Malicious Scheduled Task Masquerading as Auto Update via schtasks (via process_creation)

ATT&CK techniques

Execution → Defense Evasion

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
- T1053.005Scheduled Task
Persistence
- T1053.005Scheduled Task
Priv Esc
- T1053.005Scheduled Task
Defense Evasion
- T1036Masquerading
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule detects creation of a scheduled task named Auto apdate that launches Trays.exe at logon with highest privileges, the persistence mechanism used in the AnyDesk phishing campaign targeting Russian aerospace firms. The misspelled update-themed task name masquerades as a benign auto-updater to hide malicious auto-start, so catching the task registration exposes the persistence before the tool executes.

Reporting behind it

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Malicious Scheduled Task Masquerading as Auto Update via schtasks (via process_creation)

Pivot detection · T1053.005 · 9 related

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

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