PowerShell Invoke-NinjaCopy script

Last updated 8 days ago on 2026-01-26

Created 3 years ago on 2023-01-23

About

Detects PowerShell script block content containing Invoke-NinjaCopy or related Stealth* functions used for direct volume file access. Attackers use NinjaCopy to read locked system files such as NTDS.dit or registry hives for credential dumping.

Tags

Domain: EndpointOS: WindowsUse Case: Threat DetectionTactic: Credential AccessData Source: PowerShell LogsLanguage: kuery

Severity

high

Risk Score

MITRE ATT&CK™

Credential Access (TA0006)(external, opens in a new tab or window)

↳ OS Credential Dumping (T1003)(external, opens in a new tab or window)

Execution (TA0002)(external, opens in a new tab or window)

↳ Command and Scripting Interpreter (T1059)(external, opens in a new tab or window)

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

↳ Direct Volume Access (T1006)(external, opens in a new tab or window)

License

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

Definition

Rule Type: Query (Kibana Query Language)
Integration Pack: Prebuilt Security Detection Rules
Index Patterns: winlogbeat-*logs-windows.powershell*
Related Integrations: windows(external, opens in a new tab or window)
Query

✄𐘗text code block:
✄𐘗event.category:process and host.os.type:windows and
  powershell.file.script_block_text : (
    "StealthReadFile" or
    "StealthReadFileAddr" or
    "StealthCloseFileDelegate" or
    "StealthOpenFile" or
    "StealthCloseFile" or
    "StealthReadFile" or
    "Invoke-NinjaCopy"
   )
  and not user.id : "S-1-5-18"
  and not powershell.file.script_block_text : (
    "sentinelbreakpoints" and "Set-PSBreakpoint" and "PowerSploitIndicators"
  )

Install detection rules in Elastic Security

Detect PowerShell Invoke-NinjaCopy script 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).