huntrule

Windows Security 4697: TAP Driver Service Installation (tap0901)

Alerts on Windows Security EID 4697 service installation events for TAP driver files containing "tap0901."

FreeReviewedSigma · Low · v2
Product
windows
Service
security
Author
Daniil Yugoslavskiy, Ian Davis, oscd.community (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2019-10-24
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 Security Event ID 4697 when a service is installed with a service file name containing "tap0901". Attackers may use TAP-style network drivers to establish tunneling infrastructure as part of data exfiltration or related staging activities. The detection relies on the Windows Security audit event that records new service installation details, specifically the EventID 4697 service file name field.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1048 — drag to rearrange
Suspicious Data Exfiltration via Blat SMTP Client (via process_creation)
Suspicious blat Utility Used for SMTP Data Exfiltration
Suspicious Data Exfiltration via WinSCP Command Line in BlackSuit Ransomware
Suspicious Scheduled Task Creation for rclone Exfiltration by The Gentlemen RaaS (via process_creation)
Suspicious DNS Query for Tor Onion Domain
Possible DNS Tunneling via Excessively Long Query Name
Malicious Bulk Data Exfiltration via Rclone (via process_creation)
BITS Payload Downloaded via Commandline (via process_creation)
BITS Payload Downloaded via PowerShell (via powershell)
Windows Security 4697: TAP Driver Service Installation (tap0901)
Pivot detection · T1048 · 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.