Helix

MITRE ATT&CK does not currently catalogue Helix, so this is our assessment of the techniques it uses, drawn from public reporting. The techniques themselves, and every "what that means" definition below, come from MITRE ATT&CK v20.0. Confidence: medium. Treat it as orientation, not attribution.

1. T1059.001 PowerShell Execution

   What they do: Helix executes malicious payloads through PowerShell scripts dropped onto victim endpoints in Construction and Real Estate networks.

   What that means: Adversaries may abuse PowerShell commands and scripts for execution.

2. T1569.002 Service Execution Execution

   What they do: Helix executes ransomware binaries through Windows Service mechanisms to ensure persistence across reboots.

   What that means: Adversaries may abuse the Windows service control manager to execute malicious commands or payloads.

3. T1685 Disable or Modify Tools Defense Impairment

   What they do: Helix disables antivirus tools by terminating security processes and modifying Windows Defender policies to evade detection.

   What that means: Adversaries may disable, degrade, or tamper with security tools or applications (e.g., endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools, intrusion detection systems (IDS), antivirus, logging agents, sensors, etc.) to impair or reduce visibility of defensive capabilities.

4. T1685.005 Clear Windows Event Logs Defense Impairment

   What they do: Helix clears Windows Event Logs using PowerShell commands to erase forensic evidence from Finance and Legal victims.

   What that means: Adversaries may clear Windows Event Logs to hide the activity of an intrusion.

5. T1070.004 File Deletion Stealth

   What they do: Helix deletes Volume Shadow Copies via vssadmin and backup artifacts to prevent recovery from affected US systems.

   What that means: Adversaries may delete files left behind by the actions of their intrusion activity.

6. T1083 File and Directory Discovery Discovery

   What they do: Helix uses file and directory discovery via PowerShell to enumerate critical business data in Transportation and Finance directories.

   What that means: Adversaries may enumerate files and directories or may search in specific locations of a host or network share for certain information within a file system.

7. T1021.002 SMB/Windows Admin Shares Lateral Movement

   What they do: Helix moves laterally through SMB/Windows Admin Shares targeting Logistics servers using stolen credentials from initial access.

   What that means: Adversaries may use Valid Accounts to interact with a remote network share using Server Message Block (SMB).

8. T1560.001 Archive via Utility Collection

   What they do: Helix archives stolen financial records and travel data using utility commands before exfiltration to C2 servers.

   What that means: Adversaries may use utilities to compress and/or encrypt collected data prior to exfiltration.

9. T1486 Data Encrypted for Impact Impact

   What they do: Helix encrypts victim files using custom ransomware binaries targeting Transportation and Finance data stores for impact.

   What that means: Adversaries may encrypt data on target systems or on large numbers of systems in a network to interrupt availability to system and network resources.

10. T1489 Service Stop Impact

    What they do: Helix stops critical services like SQL Server and backup utilities via net stop commands to disrupt Logistics operations.

    What that means: Adversaries may stop or disable services on a system to render those services unavailable to legitimate users.