Detection: Samsam Test File Write

Updated Date: 2024-05-14 ID: 493a879d-519d-428f-8f57-a06a0fdc107e Author: Rico Valdez, Splunk Type: TTP Product: Splunk Enterprise Security

Description

The following analytic detects the creation of a file named "test.txt" within the Windows system directory, indicative of Samsam ransomware propagation. It leverages file-system activity data from the Endpoint data model, specifically monitoring file paths within the Windows System32 directory. This activity is significant as it aligns with known Samsam ransomware behavior, which uses such files for propagation and execution. If confirmed malicious, this could lead to ransomware deployment, resulting in data encryption, system disruption, and potential data loss. Immediate investigation and remediation are crucial to prevent further damage.

Search

1
2| tstats `security_content_summariesonly` count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime values(Filesystem.user) as user values(Filesystem.dest) as dest values(Filesystem.file_name) as file_name from datamodel=Endpoint.Filesystem where Filesystem.file_path=*\\windows\\system32\\test.txt by Filesystem.file_path 
3| `drop_dm_object_name(Filesystem)` 
4| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` 
5| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` 
6| `samsam_test_file_write_filter`

Data Source

Name	Platform	Sourcetype	Source	Supported App
Sysmon EventID 11	Windows	`'xmlwineventlog'`	`'XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational'`	N/A

Macros Used

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

samsam_test_file_write_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
T1486	Data Encrypted for Impact	Impact

KillChainPhase.ACTIONS_ON_OBJECTIVES

NistCategory.DE_CM

Cis18Value.CIS_10

APT38

APT41

Akira

FIN7

FIN8

Indrik Spider

Magic Hound

Sandworm Team

Scattered Spider

TA505

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 Notable	Yes
Rule Title	`%name%`
Rule Description	`%description%`
Notable Event Fields	user, dest
Creates Risk Event	True

This configuration file applies to all detections of type TTP. These detections will use Risk Based Alerting and generate Notable Events.

Implementation

You must be ingesting data that records the file-system activity from your hosts to populate the Endpoint file-system data-model node. If you are using Sysmon, you will need a Splunk Universal Forwarder on each endpoint from which you want to collect data.

Known False Positives

No false positives have been identified.

Associated Analytic Story

SamSam Ransomware

Risk Based Analytics (RBA)

Risk Message	Risk Score	Impact	Confidence
A samsam ransomware test file creation in $file_path$ in host $dest$	12	60	20

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

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: 2