the continuity of critical communications during security incidents, data integrity attacks, or in-network communication failures. Out-of-band communication refers to using an alternative, separate communication path that is not dependent on the potentially compromised primary network infrastructure. This method can include secure messaging apps, encrypted phone lines, satellite communications, or dedicated emergency communication systems. Leveraging these alternative channels reduces the risk of adversaries intercepting, disrupting, or tampering with sensitive communications and helps coordinate an effective incident response.[1][2]

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: 20.0
Object version: 1.0
Created: Aug 30, 2024, 13:50 UTC (UTC+00:00)
Modified: May 12, 2026, 15:12 UTC (UTC+00:00)
Raw hash: 4a5aa779614bd4a6...

Imported snapshots across ATT&CK releases(3)

Release	Bundle imported	Object version	Modified	Status	Raw hash
20.0	Oct 18, 2026, 20:39 UTC (UTC+00:00)	1.0	May 12, 2026, 15:12 UTC (UTC+00:00)	Current bundle	`4a5aa779614b…`
19.2	Aug 6, 2026, 02:58 UTC (UTC+00:00)	1.0	May 12, 2026, 15:12 UTC (UTC+00:00)	Older bundle	`4a5aa779614b…`
19.1	Jul 14, 2026, 09:14 UTC (UTC+00:00)	1.0	May 12, 2026, 15:12 UTC (UTC+00:00)	Older bundle	`4a5aa779614b…`

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 JSON Open 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]
Guardian Grand Theft Auto Leak 2022
Keza MacDonald, Keith Stuart and Alex Hern. (2022, September 19). Grand Theft Auto 6 leak: who hacked Rockstar and what was stolen?. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
Open source URL
[2]
SC Magazine Ragnar Locker 2021
Joe Uchill. (2021, December 3). Ragnar Locker reminds breach victims it can read the on-network incident response chat rooms. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
Open source URL
[3]
Microsoft DEV-0537
Microsoft. (2022, March 22). DEV-0537 criminal actor targeting organizations for data exfiltration and destruction. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
Open source URL
[4]
Sentinel Labs NullBulge 2024
Jim Walter. (2024, July 16). NullBulge | Threat Actor Masquerades as Hacktivist Group Rebelling Against AI. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
Open source URL
[5]
Permiso Scattered Spider 2023
Ian Ahl. (2023, September 20). LUCR-3: SCATTERED SPIDER GETTING SAAS-Y IN THE CLOUD. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
Open source URL
[6]
mitre-attackT1213.005
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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