Sigma rule: PowerShell SAM Copy

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-dc760eb64c94, updated 2023-01-06T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
PowerShell SAM Copy
Status
test
Level
high
Author
Florian Roth (Nextron Systems)
Date
2021-07-29
Modified
2023-01-06
File
rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_powershell_sam_access.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects suspicious PowerShell scripts accessing SAM hives

Log source

product
windows
category
process_creation

Detection

selection_1:
    CommandLine|contains|all:
        - '\HarddiskVolumeShadowCopy'
        - 'System32\config\sam'
selection_2:
    CommandLine|contains:
        - 'Copy-Item'
        - 'cp $_.'
        - 'cpi $_.'
        - 'copy $_.'
        - '.File]::Copy('
condition: all of selection*

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Some rare backup scenarios
  • PowerShell scripts fixing HiveNightmare / SeriousSAM ACLs

Tags

  • attack.credential-access
  • attack.t1003.002

MITRE ATT&CK ids this rule names

References

Read on 2026-11-03T00:58:21.399Z under licence sigma-drl-1.1@d5f4c36a from https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_powershell_sam_access.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "PowerShell SAM Copy" by Florian Roth (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_powershell_sam_access.yml.
    Licensed under the Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/Detection-Rule-License

    Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1

Cite this page

Dragons Eye Ransomware Tracker, "Sigma rule: PowerShell SAM Copy",
entity page, dataset version ref-dc760eb64c94, updated 2023-01-06T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/1af57a4b-460a-4738-9034-db68b880c665 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 1af57a4b-460a-4738-9034-db68b880c665, commit ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84.

Pages change. The dataset version identifies the data, but no archive of old versions is kept, so this citation cannot be replayed later.