Adversaries may attempt to manipulate features of their artifacts to make them appear legitimate or benign to users and/or security tools. Masquerading occurs when the name, location, or appearance of an object, legitimate or malicious, is manipulated or abused for the sake of evading defenses and observation. This may include manipulating file metadata, tricking users into misidentifying the file type, and giving legitimate task or service names.
Renaming abusable system utilities to evade security monitoring is also a form of Masquerading
| ID | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| S1225 | CherryBlos |
CherryBlos has displayed masqueraded wallet applications if the EnabledUIMode field is set to |
| S1208 | FjordPhantom |
FjordPhantom has masqueraded as legitimate banking applications.[2] |
| S1185 | LightSpy |
LightSpy has masqueraded a Mach-O executable as a png file.[3][4] |
| ID | Mitigation | Description |
|---|---|---|
| M1011 | User Guidance |
Users should be encouraged to only install apps from authorized app stores, which are less likely to contain malicious repackaged apps. |
| ID | Name | Analytic ID | Analytic Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| DET0715 | Detection of Masquerading | AN1843 |
Unexpected behavior from an application could be an indicator of masquerading. |
| AN1844 |
Unexpected behavior from an application could be an indicator of masquerading. |