Threat Hunting Using Powershell

PowerShell is a versatile scripting language that can be effectively utilized for threat hunting within Windows environments. Its capabilities allow security professionals to automate tasks, gather system information, and detect anomalies indicative of malicious activities.

Below are key techniques and examples to aid in threat hunting using PowerShell:

1. Differential Analysis for Anomaly Detection

Establishing a baseline of normal system behavior is crucial. By capturing standard configurations and states, deviations can be identified, signaling potential threats. PowerShell facilitates this through cmdlets like Get-Service, Get-ScheduledTask, and Get-NetTCPConnection. By comparing current outputs to the baseline using Compare-Object, anomalies such as unauthorized services or unexpected network connections can be detected. SANS Institute

Example:

To identify new or altered services:

2. Monitoring PowerShell Activity with Script Block Logging

Enabling Script Block Logging captures detailed information about executed PowerShell commands, including obfuscated scripts. This logging is essential for detecting and analyzing potentially malicious activities. To enable it, configure the…