Malicious Scheduled Task Masquerading as Windows Defender Sync 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 registration of a scheduled task named WindowsDefenderSyncService that repeatedly runs agent.exe, the persistence used by Operation ShadowRecruit to relaunch its ControlR-based RAT every few minutes. The Defender-themed task name impersonates a Microsoft security component to disguise recurring malicious execution against Indian job seekers, so detecting the task creation exposes the foothold early.

Reporting behind it

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Malicious Scheduled Task Masquerading as Windows Defender Sync via schtasks (via process_creation)

Pivot detection · T1036 · 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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