Suspicious Credential String Enumeration via findstr to Temp Directory

ATT&CK techniques

Cred Access → Discovery

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
- T1552.001Credentials In Files
Discovery
- T1083File and Directory Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule detects use of findstr to search files for password strings with output directed into the Windows Temp directory which Lorenz ransomware uses to harvest credentials from local files. Observed in NCC Group research unmasking Lorenz ransomware. Bulk searching for password keywords is a hands-on-keyboard credential-access behavior worth surfacing.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1552.001 — drag to rearrange

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Suspicious Credential String Enumeration via findstr to Temp Directory

Pivot detection · T1552.001 · 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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