MITRE ATT&CK Technique
Command and Control T1094
Description

Adversaries may communicate using a custom command and control protocol instead of encapsulating commands/data in an existing [Application Layer Protocol](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1071). Implementations include mimicking well-known protocols or developing custom protocols (including raw sockets) on top of fundamental protocols provided by TCP/IP/another standard network stack.

Supported Platforms
Linux macOS Windows
Created

April 29, 2026

Last Updated

April 29, 2026

STIX Data
{'created': '2017-05-31T21:31:10.314Z',
 'created_by_ref': 'identity--c78cb6e5-0c4b-4611-8297-d1b8b55e40b5',
 'description': 'Adversaries may communicate using a custom command and '
                'control protocol instead of encapsulating commands/data in an '
                'existing [Application Layer '
                'Protocol](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1071). '
                'Implementations include mimicking well-known protocols or '
                'developing custom protocols (including raw sockets) on top of '
                'fundamental protocols provided by TCP/IP/another standard '
                'network stack.',
 'external_references': [{'external_id': 'T1094',
                          'source_name': 'mitre-attack',
                          'url': 'https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1094'},
                         {'description': 'Gardiner, J.,  Cova, M., Nagaraja, '
                                         'S. (2014, February). Command & '
                                         'Control Understanding, Denying and '
                                         'Detecting. Retrieved April 20, 2016.',
                          'source_name': 'University of Birmingham C2',
                          'url': 'https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1408/1408.1136.pdf'}],
 'id': 'attack-pattern--f72eb8a8-cd4c-461d-a814-3f862befbf00',
 'kill_chain_phases': [{'kill_chain_name': 'mitre-attack',
                        'phase_name': 'command-and-control'}],
 'modified': '2025-10-24T17:49:37.745Z',
 'name': 'Custom Command and Control Protocol',
 'object_marking_refs': ['marking-definition--fa42a846-8d90-4e51-bc29-71d5b4802168'],
 'revoked': True,
 'spec_version': '2.1',
 'type': 'attack-pattern',
 'x_mitre_attack_spec_version': '3.2.0',
 'x_mitre_contributors': ['Ryan Becwar'],
 'x_mitre_deprecated': False,
 'x_mitre_detection': '',
 'x_mitre_domains': ['enterprise-attack'],
 'x_mitre_is_subtechnique': False,
 'x_mitre_modified_by_ref': 'identity--c78cb6e5-0c4b-4611-8297-d1b8b55e40b5',
 'x_mitre_platforms': ['Linux', 'macOS', 'Windows'],
 'x_mitre_version': '1.1'}
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