huntrule

Windows Service Control Manager: Windows Defender Threat Protection Disabled

Flags Service Control Manager events where the Windows Defender Threat Protection (Defender Antivirus) service is stopped.

FreeReviewedSigma · Medium · v2
Product
windows
Service
system
Author
Ján Trenčanský, frack113 (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2020-07-28
Updated
2026-07-31
AnalysisDetection

ATT&CK techniques

  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 service stop events for the Windows Defender Antivirus/Threat Protection service, as recorded by the Service Control Manager (EventID 7036). Disabling or stopping this security service can reduce defensive coverage and may indicate defense impairment attempts. It relies on Windows system telemetry capturing the service state change message and the affected service name, which can be localized across OS languages.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1685 — drag to rearrange
Suspicious Windows Defender Exclusion via Add-MpPreference (via process_creation)
Malicious Windows Defender Service Tampering via PowerShell (via process_creation)
Windows Defender Disabled via DisableAntiSpyware Registry Key
Suspicious Vulnerable Intel Ethernet Driver Load for BYOVD via SCATTERED SPIDER (via driver_load)
Malicious Defender Disable And Executable Exclusion Via Registry
Malicious UAC Disable via EnableLUA Registry Modification (via registry_set)
Malicious AMSI and ETW Patching via PowerShell Script
Malicious PowMix AMSI Bypass via amsiInitFailed
Suspicious ThrottleStop Driver Abuse for Defense Evasion in Ransomware Attacks
Windows Service Control Manager: Windows Defender Threat Protection Disabled
Pivot detection · T1685 · 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.