Windows DNS Queries for userstorage.mega.co.nz Subdomain

ATT&CK techniques

Exfiltration

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
- T1567.002Exfiltration to Cloud Storage
Impact

What it detects

This rule flags DNS queries whose query name contains userstorage.mega.co.nz, indicating lookups for subdomains tied to MEGA sharing infrastructure. Such queries can matter during data exfiltration when attackers use cloud-hosting endpoints to stage or retrieve data. The detection relies on DNS query telemetry, matching the QueryName content in Windows DNS query events.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1567.002 — drag to rearrange

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Suspicious ALPHA SPIDER Rclone Exfiltration Tool Masquerading as System Binary (via process_creation)

Malicious GhostLocker2 C2 Communication via HTTP POST (via proxy)

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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

Windows DNS Queries for userstorage.mega.co.nz Subdomain

Pivot detection · T1567.002 · 9 related

Changelog

v2

v2
Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
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.

windows-dns-query-for-mega-userstorage-subdomains-613c03ba

title: Windows DNS Queries for userstorage.mega.co.nz Subdomain
id: b59fd07b-d82c-4b15-b551-b9538f6485fe
related:
  - id: 66474410-b883-415f-9f8d-75345a0a66a6
    type: similar
  - id: 613c03ba-0779-4a53-8a1f-47f914a4ded3
    type: derived
status: test
description: This rule flags DNS queries whose query name contains userstorage.mega.co.nz, indicating lookups for subdomains tied to MEGA sharing infrastructure. Such queries can matter during data exfiltration when attackers use cloud-hosting endpoints to stage or retrieve data. The detection relies on DNS query telemetry, matching the QueryName content in Windows DNS query events.
references:
  - https://research.nccgroup.com/2021/05/27/detecting-rclone-an-effective-tool-for-exfiltration/
  - https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/windows/dns_query/dns_query_win_mega_nz.yml
author: Aaron Greetham (@beardofbinary) - NCC Group, Huntrule Team
date: 2021-05-26
modified: 2023-09-18
tags:
  - attack.exfiltration
  - attack.t1567.002
logsource:
  product: windows
  category: dns_query
detection:
  selection:
    QueryName|contains: userstorage.mega.co.nz
  condition: selection
falsepositives:
  - Legitimate DNS queries and usage of Mega
level: medium
license: DRL-1.1

Convert

This rule as a query you can run. Uses no unlock credit.

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