Indicator Removal on Host

What the technique is

Adversaries may delete, alter, or hide generated artifacts on a device, including files, jailbreak status, or the malicious application itself. These actions may interfere with event collection, reporting, or other notifications used to detect intrusion activity. This may compromise the integrity of mobile security solutions by causing notable events or information to go unreported.

What MITRE says you would watch

• AN1733

  Detects indirect evidence of host-side indicator removal by correlating (1) local artifact creation or compromise-state-relevant activity, (2) later disappearance, alteration, or reporting loss for those artifacts or state indicators, and (3) continued application or device activity under reduced visibility. Because iOS provides weaker direct visibility into some Android-style artifact and jailbreak-indicator manipulation patterns, the defender relies more on app-private artifact lifecycle changes, managed posture shifts, and continued runtime or network activity after expected evidence disappears.

• AN1734

  Correlates (1) application activity that creates, modifies, or accesses local artifacts relevant to detection or device compromise state, (2) subsequent deletion, alteration, renaming, relocation, or visibility suppression of those artifacts, including files, application presence, media, or root-compromise indicators, and (3) continued application execution, reduced telemetry quality, or outbound activity after the artifact state changes. The defender observes a causal chain where host-side evidence is first manipulated and expected visibility or reporting degrades while the initiating application remains active.