huntrule

Windows Event Log Detects Volume Shadow Copy Mounts (HarddiskVolumeShadowCopy, EventID 98)

Alerts when NTFS logs indicate a VSS (HarddiskVolumeShadowCopy) mount using EventID 98.

FreeReviewedSigma · Low · v2
Product
windows
Service
system
Author
Roberto Rodriguez @Cyb3rWard0g, Open Threat Research (OTR) (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2020-10-20
Updated
2026-07-31
AnalysisDetection

ATT&CK techniques

Cred Access

  1. Recon

  2. Resource Dev

  3. Initial Access

  4. Execution

  5. Persistence

  6. Priv Esc

  7. Defense Evasion

  8. Cred Access

  9. Discovery

  10. Lateral Movement

  11. Collection

  12. C2

  13. Exfiltration

  14. Impact

What it detects

This rule identifies attempts to mount a Volume Shadow Copy by matching Windows System events from the NTFS provider. The pattern looks specifically for device names containing HarddiskVolumeShadowCopy. Attackers may use Volume Shadow Copy mounting to access data from previous system states, making this telemetry useful for spotting potentially suspicious storage-based access.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1003.002 — drag to rearrange
Credential Dumping via Reg Save of SAM Hive
Malicious Registry Hive Dump via reg save
Suspicious Archiving of Registry Hives via WinRAR (UAT-8099)
Malicious Registry Hive Dump of SAM or SYSTEM via Reg Save (via process_creation)
Malicious Credential Hive Copy from Volume Shadow Copy
Malicious Secretdump Password Dumping via SMB Admin Share (via security)
Malicious Registry Hive Dump of SAM and SYSTEM via Reg Save (via process_creation)
Suspicious SAM Registry Hive Dump to Windows Temp by BianLian
Malicious SAM and SYSTEM Hive Dump via reg save (via process_creation)
Windows Event Log Detects Volume Shadow Copy Mounts (HarddiskVolumeShadowCopy, EventID 98)
Pivot detection · T1003.002 · 9 related

Changelog

v2
  1. v2
    Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
  2. v1
    No changelog recorded for this version.2026-07-30

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