Malicious Scheduled Task Masquerading as Google Updater via Schtasks

PremiumReviewedSigma · High · v1
Product
windows
Category
process_creation
Author
HuntRule
Published
2026-07-14
Updated
2026-08-28

ATT&CK techniques

Execution → Defense Evasion
  1. Recon

  2. Resource Dev

  3. Initial Access

  4. Cred Access

  5. Discovery

  6. Lateral Movement

  7. Collection

  8. C2

  9. Exfiltration

  10. Impact

What it detects

This rule detects creation of a scheduled task named after the Google updater with the highest run level triggered on user logon. The CL-STA-1062 actor deploying the TinyRCT backdoor against Southeast Asian governments registers a task called GoogleUpdaterTaskSystem to blend with legitimate Chrome update tasks. Detecting this masqueraded persistence surfaces an elevated logon-triggered foothold hiding behind a trusted name.

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Malicious Scheduled Task Masquerading as Google Updater via Schtasks
Pivot detection · T1036.005 · 9 related

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