Name:Windows Security And Backup Services Stop id:9c24aef6-cad9-4931-acce-74318aa5663b version:1 date:2025-02-07 author:Teoderick Contreras, Splunk status:production type:TTP Description:The following analytic detects the suspicious termination of known services commonly targeted by ransomware before file encryption. It leverages Windows System Event Logs (EventCode 7036) to identify when critical services such as Volume Shadow Copy, backup, and antivirus services are stopped. This activity is significant because ransomware often disables these services to avoid errors and ensure successful file encryption. If confirmed malicious, this behavior could lead to widespread data encryption, rendering files inaccessible and potentially causing significant operational disruption and data loss. Data_source:
-Windows Event Log System 7036
search:`wineventlog_system` `normalized_service_binary_field` | rename param1 as display_name | where param2="stopped" AND (match(display_name, "(?i)(Volume Shadow Copy|VSS|backup|sophos|sql|memtas|mepocs|veeam|svc\$|DefWatch|ccEvtMgr|ccSetMgr|SavRoam|RTVscan|QBFCService|QBIDPService|Intuit\.QuickBooks\.FCS|QBCFMonitorService|YooBackup|YooIT|Veeam|PDVFSService|BackupExec|WdBoot|WdFilter|WdNisDrv|WdNisSvc|WinDefend|wscsvc|Sense|sppsvc|SecurityHealthService)") OR match(normalized_service_name, "(?i)(Volume Shadow Copy|VSS|backup|sophos|sql|memtas|mepocs|veeam|svc\$|DefWatch|ccEvtMgr|ccSetMgr|SavRoam|RTVscan|QBFCService|QBIDPService|Intuit\.QuickBooks\.FCS|QBCFMonitorService|YooBackup|YooIT|Veeam|PDVFSService|BackupExec|WdBoot|WdFilter|WdNisDrv|WdNisSvc|WinDefend|wscsvc|Sense|sppsvc|SecurityHealthService)")) | stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime by EventCode display_name dest normalized_service_name | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` | `windows_security_and_backup_services_stop_filter`
how_to_implement:To successfully implement this search, you need to be ingesting logs with the 7036 EventCode ScManager in System audit Logs from your endpoints. known_false_positives:Admin activities or installing related updates may do a sudden stop to list of services we monitor. References: -https://krebsonsecurity.com/2021/05/a-closer-look-at-the-darkside-ransomware-gang/ -https://www.mcafee.com/blogs/other-blogs/mcafee-labs/mcafee-atr-analyzes-sodinokibi-aka-revil-ransomware-as-a-service-what-the-code-tells-us/ -https://news.sophos.com/en-us/2020/04/24/lockbit-ransomware-borrows-tricks-to-keep-up-with-revil-and-maze/ -https://blogs.vmware.com/security/2022/10/lockbit-3-0-also-known-as-lockbit-black.html drilldown_searches: name:'View the detection results for - "$dest$"' search:'%original_detection_search% | search dest = "$dest$"' earliest_offset:'$info_min_time$' latest_offset:'$info_max_time$' name:'View risk events for the last 7 days for - "$dest$"' search:'| from datamodel Risk.All_Risk | search normalized_risk_object IN ("$dest$") starthoursago=168 | stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime values(search_name) as "Search Name" values(risk_message) as "Risk Message" values(analyticstories) as "Analytic Stories" values(annotations._all) as "Annotations" values(annotations.mitre_attack.mitre_tactic) as "ATT&CK Tactics" by normalized_risk_object | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`' earliest_offset:'$info_min_time$' latest_offset:'$info_max_time$' tags: analytic_story: - 'LockBit Ransomware' - 'Ransomware' - 'Compromised Windows Host' - 'BlackMatter Ransomware' asset_type:Endpoint mitre_attack_id: - 'T1490' product: - 'Splunk Enterprise' - 'Splunk Enterprise Security' - 'Splunk Cloud' security_domain:endpoint
