On-Screen Data Collection

The subject initiates a screen recording session to continuously capture visual activity on their workstation. Unlike isolated screenshots, screen recordings provide a persistent visual record that may include system navigation, data access patterns, command execution, or user interactions with sensitive tools and content.

Screen recordings are commonly used to circumvent restrictions on file downloads, printing, or copy-paste functionality. They allow subjects to preserve dynamic content, such as chat conversations and video meetings, that may not be available later or that are heavily monitored in other forms. The resulting files are often compressed and exported in standard formats (e.g., .mp4, .mov) and may be exfiltrated at a later time.

Subjects may use operating system–native tools (e.g., Xbox Game Bar on Windows, QuickTime on macOS) or third-party utilities (e.g., OBS Studio, Snagit, Loom) to conduct these recordings. Because many of these tools are not considered malicious, their use may not be flagged unless specifically configured for detection.

The subject uses built-in or third-party tools to capture screenshots of sensitive data displayed on the screen. This may include financial records, source code, client information, internal chat transcripts, access credentials, or proprietary interfaces. Screenshot capture is often used as a low-friction means of data retention or transfer, especially in environments where traditional download or export functions are blocked, monitored, or leave visible artifacts.

In Windows 11 the Snipping Tool utility, with default settings, saves screen recordings to the %USER%\Videos\Screen Recordings directory. The output directory can be changed in the Snipping Tool settings. These MP4 files use the naming convention Screen Recording YYYY-MM-DD HHMMSS.mp4, helping to identify when they were captured, alongside the Created and Modified timestamps. This artifact can potentially provide an insight into activities conducted by the subject, such as data exfiltration via media capture.

In Windows 11 the Snipping Tool utility, with default settings, saves screenshots to the %USER%\Pictures\Screenshots directory. The output directory can be changed in the Snipping Tool settings. These PNG files use the naming convention Screenshot YYYY-MM-DD HHMMSS.png, helping to identify when they were captured, alongside the Created and Modified timestamps. This artifact can potentially provide an insight into activities conducted by the subject, such as data exfiltration via screenshots.

In Windows 11 the Snipping Tool utility, when the “Automatically save original screenshots” setting is manually toggled to disabled, will continue to save screenshots to the %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Microsoft.ScreenSketch_8wekyb3d8bbwe\TempState\Snips directory. This is a fallback artifact from DT129 Snipping Tool Cached Screenshots. These PNG files use the naming convention Screenshot YYYY-MM-DD HHMMSS.png, helping to identify when they were captured, alongside the Created and Modified timestamps. This artifact can potentially provide an insight into activities conducted by the subject, such as data exfiltration via screenshots.