Detection rules › Sigma

Blackbyte Ransomware Registry

Status
test
Severity
high
Log source
category registry_set, product windows
Author
frack113
Source
github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma

Detects specific windows registry modifications made by BlackByte ransomware variants. BlackByte set three different registry values to escalate privileges and begin setting the stage for lateral movement and encryption. This rule triggers when any of the following registry keys are set to DWORD 1, however all three should be investigated as part of a larger BlackByte ransomware detection and response effort.

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

TacticTechniques
Persistence
Defense Impairment

Telemetry coverage

Rule body

title: Blackbyte Ransomware Registry
id: 83314318-052a-4c90-a1ad-660ece38d276
status: test
description: |
    Detects specific windows registry modifications made by BlackByte ransomware variants.
    BlackByte set three different registry values to escalate privileges and begin setting the stage for lateral movement and encryption.
    This rule triggers when any of the following registry keys are set to DWORD 1, however all three should be investigated as part of a larger BlackByte ransomware detection and response effort.
references:
    - https://redcanary.com/blog/blackbyte-ransomware/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social
    - https://www.trustwave.com/en-us/resources/blogs/spiderlabs-blog/blackbyte-ransomware-pt-1-in-depth-analysis/
author: frack113
date: 2022-01-24
modified: 2025-10-21
tags:
    - attack.persistence
    - attack.defense-impairment
    - attack.t1112
    - detection.emerging-threats
logsource:
    category: registry_set
    product: windows
detection:
    selection:
        TargetObject:
            - 'HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy'
            - 'HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\EnableLinkedConnections'
            - 'HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem\LongPathsEnabled'
        Details: 'DWORD (0x00000001)'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Unknown
level: high

Stages and Predicates

Stage 0: condition

selection

Stage 1: selection

selection:
    TargetObject:
        - 'HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy'
        - 'HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\EnableLinkedConnections'
        - 'HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem\LongPathsEnabled'
    Details: 'DWORD (0x00000001)'

Indicators

These rows show field, operator, and value matches.

FieldKindValuesSearch
Detailseq
  • DWORD (0x00000001) corpus 40 (sigma 36, chronicle 4)
field:"Details" kind:eq value:"DWORD (0x00000001)"
TargetObjecteq
  • HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\EnableLinkedConnections
  • HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy
  • HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem\LongPathsEnabled
field:"TargetObject" kind:eq