Suspicious PowerShell Download of Disguised Payload to ProgramData

ATT&CK techniques

Execution → C2

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
- T1059.001PowerShell
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
- T1105Ingress Tool Transfer
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule detects PowerShell using invoke webrequest with an output file argument writing into ProgramData which the OneNote intrusion used to fetch an image disguised loader and this matters because scripted downloads that stage remote content into ProgramData under a benign extension are a common IcedID delivery step and warrant investigation.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1059.001 — drag to rearrange

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Suspicious Hidden PowerShell WebClient DownloadFile Cradle

Suspicious PowerShell Download Cradle with Spoofed User-Agent via MSIX

Malicious PowerShell In-Memory Download Cradle via Script Block (via ps_script)

Suspicious node.exe Execution Spawned by PowerShell

Suspicious PowerShell Download Cradle via IEX and DownloadString (via process_creation)

Suspicious PowerShell Download to Temp and In-Memory Execution via IEX (via process_creation)

Suspicious PowerShell Download of Disguised Payload to ProgramData

Pivot detection · T1059.001 · 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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