huntrule

Detect Wannacry killswitch DNS queries to hardcoded domains

Flags DNS lookups for known WannaCry killswitch domain strings and variants.

FreeReviewedSigma · High · v2
Category
dns
Author
Mike Wade (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2020-09-16
Updated
2026-07-31
AnalysisDetection

ATT&CK techniques

C2

  1. Recon

  2. Resource Dev

  3. Initial Access

  4. Execution

  5. Persistence

  6. Priv Esc

  7. Defense Evasion

  8. Cred Access

  9. Discovery

  10. Lateral Movement

  11. Collection

  12. C2

  13. Exfiltration

  14. Impact

What it detects

This rule flags DNS queries for specific hardcoded domain names associated with the Wannacry killswitch. Attackers may use such domains to control ransomware behavior based on external DNS resolution. Detection relies on DNS query telemetry that includes the queried domain name.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1071.001 — drag to rearrange
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Suspicious WarmCookie C2 Beacon With Fixed Firefox User-Agent
Malicious Renamed Python Interpreter Executing nvidia.py RAT
Malicious Self-Signed TLS Certificate With Exploit Subject via Zeek X509
Suspicious Network Connection From wabmig.exe (Turian Injection)
Suspicious wmicodegen.dll Sideload by inetinfo.exe (UAT-8099 Cobalt Strike)
Detect Wannacry killswitch DNS queries to hardcoded domains
Pivot detection · T1071.001 · 9 related

Changelog

v2
  1. v2
    Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
  2. v1
    No changelog recorded for this version.2026-07-30

Detection content is published as a reviewed draft. Tune thresholds and exclusions against your own telemetry before enabling this rule for alerting.