Unusual File Creation - Alternate Data Stream

Last updated 23 days ago on 2026-01-15

Created 5 years ago on 2021-01-21

About

Identifies suspicious creation of Alternate Data Streams on highly targeted files using a script or command interpreter. This is uncommon for legitimate files and sometimes done by adversaries to hide malware.

Tags

Domain: EndpointOS: WindowsUse Case: Threat DetectionTactic: Defense EvasionData Source: Elastic DefendData Source: SysmonData Source: Microsoft Defender for EndpointData Source: SentinelOneData Source: Elastic EndgameLanguage: eql

Severity

high

Risk Score

MITRE ATT&CK™

Defense Evasion (TA0005)(external, opens in a new tab or window)

↳ Hide Artifacts (T1564)(external, opens in a new tab or window)

License

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

Definition

Rule Type

Event Correlation Rule

Integration Pack

Prebuilt Security Detection Rules

Index Patterns

winlogbeat-*logs-endpoint.events.file-*logs-windows.sysmon_operational-*logs-m365_defender.event-*logs-sentinel_one_cloud_funnel.*endgame-*

Related Integrations

endpoint(external, opens in a new tab or window)

windows(external, opens in a new tab or window)

m365_defender(external, opens in a new tab or window)

sentinel_one_cloud_funnel(external, opens in a new tab or window)

Query

✄𐘗text code block:
✄𐘗file where host.os.type == "windows" and event.type == "creation" and
   process.name : ("cmd.exe", "powershell.exe", "mshta.exe", "wscript.exe", "node.exe", "python*.exe") and
   file.extension in~ (
    "pdf", "dll", "exe", "dat", "com", "bat", "cmd", "sys", "vbs", "ps1", "hta", "txt", "vbe", "js",
    "wsh", "docx", "doc", "xlsx", "xls", "pptx", "ppt", "rtf", "gif", "jpg", "png", "bmp", "img", "iso"
  ) and
  file.path : "C:\\*:*" and
  not file.name :("*:$DATA", "*PG$Secure", "*Zone.Identifier", "*com.apple.lastuseddate#PS", "*com.apple.provenance")

Install detection rules in Elastic Security

Detect Unusual File Creation - Alternate Data Stream 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(external, opens in a new tab or window).