huntrule

Windows DNS Client: MEGA userstorage subdomain DNS query (EventID 3008)

Detects Windows DNS client queries for MEGA userstorage subdomains by matching the query name string.

FreeReviewedSigma · Medium · v2
Product
windows
Service
dns-client
Author
Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2023-01-16
Updated
2026-07-31
AnalysisDetection

ATT&CK techniques

Exfiltration

  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 flags Windows DNS client events where a DNS query name contains the MEGA userstorage.mega.co.nz domain. Attackers may use MEGA-hosted domains to stage or move data, making DNS activity a useful early indicator of potential exfiltration-related behavior. The detection relies on Microsoft-Windows-DNS Client operational telemetry, specifically EventID 3008 and the queried domain name string.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1567.002 — drag to rearrange
Suspicious ALPHA SPIDER Rclone Exfiltration Tool Masquerading as System Binary (via process_creation)
Malicious GhostLocker2 C2 Communication via HTTP POST (via proxy)
Suspicious Rclone Exfiltration Masquerading as wininit.exe
Malicious Bulk Data Exfiltration via Rclone (via process_creation)
Rclone SMB Share Exfiltration
Suspicious Data Exfiltration via Rclone to Cloud Storage (via process_creation)
Malicious Data Exfiltration via MEGAcmd
Suspicious Command and Control via Discord or Telegram Bot API
Data Exfiltration to WebDAV Share via curl Upload
Windows DNS Client: MEGA userstorage subdomain DNS query (EventID 3008)
Pivot detection · T1567.002 · 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.