Analytics Story: Windows Service Abuse

Description

Windows services are often used by attackers for persistence and the ability to load drivers or otherwise interact with the Windows kernel. This Analytic Story helps you monitor your environment for indications that Windows services are being modified or created in a suspicious manner.

Why it matters

The Windows operating system uses a services architecture to allow for running code in the background, similar to a UNIX daemon. Attackers will often leverage Windows services for persistence, hiding in plain sight, seeking the ability to run privileged code that can interact with the kernel. In many cases, attackers will create a new service to host their malicious code. Attackers have also been observed modifying unnecessary or unused services to point to their own code, as opposed to what was intended. In these cases, attackers often use tools to create or modify services in ways that are not typical for most environments, providing opportunities for detection.

Detections

Name ▲▼ Technique ▲▼ Type ▲▼
First Time Seen Running Windows Service System Services, Service Execution Anomaly
Reg exe Manipulating Windows Services Registry Keys Services Registry Permissions Weakness, Hijack Execution Flow TTP
Sc exe Manipulating Windows Services Windows Service, Create or Modify System Process TTP

Data Sources

Name ▲▼ Platform ▲▼ Sourcetype ▲▼ Source ▲▼
CrowdStrike ProcessRollup2 N/A crowdstrike:events:sensor crowdstrike
Sysmon EventID 1 Windows icon Windows xmlwineventlog XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational
Windows Event Log Security 4688 Windows icon Windows xmlwineventlog XmlWinEventLog:Security
Windows Event Log System 7036 Windows icon Windows xmlwineventlog XmlWinEventLog:System

References


Source: GitHub | Version: 3