Suspicious AdsExhaust Hidden Edge Search Automation via Start-Process

ATT&CK techniques

Execution

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
- T1059.001PowerShell
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule detects PowerShell launching Microsoft Edge with a preset search query to drive automated ad clicks. AdsExhaust used Start-Process against msedge to open search result pages for click fraud revenue. Scripted browser launches tied to search terms indicate adware monetization rather than user activity.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1059.001 — drag to rearrange

Suspicious Scheduled Task Running PowerShell Every Minute (via process_creation)

Malicious Script Host Spawning PowerShell With Invoke-Expression (via process_creation)

Hidden PowerShell Archive Extraction via ExtractToDirectory

CastleLoader ClickFix PowerShell Hex Decode and Re-Execution

Malicious Non-Interactive Encoded PowerShell Stager (via process_creation)

Malicious ActiveMQ Exploitation Java Spawning PowerShell Downloader (via process_creation)

Suspicious Cleo Autorun Health Check File Drop (via file_event)

Suspicious PowerShell Spawned by VBScript for RMM Delivery

Suspicious PowerShell Loading Fake Edge Update Script

Suspicious AdsExhaust Hidden Edge Search Automation via Start-Process

Pivot detection · T1059.001 · 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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