Malicious Service Persistence via sc.exe Creating msdnetsvc

ATT&CK techniques

Persistence → Priv Esc

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
- T1543.003Windows Service
Priv Esc
- T1543.003Windows Service
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule detects sc.exe creating a Windows service named msdnetsvc. This service name is used by the backdoor targeting Southeast Asian governments to gain persistence and survive reboots. A named service with this masquerading identity is a high-confidence indicator of the intrusion.

Reporting behind it

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Malicious Service Persistence via sc.exe Creating msdnetsvc

Pivot detection · T1543.003 · 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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