Windows Process Creation—CommandLine Indicators for APT29 2018 Phishing Campaign
Alerts on Windows command-line substrings seen in the 2018 APT29 phishing campaign indicators.
FreeReviewedSigma · Critical · v5
- Product
- windows
- Category
- process_creation
- Author
- Florian Roth (Nextron Systems), @41thexplorer (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
- Published
- 2018-11-20
- Updated
- 2026-07-31
ATT&CK techniques
Defense EvasionRecon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact
What it detects
This rule flags Windows process creation events where the CommandLine contains specific strings associated with a reported APT29 2018 phishing campaign. These indicators matter because they can reflect the execution of phishing-delivered or staged payload components. Detection relies on process creation telemetry that includes the full CommandLine.
Reporting behind it
- twitter.comhttps://twitter.com/DrunkBinary/status/1063075530180886529
- microsoft.comhttps://www.microsoft.com/security/blog/2018/12/03/analysis-of-cyberattack-on-u-s-think-tanks-non-profits-public-sector-by-unidentified-attackers/
- mandiant.comhttps://www.mandiant.com/resources/blog/not-so-cozy-an-uncomfortable-examination-of-a-suspected-apt29-phishing-campaign
- github.comhttps://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules-emerging-threats/2018/TA/APT29-CozyBear/proc_creation_win_apt_apt29_phishing_campaign_indicators.yml
Changelog
v5- v5Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
- v4Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
- v3Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
- v2Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
- v1No 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-process-creation-match-commandline-indicators-of-cozy-bear-2018-phishing-7453575c
title: Windows Process Creation—CommandLine Indicators for APT29 2018 Phishing Campaign
id: 732f89ad-9a46-4bbc-a021-5152a6b16184
related:
- id: 033fe7d6-66d1-4240-ac6b-28908009c71f
type: obsolete
- id: 7453575c-a747-40b9-839b-125a0aae324b
type: derived
status: stable
description: This rule flags Windows process creation events where the CommandLine contains specific strings associated with a reported APT29 2018 phishing campaign. These indicators matter because they can reflect the execution of phishing-delivered or staged payload components. Detection relies on process creation telemetry that includes the full CommandLine.
references:
- https://twitter.com/DrunkBinary/status/1063075530180886529
- https://www.microsoft.com/security/blog/2018/12/03/analysis-of-cyberattack-on-u-s-think-tanks-non-profits-public-sector-by-unidentified-attackers/
- https://www.mandiant.com/resources/blog/not-so-cozy-an-uncomfortable-examination-of-a-suspected-apt29-phishing-campaign
- https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules-emerging-threats/2018/TA/APT29-CozyBear/proc_creation_win_apt_apt29_phishing_campaign_indicators.yml
author: Florian Roth (Nextron Systems), @41thexplorer, Huntrule Team
date: 2018-11-20
modified: 2023-03-08
tags:
- attack.execution
- attack.stealth
- attack.t1218.011
- detection.emerging-threats
logsource:
category: process_creation
product: windows
detection:
selection:
- CommandLine|contains: -noni -ep bypass $
- CommandLine|contains|all:
- cyzfc.dat,
- PointFunctionCall
condition: selection
falsepositives:
- Unlikely
level: critical
license: DRL-1.1