Suspicious RC4 DLL Sideloading via rundll32 by Tropic Trooper

ATT&CK techniques

Execution → Defense Evasion

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
- T1574.001DLL
Persistence
- T1574.001DLL
Priv Esc
- T1574.001DLL
Defense Evasion
- T1574.001DLL
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule detects rundll32 loading datast.dll or datastate.dll, the RC4-encrypted loader components Tropic Trooper sideloads to run its Crowdoor backdoor against Middle East government entities. These specific DLL names invoked through rundll32 reflect the group's staged loader execution.

Reporting behind it

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Suspicious RC4 DLL Sideloading via rundll32 by Tropic Trooper

Pivot detection · T1574.001 · 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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