Suspicious Environment File Credential Search via findstr (via process_creation)

PremiumReviewedSigma · Medium · v1
Product
windows
Category
process_creation
Author
HuntRule
Published
2026-06-06
Updated
2026-08-28

ATT&CK techniques

Collection
  1. Recon

  2. Resource Dev

  3. Initial Access

  4. Execution

  5. Persistence

  6. Priv Esc

  7. Defense Evasion

  8. Cred Access

  9. Discovery

  10. Lateral Movement

  11. C2

  12. Exfiltration

  13. Impact

What it detects

This rule detects use of findstr or find to search for .env files, the credential-harvesting behavior of the InvisibleFerret backdoor which sweeps drives C through G for secrets. Programmatically hunting environment files across drives targets API keys and database credentials for theft.

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Detection content is published as a reviewed draft. Tune thresholds and exclusions against your own telemetry before enabling this rule for alerting.