Suspicious Wininit Look-Alike Binary Execution from Windows Directory

PremiumReviewedSigma · High · v1
Product
windows
Category
process_creation
Author
HuntRule
Published
2026-06-06
Updated
2026-08-28

ATT&CK techniques

Defense Evasion
  1. Recon

  2. Resource Dev

  3. Initial Access

  4. Execution

  5. Persistence

  6. Priv Esc

  7. Cred Access

  8. Discovery

  9. Lateral Movement

  10. Collection

  11. C2

  12. Exfiltration

  13. Impact

What it detects

This rule detects execution of a binary named to closely resemble the legitimate Windows initialization process which Lorenz ransomware uses for persistence from the Windows directory. Observed in NCC Group research unmasking Lorenz ransomware deploying a WinIniw.exe persistence binary. Typosquatting core system process names is a common masquerading tactic that warrants investigation.

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Detection content is published as a reviewed draft. Tune thresholds and exclusions against your own telemetry before enabling this rule for alerting.