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Wi Fi Discovery (T1016.002) is a MITRE ATT&CK technique associated with Discovery . Adversaries may search for information about Wi Fi networks, such as network names and passwords, on compromised systems.
Wi-Fi Discovery (T1016.002) is a MITRE ATT&CK technique associated with Discovery. Adversaries may search for information about Wi-Fi networks, such as network names and passwords, on compromised systems.
Attackers use Wi-Fi Discovery because it provides a reliable way to advance their objective within the Discovery tactic, often with a favorable balance of impact versus detectability on Linux, Windows, macOS environments. Defenders should assess this behavior in the context of the affected platform and adjacent activity rather than treating it as a standalone indicator.
Adversaries may search for information about Wi-Fi networks, such as network names and passwords, on compromised systems. Adversaries may use Wi-Fi information as part of Account Discovery, Remote System Discovery, and other discovery or Credential Access activity to support both ongoing and future campaigns.
Adversaries may collect various types of information about Wi-Fi networks from hosts. For example, on Windows names and passwords of all Wi-Fi networks a device has previously connected to may be available through netsh wlan show profiles to enumerate Wi-Fi names and then netsh wlan show profile “Wi-Fi name†key=clear to show a Wi-Fi network’s corresponding password.(Citation: BleepingComputer Agent Tesla steal wifi passwords)(Citation: Malware Bytes New AgentTesla variant steals WiFi credentials)(Citation: Check Point APT35 CharmPower January 2022) Additionally, names and other details of locally reachable Wi-Fi networks can be discovered using calls to wlanAPI.dll Native API functions.(Citation: Binary Defense Emotes Wi-Fi Spreader)
On Linux, names and passwords of all Wi-Fi-networks a device has previously connected to may be available in files under /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/.(Citation: Wi-Fi Password of All Connected Networks in Windows/Linux) On macOS, the password of a known Wi-Fi may be identified with security find-generic-password -wa wifiname (requires admin username/password).(Citation: Find Wi-Fi Password on Mac)
No universal command represents Wi-Fi Discovery. Capture the exact command line, arguments, parent process, account, host, and execution time from the investigated environment; do not operationalize unverified examples.
| Event ID | Log Channel | What It Indicates |
|---|---|---|
| Environment-specific | Relevant Windows channel(s) | Correlate authentication, process, object-access, and configuration events with the observed execution context. |
| Sysmon Event ID | Name | Why It's Relevant Here |
|---|---|---|
| Environment-specific | Validate configured telemetry | Use process, network, file, registry, DNS, or image-load telemetry only when relevant and enabled. |
No MITRE detection guidance published for this technique.
Relevant ATT&CK Data Sources: N/A
A universal Sigma rule would create unreliable results because this technique has no single guaranteed observable. Build detection logic from a documented behavior and supported data source, scope it to the affected platform, and validate it against benign administrative activity before deployment.
Start with the data sources named in the detection section. Scope searches by asset, identity, and time window; correlate the primary behavior with preceding access and subsequent actions. A portable query is intentionally not provided where the technique lacks a universal schema or observable.
No MITRE mitigations mapped to this technique.