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Windows Processes Killed By Industroyer2 Malware

Author
Teoderick Contreras, Splunk
Source
upstream

The following analytic detects the termination of specific processes by the Industroyer2 malware. It leverages Sysmon EventCode 5 to identify when processes like "PServiceControl.exe" and "PService_PPD.exe" are killed. This activity is significant as it targets processes related to energy facility networks, indicating a potential attack on critical infrastructure. If confirmed malicious, this could lead to disruption of essential services, loss of control over energy systems, and significant operational impact. Immediate investigation is required to determine the cause and mitigate any potential threats.

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

TacticTechniques
ImpactT1489 Service Stop

Event coverage

ProviderEvent IDTitle
Sysmon5Process terminated

Stages and Predicates

Stage 1: search

search EventCode=5 process_name IN ("PServiceControl.exe", "PService_PPD.exe")

Stage 2: stats

stats BY dest, process, process_exec, process_guid, process_id, process_name, process_path, signature, signature_id, user_id, vendor_product

Stage 3: search

search

Stage 4: search

search

Stage 5: search

search `macro`

Indicators

Each row is a field, operator, and value that the rule matches. The corpus column counts how many other rules in the catalog look for the same combination: high numbers point to widely-used, community-vetted indicators. Blank or 1 shows that the indicator is specific to this rule.

FieldKindValues
EventCodeeq
  • 5 corpus 2 (splunk 2)
process_namein
  • "PServiceControl.exe"
  • "PService_PPD.exe"

Neighbors

Broader alternatives (more inclusive than this rule)

These rules match a superset of what this rule catches. They cover the same events plus more. Use them if you want wider coverage and can absorb more false positives.