Suspicious Windows Event Log Clearing via wevtutil

ATT&CK techniques

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule detects clearing of Windows event logs using wevtutil cl. Ransomware operators covered in this report chain wevtutil cl commands against the Security, System and Application logs to erase forensic evidence around encryption. Bulk event-log clearing is a strong indicator of anti-forensic activity.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1685.005 — drag to rearrange

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Suspicious Windows Event Log Clearing via process_creation

Malicious Windows Event Log Clearing via wevtutil

Suspicious Event Log Clearing via Renamed Log Utility

Suspicious Event Log Clearing via PowerShell Invoke-Expression

Suspicious Windows Event Log Clearing via wevtutil

Pivot detection · T1685.005 · 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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