Virtual Private Network Connection Attempt

Last updated 5 months ago on 2025-03-18
Created 6 years ago on 2020-01-25

About

Identifies the execution of macOS built-in commands to connect to an existing Virtual Private Network (VPN). Adversaries may use VPN connections to laterally move and control remote systems on a network.
Tags
Domain: EndpointOS: macOSUse Case: Threat DetectionTactic: Lateral MovementData Source: Elastic DefendLanguage: eql
Severity
low
Risk Score
21
MITRE ATT&CK™

Lateral Movement (TA0008)(opens in a new tab or window)

License
Elastic License v2(opens in a new tab or window)

Definition

Rule Type
Event Correlation Rule
Integration Pack
Prebuilt Security Detection Rules
Index Patterns
logs-endpoint.events.process*
Related Integrations

endpoint(opens in a new tab or window)

Query
process where host.os.type == "macos" and event.type in ("start", "process_started") and
  (
    (process.name == "networksetup" and process.args like~ "-connectpppoeservice") or
    (process.name == "scutil" and process.args like~ "--nc" and process.args like~ "start") or
    (process.name == "osascript" and process.command_line : "osascript*set VPN to service*")
  )

Install detection rules in Elastic Security

Detect Virtual Private Network Connection Attempt in the Elastic Security detection engine by installing this rule into your Elastic Stack.

To setup this rule, check out the installation guide for Prebuilt Security Detection Rules(opens in a new tab or window).