Suspicious Service Masquerading as Google Update in ProgramData via registry_set

ATT&CK techniques

Persistence → Priv Esc

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
- T1543.003Windows Service
Priv Esc
- T1543.003Windows Service
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule detects a service ImagePath pointing to a Google Update named binary located under ProgramData\Google\Chrome instead of the legitimate Program Files Google Update directory. The pirated-media miner campaign installs a GoogleUpdateTaskMachineQC service from this wrong location to blend in. A signed-looking name in the wrong path is a strong persistence and masquerading signal.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1543.003 — drag to rearrange

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Suspicious Service Masquerading as Google Update in ProgramData via registry_set

Pivot detection · T1543.003 · 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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