Suspicious PerfWatson2 Execution from Local AppData

ATT&CK techniques

Defense Evasion

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
- T1036.005Match Legitimate Resource Name or Location
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule detects a process named PerfWatson2.exe running from a user LocalAppData directory, where the genuine Visual Studio telemetry helper never lives. CL-STA-1062 stages a masqueraded PerfWatson2.exe in LOCALAPPDATA as part of its backdoor toolset. Flagging the trusted name in this unexpected location reveals an implant impersonating a developer utility.

Reporting behind it

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Suspicious PerfWatson2 Execution from Local AppData

Pivot detection · T1036.005 · 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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