Suspicious Chafer Backdoor Registry Configuration under Microsoft DRM Key

ATT&CK techniques

Persistence → Defense Evasion

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
- T1112Modify Registry
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
- T1112Modify Registry
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule detects creation or modification of a Log value under the Microsoft DRM registry key which the Chafer backdoor uses as an execution gate and configuration store. Observed in NCC Group research analyzing the Chafer backdoor. Abuse of the DRM key as a covert configuration location is an uncommon behavior worth surfacing.

Reporting behind it

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Suspicious Chafer Backdoor Registry Configuration under Microsoft DRM Key

Pivot detection · T1112 · 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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