Suspicious Event Log Clearing via wevtutil (via process_creation)

ATT&CK techniques

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

What it detects

This rule detects use of wevtutil to clear Windows event logs which was observed being run in a loop over multiple log channels during a BitLocker ransomware intrusion. Clearing logs removes forensic evidence of attacker activity. Destroying event history hinders incident response and hides the actions leading up to encryption.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1685.005 — drag to rearrange

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Malicious Clearing of Windows Event Logs (via process_creation)

Suspicious Event Log Clearing via wevtutil During Ransomware Activity

Suspicious Event Log Clearing via Get-WinEvent ClearLog (Qilin)

Suspicious Windows Event Log Clearing via wevtutil on EC2 Host

Suspicious Browser History Wipe via RunDll32 ClearMyTracksByProcess

Suspicious Event Log Clearing via wevtutil (via process_creation)

Pivot detection · T1685.005 · 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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