Out of Band Data
Adversaries may communicate with compromised devices using out of band data streams. This could be done for a variety of reasons, including evading network traffic monitoring, as a backup method of command and control, or for data exfiltration if the device is not connected to any Internet-providing networks (i.e. cellular or Wi-Fi). Several out of band data streams exist, such as SMS messages, NFC, and Bluetooth.
Senses
Sense 1
Adversaries may communicate with compromised devices using out of band data streams. This could be done for a variety of reasons, including evading network traffic monitoring, as a backup method of command and control, or for data exfiltration if the device is not connected to any Internet-providing networks (i.e. cellular or Wi-Fi). Several out of band data streams exist, such as SMS messages, NFC, and Bluetooth.
On Android, applications can read push notifications to capture content from SMS messages, or other out of band data streams. This requires that the user manually grant notification access to the application via the settings menu. However, the application could launch an Intent to take the user directly there.
On iOS, there is no way to programmatically read push notifications.
- MITRE ATT&CK (Mobile, CTI STIX Data)Jan 06, 2026MITRE ATT&CK CTI (STIX bundle)https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mitre-attack/attack-stix-data/master/mobile-attack/mobile-attack.jsonSee repository LICENSE.txt for ATT&CK terms: non-exclusive royalty-free license; reproduce MITRE copyright + license in copies. Verify requirements before publishing quoted text.Source: MITRE ATT&CK (attack-stix-data).