huntrule

Windows Pcap Driver Installation via EID 4697 ServiceFileName

Flags Windows driver install events (Security 4697) where the service file name matches known Pcap-related driver keywords.

FreeReviewedSigma · Medium · v2
Product
windows
Service
security
Author
Cian Heasley (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2020-06-10
Updated
2026-07-31
AnalysisDetection

ATT&CK techniques

Cred Access → Discovery

  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 Windows driver installation activity by matching Security event ID 4697 service file names against common packet-capture driver components. Attackers and monitoring tools may install these drivers to enable low-level network visibility, which can also support credential access and discovery workflows. Detection relies on Windows Security audit telemetry for EID 4697 and the ServiceFileName field.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1040 — drag to rearrange
Suspicious Windows Native Pktmon Sniffer Abuse (via process_creation)
Suspicious Windows Traffic Capture Abuse (via process_creation)
Malicious TCP Session Hijacking via rshijack
PowerShell Start-NetEventSession Script Block Execution Indicating Potential Network Capture (Windows)
Windows PktMon.exe Process Execution (pktmon.exe / PktMon.exe)
macOS Network Sniffing Tool Execution via tcpdump or tshark
Windows Netsh.exe WLAN profile key clearing used for WiFi credential harvesting
Windows netsh Trace Start Command Execution
Windows Network Tool Use for Possible Packet Sniffing (tshark/windump)
Windows Pcap Driver Installation via EID 4697 ServiceFileName
Pivot detection · T1040 · 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.