Detection: Windows High File Deletion Frequency

Updated Date: 2024-09-30 ID: 45b125c4-866f-11eb-a95a-acde48001122 Author: Teoderick Contreras, Splunk, Steven Dick Type: Anomaly Product: Splunk Enterprise Security

Description

The following analytic identifies a high frequency of file deletions by monitoring Sysmon EventCodes 23 and 26 for specific file extensions. This detection leverages Sysmon logs to track deleted target filenames, process names, and process IDs. Such activity is significant as it often indicates ransomware behavior, where files are encrypted and the originals are deleted. If confirmed malicious, this activity could lead to extensive data loss and operational disruption, as ransomware can render critical files inaccessible, demanding a ransom for their recovery.

Search

1`sysmon` EventCode IN ("23","26") TargetFilename IN ("*.cmd", "*.ini","*.gif", "*.jpg", "*.jpeg", "*.db", "*.ps1", "*.doc", "*.docx", "*.xls", "*.xlsx", "*.ppt", "*.pptx", "*.bmp","*.zip", "*.rar", "*.7z", "*.chm", "*.png", "*.log", "*.vbs", "*.js", "*.vhd", "*.bak", "*.wbcat", "*.bkf" , "*.backup*", "*.dsk", "*.win") NOT TargetFilename IN ("*\\INetCache\\Content.Outlook\\*") 
2| stats count, values(TargetFilename) as deleted_files, min(_time) as firstTime, max(_time) as lastTime by user, dest, signature, signature_id, Image, process_name, process_guid 
3| rename Image as process 
4| where count >=100 
5| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` 
6| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` 
7| `windows_high_file_deletion_frequency_filter`

Data Source

Name	Platform	Sourcetype	Source
Sysmon EventID 23	Windows	`'xmlwineventlog'`	`'XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational'`

Macros Used

Name	Value
security_content_ctime	`convert timeformat="%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S" ctime($field$)`
windows_high_file_deletion_frequency_filter	`search *`

windows_high_file_deletion_frequency_filter is an empty macro by default. It allows the user to filter out any results (false positives) without editing the SPL.

Annotations

- MITRE ATT&CK

+ Kill Chain Phases

+ NIST

+ CIS

- Threat Actors

ID	Technique	Tactic
T1485	Data Destruction	Impact

KillChainPhase.ACTIONS_ON_OBJECTIVES

NistCategory.DE_AE

Cis18Value.CIS_10

APT38

LAPSUS$

Lazarus Group

Sandworm Team

Default Configuration

This detection is configured by default in Splunk Enterprise Security to run with the following settings:

Setting	Value
Disabled	true
Cron Schedule	`0 * * * *`
Earliest Time	`-70m@m`
Latest Time	`-10m@m`
Schedule Window	`auto`
Creates Risk Event	True

This configuration file applies to all detections of type anomaly. These detections will use Risk Based Alerting.

Implementation

To successfully implement this search, you need to ingest logs that include the deleted target file name, process name, and process ID from your endpoints. If you are using Sysmon, ensure you have at least version 2.0 of the Sysmon TA installed.

Known False Positives

Users may delete a large number of pictures or files in a folder, which could trigger this detection. Additionally, heavy usage of PowerBI and Outlook may also result in false positives.

Associated Analytic Story

Risk Based Analytics (RBA)

Risk Message	Risk Score	Impact	Confidence
Elevated file deletion rate observed from process [$process_name$] on machine $dest$	72	90	80

The Risk Score is calculated by the following formula: Risk Score = (Impact * Confidence/100). Initial Confidence and Impact is set by the analytic author.

References

Detection Testing

Test Type	Status	Dataset	Source	Sourcetype
Validation	✅ Passing	N/A	N/A	N/A
Unit	✅ Passing	Dataset	`XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational`	`XmlWinEventLog`
Integration	✅ Passing	Dataset	`XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational`	`XmlWinEventLog`

Replay any dataset to Splunk Enterprise by using our replay.py tool or the UI. Alternatively you can replay a dataset into a Splunk Attack Range

Source: GitHub | Version: 4