Exfiltration Over Other Network Medium

Adversaries may attempt to exfiltrate data over a different network medium than the command and control channel. If the command and control network is a wired Internet connection, the exfiltration may occur, for example, over a WiFi connection, modem, cellular data connection, Bluetooth, or another radio frequency (RF) channel.

Adversaries may choose to do this if they have sufficient access or proximity, and the connection might not be secured or defended as well as the primary Internet-connected channel because it is not routed through the same enterprise network.

ID: T1011
Sub-techniques:  T1011.001
Tactic: Exfiltration
Platforms: Linux, Windows, macOS
Contributors: Itzik Kotler, SafeBreach
Version: 1.2
Created: 31 May 2017
Last Modified: 24 October 2025

Mitigations

ID Mitigation Description
M1042 Disable or Remove Feature or Program

Disable WiFi connection, modem, cellular data connection, Bluetooth, or another radio frequency (RF) channel in local computer security settings or by group policy if it is not needed within an environment.

M1028 Operating System Configuration

Prevent the creation of new network adapters where possible.[1][2]

Detection Strategy

ID Name Analytic ID Analytic Description
DET0077 Detection of Exfiltration Over Alternate Network Interfaces AN0212

Execution of file transfer or network access activity through non-primary interfaces (e.g., WiFi, Bluetooth, cellular) by processes not typically associated with such behavior (e.g., rundll32, powershell, regsvr32).

AN0213

Use of rfkill, nmcli, or low-level tools (e.g., iw, hcitool, pppd) to enable alternate interfaces followed by data transfer via non-primary NICs.

AN0214

AppleScript or system calls to activate WiFi/Bluetooth interfaces (networksetup, blueutil), followed by exfiltration via AirDrop, cloud sync, or network socket.

References