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SEKOIA_Apt_Apt28_Powershell_Ntlm_Stealer

Detects the NTLM Stealer used by APT28 against UA energy sector

APT / threat actorSEKOIA.IO CommunityDetection Rule License 1.1Compiles with YARA-X
Author
Sekoia.io
Date
2023-09-07
Modified
2024-12-19
Score / Quality
75 / 80

What this rule detects

Detects the NTLM Stealer used by APT28 against UA energy sector

It defines 5 patterns (5 text, 0 hex, 0 regex).

Summary generated from the rule's metadata and condition.

Rule source

apt-apt28-powershell-ntlm-stealer.yarDetection Rule License 1.1
rule SEKOIA_Apt_Apt28_Powershell_Ntlm_Stealer : FILE
{
	meta:
		description = "Detects the NTLM Stealer used by APT28 against UA energy sector"
		author = "Sekoia.io"
		id = "3fb5c472-6b1c-490e-b38f-4d4f1c472f43"
		date = "2023-09-07"
		modified = "2024-12-19"
		reference = "https://github.com/SEKOIA-IO/Community"
		source_url = "https://github.com/SEKOIA-IO/Community/blob/a438a5901a211c2abdf75da9c93921ef187473d1/yara_rules/apt_apt28_powershell_ntlm_stealer.yar#L1-L19"
		license_url = "https://github.com/SEKOIA-IO/Community/blob/a438a5901a211c2abdf75da9c93921ef187473d1/LICENSE.md"
		logic_hash = "29d039bf7d7018ebbae187ae0f057161c3f9256076324f06167872adc0accfa7"
		score = 75
		quality = 80
		tags = "FILE"
		version = "1.0"
		classification = "TLP:CLEAR"

	strings:
		$ = "'NTLM ' = [Convert]::ToBase64String"
		$ = ".Prefixes.Add('http://localhost:8080/')"
		$ = ".AddHeader('WWW-Authenticate', 'NTLM')"
		$ = "GetValues('Authorization');"
		$ = "[0] -split '\\s+';"

	condition:
		3 of them and filesize < 4000
}

Strings (5 patterns)

IdentifierTypeValueModifiers
$text"'NTLM ' = [Convert]::ToBase64String"
$text".Prefixes.Add('http://localhost:8080/')"
$text".AddHeader('WWW-Authenticate', 'NTLM')"
$text"GetValues('Authorization');"
$text"[0] -split '\\s+';"

Condition

3 of them and filesize < 4000

In plain words (Heuristic)

  • The file must be smaller than 4000 (a cheap guard that skips large files).
  • At least 3 patterns in the rule must match.

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References

Licence & attribution

Author: Sekoia.io

Source repository: SEKOIA.IO Community @ a438a5901a

Licence: Detection Rule License 1.1 (repository licence)

Original rule

Mirrored via YARA Forge 20260927, which prefixes rule names with the source and adds normalised meta fields.

Rule id: 3fb5c472-6b1c-490e-b38f-4d4f1c472f43

Metadata

version1.0
classificationTLP:CLEAR

Tags:FILE