Cross-source coverage

T1653 / ATT&CK

Power Settings

1 rule across 1 source.

From MITRE ATT&CK 19.2

Adversaries may impair a system's ability to hibernate, reboot, or shut down in order to extend access to infected machines. When a computer enters a dormant state, some or all software and hardware may cease to operate which can disrupt malicious activity.

Adversaries may abuse system utilities and configuration settings to maintain access by preventing machines from entering a state, such as standby, that can terminate malicious activity.

For example, powercfg controls all configurable power system settings on a Windows system and can be abused to prevent an infected host from locking or shutting down. Adversaries may also extend system lock screen timeout settings. Other relevant settings, such as disk and hibernate timeout, can be similarly abused to keep the infected machine running even if no user is active.

Aware that some malware cannot survive system reboots, adversaries may entirely delete files used to invoke system shut down or reboot.

Tactics
Persistence
Platforms
Windows · Linux · macOS · Network Devices
Telemetry
WinEventLog:Securityauditd:SYSCALLauditd:PATHmacos:unifiedlog

How MITRE says to detect it DET0417

Detection Strategy for Power Settings Abuse

Windows Analytic 1174

Monitor command execution of powercfg.exe with arguments modifying sleep, hibernate, or display timeouts. Abnormal or repeated modifications to power settings outside administrative baselines may indicate persistence attempts. Correlate process creation with registry and system configuration changes to build behavioral chains.

  • WinEventLog:Security EventCode=4688

Linux Analytic 1175

Detect execution of system utilities (systemctl, systemd-inhibit, systemdsleep) modifying sleep or hibernate behavior. Abnormal edits to system configuration files (e.g., /etc/systemd/sleep.conf) should be correlated with process execution to identify persistence techniques.

  • auditd:SYSCALL execve: Execution of systemctl, loginctl, or systemd-inhibit commands related to sleep/hibernate
  • auditd:PATH write: File modifications to /etc/systemd/sleep.conf or related power configuration files

macOS Analytic 1176

Monitor pmset command executions altering sleep/hibernate/standby parameters. Unexpected modifications to /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.PowerManagement.plist or similar files should be correlated with process activity.

  • macos:unifiedlog Process creation events where command line = pmset with arguments affecting sleep, hibernatemode, displaysleep
  • macos:unifiedlog write: File modification to com.apple.PowerManagement.plist or related system preference files

View on attack.mitre.org ↗

SigmaHQ/sigma

1 rule
Detection Severity Format
Mask System Power Settings Via Systemctl High Sigma

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