↳ GitHub sourceAnalytics ruleHigh
Potential Ransomware activity related to Cobalt Strike
Description
This query searches for alerts related to suspected ransomware and Cobalt Strike activity, a tool used in numerous ransomware campaigns. It looks for alerts that indicate potential ransomware activity, such as attempts to clear security event logs, delete backup files, and execute Cobalt Strike malware.
- Rule type
- Scheduled
- Version
- 1.0.1
- Declared status
- Available
- Query frequency
- 1d
- Query period
- 1d
- Trigger
- gt 0
Declared MITRE coverage
Declared sources
Metadata from the source file. No dependencies inferred from KQL.
Connectors
Data types
KQL query
Original query, unchanged.
// Look for sc.exe disabling services
AlertInfo
// Attempts to clear security event logs.
| where Title in("Event log was cleared",
// List alerts flagging attempts to delete backup files.
"File backups were deleted",
// Potential Cobalt Strike activity - Note that other threat activity can also
// trigger alerts for suspicious decoded content
"Suspicious decoded content",
// Cobalt Strike activity
"\'Atosev\' malware was detected",
"\'Ploty\' malware was detected",
"\'Bynoco\' malware was detected",
"\'Cobaltstrike\' malware was detected",
"Echo command over pipe on localhost",
"Known attack framework activity was observed",
"An active \'Cobaltstrike\' malware was detected",
"Suspicious \'CobaltStrike\' behavior was prevented",
"Suspicious process launch by Rundll32.exe")
| extend AlertTime = TimeGenerated | distinct AlertTime, AlertId, Title
| join AlertEvidence on $left.AlertId == $right.AlertId
| summarize by DeviceId, AlertTime, Title, AlertId
// Get device IDs
| join DeviceLogonEvents on $left.DeviceId == $right.DeviceId
// Creating 10 day Window surrounding alert activity
| where TimeGenerated < AlertTime + 12h and TimeGenerated > AlertTime - 12h // Projecting specific columns
| project Title, DeviceName, DeviceId, TimeGenerated, LogonType, AccountDomain, AccountName, AccountSid, AlertTime, AlertId, RemoteIP, RemoteDeviceName
| extend AccountFullName = tostring(strcat(AccountDomain, "\\", AccountName))
| extend HostName = iff(DeviceName has '.', substring(DeviceName, 0, indexof(DeviceName, '.')), DeviceName)
| extend DnsDomain = iff(DeviceName has '.', substring(DeviceName, indexof(DeviceName, '.') + 1), "")
Declared entities
Related content
Links established from declared identifiers and solution manifests.
Source provenance
GitHubDisplayed values come from files in Azure/Azure-Sentinel. They describe the published template, not your workspace configuration.
- Commit
9800e51↗- Source identifier
4bd9ce9d-8586-4beb-8fdb-bd018cacbe7d
GSTEP / CATALOG TRACKING
Added to catalog : 16 Sept 2026 · 05:49 UTC
Last change observed : 16 Sept 2026 · 05:49 UTC