Suspicious Scheduled Task Masquerading as Apple Sync via schtasks

ATT&CK techniques

Execution → Priv Esc

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
- T1053.005Scheduled Task
Persistence
- T1053.005Scheduled Task
Priv Esc
- T1053.005Scheduled Task
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule detects creation of an hourly scheduled task named Apple Sync, used by OkoBot to persist a reverse SSH connection. Apple synchronization software does not register tasks through ad-hoc schtasks commands under this name. A benign sounding task establishing recurring execution indicates attacker persistence.

Reporting behind it

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Suspicious Scheduled Task Masquerading as Apple Sync via schtasks

Pivot detection · T1053.005 · 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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