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ATT&CK techniqueCredential Access

T1552.001 Credentials In Files

Credential AccessEnterpriseSub-technique

As of 2026-10-05, T1552.001 (Credentials In Files) appears in 345 tracked threats, first reported 2026-01-01 and most recently 2026-10-04, with linked actors including TeamPCP, ShinyHunters, APT38; it most often appears alongside T1005 (Data from Local System).

Tracked threats
345141 critical, 176 high, 26 medium
First seen
2026-01-01
Last seen
2026-10-04
Threat actors
62In the threats using it
Detection rules
833Blue tier and above

Data as of:

Activity timeline

T1552.001 first appeared in tracked threats on and was most recently reported on . The busiest month was 2026-07 with 125 reports, and 345 of the 345 threats were reported in the twelve months to 2026-10.

How adversaries use it

T1552.001 Credentials In Files is catalogued by MITRE ATT&CK under the Credential Access tactic in the Enterprise matrix, as a sub-technique of T1552 Unsecured Credentials. Threadlinqs maps 345 of 2623 tracked threats (13.2%) to it; by severity that is 141 critical, 176 high, 26 medium.

Threats that use T1552.001 most often also use T1005 Data from Local System (243 threats), T1071.001 Web Protocols (221 threats), T1082 System Information Discovery (180 threats), T1041 Exfiltration Over C2 Channel (173 threats), T1027 Obfuscated Files or Information (172 threats). These are the techniques an intrusion set tends to chain with it, so they are the natural next places to look when it is observed.

62 tracked threat actors appear in the threats that use T1552.001; the most frequent are TeamPCP (25), ShinyHunters (6), APT38 (5), Contagious Interview (5), Sapphire Sleet (5).

Mitigations

MITRE ATT&CK lists 4 mitigations for T1552.001.

Data sources

Telemetry that can reveal T1552.001, per MITRE ATT&CK.

  • Command — Command Execution
  • File — File Access
  • Process — Process Creation

Threat actors using it

Tracked threats

The 30 most recent of 345 tracked threats that use T1552.001.

Detection coverage

Threadlinqs maintains 833 detection rules mapped to T1552.001 (SPL 282, KQL 312, Sigma 237, other 2). Rule content is available to Blue tier accounts and above; this page shows counts only.

833 detection rules (SPL/KQL/Sigma) · Blue and above. Compare plans

Parent technique

T1552 Unsecured Credentials — 551 tracked threats at the technique level.