Sigma rule: DPAPI Domain Master Key Backup Attempt

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-a98e3e3d077e, updated 2023-03-15T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
DPAPI Domain Master Key Backup Attempt
Status
test
Level
medium
Author
Roberto Rodriguez @Cyb3rWard0g
Date
2019-08-10
Modified
2023-03-15
File
rules/windows/builtin/security/win_security_dpapi_domain_masterkey_backup_attempt.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects anyone attempting a backup for the DPAPI Master Key. This events gets generated at the source and not the Domain Controller.

Log source

product
windows
service
security

Detection

selection:
    EventID: 4692
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • If a computer is a member of a domain, DPAPI has a backup mechanism to allow unprotection of the data. Which will trigger this event.

Tags

  • attack.credential-access
  • attack.t1003.004

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/builtin/security/win_security_dpapi_domain_masterkey_backup_attempt.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "DPAPI Domain Master Key Backup Attempt" by Roberto Rodriguez @Cyb3rWard0g (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/builtin/security/win_security_dpapi_domain_masterkey_backup_attempt.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: DPAPI Domain Master Key Backup Attempt",
entity page, dataset version ref-a98e3e3d077e, updated 2023-03-15T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/39a94fd1-8c9a-4ff6-bf22-c058762f8014 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 39a94fd1-8c9a-4ff6-bf22-c058762f8014, 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.