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Skillv1.0.0

detecting-suspicious-powershell-execution

Hunt for suspicious PowerShell execution (T1059.001) such as encoded commands, download cradles, AMSI bypass, and constrained language mode evasion using EDR telemetry (CrowdStrike, Microsoft Defender

by mukul975(0) 0 installs
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About

Imported from mukul975/anthropic-cybersecurity-skills (skills/detecting-suspicious-powershell-execution/SKILL.md). Install upstream with npx skills add mukul975/anthropic-cybersecurity-skills --skill detecting-suspicious-powershell-execution. Copyright stays with the author (Apache-2.0).

Detecting Suspicious Powershell Execution

When to Use

  • When proactively hunting for indicators of detecting suspicious powershell execution in the environment
  • After threat intelligence indicates active campaigns using these techniques
  • During incident response to scope compromise related to these techniques
  • When EDR or SIEM alerts trigger on related indicators
  • During periodic security assessments and purple team exercises

Prerequisites

  • EDR platform with process and network telemetry (CrowdStrike, MDE, SentinelOne)
  • SIEM with relevant log data ingested (Splunk, Elastic, Sentinel)
  • Sysmon deployed with comprehensive configuration
  • Windows Security Event Log forwarding enabled
  • Threat intelligence feeds for IOC correlation

Workflow

  1. Formulate Hypothesis: Define a testable hypothesis based on threat intelligence or ATT&CK gap analysis.
  2. Identify Data Sources: Determine which logs and telemetry are needed to validate or refute the hypothesis.
  3. Execute Queries: Run detection queries against SIEM and EDR platforms to collect relevant events.
  4. Analyze Results: Examine query results for anomalies, correlating across multiple data sources.
  5. Validate Findings: Distinguish true positives from false positives through contextual analysis.
  6. Correlate Activity: Link findings to broader attack chains and threat actor TTPs.
  7. Document and Report: Record findings, update detection rules, and recommend response actions.

Key Concepts

Concept Description
T1059.001 PowerShell
T1059.003 Windows Command Shell
T1562.001 Disable or Modify Tools

Tools & Systems

Tool Purpose
CrowdStrike Falcon EDR telemetry and threat detection
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Advanced hunting with KQL
Splunk Enterprise SIEM log analysis with SPL queries
Elastic Security Detection rules and investigation timeline
Sysmon Detailed Windows event monitoring
Velociraptor Endpoint artifact collection and hunting
Sigma Rules Cross-platform detection rule format

Common Scenarios

  1. Scenario 1: Base64 encoded PowerShell command launched by macro document
  2. Scenario 2: IEX download cradle fetching payload from C2 server
  3. Scenario 3: AMSI bypass via reflection patching before payload execution
  4. Scenario 4: PowerShell Empire agent communicating with C2

Output Format

Hunt ID: TH-DETECT-[DATE]-[SEQ]
Technique: T1059.001
Host: [Hostname]
User: [Account context]
Evidence: [Log entries, process trees, network data]
Risk Level: [Critical/High/Medium/Low]
Confidence: [High/Medium/Low]
Recommended Action: [Containment, investigation, monitoring]

Use it

Copy one of these into your project. Installing also returns the manifest and these snippets.

yaml
targets:
  - https://api.opensmartroute.ai/api/v1/registry/mukul975-anthropic-cybersecurity-skills-detecting-suspic-58bf11/manifest   # or paste the manifest below

Manifest

An Open Capability Manifest: the router reads it to know what this does, what it costs and when to pick it.

mukul975-anthropic-cybersecurity-skills-detecting-suspic-58bf11.ocm.jsonjson
{
  "ocm": "1",
  "id": "mukul975-anthropic-cybersecurity-skills-detecting-suspic-58bf11",
  "kind": "skill",
  "name": "detecting-suspicious-powershell-execution",
  "description": "Hunt for suspicious PowerShell execution (T1059.001) such as encoded commands, download cradles, AMSI bypass, and constrained language mode evasion using EDR telemetry (CrowdStrike, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint), Sysmon, and SIEM queries (Splunk, Elastic). Use when proactively threat hunting, triaging EDR/SIEM alerts, or scoping an incident involving malicious PowerShell activity.",
  "publisher": "mukul975",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "capabilities": {
    "domains": [
      "general"
    ],
    "tags": [
      "skill-md",
      "threat-hunting",
      "mitre-attack",
      "powershell",
      "execution",
      "t1059",
      "amsi",
      "proactive-detection",
      "skills-sh"
    ],
    "languages": [
      "en"
    ]
  },
  "quality_prior": 0.6,
  "examples": [
    "Hunt for suspicious PowerShell execution (T1059.001) such as encoded commands, download cradles, AMSI bypass, and constrained language mode evasion using EDR telemetry (CrowdStrike, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint), Sysmon, and SIEM queries (Splunk, Elastic). Use when proactively threat hunting, triaging EDR/SIEM alerts, or scoping an incident involving malicious PowerShell activity."
  ],
  "primary": false,
  "metadata": {
    "source": {
      "provider": "skills.sh",
      "repository": "https://github.com/mukul975/anthropic-cybersecurity-skills",
      "path": "skills/detecting-suspicious-powershell-execution/SKILL.md",
      "ref": "HEAD",
      "url": "https://github.com/mukul975/anthropic-cybersecurity-skills/blob/HEAD/skills/detecting-suspicious-powershell-execution/SKILL.md",
      "key": "mukul975/anthropic-cybersecurity-skills/skills/detecting-suspicious-powershell-execution/SKILL.md"
    },
    "license": "Apache-2.0"
  },
  "instructions": "# Detecting Suspicious Powershell Execution\n\n## When to Use\n\n- When proactively hunting for indicators of detecting suspicious powershell execution in the environment\n- After threat intelligence indicates active campaigns using these techniques\n- During incident response to scope compromise related to these techniques\n- When EDR or SIEM alerts trigger on related indicators\n- During periodic security assessments and purple team exercises\n\n## Prerequisites\n\n- EDR platform with process and network telemetry (CrowdStrike, MDE, SentinelOne)\n- SIEM with relevant log data ingested (Splunk, Elastic, S",
  "cost": {
    "context_tokens": 690
  }
}

Fetch it by URL: GET /api/v1/registry/mukul975-anthropic-cybersecurity-skills-detecting-suspic-58bf11/manifest?version=1.0.0

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