EXPLORE DETECTIONS
Domain Controller Discovery with Nltest
The following analytic detects the execution of `nltest.exe` with command-line arguments `/dclist:` or `/dsgetdc:` to discover domain controllers. It leverages Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) data, focusing on process names and command-line arguments. This activity is significant because both Red Teams and adversaries use `nltest.exe` for situational awareness and Active Directory discovery. If confirmed malicious, this behavior could allow attackers to map out domain controllers, facilitating further attacks such as privilege escalation or lateral movement within the network.
Domain Controller Discovery with Wmic
The following analytic identifies the execution of `wmic.exe` with command-line arguments used to discover domain controllers in a Windows domain. It leverages data from Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents, focusing on process names and command-line arguments. This activity is significant because it is commonly used by adversaries and Red Teams for situational awareness and Active Directory discovery. If confirmed malicious, this behavior could allow attackers to map out the network, identify key systems, and plan further attacks, potentially leading to unauthorized access and data exfiltration.
Domain Group Discovery with Adsisearcher
The following analytic detects the use of the `[Adsisearcher]` type accelerator in PowerShell to query Active Directory for domain groups. It leverages PowerShell Script Block Logging (EventCode=4104) to identify specific script blocks containing `[adsisearcher]` and group-related queries. This activity is significant as it may indicate an attempt by adversaries or Red Teams to enumerate domain groups for situational awareness and Active Directory discovery. If confirmed malicious, this behavior could lead to further reconnaissance, privilege escalation, or lateral movement within the network.
Domain Group Discovery With Dsquery
The following analytic identifies the execution of `dsquery.exe` with command-line arguments used to query for domain groups. It leverages Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) data, focusing on process names and command-line arguments. This activity is significant because both Red Teams and adversaries use `dsquery.exe` to enumerate domain groups, gaining situational awareness and facilitating further Active Directory discovery. If confirmed malicious, this behavior could allow attackers to map out the domain structure, identify high-value targets, and plan subsequent attacks, potentially leading to privilege escalation or data exfiltration.
Domain Group Discovery With Wmic
The following analytic identifies the execution of `wmic.exe` with command-line arguments used to query for domain groups. It leverages data from Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents, focusing on process names and command-line executions. This activity is significant as it indicates potential reconnaissance efforts by adversaries to gain situational awareness and map out Active Directory structures. If confirmed malicious, this behavior could allow attackers to identify and target specific domain groups, potentially leading to privilege escalation or lateral movement within the network.
Download Files Using Telegram
The following analytic detects suspicious file downloads by the Telegram application on a Windows system. It leverages Sysmon EventCode 15 to identify instances where Telegram.exe creates files with a Zone.Identifier, indicating a download. This activity is significant as it may indicate an adversary using Telegram to download malicious tools, such as network scanners, for further exploitation. If confirmed malicious, this behavior could lead to network mapping, lateral movement, and potential compromise of additional systems within the network.
Drop IcedID License dat
The following analytic detects the dropping of a suspicious file named "license.dat" in %appdata% or %programdata%. This behavior is associated with the IcedID malware, which uses this file to inject its core bot into other processes for banking credential theft. The detection leverages Sysmon EventCode 11 to monitor file creation events in these directories. This activity is significant as it indicates a potential malware infection aiming to steal sensitive banking information. If confirmed malicious, the attacker could gain unauthorized access to financial data, leading to significant financial loss and data breaches.
DSQuery Domain Discovery
The following analytic detects the execution of "dsquery.exe" with arguments targeting `TrustedDomain` queries directly from the command line. This behavior is identified using Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) telemetry, focusing on process names and command-line arguments. This activity is significant as it often indicates domain trust discovery, a common step in lateral movement or privilege escalation by adversaries. If confirmed malicious, this could allow attackers to map domain trusts, potentially leading to further exploitation and unauthorized access to trusted domains.
Dump LSASS via comsvcs DLL
The following analytic detects the behavior of dumping credentials from memory by exploiting the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS) using the comsvcs.dll and MiniDump via rundll32. This detection leverages process information from Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) logs, focusing on specific command-line executions. This activity is significant because it indicates potential credential theft, which can lead to broader system compromise, persistence, lateral movement, and privilege escalation. If confirmed malicious, attackers could gain unauthorized access to sensitive information, leading to data theft, ransomware attacks, or other damaging outcomes.
Dump LSASS via procdump
The following analytic detects the use of procdump.exe to dump the LSASS process, specifically looking for the -mm and -ma command-line arguments. It leverages data from Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents, focusing on process names, command-line executions, and parent processes. This activity is significant because dumping LSASS can expose sensitive credentials, posing a severe security risk. If confirmed malicious, an attacker could obtain credentials, escalate privileges, and move laterally within the network, leading to potential data breaches and further compromise of the environment.
Elevated Group Discovery with PowerView
The following analytic detects the execution of the `Get-DomainGroupMember` cmdlet from PowerView, identified through PowerShell Script Block Logging (EventCode=4104). This cmdlet is used to enumerate members of elevated domain groups such as Domain Admins and Enterprise Admins. Monitoring this activity is crucial as it indicates potential reconnaissance efforts by adversaries to identify high-privileged users within the domain. If confirmed malicious, this activity could lead to targeted attacks on privileged accounts, facilitating further compromise and lateral movement within the network.
Elevated Group Discovery With Wmic
The following analytic detects the execution of `wmic.exe` with command-line arguments querying specific elevated domain groups. It leverages Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) telemetry to identify processes that access the LDAP namespace and search for groups like "Domain Admins" or "Enterprise Admins." This activity is significant as it indicates potential reconnaissance efforts by adversaries to identify high-privilege accounts within Active Directory. If confirmed malicious, this behavior could lead to privilege escalation, allowing attackers to gain elevated access and control over critical network resources.
Email Attachments With Lots Of Spaces
The following analytic detects email attachments with an unusually high number of spaces in their file names, which is a common tactic used by attackers to obfuscate file extensions. It leverages the Email data model to identify attachments where the ratio of spaces to the total file name length exceeds 10%. This behavior is significant as it may indicate an attempt to bypass security filters and deliver malicious payloads. If confirmed malicious, this activity could lead to the execution of harmful code or unauthorized access to sensitive information within the recipient's environment.
Email files written outside of the Outlook directory
The following analytic detects email files (.pst or .ost) being created outside the standard Outlook directories. It leverages the Endpoint.Filesystem data model to identify file creation events and filters for email files not located in "C:\Users\*\My Documents\Outlook Files\*" or "C:\Users\*\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook*". This activity is significant as it may indicate data exfiltration or unauthorized access to email data. If confirmed malicious, an attacker could potentially access sensitive email content, leading to data breaches or further exploitation within the network.
Email servers sending high volume traffic to hosts
The following analytic identifies a significant increase in data transfers from your email server to client hosts. It leverages the Network_Traffic data model to monitor outbound traffic from email servers, using statistical analysis to detect anomalies based on average and standard deviation metrics. This activity is significant as it may indicate a malicious actor exfiltrating data via your email server. If confirmed malicious, this could lead to unauthorized data access and potential data breaches, compromising sensitive information and impacting organizational security.
Enable RDP In Other Port Number
The following analytic detects modifications to the registry that enable RDP on a machine using a non-default port number. It leverages data from the Endpoint.Registry data model, specifically monitoring changes to the registry path "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server\WinStations\RDP-Tcp" and the "PortNumber" value. This activity is significant as attackers often modify RDP settings to facilitate lateral movement and maintain remote access to compromised systems. If confirmed malicious, this could allow attackers to bypass network defenses, gain persistent access, and potentially control the compromised machine.
Enable WDigest UseLogonCredential Registry
The following analytic detects a suspicious registry modification that enables the plain text credential feature in Windows by setting the "UseLogonCredential" value to 1 in the WDigest registry path. This detection leverages data from the Endpoint.Registry data model, focusing on specific registry paths and values. This activity is significant because it is commonly used by malware and tools like Mimikatz to dump plain text credentials, indicating a potential credential dumping attempt. If confirmed malicious, this could allow an attacker to obtain sensitive credentials, leading to further compromise and lateral movement within the network.
Enumerate Users Local Group Using Telegram
The following analytic detects a Telegram process enumerating all network users in a local group. It leverages EventCode 4798, which is generated when a process enumerates a user's security-enabled local groups on a computer or device. This activity is significant as it may indicate an attempt to gather information on user accounts, a common precursor to further malicious actions. If confirmed malicious, this behavior could allow an attacker to map out user accounts, potentially leading to privilege escalation or lateral movement within the network.
Esentutl SAM Copy
The following analytic detects the use of `esentutl.exe` to access credentials stored in the ntds.dit or SAM file. This detection leverages data from Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents, focusing on process execution logs that include command-line details. This activity is significant because it may indicate an attempt to extract sensitive credential information, which is a common tactic in lateral movement and privilege escalation. If confirmed malicious, this could allow an attacker to gain unauthorized access to user credentials, potentially compromising the entire network.
ESXi Account Modified
This detection identifies the creation, deletion, or modification of a local user account on an ESXi host. This activity may indicate unauthorized access, indicator removal, or persistence attempts by an attacker seeking to establish or maintain control of the host.
ESXi Audit Tampering
This detection identifies the use of the esxcli system auditrecords commands, which can be used to tamper with logging on an ESXi host. This action may indicate an attempt to evade detection or hinder forensic analysis by preventing the recording of system-level audit events.
ESXi Bulk VM Termination
This detection identifies when all virtual machines on an ESXi host are abruptly terminated, which may indicate malicious activity such as a deliberate denial-of-service, ransomware staging, or an attempt to destroy critical workloads.
ESXi Download Errors
This detection identifies failed file download attempts on ESXi hosts by looking for specific error messages in the system logs. These failures may indicate unauthorized or malicious attempts to install or update components—such as VIBs or scripts
ESXi Encryption Settings Modified
Detects the disabling of critical encryption enforcement settings on an ESXi host, such as secure boot or executable verification requirements, which may indicate an attempt to weaken hypervisor integrity or allow unauthorized code execution.